Contemporary furniture design from Italy, Sweden, USA, Brazil and all over the world has fascinated our minds and enriched our lives. Although contemporary is defined by the existing or the occurring at this very moment, many of the designs that are labeled contemporary often describe the style but not the actual conditions in which we live in. What truly is contemporary is the fact that most of what we design ends up in the landfill.

As the name describes, Godspeed is essentially that, furniture in a one-hour time frame. They have created a unique process where they hurdle the sketching phase and go straight into building the furniture pieces by themselves, similar to a performance art piece where it occurs right there and then. This unconventional process and the raw nature of their materials offers a distinctive and individualized perspective to their work, therefore elevating its perceived and cultural value to its consumers. Their pieces range from takes on baroque, contemporary and plain experimental.

Los Angeles-based artist, Ramon Coronado, is in the midst of a twelve-week project that deals with “reclaiming an ordinary, everyday object and transforming it into something with a completely different purpose.” His first effort, titled Mercado Negro (Black Market), takes the ubiquitous shopping cart and turns it into usable pieces of furniture and playground equiptment.

Recently, urban population is greater than rural, and that is first time in earth history. The fact might be a reason that we feel Nostalgia at the nature. Have you ever experienced to dream that you are going to the beach? Breeze, the sound of waves and the sandy beach, these make our feeling so good. Rocking on the Beach helps you imagine the one of these experiences in your home. The plastic and pipe shape is designed for the best seashore sound, which is researched around the Netherlands seaside. The shape of chair with full of pipes gives a strong impression as an electronic circuit or urban city landscape.

In a wonderful fusion of ancient Asian art forms and modern sensibilities, two massive origami lanterns in the form of tigers, will help Sydney citizens and visitors celebrate the Lunar or Chinese New Year. February 14 will mark the start of the Year of the Tiger, but the two crouching giants will remain at Customs House from February 11 to March 14, 2010.

“L’Oreal group is the global leader in cosmetics and has over a century of experience in the business. With 58 offices throughout the world, L’Oreal distributes its 18 brands in 130 countries. Helena Rubinstein, one of the key brands of the group, wished to have a special package design made for the launch of its new “Gold Future” eye reviver cream. Freedom Of Creation designed and produced 66 pieces of this unique packaging out of flexible nylon, with a gold finishing layer.”

Using your obsessions in order to make something unique out of it is something that unites passion with creativity in an ideal way. That’s the idea behind the work of Ryan McElhinney, an Irish designer that can’t stand still and uses his curiosity, his experience as an animator and his passion for toys and pop culture in his creations. All of them are limited editions and crafted with love, often used in his interior design commissions. This time he imagined a neo baroque 2.2 meters tall Westminster Chiming Grandfather Clock full of toys, which gives the impression of a crazy pop pile coming from out of space! It seems that there is a life after toys are retired, and Hulk or Toy Story characters look more than willing to take this second chance .The clock was a commission for a home on The Palms in Dubai and has a working Westminster Chime mechanism that chimes every 15 minutes. The internal structure is an original grandfather clock. The toys have been bonded together and then coated in a high gloss polyurethane white paint. We are sure that many of you will think: “this is very Yatzer indeed!” And, of course, we couldn’t agree more.

A recent example of a sophisticated and creative private kindergarten comes from Israel. The cool, Bauhaus-inspired building is located in Tel Aviv metropolitan district’s upscale, mainly residential neighborhood of Ramat Hasharon that is also known for the Israeli Tennis Center and the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music.

Tel Aviv-based Lev-Gargir Architects designed this space with Bauhaus principles in mind in both floor plans and elevations. The usual requirements — safety, flexibility, good light — are all well met, but what we like is the sense of light and airy freedom.

To many, waste is the undesired byproduct of a process. Elisa Strozyk's Wooden Textiles are a manifestation of how waste can be the source of a new process of creativity and innovation. While attending the Central Saint Martins London to obtain her MA in Textile Design, German based designer Elisa Strozyk started experimenting with off-cuts of wood veneer from a workshop that was closing. Most often we use textiles to skin surfaces. As designers we initially select textiles based on the following: performance for its foreseen application, aesthetic value to the market it serves and environmental impact to its fabrication and utilization. Strozyk’s work considers these while adding a new dimension and surprise.

Weighing in at a massive 110 pounds and standing 5 feet 9 inches tall, this life sized Mario model is completely structured, modeled and built using over 40,000 LEGO bricks. The pictures do all the talking here.

Formafantasma have it clear that they like the idea to play with the symmetry between kitchen and workshop. Materials become ingredients, the kiln becomes an oven, plaster moulds substitute cake moulds and so on. The vessels are refined with elastic belts that allow the user to arrange bakery products as a new form of décor. One way or another, Formafantasma consider Baked as a work in progress.

It seems that quite a few things will benefit from a Scandinavian touch. Munchausen, a duo formed by Parisian designers Simon Pillard and Philippe Rosetti, took a bold approach with their own kitchen by venturing to IKEA for the basic kitchen island and then spending the next week covering it with more than 20,000 pieces by another Scandinavian brand, Lego

Packaging design for a candy shop in Barcelona called Happy Pills. Rather than using bags, customers use jars and pill cases to store their candy purchases.

The ultimate city of fashion, art, architecture and design welcomes Boscolo Exedra Milano. Located in a building which dates back to the 1920’s in premises which were formerly occupied by a bank and after one year of hard work and 150 million Euro on renovations the brand new Boscolo Exedra Hotel // Milano runs over a surface area of 15,000 square meters. All of the Boscolo Hotels respect for architecture as each one has been established following renovation work on historical buildings, a distinctive trait, that has made it a true mission for the company to restore the heritage of architecture and buildings.

The charm of the Peach State meets the modern and contemporary living which a guest has dreamed of as Canadian design firm burdifilek creates an urban oasis within Atlanta’s newest W Hotel.

Situated in Atlanta’s exciting downtown, the W is a lush hideaway infused with natural elements and sensual style, where revitalization and rejuvenation beckon amid major corporations, specialty shopping, upscale living and everything cool about Hotlanta. In June 2009 Canadian interior design company ?urdifilek (Diego Burdi & Paul Filek) set new standards in luxury hospitality with the design of this boutique hotel. W Hotels aim at providing the ultimate in insider access to a world of WOW with an inspiring, iconic, innovative and influential environment. Burdifilek worked around the needs and the aims of W Hotels to only create this exquisite design that the world has come to associate with the brand. It reinterpreted W Hotel Downtown with a verdant sanctuary that mimics the lushness of Georgia, while maintaining the brand’s celebrated cosmopolitan edge.

Self-described as a former frustrated David Carson wannabe, Melbourne-based Amy Moss has realized that her happiness – and her potential for design rockstardom – are dependent on her NOT being a graphic designer but her obsession about beautiful colors and beautiful things in general. She figured out she’s a stylist rather than a graphic designer, and her blog EatDrinkChic may well be her ticket to filmstardom, too, in the same way that Julie Powell’s obsession with Julia Child’s recipes, and her blog about them, took her in six years from relative obscurity to being a topic for the film Julie & Julia.

Australian designer Josh Goot showed a divine, blindingly bright SS2010 collection at London Fashion Week earlier this week, presented in an open air car park - a suitably urban location given the collection's powerfully modern feel.

The collection, made up mostly of elongated t-shirt dresses, mini dresses and tanks, was all about bold graphic prints. The pieces themselves, which also included a handful of pants and jackets, were kind of secondary, acting more like personal, mobile canvases for the beautifully sharp, urban graphic prints that adorned them.

London-based design studio PostlerFerguson has been creating super realistic and accurate looking paper guns and other arms. Three of them will be released by German design publisher Gestalten. So now you can make your own!

Indulge a bit of old-skool photography with this clever, partly inflatable, architect-designed photo booth. Actually, the old-skool bit isn't entirely true - this photo booth is fully digital and portable, so it's probably more accurate to describe it as high-tech. Created by two Melbourne based photographers, who believe it to be the world's first portable design, the photo booth is perfect for events where partygoers are prone to a spot of exhibitionism after a drink or two.

1948 is Nike’s creative playground-retail store in the old brick railway arches of Shoreditch, London. In addition to displaying and selling shoes, 1948 offers an entire art floor for events, installations and assorted fun.
 
The installation created by Finland-born illustrator/artist/designer Kustaa Saksi is all about the historical fun journey of the Nike running shoe. Typical for the currently Amsterdam-based Saksi, the sprawling scene has a pop-art, retro feel that fits Nike’s history as a brand. Saksi’s Volkswagen van and psychedelic colors illustrate the pre-swoosh era in an earnest and deliberately clunky way.
 
Saksi’s last name translates as “scissor,” or it could also be “Saxon,” depending on your preference. He is proficient in many media, including print, sculpture and now also more frequently 3D. Saksi has also designed massive building wraps, and even clothing and wallpaper. His book, Offpiste (2008), is a visual feast of his recent work. In addition to Nike, Saksi’s client list includes Comme des Garçons, Citroen, Diesel, Issey Miyake, Lacoste, Levi's, New York Times, Mercedes Benz, MTV, Playboy and Wallpaper.

Daring bright colors and contemporary designs are the key essentials of Angharad McLaren’s woven textiles.  Inspired by a dynamic mix of human and natural influences McLaren’s latest Shibori Pleat collection is influenced by water sport activities such as sailing and windsurfing.   

Her passion for the sea and water-sports visually inspired McLaren to create a collection which features Dobby and Jacquard designs which are ideal for indoor and outdoor applications such as blinds, screens, wall panels, floor mats and furnishings.  Her textiles are created using traditional techniques which are updated using the latest computerized hand-weaving and industrial technology. Materials range from organic natural fibers to neoprene to performance textiles such as recycled ropes which are appropriate for climbing.  While recycling and being super eco-friendly McLaren has an ethical production method of repurposing existing materials into new woven patterns.

Mead's jewelry stands out in stark contrast to the expected use of precious stones, gems and metals. Where most people see finite use for a common object, Mead sees vast potential. Examples of pendants include a gleaming drill bit, a single matchstick or even a brassy dental retainer, each cast or plated in silver or gold and strung on a fine chain. Mead even used a wad of worn-out bubble gum to model a bright pink gob pendant complete with teeth marks.

Sweet and Delicious....objects to die for. Dipped in pleasure, great flavor and vibrant colors are just some of the characteristics of the Sweet collection by the Arnhem (NL) based design studio Spell. Spell aspires to create a new dimension of lifestyle products, constantly looking for new ways to engage the public with inspiring designs. To achieve this, Spell cooperates with various passionate and talented designers.

The Napoleon pillow by Dutch designer Eva Nip looks like a tasty caramel -definitely sugar free - whilst the sweet stool designed by Dutch designers Sander van der Haar & Jaromir Maas reminds us of an ice cream in a large variety of tasteful colors to choose from. These great designers are also the creators of the hocker and the sofa, which form part of the Sweet Collection; both with a solid wooden frame offer you a comfortable and delicious seating ready to fit in any space.

If you are a sweet addict go for the Sweet collection with no worries. It comes in unique flavours, the packaging is beautiful and surely you can't beat the rich taste. Definitely for sweet design addicts.

Tobias Rehberger won the best artist Golden Lion this summer at the 53rd International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. This year’s Exhibition is titled Making Worlds (Fare Mondi).Rehberger won the prize for the cafeteria of the Palazzo delle Exposizioni della Biennale, formerly known as the Italian Pavilion. The cafeteria is open to the public at least till the end of the Biennale Art Exhibition (November 22).

Contemporary designer Dzmitry Samal creates designs which combine a retro style along with a futuristic touch; what he calls the “New Retro-Futurism” as it bears elements from both. Firmly believing that the future for design is a combination of past experience and heritage which is carefully combined with today’s advanced technology. Samal is a visionary who is a “keeper of traditional creative approaches but with the very contemporary way of thinking and usage of technology.”

Samal’s Parisian based design studio designed and introduces the Alien Lamp and the Human Table which is to go in production by September 2009. Alien Lamp is a floor lamp realized in natural or painted poplar plywood. The floor lamp has a simple continuous shape and a characteristic profile. Its sleek and elegant design will surely capture everyone’s eye for its nice design and not its alienated appearance. Poplar plywood was used for the construction of the Alien Floor Lamp; it is a type of engineered wood made from thin sheets of wood, called plies or wood veneers. It is a strong and lightweight material which was used due to the need to construct a high-quality lamp, with high-strength sheet material. Quality in this context means resistance to cracking, breaking, shrinkage, twisting and warping. This is why this unique design floor lamp has this unique shape! On the other hand, the Human table is inspired by the human beauty and sensuality. It features two human forms which appear to be four male legs which support the table top. The table is realized in soft plastic with metal structure inside for support. It is suitable for indoor and outdoor use. A very fascinating sculpture like piece!

While your puppy might not have actual opposable thumbs fit for walking hand in hand, who’s to say that the canine doesn’t wish they could have contact when they sniff around for their preferred spot to shit. I know that having my Vietnamese house boy hold my hand helps me evacuate my bowels.

The Hand-Shaped Dog Leash allows you to feel a little less impersonal with your dog, adding a fake hand in place of the usual leash handle. Even if you’re totally alone and your dog thinks you smell, you can feel somewhat loved.

For every geek in you! Hold your business card with style thanks to the latest Banpresto Business card case, the NES Controller type card Case! Separeted in two compartment, one is dedicated to hold your own business card, and the other is design to keep the business card you got during business meeting.

D&AD ASDA Lunchboxes
Considering structure, graphics and materials I created a set of three lunchboxes for ASDA, the brief asked for them to be seperate solutions, however still maintain a strong visual idenity throughtout the collection. The lunchboxes cover three distinctive ranges, healthy, satisying and childrens.

Here at the industry arm of TCH Platinum, we collaborate with some of the world's best companies to help them stand out from their competitors. We specialize in developing ideas to help brands move into the new, niche Cool Age niche. We also develop ideas to take TCH into the offline space, starting with TreeLife and now our Pop-Up skate park. This innovative concept sees art, design and extreme sports collide creatively in an awe-inspiring, customized skate park entirely unique in the skating world. Using pop-culture icons and the latest trends, the Pop-Up Skate Park by TCH creates ultra-cool skating environments, designed to garner the ultimate media exposure through their incredible appeal and popularity. Currently, we are creating two Pop-Up Skate Park themes – Transformers and Space Invaders — both ideal promotional media for high-energy brands that want to attract serious attention. For Transformers Skate Park, we commissioned Christiann Klaassen and his amazing team from Rockhunter in London to visualize the recreational and promotional space where design, technology and skate culture meet with a cool Skate Park.

M’Afrique by Moroso
There is an image, an idea of Africa that lives deep in human imagination. Its form often transcends the power of the word and its profile lies under layers of conscious retrieval. It is alive within each one of us on a primordial level, inexplicable yet undeniable.
-Maya Angelou

 The reasons behind a project centred around Africa are explained to us by Patrizia Moroso, who devised the event and asked Stephen Burks to design the installation in Moroso’s Milan showroom in Via Pontaccio:

“multifaceted, modern Africa deserves to be known and sustained for the originality of the creative languages with which it enriches global culture. The African continent is extraordinarily rich in creativity, materials and ideas that are sources of inspiration and nourishment for us. When applied to design, they engender products which exude tradition and modernity, innovation and history, form and beauty. I think there is so much of Africa and in this event my intent was to showcase the creativity of a few of the great artists and personalities of contemporary African culture. Going beyond the stereotypes that present Africa as a tragic or, at best, exotic experience, we want to highlight some aspects of contemporary African culture, which is in effect comparable to global culture. Looking at Africa through the eyes of contemporary art, photography, architecture and design is perhaps the most appropriate way of approaching this vast, powerful continent, so creatively rich and diverse that today it is still one of western modernity’s greatest sources of inspiration”.
-Patrizia Moroso

The BauBike is inspired by Bauhaus design. It is constructed around the geometric shape of the square and the equilateral triangle. The design is stripped down to clean lines and raw material. The open-end piece above the back wheel, offers the possibility to customize the function of the bike to whatever need you may have. The different accessories can be placed in the tube and can easily be changed if needed. The design follows a set of formal rules, limiting the geometry to straight lines in a pattern of 60 and 90 degree angles in proportions following the principle of the golden section. By limiting the form with a fixed set of design rules and stepping away from the traditional function-oriented approach to the design process, this project transcends the border between design and art, raising fundamental questions about the nature of the bike as design and as a lifestyle accessory and introducing a much needed playfulness on the bicycle scene.