Archive for 08.2009

Michael Kenna

Once in a while I have to get up real early; to catch a plane, or to get some work done. And every time I leave the house at that early time, I am struck by the beautiful calmness of the morning. The air is refreshingly cold and humid, and the absence of noise makes you hear every sound.

The photography of Michael Kenna has a similar effect on me. In the introduction of one of Kenna’s many books, photo critic Kohtaro Iizawa says it well:

[Kenna's] images invite us into a silent world, depriving the viewer of the noises, one by one, with which the world is filled.

I appreciate that.

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Klaus Stadt

The work of German artist Klaus Stadt is governed by the systematic thinking of the Constructionist movement.

But although Stadt is a constructivist, because he sculpts his work with just a few elements or colours, his work has a beautiful minimalist aesthetic.

His reliefs, drawings and plastiks/sculptures are consistently built from simple geometric shapes, such as squares or cubes. Through thoughtful placement in the canvas or space, Stadt creates a sense of movement and depth.

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Humidifier

This white donut right here is the award-winning humidifier, designed by the famous Naoto Fukasawa for design house ±0 (Plus Minus Zero.)

Inside the 12 inch wide minimalist exterior, this humidifier houses an impressive set of features, competing with any other humidifier.

Buy it online at Generate Design.

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MILE’s LED clock

This LED clock comes from MILE project, a Japanese designer threesome consisting of Bandai Matsuo, Kentaro Kai, and Kozo Shimoyama.

Rather than steel or plastic hands, this clock has hands made of light – that’s as minimalist as it gets!

Also check out this video.

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Zero Bike

The Zero Bike was designed in 1988 (!) by Makota Makita and Hiroshi Tsuzaki, then students at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.

Rather than spokes around a hub, this concept bicycle has wheel rims cradled by magnets, using the principle of magnetic superconductivity, also used in high-speed trains that are suspended above rails.

Not only does it look mighty interesting, the absence of spokes it is beneficial for the aerodynamics of the bike. Less is more! ;-)

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Dollar ReDe$ign Project

The American Dollar has not truly been redesigned since about the 1930s. The Dollar ReDe$ign Project invited designers to send in alternatives.

These bank note designs right here are the entries of John Dowling (owner of the London-based Dowling Design & Art Direction). Downling completely stripped them back to its bare bones: type-only with just two elements: a name, and a value denominator.

Any safety issues put aside, this is actually a reasonable entry. Think about it: what more are bank notes than mere promises of money anyways? I could easily live with these ;-)

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Straw Straw

The winner of the Muji’s third annual International Design Competition is Yuki Iida’s Straw Straw. It is a straw that’s actually made from… straw!

Somewhere along the way, we seem to have forgotten that the concept of straws originated from wheat straws – but of course! Nature has given us the ideal natural product for slurping soda, milk and what else.

Competition’s judge Jasper Morrison went so far as to point out that like all the best ideas, Iida’s design is ‘obvious to the point of stupidity’.

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Square

Ludovica and Roberto Palomba, the two founders of my favorite Italian design agency Palomba Serafini, designed radiator Square for manufacturer Tubes with a vision:

“We wanted to investigate the concept of formal reduction as a ‘qualifying value’. We believe that formal reduction of an object does not mean just simplifying it, but revealing its essence, its core, its most intimate part, its deepest nature.”

Its features of technical and formal innovation earned Square the 2007 Red Dot award in the “Product Design” category, and the 2008 Design Preis awarded by the German Design Council. And a post on Minimalissimo ;-)

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Buddha Machine

The Buddha Machine is nothing more or less than a little plastic ambient music generator that looks like a transitor radio. It can play nine digitally encoded music loops, created by experimental music duo FM3.

Apart from the volume dial, the Buddha Machine has just one button, that allows the listener to switch from one loop to another – but that’s the extent of user control over the experience.

The New York Times dubbed this the ‘anti-iPod factor‘: the relief of not having to make a choice in a world awash with entertainment and self-expression options. I dig that.

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Waste bin

This waste bin is designed by Grace Youngeun Lee, who’s a 3D Design student at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, USA.

The elegance of Lee’s bin is multi-level. It consists of two only pieces, and has no breakable elements like hinges. The latter is thanks to Lee’s smart design:

By stepping on the pedal, the bin opens towards you – yet the cover remains stationary.

Nice one!

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