Design

Section

Animation Design

Build Your Own 3D Zoetrope With This Desktop Animation Kit

Inspired by the pre-film animation devices of the 1800’s, company 4-Mation has created a DIY kit that allows users to produce their very own tabletop animations. Unlike historic zoetropes, the kit is built for 3D objects. Using synchronized strobes and carousel rotation, the machine animates objects placed on its circular base, giving life to ravenous fish or leaping frogs.

The kit is available in three models. You can choose from a laser cut plywood frame, a machined walnut frame (as seen in the included videos), and an electronics version which comes with instructions for how to cut your own. The company will present their invention at the December’s Rome Maker Fair, and plans to launch a Kickstarter the same month. You can sign up on their website to be notified of the exact release.

Design

LA Architects and Designers Build Imaginative Outdoor Cat Dwellings for Charity

Architects for Animals celebrated its 10th edition last month, inviting local architects and designers to build functional cat dwellings in response to the city’s homeless cat population. The homes were auctioned off to benefit LA-based non-profit FixNation, a charity organization that provides free spay/neuter services to stray, abandoned, and feral cats. Designs ranged from a modern kitty disco to a roller-coaster like structure, each placing a creative twist on feline shelters with a variety of different cat-safe materials.

More designs from previous Architects for Animals can be found on their website. (via Design Milk)

Design

Computer-Generated Jigsaw Puzzles Based on Geological Forms

Massachusetts-based design studio Nervous System writes unique computer programs that aim to imitate processes found in nature. These systems produce housewares and jewelry based on organic forms, creating pieces such as algae-inspired necklaces and 3D printed leaf-shaped lamps.  The company recently designed a geode jigsaw puzzle modeled after slices of agate, a type of rock characterized by its repeated colorful bands.

Every geode puzzle designed by Nervous System is completely different. The studio’s computer simulation ensures that natural variations influence the puzzle’s shape, color, and pattern, essentially “growing” the artificial geode in a similar way to how it would be formed in nature. Puzzles are each cut from birch plywood and sold at 180 or 370 pieces. You can view and purchase dozens of other original agate designs in the studio’s online shop. (via My Modern Met)

Update: Geode Puzzles are now available in The Colossal Shop.

Design

Fluorescent Cacti and Leaf Sculptures by Nobel Truong

LA-based industrial designer Nobel Truong has created an extensive line of acrylic plant objects including translucent cacti, lamps, leaves, and other accessories. From her artist statement:

Inspired by Bauhaus architecture and the Memphis Group, the Truong’s collection aims to cast a postmodern take on everyday household objects while incorporating the structural forms of modern architecture. Every piece is designed, engineered, and produced in California.

You can see much more on Instagram and her online shop. (via Design Milk)

Design

Plant Party: A Greenhouse in Tokyo Bursts Into a Dazzling Light Show When You Touch the Plants Inside

An illuminated greenhouse fills Tokyo Midtown’s garden space, encouraging visitors to touch the variety of vegetables that grow inside. The functional plant shelter was created by design studio PARTY for the city’s 2017 Design Touch event, a month-long festival that focuses on the experiential elements of good design.

Each plant in the Digital Vegetables installation is rigged to trigger a symphony of light and sound when touched. Each color and noise reflect a specific aspect of the plant, allowing the visitor to connect to the organic matter with senses that lay outside of taste or smell.

“Sounds of rubbing seeds. Sounds of touching leaves. Sounds of eating fruits,” says Digital Vegetables’ Sound Designer Ray Kunimoto. “I recorded the sounds created with actual vegetables. Then, I mixed them with the sounds of orchestra instruments on the computer to make 7 melodies.”

Kunimoto’s technique makes sure there is a unique sound for each. When visitors touch a tomato they will hear the sound of a violin, carrots will trigger trumpets, and cabbages will activate the deep sounds of the oboe.

The installation is free, and will be displayed in Tokyo Midtown through November 5th, 2017. You can see the greenhouse in action in a short video of Digital Vegetables below. (via Spoon&Tamago)

Art Design

A 3D Zebra Stripe Crosswalk Appears in Iceland

The quiet fishing town of Ísafjörður, Iceland now has one of the snazzier pedestrian crosswalks you’re likely to encounter: a traditional set of white zebra-stripes painted to appear three dimensional. The piece was created last month as part of a collaboration between street painting firm Vegi GÍH and the city’s environmental commissioner Ralf Trylla. The city hopes the piece serves both as an artwork and as a stronger visual cue that convinces motorists to slow at the crosswalk. See more in Iceland Magazine. (via Jeroen Apers, Swissmiss)

Design Illustration

Popular Electronics Brands Rendered as an Alphabet of Stylish Products

Taking inspiration from a wide variety of electronic brands, designer Vinicius Araújo designed this alphabet of Helvetica letterforms, each modeled after a brand’s namesake product. The letter “N” for Nintendo becomes a retro-styled NES gaming system while the “B” for Beats grabs the aesthetic of comfy headphones. Araújo went even further with several of the letters to create a few brief animations. You can see the entire series titled 36days Electronics on Behance.