The Design that Would Have Saved My Computer

So, I spilled a glass of water on my beloved MacBook Pro laptop (long sigh). If only I had known about this brilliant and beautiful invention (that doesn’t look or feel like a sports bottle or sippy cup), maybe I’d still have use of my keyboard’s s, q, h, n, etc.

Contigo’s 100% spill- and leakproof travel mug. The ”autoseal” feature means that the only time liquid can escape is when I am sipping. Keeps drinks hot for 4 hours or cold for 12. Yay!

An Answer to My Produce Prayers

Ah-ha—I just knew that someone would have designed a storage solution to keep produce fresh for weeks! As of yet, I’ve been placing herbs, chard, asparagus, and the like in glasses of water covered with baggies and fastened with a rubber band, a situation that got messy, crowded, inefficient and ugly fast. Well, after searching high and low, I found this beauty: The Herb-Savor, by Prepara a.k.a the Kitchen Gods.

• Self-standing • Refill the water without having to remove the contents. • Roomy: 13.1" x 7.3" (333 mm x 185 mm) • Fits inside the refrigerator door. •
Me likey.

And, if you’re one to grow-your-own, but are short on space, check out these offerings for an attractive, space-saving counter top garden.

Let me ride

Well I got an email today from one of my triathlon buddies, informing me about bamboo bikes! It seems that bamboo is strong enough to make road bike frames and even mountain bike frames.



You will notice that these bikes are not entirely constructed from bamboo and require- additional carbon or aluminum parts, but I still love the idea of substituting artificial man made parts with one of nature’s strongest plant. I think these bikes are really beautiful on an aesthetic level, but am really sold on the fact that they work as well—if not better than carbon bikes!




After doing some research I stumbled across the website of Brano Meres, a very skilled mechanical engineer, photographer and freelance industrial designer (you can see why he might find it difficult to find enough time in the day for all his projects). The images shown here are his creations and you will want to read his website, which not only discusses how he makes them but also gives updates to the condition of the bike as he rode it over a period of 5 years. I have a lot of respect for those who can merge beauty and functionality together so well.


The story that started my search of bamboo bikes here and one other blog story here.

"When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.”

- Emo Philips

Introducing: the Apple Jacket

For someone who likes to carry fruit around in her purse, these puppies actually make sense to me. And yes I'll admit it, they're cute, too.
Something for pear-eaters, too. . .

Courtesy of Etsy seller jacquelineknits ltd.

Designed to Make Us Smile

Paris-based company Atypyk graces us with these ingenious takes on familiar everyday products . . . because there's almost always a humorous side to everything.

Pencils with various moustache options (Clark Gable, Burt Reynolds, Salvador Dali, etc.) for those moments you rest yours on your upper lip

Kite

Pizza Plate

Drink Coaster

Secret Agent Umbrella

Bookmark

Another Way Design Makes Life Easier

The UK brings us these clever kitchen tools designed by Morph for Joseph Joseph, a company founded by twin brothers with the surname of Joseph).

Nest measuring cups and bowls

Cut & Collect chopping board

Index chopping boards

Creative Reuse: Good Design for Do-Gooders

These handmade products are the harvest of an earnest set of environmental ethics combined with aesthetic sensibilities and a nomadic lifestyle. Skinwalker (one-man production line, Bryan Kwee) takes his craft as seriously as his eco-friendly lifestyle, gathering scrap materials from the places he roams and meticulously transforming them into these fine creations. With a good deal of imagination and elbow grease, he turns one person's waste into another person's bounty—proving that less is definitely more.


Wallet made from salvaged sushi boxes, bicycle inner tubes, transparent packaging material, and keyboard circuit boards.

Wallet made from keyboard circuit boards, aluminum foil, frosted white binders, bicycle inner tubes, & a trade show exhibitor badge.




Check out Skinwalker's complete portfolio and etsy shop.

Designers as Public Servants

Another great way designers have answered the questions of the heart:

The Hippo Roller is an easy-to-use water transporting tool that holds 90 liters or 4 to 5 times the normal water capacity of traditional methods. In impoverished places, the nearest water source can be 2 hours away. This design provides a more efficient and safer method to a basic life necessity.

Earlier this year, a fairly new non-profit called Project H offered a way for the public to help distribute these via their Fund This Project campaign. They successfully delivered 75 Hippo Rollers to residents of Kgautswane, South Africa, and proudly report that the donations have allowed the female population the time to pursue an education.

Currently, the new San Francisco chapter of Project H is working on a re-design of the Hippo Roller. If you'd like to donate your creative insight, the next meeting is this month. Email SF Chapter Head Ryan Duke for details: ryan@projecthdesign.com.

And while you're at it, have a look at Project H's current Fund This Product campaign, Lifestraws for Mumbai.

Rock Out!

Check out these key covers or "Keytars" that I saw at an SF hardware store...not a bad way to add some rock star silliness to your everyday.

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