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Continue reading Waste Landscape installation reminds us why CDs weren’t that great (video)

Waste Landscape installation reminds us why CDs weren’t that great (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 20:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For better or worse, Instagram’s taken the iOS-capturing world by storm. And if you’re wondering what our qualification for “by storm” is, well… let’s just say The Biebs blasted out his first image on the service last month. As the story goes, four young lads with a fistful of dollars and boundless imaginations started up the famed app on October 6th, 2010. Today, there’s still only four employees, but the user base has expanded just a wee bit. The outfit just saw its 150 millionth photo uploaded (shown after the break!), with the current rate clocking in at around 15 images per second. Naturally, we took the opportunity to ask one of those four what this meant for a future Android release, and while he confirmed that he had nothing to announce right away, he did mention that the (still free) iOS build is just “the beginning of what’s to come.” So, how’s about dropping a link to your favorite Instagram down in comments below? Best one wins!

Continue reading Instagram hits 150 million uploads in nine months, still won’t talk about Android plans

Instagram hits 150 million uploads in nine months, still won’t talk about Android plans originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fluffy clouds! Wispy clouds! Sunset clouds! Xtreme clouds! The 143 photographers who entered this week’s Shooting Challenge have all your basic and custom cloud needs covered. More »

Some of the best scientific discoveries have been encountered by mistake, and photography is really no different. Here are 71 photo screw-ups that should, for all intents and purposes, be wretched to look at. But they’re not. They’re downright beautiful. More »

Japan has a remarkable way of taking everyday products from pet food to coffee, applying an extra layer of thought and attention to detail, and creating extraordinary experiences in product design. We recently stumbled upon a beautiful line of fireworks that are so colorful and well-made that, frankly, it’s a damn shame to light them on fire.

The Japanese approach to fireworks (or hanabi) in general is rather different from what I grew up with. For me, fireworks (purchased in Indiana for maximum TNT), were always about power expressed in screeches and booms. Modern Japanese consumer fireworks, likely due to regulations, are primarily sparklers and fountains, making the focus on beauty over explosions. Unlike most of the U.S., small fireworks are available just about anywhere in Japan. Now, thanks to a new collaboration, they’re now for sale in design-oriented shops as well.

Produced by Tokyo’s classic fireworks maker Yamagata, these sparklers and assorted small fireworks are top quality and certainly invoke nostalgia, but it’s the additional coloring and concept by design firm Method that makes them truly unique.

The logo, packaging, POP, and art direction was done by EDING:POST, the firm behind the aforementioned Omotesando Koffee.

Of course, fireworks with this amount of work put into them don’t come cheap. Sparklers range from around $7 for five large ones, and the traditional Japanese senko hanabi (shown in the last image) are over $30 for a full, beautifully made package.

Each stick is perfectly colored in pastel combinations, and brought together in a simple, minimalist paper package. None of the loud design and plastic that accompanies fireworks from convenience stores. These are fireworks, according to the shop staff, that are “for adults”. Let the kids stay inside with their fireworks projector.

We found these at the Roppongi Hills Art & Design Store, which graciously tolerated our photography, a rare luxury in these types of shops most of the time.

The products and their homepage is brand new and not quite finished, but you can find them online at enjoyfireworks.com.

It’s this attention to detail for everyday items, not manga or other “cool Japan” icons, that separates Japan in a globalized world. Applied across all industries, design that creates experiences for people, even in small ways, is where we should all be striving. Even if we blow it up in the end.