by Ben Atlas on Feb 16, 2010 - 22:22
An obviously nifty idea by the Variations on Normal. It solves the problem of hygiene and the pesky paste that never completely squeezes out from the other side of the tube.
I suggest clearly color coding different sides of the tube, i.e. “my side is red and your side is blue”, etc. Still could lead to potential conflicts, as any sharing, because eventually one would have to squeeze at the back of the tube, effectively depleting your partners side of the paste. The cost and the environmental impact of the extra cap might not be economical in the end. But what a fresh idea!
by Ben Atlas on Dec 19, 2009 - 17:29
This seems like an oxymoron, yet Noam Scheiber asks in the New Republic - Why Do German and Japanese Manufacturers Innovate More?
“The logic of this comes from the Harvard Business Review piece by Robert Hayes and William Abernathy that I cite. Hayes and Abernathy basically make two points. First, because the Europeans and Japanese rely so heavily on overseas markets, where the prices of their products can fluctuate owing to factors beyond their control, like exchange rates and tariffs, their manufacturers are forced to focus on quality and technological superiority. Technological advantages remain even when an exchange rate cuts against you. By contrast, American companies have always had a huge domestic market, so they could afford to mostly compete in terms of price. (They certainly don’t have to, but they can get away with it, whereas the Japanese can’t and the Europeans couldn’t for decades.) As a result, managers at American industrial companies have tended to think a bit more in terms of short-term costs–ways to undercut the other guy rather than outperform him.
Second, because labor markets tend to be less flexible and hourly labor costs tend to be higher in Europe and Japan (consider Germany’s famously powerful industrial unions), manufacturers there couldn’t traditionally cut costs very easily even if they wanted to. Whereas American manufacturers could often lower costs simply by lowering wages or axing employees, the Germans and Japanese had to either make their workers productive or have them produce more valuable products. It’s not that American manufacturers never did the latter, of course. But some of our foreign competitors simply had no choice, and they were very good at making virtue of necessity.”
I am not familiar with the automobile industry but I can speak about the construction industry. America is much more sensitive to risk and litigation. Today most innovative construction materials come from Europe. There is less litigation and regulation in Europe. For example there is a short cycle for the approvals of the experimental drugs. In order to innovate you need to have a high tolerance for the mistakes and failures. Risk aversion is the avoidance of experimentation and innovation. Especially if you don’t have a job security, like they do in Europe. If you feel secure about your job you are can be inclined to innovate and to experiment. The picture is actually reversed in the High Tech field, compared to the manufacturing. I think this is due to the fact that the startup category is a “financial allocation” in America, etc.
by Ben Atlas on Nov 23, 2009 - 11:41
Edwin Tofslie created this Evolution of Apple (1976-2009) image [click to enlarge]. This is how everything should be designed, a multi-step, multi-year process of trial and error. The world of the “one off” products is fundamentally flawed. Just look at the house you live in.
by Ben Atlas on Nov 22, 2009 - 23:18
I thought this wast a joke, evidently not. Actually a series of images with the new upper case “A”, lower case “ol” and a dot. I guess that “com” thingie is not that cool anymore, just the period. And to be sure the iconic topographic image is passé they are coming out with six equally silly logos. I guess the brand consultants smell a breakthrough, dozens of new “innovative” cartoonish swooshes instead of a pure symbol. How come I don’t see 50 floppy disks with “Aol. .IN.side” or something? The press release and rest of the logos – Silicon Insider – AOL Unveils New Brand, New Logos.
The golden fish would have been nice if the dot was actually the eye. And what is that in the middle of the second row? Is there a color consultant with Wolff Olins? OK, deliberately fluorescent range. Ugly is the new beautiful.
I have to confess though, I like the dot at the end, there is something fresh about this. Perhaps a logo is redefined in front of our eyes. In the age of cascading visual stimuli a single image feels confining. The underlying idea of a theme instead of a traditional icon is the breakthrough we have been waiting for. Just to complete the theme they should add one with the middle finger! Now can we have a sound to go with the logos, I miss the dial-up modem static and the busy signals…
by Ben Atlas on Nov 11, 2009 - 10:14
Andrea asked me to write about selling. I am just an observer of this space, I don’t claim the expertise.
An art is a mixture of myth attached to an object [see my post about myth and books]. Myth sells the object but the ratio varies. Sometimes an inspired myth follows a benign object and sometimes an outstanding object can’t find its myth. In the past an art required an unquestionable skill and art preceded the myth. Today the ratio is trending towards the myth and myth alone.
In the past art and books were created by and for the literate gentry, so there was the sophistication and culture that could recognize object almost independent of a myth. Mass forms of expression like radio, TV and film superseded the traditional art as an artistic outlet of the post industrial middle class. So not only art appreciation is a challenge but the myth mongers of the modern art criticism deliberately advanced the idea that any art is just a myth. Tom Wolfe wrote a definitive small book about it – The Painted Word. The unintended expression of the Jewish tradition claims art is an abstractly defined mythology. Bunch of Jewish art critics anointed as the high priests of modernism decided who is rich and famous depending on a prophetic dream. As it became more difficult to get noticed the shock value of an object has increased. One needs to shock to get noticed. Of course the carpet image bombing desensitized people, even to most shocking “art”.
The ubiquitous innovation of the online world is that you can get noticed without an intermediary but there is a catch. People who started blogging ten years ago indeed could get noticed, but the blogosphere is so saturated now that we are back to the dominance of the retched middle man, even online. Someone with authority must link it, even above the noise of the social media.
There is also a perception that you don’t need that many fans to sell, the advance of the hyper-local blogging and the notion that as long as you have even a narrow base you can sell to it. I am not sure about this. Hugh says you don’t need that many fans, but he is really a copywriter that creates catchy jungles attached to simple illustrations. His art is all myth propelled by the early adopter status. I don’t think it’s impossible to get noticed online, but most people don’t realize how much work it requires, especially today, perhaps always.
I know this is not much of the a practical advice. But I believe in these truths. People create art because it is how they think and experience the world. True artists do this because they can’t help themselves, this is an unstoppable force and addiction with unexpected reward. A true artist is ahead of his or her time by the McLuhanian definition. Be patient, preserver online and do go to all the parties. The purveyor of luck will have no choice but to smile upon you.
by Ben Atlas on Oct 8, 2009 - 17:01
Sylvain Allard from École de Design blogs about his student’s projects. Here are some I find interesting.
Pit-Stop café is a simple transportation system for four coffees and anything that goes with it. Conceived with post-consumer recycled board and out of one single sheet of paper. Designer: Homer Mendoza. ►►►read more
by Ben Atlas on Sep 30, 2009 - 10:12 · 1 comment
I have been looking at this and thinking, when no one is reading this post, is the machine still sewing? It punctures and ties at the same time, this must be the secret. But thread and needle already stitched the way for that. ►►►read more
by Ben Atlas on Sep 29, 2009 - 01:03 · 1 comment
Absolute Flatness: An average color #A79F94 was calculated from more than 26,000 images in the MoMA art collection by Joshua T. Nimoy. Absolute Depth: Recent sandstorm in Sydney via MarchingAnts on flickr.
by Ben Atlas on Sep 13, 2009 - 21:50
I am not sure how it works for other people. But in my experience people stay toxic, there is little one can do about it. You can circle around, wait another year, there is little chance for change. The best you can do is to walk away, slamming the door on your way out is helpful for making the point. ►►►read more
by Ben Atlas on Sep 2, 2009 - 12:54
New York based artist Ross Racine creates the amazing computer generated images about the culture of suburbia.
Heavenly Heights
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by Ben Atlas on Aug 20, 2009 - 18:03 · 1 comment
Six months of research, a seven day trip to Paris, two months of carving. Mark Andrew Webber (more on flickr) producing Paris linoleum topographic map AKA linocut. Each block is carved in a shape of a letter. Can you do this with your kitchen floor? (via the skinny)
by Ben Atlas on Aug 15, 2009 - 16:39
Simply awesome! A custom made luxury axe from the Best Made Company. (illustration via design vagabond)
The web sites displays this hawk as one of the inspirations. This bird Pale Male has a Wikipedia page.
Pale Male. The famous red-tailed hawk from Central Park, New York City. Sire to 26 offspring. International media sensation.
