by Jiyoung Seo

“My shelves aim to invite the user to interact with its form. They utilize various ‘play signals’ that engage the user to touch, feels, and react to the object”, says Jiyoung Seo, a design student at HDK School of Design and Crafts in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The Catalyst is a little shelf with a flap of silicon to keep books in place. Furthermore, Jiyoung’s creation can also be used as a bookmark by slotting a book over the flap. (mais…)

Ausgebrannt by Kaspar Hamacher

German for “burnt out”, Ausgebrannt is the name of the project run by the Belgian designer, Kaspar Hamacher, who makes stools from wooden logs by setting them on fire. The main idea consists in stripping bark from the logs then burning away certain sections to create legs.

Hamacher’ stools were displayed on circular landings at the Biologiska museum in Stockholm as part of “20 Designers at Biologiska”. (mais…)

Italian Restaurant by Sotovikis

The so-called “Soho of Athens” – the district of Psirri – has a brand new and quite charming attraction. The elegant Il Buco is an Italian restaurant designed by the Athens-based, Sotovikis, and is located on the third floor of a neo-classical building.

Three separate spaces cluster around a cocktail bar. The whiteness of walls, ceilings and floors interact with strong black door frames, fine iron drapery bars and stylish light fixtures from Droog and Danish. Mismatched wood-frame chairs collected from the antique shops of the neighboring Monastirak give the restaurant a spontaneous and light climate. (mais…)

Fly Paper Clock by James Auger & Jimmy Loizeau

Inspired by carnivorous plants, the duo of designers, James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau, has created the prototype of a wall clock which utilizes this unique source of energy. Instead of electricity derived from batteries or solar panels, the power of the Fly Paper Clock is supplied by flies.

The insects are attracted to a trap – a revolving sheet of paper – in which they get stuck and afterwards killed by a special substance. The consequential organic material will be converted into energy due to the specific system conceived by the designers. It takes eight flies to supply the clock for twelve hours.

Controversial opinions will certainly arise. Watch the video and send us your impressions. (mais…)

McVillage by UXUS

Comissioned by McDonald’s, UXUS design consultancy has conceived an inspiring children’s activity area for kids under 7 years of age, bringing the theme of “what I eat, what I do” to life. The entire project is a spatial application of graphic design as the use of images instead of words transcends those barriers associated with different geographical places and children’s ages.

The playful aesthetic stimulates imagination and represents a phase of the journey food goes through before finally arriving at the dinner table, creating a connection between kids and the education about food and cooking. (mais…)

by Tianyu Xiao

The Chinese designer, Tianyu Xiao, has raised an interesting question: how can a piece of furniture make people more communicative? In order to come up with a fine response, he conceived the Writable, a fun and interactive table which allows notes to be easily written onto the surface.

Three flip panels at the centre house chalkboards on the underside with a chalk discreetly held in place. According to Xiao, “his table creates a new way of communicating and enhances the relationship between people, offering an array of different possibilities for users to utilize it in a way that suits them”. (mais…)

BNP Paribas by Zoevox

In order to establish a renewed and more humane connection between individuals and capital, the Paris-based architect, Fabrice Ausset, of Zoevox, has conceived this ground-breaking bank concept store for BNP Paribas; located in the historical building of 2, Place de l’Opéra.

In ten specific zones, all regular banking functions from daily banking to stock-market info, private meetings, staff training can take place with the emphasis on breaking the age-old banking set-up where the client and the teller/banker are on opposite sides. (mais…)