MAKE IT GROW

hey you urban gardeners. 

take a look at this beautifully designed, origami-inspired planter from london-based studio ayaskan. it's designed to expand as the plan grows, allowing you to avoid the process of repotting. it's called "growth" and while it's still just a concept, they are working on beginning production soon. pretty cool!

from the studio: "the life cycle of a plant is a transformation, from an early seed to its full grown size; the blooming of a flower, the unfolding of a leaf, the branching of the roots... this process is what growth aims to capture within a plant pot."

more here.

via huh magazine

MOBILE, DISPOSABLE VITAMINS

you know the anxiety you get when you’re out and the battery on your iphone crosses into the red? yeah. the worst.

designer tsung chih-hsien feels our pain. he’s designed a tiny cardboard capsule that can charge up your phone for two, four, or six hours. it's called the mini power and it’s recyclable and biodegradable.

tsung envisions these being bought at convenience stores, on perforated sheets, so you can buy them in bulk and then when you need one just break it off, use it, and recycle it.

i love seeing smart and thoughtful product design. if we need two more hours of battery life, why not make that process involve sophisticated design?

more here.

via design taxi

STICK IT TO ME

this is car-a-zy.

talkin' about smart stickers today. created by estimote, these stickers (or "beacons") have wireless sensors that can attach to different objects and send signals to devices within range. the result is that these stickers can generate data that helps your devices unlock micro-locating and enhance the way you interact with your environment.

people have been talking about wearable technology for a while now. but concerns about practicality, logistics and functionality keep getting in the way. thinking about technology that your environment can wear – instead of you – seems like an interesting alternative. estimote calls this “nearable” tech: technology that enhances the users’s experience through data, motion and temperature sensors without them having to actually do anything.

also, the design of the product and the packaging is beautiful. simple and clean enough to not get in the way and interesting enough to catch your attention. still deciding how i feel about their color palette, but the product is beautiful.

here’s a good quote from steve cheney, cofounder and senior vice president: “beacons are a little bit like urls for the physical world… we don’t know exactly how it’s all going to work out, from the experience level, but i think the apps you use the most will start to integrate beacon technology in a way where you assume it was always that way.”

the applications for these are truly incredible. right now estimote’s audience is mainly developers but as you look at the video below think about the implications for: more targeted marketing, digitizing in-person retail, home automation, and in terms of reconciling how you connect with people/brands/places online and offline.

and finally, the big one for me: how can we use design to integrate technology into the places and products we interact with in a way that enhances (instead of detracting from) the aesthetic quality of our life?

more here.

CUZ IT'S PRETTY: ANIMO/ANIMAL EDITION

how fun are these minimalist animal designs?

these guys are the centerpiece of a brand called animodul, a clothing and toy company for kids. this beautiful brand design was created by spanish design studio atipo. 

cool shapes above and an AWESOME video below. amazing to see how much they accomplish with just a few shapes. and fun to see in the second half of the video how these designs are applied beyond branding, onto the product.

via logodesignlove