The-Lefthander

Lately, Ford’s focus has been on technology. The Ford SYNC™ is a fully integrated, voice-activated in-car communications and entertainment system that works with most Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones and digital media players. They also just introduced the innovative MyFord Touch driver connect technology, which has received a Popular Mechanics’ Editor’s Choice award and CNET’s “Best of CES” at the 2010 International CES. Everywhere I look, I hear about what Ford is doing. And, to be honest, they are one of the friendliest brands out there when it comes to bloggers. Very refreshing.

Moray Callum (left) and Scott Monty (right) talking design online.

Moray Callum is Executive Director, Ford Americas Design. And I’m sure you’re wondering why I am chatting with him. Well, we don’t talk much about cars here and I thought it would be a good way to bring some more diversity into our technology category. Plus, I’m always interested to know a) where car designers get their inspiration, b) where cars are headed in terms of design and function, and c) when do we get our hovercrafts? OK, I didn’t ask that last one. But I did get on the phone with Mr. Callum to talk design. This guy’s a big fish: he has overall responsibility for the design of all cars and trucks designed in Ford’s North and South America studios, and he also will guide the design of Lincoln and Mercury products. Callum joined Ford in 1995 from Mazda, and he’s also worked with Chrysler Corp. UK, Peugeot-Citroen PSA, and Ghia Spa (he’s from the UK).

Ford MyTouch

Recently there has been an interest in vintage and mid-century modern design in the furniture and art markets. Has that translated to the auto industry as well?

There is an amount of nostalgia. There are some specific cars that have done that, the Beetle and Mini for example, and we tried it a few years ago with the Thunderbird. People tend to look back and think of the cars they liked when they were a kid. But, I think what we find generally is that once you’ve done that once, it’s difficult to move forward, and we like to move forward as opposed to going back to the past.

We’re putting a bit more sculpture in cars, and I think that’s what people are relating to when they look at old cars and new cars. We’re learning to bend sheet metal a little more than we ever used to. This new technology is allowing us to form metal differently. We make cars in a completely different way than we used to make them in the past, when it was very labor intensive. So, I think it’s a little bit of nostalgia combined with the want of people for the vehicle to be expressive.

Where do you draw inspiration from that is outside of the automotive industry?

We get a look around at everything: product design is obviously of great interest to us, as well as architecture and fashion. We use a lot of trends from fashion for our colors and materials. Our designers are generally designers first and car people second, so they are very much interested in what’s going on in the world outside. If you look at the Fiesta, for example, you can see that the switches on the center console are more akin to a cell phone than what you would normally find in a car. Even the information system we’re showing on our screens now is something we’re learning more about — we’re getting more into entertainment design as much as product design. So, we’re really expanding a little bit everywhere. Good design is all around us as well. You can even go into Target and you can be inspired by something there.

How much of the design of a vehicle is related to traditional needs, such as speed and power, and what percent do you think is driven by public demand and “the cool factor”?

We start off with a lot of limitations. A lot of it is legislature in terms of safety, insurance, and damageability. Then, there is the packaging of the components. We start off with packages that are driven by engineering constraints and legal constraints, and then we get to take that package and make it exciting and make it visually interesting so that the public relates.

Ford SYNC

There seems to be a rise in the focus on technology and “gadgets.” How do you balance this with the other needs such as performance?

The technology outside the normal driving system is becoming more important. A lot of the time, you’re not enjoying the driving of the car: you’re just driving to work in traffic. The entertainment side of the technology is becoming increasingly important, and we’ve launched the SYNC system, which has been a great success for us. The device is operational by voice control for safety reasons. This type of technology is becoming more wanted and expected.

How do you balance eco-friendly design and technology?

We do look at the sustainability and recyclability very closely in a lot of our products. You’d be surprised how much is recycled at the end of the day. I think in terms of the fact that technology is disposable and moving very fast, we need to make our technology systems upgradeable. Our SYNC system is upgradeable so that you don’t have to throw it out; you can upgrade it as technology changes.

What is Ford as far as hybrid and electric vehicles are concerned?

We like to think we’re covering all the bases. For example, over the next three years, we’ll be bringing an all-electric vehicle, a battery electric hybrid, and a new generation of hybrids. We’re also moving forward with our ecoboost technology, which is a way to get much greater efficiency out of gas engines.

What’s going on for the future of Ford?

We think that the SYNC system and technology are going to be very important in the future. Also, we’re really trying to keep our cars fresh, new, and exciting. Hopefully we will be seeing even more cars starting to look a bit different with more character.

Many thanks to Moray Callum and the Ford team for this interview!

I love terrariums. These terrariums by Lítill are the most beautiful ones I’ve ever seen.

Jory Brigham and Aaron Gomez are Craft SLO, a custom furniture company located in San Luis Obispo, CA. Their signature atomic, one-of-a-kind style will certainly delight atomic-era buffs to modern art lovers. Not only do they make killer credenzas, but they do everything from entertainment centers to kitchen islands.

Thanks, Dan!

Danielle Vroemen’s newest jewelry collection called Geom explores facets.

When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of having a bunk bed. If I were a little girl now, I would dream of having this piece of multi-use furniture designed by h2o Architects all to myself (even though it’s designed to be shared by two children). The entire piece consists of multiple spaces that allow each child to have their own personal space. It’s also a fun-inducing area that provides fun possibilities for climbing, storing, hiding, and drawing.

Photography by Chalmeau Stéphane.

New glass vase collections from the Studio Cave Canem.

FLUCTUS
Design should makes you feel a sense of moving with glowing abstract shapes, light rails, and whirls.

EXACTA
Design is based on a combination of rectangular shapes, which together create the impression of a sort of labyrinth.

Why do our wall sockets have to be hard-to-reach eye sores? That’s the question Dutch design firm Neffa asked when they undertook the emerging work of I WANT contact wall sockets. Created to complement the decor, these socket covers remain both visible and functional.

Nina Bruun is a student at The Danish Designschool in Copenhagen. Her Fold chair, which was just completed, will be shown at the Stockholm Furniture Fair. She was inspired by origami and wanted the chair to be fold-able with references to both Scandinavian and Japanese design.

The frame consists of 10 mm plywood cut into six profiles and assembled with hinges. The shell is six pieces of hard plastic, and padded with 3 mm foam on both sides of the plastic. Finally, the chair is upholstered with woolen felt. All the seams on the chair were hand sewn, which took Nina a total of 105 hours!

She says, “The seams are visible to create a more industrially expression and to create sharp edges which gives the chair a lighter expression. It was important for me to achieve this ‘light expression’, so the chair doesn’t have too many references to elder heavy upholstery chairs.”

Smart Furniture’s newest contest is up and running: “Smart Space Design Contest: Design and Win Your Dream Space.”

SmartFurniture.com is giving away some awesome chairs to folks who design the best interior space plans using its new space-planning tool: the Smart Designer®. You could win your choice of a Herman Miller Aeron Chair, Herman Miller Setu Chair, Herman Miller Mirra Chair, or a Herman Miller Embody Chair, and be entered to win the grand prize of $2,500 gift credit to Smart Furniture so you can buy your very own dream room!

Each week in February, the Smart Furniture Team will pick their favorite Smart Space Design to be a Finalist — go here to get the software and the details!

In addition, the Smart Space Design entry receiving the most votes on Facebook and the Smart Space Contest Page will be the People’s Choice Finalist. The $2,500 Grand Prize Winner will be chosen from the five Finalists. The Grand Prize Winner will be decided by a panel of guest judges (one of them being yours truly!) So, get your act together and go to the site to get started now — time is ticking! Or, just check out all the entries here.

Love Native Shoes — just discovered them via Design Catwalk. Website coming soon, but you can preview the collection here.

The Pinch and Splay floor lamps were launched this week by Irish designer Davin Larkin. In a positive response to the downturn Davin has designed a product that is still unique, fresh and innovative but also affordable to all.

Davin assembles all the lamps by hand in his studio where visitors are always welcome to see his latest work. The Pinch and Splay lamps are elegantly formed and Davin said “they create a truly unique atmosphere casting light and shadow across walls, floors and ceilings alike which is enhanced by their cylindrical design”. See below for the process photos.

The Pinch and Splay lamps are the first in a range of affordable products launched by Davin with more designs to follow. Davin said “whether you pay €100 or €1000 for a product it should still be well designed and this is what I am trying to offer. I have my high-end products and now I am creating my low end products but maintaining the design quality throughout.”

Kooyong Design is a product design studio that specializes in furniture, interiors and associated products. It was set up by Davin in early 2009 and sells its own range of furniture through its studio. Davin is a qualified furniture and industrial designer and has worked in a variety of areas within the Irish furniture industry. As a designer he has received much appraise from a number of Irish interior magazines and the quality of his design speaks for itself.

The lamps are available through Davin’s studio, Kooyong Design, which is based in Rua Red, South Dublin’s newest arts center in Tallaght. The Pinch floor lamp retails at €95, the splay at €85 or a Pinch and Splay pair for €170 as an introductory offer for a limited time.

Process photos:

Burojet has taken plastic bags filled with air and created lamps out of them. Each is closed with a tie, the bottom cut out and the rim of the bottom taped with aluminum or plastic tape to shape the lamp any way you want. With the introduction of an LED light, the bags become a light fixture.

Remember last week we featured 123DV Architecture’s beautiful Dali-inspired home? Well, The Hill House is another gem by 123DV Architecture that has has quite a bit going for it: Funky looking fireplace: check. Large expanses of glass: check. Floating stairs: check. Cantilever second-story design: check. Totally awesome: check. This home is still a work in progress but you can see where is it going. I would love to see all the furniture in place when done.

These lovely vases make you think for a split second that you can touch them and they’d feel like soft drapery. Glass artists Eva Milinkovic and Kriston Gene of Tsunami Glassworks use hand-blowing and etching techniques to create solid vases with a softness. The glass itself reminds me of curtains while the pretty color schemes remind me of auroras.

How awesome is this poster! It’s a pretty thorough art history cheat sheet. My favorite line is “Duchamp owns everything.”

In an exhibition including the works of Gamper Martino along with other designers, a series of shelves, cupboards, and chairs were assembled in different ways to confront a variety of contemporary positions on the edge of reality.

Randy J. Hunt is a designer and co-founder of Supercorp, the company behind Supermarket. In 2005 Randy founded Citizen Scholar Inc., and has since designed and directed projects with numerous collaborators focusing on the points where design and responsibility meet. He contributes to various online journals and publications, and serves on the advisory board of Design Ignites Change.

The dedication (and obsession) it can take to acquire, catalog, organize, or execute a vast collection of anything is worthy of awe. The intense focus is inspiring. Here’s what I’m into lately.

1. This Is Display
Designers Patricia Belen and Greg D’Onofrio of Kind Company offer a unique lens into mid-20th century graphic design. Display is the online expression of their very real collection of design artifacts from some of the designers I most admire. As they continue to add to the site, it will only get better.

2. Women In Science
I can’t stop looking at the faces of these pioneering women. I wish I could see these together, hung in elegant frames, in a stately Smithsonian building, but I’m thankful these are available directly from the Smithsonian on Flickr [above image is Mary Agnes Chase].

3. Obsessive Consumption
Speaking of amazing women, Kate Bingaman-Burt is a maker’s maker. Her tireless work drawing purchases and then publishing them in a monthly zine has been bringing a smile to my face for years. I can’t wait to see her book that comes out this March.

4. Historical Map Collection
David Rumsey is in the cartography business. He’s also in the sharing business. His personal collection for more than 150,000 maps is being digitized. This historical maps are gorgeous, and when you browse them with the Google Maps interface, you can see them overlaid on satellite imagery. Snazzy.

5. Vintage Ad Browser
Whether it’s the kitschy 70’s typography, or the amazing copywriting deployed in late 19th century, the collection of images in the Vintage Ad Browser are a bottomless source of inspiration.

WOKmedia’s Between Lines shelf is a unique (and wordy) alternative to a traditional wooden bookshelf. The black stainless steel is coated with rubber and it has the ability to be re-shaped in a variety of ways to fit your desires, transforming into a shelf that shows movement.

The brand Mitemite sells some products that are “unnecessary objects designed to make your life a little more fun and a little bit different.” The Chips&Chips tablecloth, for example, encourages you to do exactly what your parents told you not to do when you were a child: play with your food.

Really great new stuff from Areaware.

Icosa by Ross Menuez

Feather Pillow by Ross Menuez

Coat Rack by Rich Brilliant Willing

Shovel Birdhouse by Jan Habraken