Every once in a while a designer will come across somthing ugly and feel the need to do something about it. So it was with Squarespace Creative Director Tyler Thompson, who late last year found himself aesthetically offended by the mess that is a Delta Airlines boarding pass.

So I took out my Moleskine and started sketching. I tried to remember my previous trip through John F. Kennedy Airport and when and why I needed to reference my boarding pass. It seemed like I first needed to know which flight I was on. I put the gate right next to this, but made the flight number first because gates tend to change quite often. Next came my seat which I always look at a few times while boarding the plane. After that I put the zone, which is how they board the airplane initially and always seemed like the biggest cluster-fuck of people not knowing what zone they were in or how to find it on their pass. I also did something with the time I think might help, when it was a P.M. time, it was white text on a black box and when it was A.M. it was black text on a white box. Below is what I initially came up with.

Then came a colored variant:

What was fascinating was that other designers, upon reading Thompson’s entry, started to pile on with their own re-designs. Check ‘em out here.

Cars.com’s David Thomas speculates that the iPad could prove to be a serious problem for automakers that charge a ransom for rear entertainment systems.

The base iPad, Thomas notes, costs far less than most DVD options offered by automakers. Ford charges $1,995 for a dual-headrest-mounted DVD system in its Flex crossover. In the Acura MDX, its single-screen system, with three wireless headsets and a 9-inch screen, costs $1,900. At $500 a pop, giving two kids their own iPads would cost far less than what the automakers charge for an ICE system.

The Cars.com article mentions some of the advantages of ICE, including being weather-tested to work from -5 to 160 degrees F (-20 to 71 C), and being far less prone to breakage.

Alternatively, if you’re planning a long and unconfortable flight, discover how your iPad can Make Air Travel Considerably Less Terrible.

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Source: Slashdot

Cars.com's David Thomas speculates that [0]the iPad could
prove to be a serious problem for automakers that charge a ransom for
rear entertainment systems. The base iPad, Thomas notes, costs far less
than most DVD options offered by automakers. Ford charges $1,995 for a
[1]dual-headrest-mounted DVD system in its Flex crossover. In the Acura
MDX, its [2] single-screen system, with three wireless headsets and a
9-inch screen, costs $1,900. At $500 a pop, giving two kids their own
iPads would cost far less than what the automakers charge for an ICE
system. The Cars.com article mentions some of the advantages of ICE,
including being weather-tested to work from -5 to 160 degrees F (-20 to
71 C), and being far less prone to breakage.

The Finnish company of Tampere (and now Espoo) produced at one time or another paper products, car and bicycle tires, communications cables, televisions  and other consumer electronics, personal computers, electricity generation machinery, robotics, capacitors, military communications and equipment (such as the SANLA M/90 device and the M61 gas mask for the Finnish Army), plastics, aluminium, chemicals and footwear. Yes, you read correctly, footwear!

To make the (boot) story short, the Nokian Footwear story began in 1898, when a group of Finnish business men decided to establish the company Suomen Gummitehdas Oy (Finnish Rubber Works Ltd) in Helsinki. After operating for a few years, the factory began to produce high quality rubber galoshes, which competed successfully against Russian imports.

As production grew, the factory was moved from Helsinki to Nokia. Soon the rubber company began to highlight the name Nokia, communicating Finnishness, in its marketing. Demand for the company’s products grew strongly and the rubber boot became a utility item for the whole nation! And this has been lasting until today!

If you’re a reaaal dyed in the whool Nokia fan, then you won’t resist the temptation of buying your very own pair of Nokia(n) boots and carry your beloved brand wherever you go!

“Nokia, shoe fitting people”

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Source: Nokian boot wear and Wikipedia

My Paper Heroes is a blog which offers for download (and for free…) a variety of very detailed DIY paper heroes models already printed on plain A4 paper. All you need is a color printer, a pair of scissors, a little bit of glue and some patience to create your very own collection of paper heroes/pop culture figures.

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So far, more than 30 models are available! Well enough to keep kids (or yourself) busy during Easter holidays…

This is a sample of how a model looks like once printed in A4 format (the IronMan model fits on seven A4 paper pages)

And if you feel like “scissoring” a rabbit instead, you might have some fun with Cutnejo!

Some time ago I wrote about this issue many of us unfortunately already faced once or regularly face when traveling by plane: the scarce number of electric plugs in airports.

As you might imagine, most airports were built long before we were all carrying around all kinds of electronic devices, and as such, finding a place to charge them up can turn today into a real challenge. I expect many of us have snooped around for the outlets the airport cleaners use or that operate vending machines (that’s bad!) so we can plug in and charge up our laptop or cellphone during a stopover. Some of us may eventually have ended-up charging their device in the bathroom. But that’s another story I guess…

So, unless airports management decide to undertake a costly reorganization of their infrastructure or implement a wireless power solution – which won’t be made available tomorrow to the many – , the problem may last some time.

The question is, “shall we cry on our cruel fate and accept that?”. I think we shall not!

Designer Ryan Klinger has identified this big flaw and has created the Empower Kinetic Rocking Chair which harnesses your body movements to provide power for your devices. A small box under the seat stores the generated power in a battery, which can then transfer into your devices using either a regular plug or USB. LED indicators on the box tell you how much of a charge the battery is holding.
So simple you wonder why nobody came up with this idea earlier.

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The Empower Kinetic Rocking Chair is a finalist in this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition. Let’s hope it will win and start blooming everywhere we need to plug.

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Greener Gadgets Design Competition, via Inhabitat.com

Hartmut Esslinger, one early superstar of high-tech design, was responsible for the design of Apple devices in the 80s. He then developed together with Steve Jobs a prototype of a touchscreen phone whose main function was to make possible sending digital bank checks though a phone wire. This quite revolutionnary gizmo – remember that we’re then in 1983 – was part of the Snow White design language applied to the IIc and the original Mac.

Was Apple already trying to raise the buzz?

The pleasure and part of the fantasy of Up in the Air [...], is that it wafts us through a very different aerospace. This is a realm where all the officials treat “guests” with pearly-teethed gratitude, where queues are non-existent, and the seats recline just so. Up, up and away: to a retro-tinged zone free from the gravity and tedium that earth-bound drones have to endure.” – The Telegraph

If just like me you consider yourself a “World citizen”, not because you disapprove traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship (wikipedia) but because you’re actually travelling it, then you should go and watch this movie: Up in the Air.

I could of course make a thorough review of this movie, as they’re are many ways to do it – I guess everyone of us who has watched this movie has found something in it that reminds him or her of something individually experimented in their real life, should it be the rituals of their corporate life, this feeling of being at home while flying at 30,000 feet, the complexity of human relationships, or their quest for the most optimized trip through an airport. As for myself, I watched with delight the scene of the airport security control.

But that was not really the purpose of my post, and I’d rather leave this task to people who do that for their living (and do it good) and who’ll probably better explain why you should consider taking the time this evening or this week-end to go to your nearest theater to discover what’s in this mind-blowing movie.

And if today you’re too lazy to read, then just watch the trailer of Up in the Air. Within two minutes you’ll have a better idea of what I meant.

… until today! Thanks to this Clean Cup holder by Dmitry Boyko, you’ll always be able to do some multi-tasking even during your coffee break!

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According to Long Tran of Yanko Design, the “Clean Cup holder slides onto most disposable cups instantly turning them into a proper mug. You can even write on the neck so people know what you’re drinking and who it belongs to.”

A cool design that somehow reminds me of Joe Colombo’s ‘smoke glass’ (1964). Only a strange coincidence, I guess.

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Every designers’ dirty little secret is that they copy other designers’ work. They see work they like, and they imitate it. Rather cheekily, they call this inspiration.

— Aaron Russell

Design “Made in Switzerland”
We are all familiar with the swiss army knife which had its time of glory at the end of the 80s thanks to Holywood actor Richard Dean Anderson (aka “Mister I-can-fix-a-car-engine-with-a-tooth-pick-a-pant’s-zipper-and-my-swiss-army-knife”). By no other mean the guy who came-up with such a crazy (but revolutionnary) idea of putting a toolbox in a knife (and that was in 1897!) could be anything else but Swiss. When I ask (non-swiss) people around me to define Switzerland in a word, “chocolate”, “clock”, “William Tell”, “snow covered mountains”, “secret bank accounts”, “Heidi” and “Swiss Army Knife” come always first. I hope that after reading this post, those same people will from now on add “beautiful and intelligent design” to their list.

The Story
My passion for Swiss design (I’m not talking here about “cucu clocks” or “glass snow-balls”) started at the age of 10 when my grand-father offered me my very first Swiss Army Knife during a holyday in Zinal, Switzerland. Since then, I’ve been a fan of those wonderful objects bearing the Swiss cross logo. And since today I can still not consciously accept to spend 700€ in a Strellson jacket, I started to look for some alternatives for cool, practical and design accessories made in “Helvetia”.

The Problem
The issue I have with netbooks is that they’re so small, that computer case manufacturers don’t bother designing really cool cases for them. They think that a netbook per se is meant to be carried in any existing type of case as most of them weigh around a kilo. Fair enough. I used to carry mine in a backpack. Most women I know carry theirs in hand-bag. But for me, that was not enough. Until today.

The Solution
In my quest for the “Ultimate Computer Case”, my latest acquisition was an amazing Swiss Army hand bag of the 1960s I found a couple of weeks ago at the Euroantik Show in Innsbruck, Austria. Cost: 15€ after a little negociation with the vendor. But 15€ is a great bargain considering the quality of the manufacturing of this Swiss Army garment which mixes fine leather, thick denim and stainless steel blades to protect the top, sides and bottom of the bag. And the best of all is that most netbooks with their charging cables, USB cable, earphones and mouse can fit in this 17x30x10cm case! This is what I’d call “space optimization”. And when you’re tired of using it for your laptop, you can always turn it into “The Ultimate Six-Pack Case” or something in that style. Your imagination is the limit, after all.

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Conclusion
I guess that making the same kind of case today, with the same level of manufacturing quality and design originality would bring its retail price to 80€ to 100€. Why would you like to spend this amount of money when you can get it at the flea market or on ebay for less than 15€?

A lasting design of the 1960s for today’s modern technologies.

Practical. Beautiful. Swissmade.

***

I can say with certainty that this is the best roller bag ever made. Why this particular bit of genius hasn’t caught on, I can’t imagine. Possibly because, like those who ride the accursed Segway, riders of this contraption would give off a certain “punch me” vibe. And yet, one can’t entirely suppress the feeling of wanting to switch places with them, if only for a moment. Shameful, but understandable.

The Trolley Scooter from Samsonite und Micro Mobility is the perfect tool for bloggers like myself who cumulates hundred of miles (and that’s no lie…) wandering and running in Airports and at trade shows all year long with packs full of gear.
To be perfectly honest, I’d rather scoot than spend the day sweating my shirt running between airport gates. All the more so as I’ll probably look like the coolest traveller Airport security guys will have ever seen!

No price is given and I can’t find it on Micro Mobility’s site, but I would ballpark its cost at around 100€ — $120 or thereabouts.