advice for web designers....

According to Seth Godin, the first question a web designer must ask is.... "Do you want the people visiting this site to notice it?"

For artists, musicians and web 2.0 companies, the answer is most likely, yes. They want people to see the interface or remark on their skills & cleverness.

For everyone else, it's no. The purpose of the site is to tell a story or to generate some sort of action and if the user notices the site, not the story, you've lost. Amazingly, this means that not only can't the site be too cutting edge, clever or slick, it also can't be too horrible, garish or amateurish. And that's the trick- finding a place somewhere in between.

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MacLeod and the Purple Cow...

Hugh MacLeod has never sold his artwork, rather, gives it as gifts to friends or private events. Now some of his prints are being sold and are currently a hot commodity among marketing, advertising and tech executives.

He currently created a cover for the book Purple Cow, which Seth Godin is connected with, and his designs are selling like crazy. The chaotic, creative, originalities he produces are conversation starters- according to Godin.


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a dumpster you'll want to dive into....

Oliver Bishop Young has been converting dumpsters in the UK into more interesting things.

For example: a ping pong table, a marsh, and the most popular- a swimming pool.

Ideal for homes without a yard, this dumpster/pool/hot-tub is smaller than a car and fits perfectly in a parking spot. DIVE IN! (and don't worry- its been cleaned and completely sanitary)


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interactive cubes....

Percussa, a small electronics company in Brussels, have designed cubes that are a modular live performance instrument that let you shape sound, create music and perform live through hands-on interaction with wireless intelligent objects.

"AudioCubes" are glowing, physical blocks that hook up to a computer and map to musical structures, allowing you to play with multiple electronics at the same time. Electronics embedded within each cube allow the blocks to sense one another's positions and orientations, as well as the blocks' distance to other objects, such as a hand. They are networked, and scalable, so you can use any number of pieces (up to 100) together, as long as your audio hardware budget can handle it: a single block costs almost 300 bucks, though sets of multiples bring the price per block down.

AudioCubes offer new ways to interact with your existing audio software, beyond what is possible with classic knob boxes and trigger pads. They can be used for simple filter sweeps as well as infinitely complex setups in which the musical information they generate will depend on how the objects interact with each other and with their user.

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interchangeable shoes...

A new company called SKINS has a new concept on designing shoes. Their innovative two-part, interchangeable footwear structures consists of outer collapsible "Skins" and an inner holistic orthopedic support section called the "Bone." This design allows consumers to purchase one inner section, the Bone, and numerous outer Skins, resulting in multiple style variations from the same pair of quality Bones, always with the same feel and fit no matter which Skin is being worn.

Skins' objective is to create a new attire concept that allows and encourages consumers to frequently change their footwear, while experiencing equal comfort in all designs of shoes. The styles offered range from ballet flats and formal shoes to sneakers, skinned in leather, suede, and "exotic skins and high-tech fabrics."


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walls that do more than separate....

Reviplant is a new invention that allows you to grow plants vertically, in a separators that act like walls. The italia-based company thinks this will "revive" urban walls and support the eco-friendly world we have all been working towards.

Ideal for businesses, rather than covering walls with ivy- grow your own ingredients for salad.


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furniture designer with focus...

Vexell is a fully customizable, high-end furniture designer, priding themselves on approaching each design as "a sculptor would a block of stone." Their pieces are contemporary with a timeless aesthetic, and they pride themselves on craftsmanship.

The designer combines old and new, leaving each piece available for customization and focusing on the beauty of wood. Each design created has a purpose and is made for style and functionality.


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