These days we take design on computers for granted, but 30 years ago we were still surrounded by low-res screens, clunky interfaces and command prompts. Way back then, though, was when Apple stole the lead and became the choice of creatives everywhere.
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Animation artist Caleb Wood recently took to the blank wall of Duluth’s Prøve Gallery to free-hand a series of teensy drawings. The installation looks like bunch of quirky hieroglyphics until you see this awesome clip of them in motion and then—it’s alive!
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Human civilization has littered the natural terrain with sprawling megastructures too big to be entirely seen from the ground. But when seen from above, isolated from their surroundings—as in the work of Jenny O’Dell—these vast tangles of organized chaos will wreak even more havoc on your sense of scale.
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Would you know Reddit or Twitter if you were only looking at their layouts? You might not think so—but you’d be surprised how well you know the structure of your most-used sites. Now, you can take a test to find out.
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You wouldn’t download a sneaker. Oh you would? Check out Recreus hot off the extruder Sneakerbot II. Unlike Kobes, KDs, LeBrons and other signature kicks, Sneakerbot II won’t ever be hoarded by celebrities and eBay sellers. You can get its 3D model and print a pair anytime you want.
Recreus unveiled Sneakerbot II to promote Filaflex, a 3D printer filament that lets you create flexible or elastic objects.
Here’s a time lapse video of a Sneakerbot II being printed:
I don’t think you should wear these as they are; they don’t have insoles or ankle support. But if I had a 3D printer I’d definitely try to make myself a pair of Sneakerbot IIs just for the heck of it. Head to Thingiverse to download the Sneakerbot II’s files. You can order Filaflex from Recreus’ online shop.
[via Ubergizmo]
Ikea is already the gold standard for furniture that moves well, but this year its designers are pushing the art of nomadism even further. Images of Ikea’s new PS collection have arrived, and its name—On the Move—says it all.
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It’s rare to find a designer who also knows their way around an electrical diagram, but Marjan van Aubel is one of them. The energy-minded designer is back with a new piece, Current Table, which uses dye solar cells to absorb energy and charge your devices.
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I’ve pinched and slapped some butts in my time, but I’ve never made them glow like this thing. This ‘Slap It’ lamp will have you pinching it or slapping it to turn it on and off. This is clearly for folks who love interacting with butts.
Pinch on, slap off. That sounds like the old Karate Kid thing gone horribly wrong. I knew that Mister Miyagi could not be trusted.
Designed by artist Joseph Begley, this limited edition piece will set you back £700 (~$1165 USD), and can be had in a variety of colors.
If this lamp makes you happy, start saving your money. Pinch those pennies, so you can pinch ‘dat ass. Can a boob version be far behind?
[via Incredible Things via Geekologie]
High quality microscopes cost thousands of dollars and can be hard to operate and maintain. A group of researchers from Stanford University are close to changing that with a microscope that’s made mostly out of paper and costs less than a dollar to make.
The Foldscope was conceptualized by Jim Cybulski, James Clements and Asst. Prof. Manu Prakash. They were moved to develop the revolutionary microscope because they wanted to speed up the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases in developing countries. In his recent TED presentation, Asst. Prof. Prakash said that right now it can take months for patients in developing countries to get diagnosed and treated partly because microscopes are bulky, hard to maintain and expensive to acquire . So they set out to design a microscope that’s portable, easy to operate and can be mass produced at low costs. It looks like they succeeded.
In their paper, Jim, James and Asst. Prof. Prakash. said that the Foldscope can provide a magnification of up to 2,000X depending on the lens used. All of its components can be packed on a single sheet of card stock, which can also serve as an instruction manual. Foldscope is also resistant to impact and water. It’s so small that you can carry multiple Foldscopes in your pocket. The only part of the microscope that needs electricity is an LED, which can last over 50 hours on a button cell battery. Best of all, it only costs between $0.58 to $0.97 to make. Below is Asst. Prof. Prakash’ TED presentation about the Foldscope:
How amazing is that? A copy of Jim, James and Asst. Prof. Prakash’s paper is available from the Cornell University Library archive. If you want to get your hands on one, head to the Foldscope team’s website and apply to become one of the their 10,000 beta testers.
A couple of years ago Robbie Rane and his friends were making up funny euphemisms for taking a dump. One of his buddies contributed “Toss Boba Fett in the Sarlacc.” The joke got stuck in Robbie’s head like pudding on porcelain, until one day he could bear it no more and decide to take the metaphor literally.
With the help of illustrator Alyssa Scott, Robbie made a set of stickers that will make a toilet bowl look like the Great Pit of Carkoon. Along with Boba Fett – the bounty hunter, not Robbie’s friend’s poop – the set also includes stickers of Han Solo and Chewbacca saving Lando Calrissian.
Robbie sells the Toilet Sarlacc decal set for $25 (USD). I don’t know how much your plumber will charge to install it.
[via Nerdist]
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