Design

Section

Design

An Innovative Drill-Bit Shaped Pen Holds Ink Around a Grooved Spiral

Inventive design and age-old craft converge in a simple writing instrument produced by the CNC-machining factory Shion. As its name suggests, Drillog is a drillbit-shaped pen that holds the ink in its thin grooves that spiral up the side of the nib. Whereas traditional quills require repeated dips and the more modern fountain pen suspends the pigmented liquid in an internal reservoir for longer use, a single dunk of the Drillog should retain enough ink to smoothly fill an A4 size paper.

Its interchangeable barrels come in dozens of style-and-color combinations, and the Japanese company even released a miniature palette with tiny wells designed to reduce spillage. There are just under 40 days to back the fully-funded project on Kickstarter, and you can find out more about the aluminum pen on the Drillog site and Twitter. (via Core77)

 

Design Food

A Compostable Lamp Made from 3D-Printed Orange Peels Proposes a Sustainable Use for Food Waste

Part sustainable design and part ode to Sicilian food culture, a new product by a Milan-based startup transforms inedible food waste into a functional homeware. Krill Design’s “Ohmie” is a compostable lamp made from the peels of two to three oranges sourced from the Messina province that are dried, ground into a powder, and added to a biopolymeric vegetable starch base. That combined material is molded into pellets used in a 3D printing process that layers the vibrant matter into a textured shade and base. Because of its organic origins, the minimal, leather-like lamp varies slightly in color as it ages and even maintains its signature citrusy scent.

“Ohmie” isn’t Krill Design’s first product that relies on a circular economy model: previous initiatives involve recycled plastics and coffee scraps that undergo a similar process before they’re molded into office furniture and other consumer goods. The orange lamp already met its goal on Kickstarter, but you’ve got about two weeks left to back the project. You also might enjoy this juice machine that creates bioplastic cups. (via Dezeen)

 

Craft Design

A Cleverly Designed Chameleon Conceals a Six-Foot Measuring Tape in Its Mouth

Chameleons are known for their color-changing abilities, but this coiled lizard from Coppertist.Wu takes that gift for camouflage a step farther. Made from brass and manganese steel, the cleverly designed creature disguises its extraordinarily long tongue as a skinny measuring tape, which scales upward of six feet when fully extended. The playful gadget tends to sell out quickly, although there are a few currently available from Etsy and the Coppertist.Wu site.

 

Amazing Design History Photography

Spectacular Drone Views Of Giza Present the Pyramid in an Unusual Perspective

Ukrainian photographer Alexander Ladanivskyy travels the world in search of spectacular images including idyllic scenes of Icelandic waterfalls, ancient mountain cities in Jordan, and the collision of history and modernity in Nepal. Last April, he teamed up with the Ministry of Tourism in Egypt to shoot one of the most photographed landmarks on Earth: the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Not satisfied with recreating perspectives found on postcards and Instagram feeds, Ladanivskyy instead used a drone to shoot the 4,600-year-old structure squarely from above at different altitudes.

The series offers an uncanny view of Giza and manages to flatten the 450-foot building into an abstract collection that appears more like a cobblestone courtyard than a 92-million-cubic-foot stack of boulders. Each photo zeroes in on the pyramid’s tip, or pyramidion, which was once topped by an immense capstone that some speculate may have been gilded with gold. The area is now covered with centuries of graffiti, names etched in stone before the pyramid was more closely guarded. You can explore more of Ladanivskyy’s wide-ranging travel photography on Instagram. (thnx, Anastasia!)

 

Art Design

Translucent Textiles Cast Organisms and Mundane Objects as Dreamy Sculptures and Wearables

From polyester, nylon, and cotton, Japanese artist and designer Mariko Kusumoto fabricates sculptural forms that resemble the creatures and everyday objects she finds most fascinating. She uses a proprietary heat-setting technique to mold the ubiquitous materials into undulating ripples, honeycomb poufs, and even tiny schools of fish that are presented in elegant and fanciful contexts. Whether a pastel coral reef or a fantastical bracelet filled with mushrooms, rosettes, and minuscule bicycles, Kusumoto’s body of work, which includes standalone objects and wearables, uses the ethereal qualities of the translucent fibers to make even the banalest forms appear like they’re part of a dream.

You can find a larger archive of the artist’s pieces, which ranges from textiles to metal and resin, on her site and Instagram.

 

Design

An Enormous 3D Calico Cat Greets Passersby at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station

It’s not uncommon to run into a friendly cat on the streets of Tokyo, but one particular calico is making an outsized impression on passersby. A billboard ad for Cross Shinjuku Vision that was created in partnership with MicroAd and Unica, the hyperrealistic 3D feline lives outside the bustling Shinjuku Station, where it meows, wiggles its ears and tail, and stretches in its perch. As expected of any cat, the calico makes brief appearances throughout the day and is typically active between 7 a.m. and 1 a.m. when it retreats for a short nap. Get a sneak peek at the giant creature above before it officially launches on July 12. (via Laughing Squid)