Posts from — June 2008

Film and media studio Squint/Opera has created a series of images depicting imaginary scenes in London in 2090, when rising sea levels have inundated the city.

The Flooded London series depicts the city as a “tranquil utopia” presenting a long-term view of how London’s population has adapted to raised sea levels.

The general scenario is set 80 or so years into the future, long after the sea levels have risen. The catastrophe side of the sea coming in has long since past and the five images are snapshots of people going about their lives, long since having adapted to the worlds new circumstance.

Squint has used photography, 3d modelling and digital manipulation to imitate some of the techniques of the super-idealistic Victorian landscape painters. Details are exaggerated and play with scale to present images that belie their composition.

Five images will be on show at Medcalf Gallery in Clerkenwell, London from the 20th June, 2008, for a month, during the London Festival of Architecture.

Find out more on DeZeen.com

Technorati Tags: Flooded London, illustration, interiors, photography, Squint/Opera

I’m not one for board games but I do like checking out models and am tempted by this deluxe combination of the two…

Clue Premier Edition ups the game’s realism with nine sunken, three-dimensional rooms, each with precise details including the appropriate furnishings.

A non-removable tempered glass lid lets the board function as a display piece between games and keeps curious little hands off the goods inside, while the familiarity of the classic characters lets the grown-ups feel like kids again.

Clue Premier Edition $150

Via Uncrate

Technorati Tags: board games, Clue Premier Edition, models

If you used to read Mad Magazine, then you’ll love this feature from the New York Times. Its Al Jaffee’s fold-ins for Mad magazine, from the 1960s to the present, in interactive form.

From my point of view, a simple but good use of Flash’s new (ish) ability to skew bitmaps.

Check out Fold-Ins, Past and Present

Technorati Tags: Al Jaffee, ideas, illustration, Mad Magazine

These items by Viktor & Rolf caught my eye with their obvious typographic element. Reminds me of something out of a comic strip, but with the speech merged in to the characters.

Viktor & Rolf say “We love fashion, but it’s going so fast. We wanted to say‘No’this season…”

If you like the slight quirkiness of Viktor & Rolf, check out their Flash-based website. Takes a short while to load, but there’s full-screen 3-D rendered, fly throughs of their predominantly white interiors.

Viktor & Rolf

Via the Milk.com.hk blog

Technorati Tags: fashion, Say no to fashion, Viktor & Rolf

Yana Rudenko, who works under the banner Raven Concepts, has some really nice design work on her portfolio website. The following two examples of her photo manipulation work caught my eye, with their lush, colourful textures.

The following image was inspired by the HBO’s series Carnival, and depicts a “Circus Freak Bride” .

This image is call Phoenix. Yana produced this work by testing out tutorials she found online.

See more on RavenConcepts.com

Technorati Tags: design, illustration, photo manipulation, Raven Concepts, Yana Rudenko

Like coin-ops? Then you’ll love this Flickr set of vintage coin-op machines.

The Coin-Op collection on flickr is a superb collection and example of what a wonderful sight old coin-op machines can be. Good visual reference for that mechanical vintage look.

See Retro Coin-Op Collection Photos

Via UrbanRetroLifestyle

Technorati Tags: coin-ops, design, popular culture, retro

Prague is a beautifully, perhaps gothic, place and photographer Kristen Wright captures it well with traditional film media.

She is from Arizona and shoots mainly with a hassleblad or a metallic gold holga with a “tacky” gold chain on it.

Read an interview with Kristen on Sprayblog.net

Technorati Tags: Czech Republic, hassleblad, Kristen Wright, photography, Prague

A New York City architecture firm called Phu Hoang Office has proposed a way to turn The Dead Sea in the Middle East, into a thriving centre for tourism and eco-research.

The firm proposed the creation of artificial islands called No Man’s Land that would house hotels, create energy, and harvest clean water from the atmosphere.

Aside from the good eco-intentions of this design, I think it also looks the part, with a clean approach and a sprinkling of green.

According to the blog, Inhabitat:

Salinity gradient solar ponds, water purification tanks, and water filtering processes will all be integrated into the designated “water islands” of the chain. The other two island designs will be for tourists and solar energy production, providing self sufficient power as well as creating revenue.

The design was shortlisted for Architectural Association’s Environmental Tectonics 2007 competition because the design attempts to solve political and cultural issues using design techniques.

More on Inhabitat

Via IO9.com

Technorati Tags: Architectural Association, artificial islands, Environmental Tectonics, New York City, No Man’s Land, Phu Hoang Office, The Dead Sea

As they say, its the simplest ideas.. And I think the idea of dusters being “worn” whilst walking around the house must have been thought of by dozens of potential designers.

But these guys have made it, and it looks alright!

You can buy them in lime or pink for under $10 at Solutions.com. Hopefully, these will get you into action in making that killer idea of yours a reality.

Via SwissMiss

Technorati Tags: dusters, ideas, product design, products, slipper dusters

Never underestimate the power of nature! As beautifully blurry as this photo is, which to me adds to the moment captured, there’s no doubt as to the potential for damage. Particularly being this close.

A huge tornado funnel cloud touches down in Orchard, Iowa, Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 9:04 p.m.

The Globe Gazette and Mitchell County Press News reported that Lori Mehmen of Orchard, took this photo from outside her front door.

Mehmen said the funnel cloud came near the ground and then went back up into the clouds. Besides tree and crop damage, no human injuries were reported.

Via Boston.com

Technorati Tags: funnel cloud, Iowa, photography, tornado funnel cloud