In the 2008 automotive line-up, more is definitely more.

This year in the automotive sector is one of transition and re-affirmation, with manufacturers generally choosing to go one of two ways: back to the past, falling back on nostalgia-rich tradition; or forward with new technologies and design formulations. The (fuel-electric) hybrids introduced just a couple of years back are seeing refinements and improvements, and more models in the line-ups offered in a hybrid version.

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BMW in 2015 – Istituto Europeo di Design Project

This year the third-year students of the IED (Istituto Europeo di Design) in Turin were challenged to design a BMW of 2015. The 35 students involved were subdivided into 18 teams, all coordinated by Fulvio Fantolino, Coordinator of the Transportation Design – Car Design Course and owner of F&F Design Studio. MORE…

Apple Wireless Keyboard, ID Design Distinction Award 2008

Apple’s wireless keyboard has been awarded Design Distinction 2008, Consumer Products, in ID magazine’s recent Annual Design Review. 

Apple’s wireless keyboard is a wafer of anodized aluminum with slivers of white keys, features Bluetooth with a 33-foot range and a battery charge that lasts for nine months of normal usage (it takes AAA batteries). According to one jury member, “it’s a highly evolved keyboard.”

Design: Apple Industrial Design Team (Cupertino, CA)

Shijyo Mokusei Building, Kyoto, by Kawai Architects

Kyoto-based Kawai Architects designed this office building (completed 2008) which serves as a proposition/solution for a contemporary lifestyle in the 21st century; and what the urban landscape of Kyoto, perhaps Japan’s most traditional city, should look like.

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Tertulia Folding Chair, by Efrain Velez

Tertulia is a folding chair inspired by the idea of its name, the Spanish word for gathering, a conversational get together. Tertulias happen spontaneously, so a folding chair seemed the most natural departing point-typology, says Austin, Texas-based designer Efrain Velez, for this project. MORE…

Toyota’s Tiny New iQ to Begin Production Late 2008

Toyota has announced it is to begin production on its tiny new iQ model – among the smallest 4-seater cars today – late this year. The company has introduced a number of innovations and new approaches in the design and engineering of the iQ. MORE…

ID Winner: Nokia Mini Speakers MD-6

The innovative design of Nokia’s Mini Speakers MD-6 puts portability and great sound together in one pocket-sized speaker system. They also feature built-in cable management and FM radio, making for an efficient, well-conceived package. MORE…

Tesla Motors Begins Regular Production of 2008 Tesla Roadster

Regular production of the 2008 Tesla Roadster commenced this past spring, marking an historical milestone for Tesla Motors and a watershed in the development of clean, zero-emissions vehicles.
The revolutionary Tesla Roadster – a high performance car that generates zero-emissions and burns no oil – was first unveiled as a prototype in July, 2006. MORE…

Apple iPhone: ID Best of Category 2008

Not surprisingly, the Apple iPhone was selected Best of Category 2008, Consumer Products, in ID magazine’s recent Annual Design Review. The iPhone combines three products in one — a phone, a widescreen iPod, and a unique Internet device with rich HTML email and a web browser. MORE…

Brix Fragments, by architect Claudio Silvestrin

I Frammenti (The Fragments) by Brix is a porcelain micro-mosaic (or cube-tile) created by architect Claudio Silvestrin. Each mosaic is made of 5mm cubes with the space between equally proportioned. The mosaics are available in eight non-glazed colors, six intense glazed colors and four mixes.

BBB Low-Cost Housing, Denmark, by Tegnestuen Vandkunsten

The concept “bedre billigere boliger” – literally “better cheaper housing” – was developed through a number of architectural competitions. The aim – in Kvistgård, Elsinore, Denmark, was to offer significantly reduced rent-levels without sacrificing architectural quality. MORE…

Key modular storage system by Housefish

Key is a new highly modular storage system designed and produced by Housefish that ships flat and assembles easily – the only tool you need is a hammer. The parts are cleverly joined into an exceptionally strong structure by machined aluminum tenon keys. The wood used is sustainably harvested, FSC certified maple plywood, finished with a zero VOC finish. Available with optional sliding powdercoated metal doors in a variety of colors. MORE…

International Biennial of Graphic Design in Brno

The main exhibition of the 2008 International Biennial of Graphic Design in Brno, Czech Republic, designed by Radim Babak and Ondrej Tobola of Hippos design, consists of 600 works by 162 designers, arranged using chairs so that visitors can browse the magazines and books on show. MORE…

Veloheld by neongrau.id

German designers neongrau.id have created Veloheld, a pared-down bicycle for cycling in the city. With narrow handlebars and one gear, the bicycles come in black or white.
A limited edition of 100 bikes will be produced this year. The company also supplies the Veloheld frames for those who want to build their own bike. MORE…

Door handles by Frank Gehry

Architect Frank Gehry has designed new door handles for Italian manufacturers Valli & Valli. The new designs are additions to Gehry’s Arrowheads and FOG collection, created for the brand last year.
Designed by renowned architect and designer Frank Gehry, the Arrowhead series is characterized by a dynamic twisting design created by planes that seem to spiral around a central axis. The Arrowhead door lever (H 5021 – second image) was introduced in 2007 and won that year’s Interior Design magazine Best of Year award in the hardware category. MORE…

Canteen at Primary School No.1 / Cadilhe & Fontoura

A new primary school canteen by architect José Cadilhe of Cadilhe & Fontoura has been completed in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. The Primary School nº1 in Póvoa de Varzim is a renovated example of Plano dos Centenários (Plan of the Centenaries) developed in 1941, whose typology (Douro) was designed by Rogério de Azevedo, a renowned architect from Oporto. This plan was a response to the increasing necessity and need to obtain a wide coverage of elementary schools throughout the country. MORE…

Tableware by Kathryn Hinton

Designer Kathryn Hinton displayed her tableware at the Royal College of Art Show One in London early in June this year. Pieces include lettering on the prongs of forks that correspond with words imprinted in bowls and the Exhausted range (below), where cutlery follows the shape of objects it appears to collapse onto.
“The tableware I make is inspired by components and interconnecting units. My research currently looks at the role of cutlery in different table settings with emphasis on their function as connecting elements. MORE…

Qing Zuo! / Judith van den Boom

Designer Judith van den Boom created a collection of stools with ceramic seats called Qing Zuo! in collaboration with local crafts workers during a three-month visit to China. She showed the stools at at the Royal College of Art Show One in London earlier this month. MORE…

Pluk / Tjep.

Dutch designers Tjep. recently created and completed the identity and interior for Pluk, a shop serving healthy take-away food in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Here the counters are filled with fake vegetables arranged according to colour. MORE…

Kannustalo’s “Touch” at MoMA in New York

Best known for its collection of traditional prefabricated houses, the Finnish Kannustalo company’s modern model Touch will be displayed at an exhibition of prefabricated homes opening on 20 July at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
The Finland-based Kannustalo’s prefabricated house Touch was designed by the renowned Finnish architects Mikko Heikkinen and Markku Komonen. MORE…

Japanese Takeshi Miyakawa Big in NY

Inspiration and example comes in many forms, from many places. Like the work of Williamsburg-based (NY) Japanese designer Takeshi Miyakawa, which clearly stood out at Brooklyn Designs in mid-May and in an open studio during ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York late May. MORE…

Seasons Through the Looking Glass; CJ Lim/Studio 8 Architects

Seasons Through the Looking Glass is a recent installation by CJ Lim/Studio 8 Architects at the subway entrance to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The installation is made from honeycombed cardboard panels and rolled up fabric. MORE…

Klein Bottle House, Melbourne; Mcbride Charles Ryan

The Klein bottle appears to be a descriptive model of a surface developed by topological mathematicians. This holiday house is situated on the Mornington Peninsula 1.5 hrs from Melbourne, in the sand dunes a short distance from a wild beach. MORE…

Hyper-Urban: TOO49 by 16A

Japanese architects 16A recently completed TOO49, a housing complex of 43 studios and 6 two-bedroom units. These courtyard flats play smartly with the ideas of closeness and openness, and help lend the building its simple yet very distinctive look. MORE…