A palm-sized modular toy created by Kelly Harrigan, a fourth-year industrial design student in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech, has been awarded a design patent.
The toy, named Ferra, won first place last year from Swiss Toymaker Naef Speilzeug.
Naef asked for game or design objects appropriate for ages 3 to 99, made primarily of wood. There were 107 entries in the company's inaugural toy competition.
Harrigan layered the wooden shapes of her toy with magnets "because people are fascinated by them at any age," she said.
"I wanted to design a toy that makes you want to experiment and learn about the capabilities of magnetism." The name, Ferra, came from the type of magnet she used -- a ceramic magnet called ferrite. "The curvy modular design allows for smooth movement between pieces and the opportunity to create several configurations," added Harrigan. "And it feels good in your palm."
Young Polish designer Maciek Wojcicki designed an interesting, cutting edge stride toy. Designed as a children vehicle which moves forward driven by the child's hips and body movements, it can be also used as light movement malfunction rehabilitation tool for 5-6 years old as well as for adults in a larger scale.
The brief was to design an attractive toy which, helps to stimulate motor development and improves movement coordination of the child through ideal postural alignment, postural muscle strengthening and active rehabilitation by playing and having fun. Designed movement types based on postural muscle strengthening movements are proven to contribute to positive physical and emotional health balance of the child. Functioning of it is strictly connected with the child's emotional and physical development. Movement characteristics have been described in Maciek's paper entitled "Types of movement driving children vehicles - deliberations". Designed in co-operation with academic physiologists in Gdansk (Poland).
The toy has been shortlisted for President of the Republic of Poland Design Award and also for Selected Works programme finals of INNOVATION RCA in London this year.
Maciek is a recent Royal College of Art, Design Products, MA course graduate.
The world in which children grow up today is far different compared to decades of the past. Nevertheless, the vast number of products on the market has not kept up with this shift. 'Play All Day' introduces a new and unconventional approach to design for children and presents stimulating and engaging design products and concepts for smart children and smart parents.
It presents examples of innovative and well-designed toys, playgrounds, play environments, room decorations, wall coverings, furniture and kindergarten architecture. In addition to these products, it also presents illustration and photography as well as out-of-the-box ideas and solutions for parents to play with their kids that encourage imagination, hands-on interaction and more active play that talented designers and creative parents are designing for and with their kids.
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation together with Lego and Brickstructures have released Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture Building sets in lego.
The line currently consists of six buildings – now including two of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous and recognizable buildings, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and “Fallingwater.”
When we received the info about this product our first reaction was "how silly and useless this is!". But after having visited their site, we thought that this is not the worst sculpture we have seen and at least this one made us smile. Laikingland is a creative collaboration based in both the UK and The Netherlands. They design and manufacture well crafted kinetic objects that engage, and evoke a sense of play and nostalgia. Their first product, the Applause Machine, is designed by British artist Martin Smith. Just press the button and the Applause Machine enthusiastically claps its hands for you.
If you are interested in kinetic sculpture you will probably enjoy the visit of Martin Smith's website where one can see more of his works.
Charles Harrison, an industrial designer at Sears, Roebuck & Company for more than three decades, improved the quality of life of millions of Americans through the extraordinary breadth and innovation of his product designs. One of the first African Americans to enter the design field, Harrison began working for Sears in 1961 and eventually became the company’s Chief Designer. During his distinguished career, Harrison maintained an unwavering commitment to the needs of the average consumer, creating an astonishing 750 products—from radios and sewing machines to hair dryers—for nearly every area of the home. Among his most iconic designs are the first-of-its-kind plastic garbage can, a lighter, more durable alternative to its metal counterpart; and a redesign of the now classic View-Master. Harrison currently teaches design at Columbia College in Chicago.
View-Master - 1958
Manufacturer: Sawyer Manufacturing, Portland, OR
Design Firm: Robert Podall Associates, Chicago, IL.
(photo: Joeffrey Trimmingham)
Garbage Can - 1963
Manufacturer: GaTX, Michigan City, IN.
Designed for Sears Roebuck & Company, Chicago, IL.
(photo: Charles Harrison)
Compact Sewing Machine and Carrying Case - 1978
Charles Harrison (USA), Ted Nishigami (Japan) and Kenneth Grange (UK)
Manufactured for Sears Roebuck & Company in Japan by Maruzen Sewing Machine Company
Hard Bonnet Tabletop Hair Dryer (before and after) - 1977
Sears Roebuck & Company
(photo: Charles Harrison)
His book "A Life’s Design: The Life and Work of Industrial Designer Charles Harrison" tells the hidden story behind some of America’s most iconic housewares.
A football table designed by GRO design and developed by TIM model makers.
'11' is a collaboration of 2 companies - GRO design and Tim modelmakers – each contributing their specialist skills to this showcase project. With their shared values of creativity, quality and experience, the two companies have worked together for over fifteen years on projects ranging from consumer electronics and domestic appliances to lighting and furniture.
Table football is great fun to play – it’s social, active and physical, and it offers a welcome alternative to the solitary activity of computer gaming. As an object, however, it has become less desirable as its often cost-driven appearance no longer fits in with the designed landscape of modern interiors – be it a café, bar or airport lounge.
When thinking about a project for the Milan Design Fair, GRO looked for an object that they believed they could enhance through design, and that had lacked serious design attention in recent years.
After considering a number of starting points, they felt that the football table would have the right elements involved to show their commitment to the highest level of quality in design and model making. Discussing “11” together, they knew it would be a challenge to take on.
"Many new football stadiums built in recent years have a strong architectural and sculptural beauty, becoming city landmarks in their own right and enhancing the visual landscape of the local environment.
We wanted the design of our football table to be equally spectacular and memorable, enriching the interior space where it will be placed.
Blabla's collection is designed by florence Wetterwald and knitted by Peruvian artisans. Everything is made from natural fibers of exceptional quality grown in Peru, making the line irresistibly soft and cudley.
Florence's poetic, simple, and vibrant style combined with the ancestral knowledge of the knitters has created products which look contemporary, yet feel like old friends.
Blabla started in 2001, when Susan Pritchett and Florence Wettewald, two long time friends, went to Peru. By chance, they discovered entire villages of expert knitters who had been keeping the tradition alive for generations.
Inspired by their talent and gentleness, they decided to create their own line of knitted products for children. Blabla takes pride in its fair trade ethics and genuine commitments.
This March, to complement V&A's China Design Now exhibition, Liberty will exhibit The Real Toy Story, an extraordinary art installation by Michael Wolf that uses 20,000 plastic toys.
Through his photographs Hong Kong based photographer Michael Wolf chronicles the many different faces of China, contrasting the global face of Chinese society with the individuality and humanity of its people.
Over 75% of the world's toys are made in China and The Real Toy Story consists of thousands of plastic toys collected by Wolf, and shown alongside his sensitively observed portraits of the factory workers who have made them. Wolf thought up the idea for the installation in 2003 during a visit to the United States. As a surprise for his son, he bought a sack of second hand toys at the local charity store and distributed them on every available surface in his room. As he examined the toys closer he realised that every one was made in China. It was then the idea came to him to cover an entire wall with toys "made in China" next to portraits of the Chinese toyfactory workers.
In spring 2004, he returned to the United States, rented a van and travelled throughout California, visiting all the second hand shops along the way and hitting the flea markets at the weekends. Each toy had to have a face, and have been "made in China". After 30 days, 2000 miles, and hundreds of shops and flea markets later, Michael Wolf had collected approximately 20,000 toys which were packed and shipped to his studio in Hong Kong. There, he proceeded to sand down the back of each toy creating a flat, rough surface onto which he could secure strong magnets.
The idea was to cover a gallery or museum wall with thin metal sheets and attach the magnetised toys - the magnets allowed Wolf to move the toys around the walls and gave him flexibility in the way he manipulated the installation. Wolf then visited five toy factories in China where he photographed the workers producing the toys. These portraits are embedded in the installation, and add another level of meaning to the project, both as a homage to the individuals who create the majority of the world's plastic toys and as a comment on what this says about China's burgeoning economy and societal changes.
Alongside the installation is a collection of his photos -
Architecture of Density - an exhibition of large scale photographs
depicting high rise tower blocks in Hong Kong.
Y Water™ Inc., a Los Angeles-based company, announces the launch of Y Water: a low-calorie, low-sugar, vitamin-infused, flavored beverage packaged in a Y-shaped bottle designed by Yves Béhar.
The organic drink, available in four flavors, is infused with vitamins and minerals chosen to provide a healthful alternative to sugary, non-nutritious choices. It contains no preservatives, artificial coloring, or artificial sweeteners.
After consuming the beverage, children can use Béhar’s modular playful bottle as a toy, turning a normally disposable product into a vehicle for creative play.
For Yves Béhar, the cheerful, three-dimensional Y shape inspired the product name Y Water, and also riffs off the two questions kids most commonly ask: “Why?” and “Why not?” Once empty, the bottle becomes a toy. It can be linked with other bottles through biodegradable rubber “Y Knots”, connectors that help to create spaceships, animals, robots, or whatever else a creative child can imagine.
“We look to this repurposing of the Y Water bottle to not only encourage children to be creative, but to encourage children to think about reuse rather than simply discarding these into the trash,” says Béhar. “We want to create a new paradigm for children’s products that encourages unique new behaviors and a productive afterlife for the product.”
Yves Béhar is the founder of the San Francisco design studio fuseproject. Béhar’s focus is on humanistic design, tapping into the “giving” element of the creative profession, with the goal of creating projects deeply in-tune with the needs of a sustainable future, connected with human emotions and self-expression. Most recently, he and his firm designed the world’s first $100 laptop, the XO, for the organization One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), which is aimed at bringing education and technology to the world’s poorest children.
The 50th birthday of the LEGO brick is in January 2008. Children all over the world have played with LEGO bricks for the past 50 years, and LEGO is still right at the top of many wish lists – just as it always has been.
The LEGO history began in 1932 in Denmark, when Ole Kirk Christansen founded a small factory for wooden toys in the unknown town of Billund in the south of the country. The Company has passed from father to son and is now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder.
It has come a long way over the past 70 years - from a small carpenter’s workshop to a modern, global enterprise that is now, in terms of sales, the world’s sixth-largest manufacturer of toys.
The name 'LEGO' is an abbreviation of the two Danish words "leg godt", meaning "play well".
Barely 15 years later Christiansen discovered plastic as the ideal material for toy production, and bought the first injection moulding machine in Denmark. His courage, input and investment paid off: in 1949 he developed the LEGO brick prototype, which continues to excite countless children and adults to this very day. Over the years he perfected the brick, which is still the basis of the entire LEGO game and building system today. Of course there have been small adjustments in shape, colour and design from time to time, but today’s LEGO bricks still fit bricks from 1958.
Production of LEGO bricks with Acrylonitrile Butadine Styrene (ABS) began in 1963. This matt finish plastic is extremely hard, has a scratch and bite-resistant surface, and is ideal for keeping the bricks connected. LEGO labs regularly monitor the high quality of the ABS for the bricks.
LEGO bricks are produced in special plants in Denmark, the Czech Republic and Mexico. The ABS compound is not delivered in a liquid form, but rather as granules, which are heated to 232° C until they melt. Injection moulding machines weighing up to 150 tons then press the hot and “gooey” plastic mass into LEGO brick shapes. The shapes dry and harden and, voilà – you have the famous LEGO brick!
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