In 1988 the british artist Paul Middlewick started seeing something else but subway plans in the Londonian underground. He took a second look at those maps and saw a forrest. In fact he saw many and many animals formed by lines and dots that actually make the subway map. From Dogs to parrots, passing elephants or turtle, they’re practically all there. He then started drawing them and these were pretty successful. He nows sells all of these Subway Animals on his own website called Animals on the underground.

Subway Animals – Bird

Subway Animals – Cat

Subway Animals – Chicken

Subway Animals – Deer

Subway Animals – Dino

Subway Animals – Dog

Subway Animals – Dog

Subway Animals – Elephant

Subway Animals – Fish

Subway Animals – Fox

Subway Animals – Ostrich

Subway Animals – Parrot

Subway Animals – Penguin

Subway Animals – Pig

Subway Animals – Rihno

Subway Animals – Turtle

Subway Animals – WoodPecker

(from whitezine)

I am LOVING Irina Werning‘s brilliant photo series ‘Back To The Future’. What a cool idea! And it’s good that this is an ongoing series, because I could keep looking and looking with fascination.

Irina Werning is a photographer born, and currently living in Buenos Aires.

Came across this project today called ‘Back to the Future’ by photographer Irina Werning and just had to share. I think its quite genius.

I love old photos. I admit being a nosey photographer. As soon as I step into someone else’s house, I start sniffing for them. Most of us are fascinated by their retro look but to me, it’s imagining how people would feel and look like if they were to reenact them today… A few months ago, I decided to actually do this. So, with my camera, I started inviting people to go back to their future.

What have you seen, lively crabs, smart foxes, cute pandas, and other kinds of animals? Not exactly, because what is shown here is merely one thing: lips, and of course coming with various patterns. Isn’t that incredible, our lips now can create impressive paintings too?!

Posted from Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

The Meera House was designed by Guz Architects and is located on the island of Sentosa in Singapore. We consider it a daring and original project- after all, not many homes feature green spaces for every floor of the building. Here is a short description from the architects: The plots on the island of Sentosa are not large and neighboring buildings are built close to the sides of each house. Thus our strategy was to build a solid wall to each side neighbor to provide privacy where possible,  while creating a central light and stair well which would funnel the sea breeze through the centre of the building.

The front and rear of the building meanwhile, terrace back allowing each storey to have visual or actual access to greenery. The intention was to try to allow each roof garden provided a base for the storey above allowing the layered effect to make each storey feel like it was a single storey dwelling sitting in a garden…..as much as we could do in the close confines of Sentosa island and with such a large building!! What a wonderful architecture idea and a call to sustainability as well ! (Photographer: Patrick Bingham Hall)

(from freshome)

Love Love is a sculpture created by French artist Julien Berthier that resembles a sinking ship. It’s a fully functional boat, well, half a boat created from a 21-foot yacht that he cut in half, adding a new keel and motor. Julien has taken the sculpture across the English Channel and toured it around Europe, attracting lots of attention from unknowing fellow boaters who offer their assistance before realizing the boat isn’t actually sinking.

Want to see it in action? Watch this video.

(from design milk)

A company’s brand is a succinct but comprehensive embodiment of everything the company stands for. The best logos are recognizable, memorable and let you know what the company is about with just a glance. But even the biggest companies in the world have to change with the times and grow as their brand grows. While rebranding is an expensive (and sometimes risky) undertaking, these companies have thrown caution to the wind and changed up their logos – and most of them have done it over and over.

Pepsi

(images via: PSFK and InstantShift)

Officially trademarked in 1903, Pepsi-Cola has gone through many changes over the years. Though each individual change wasn’t drastic, the evolution has led to a logo with no trace of the original. This shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the first few iterations looked surprisingly like the logo of their main competitor, Coca-Cola. The latest of these changes took approximately 5 months of research and cost in the neighborhood of $100 million (including costs of changing old logos and marketing literature).

(image via: Blow at Life)

It didn’t take long after the introduction of the new curvy logo for Lawrence Yang to notice that it looked a bit like…well, a guy who enjoyed a bit too much Pepsi. His hilarious (and free!) revamp of the new logo has been floating around on the Internet and reminding people of a bloated fat guy since 2009.

Starbucks

(images via: Starbucks)

Like Nike and Pepsi, Starbucks’ logo recently evolved away from including the company name. The famous woodblock mermaid illustration now stands on her own sans the signature Starbucks font.

(image via: Felipe Torres)

Also like Pepsi, the 2011 logo change inspired some further logo alteration. This illustrated “future” of Starbucks’ logo takes the company’s trend to its logical conclusion: a close-up so extreme you can no longer tell what in the world it is supposed to be.

Nike

(image via: Logo Design)

Nike’s famous ‘Swoosh’ logo is universally recognized. Created in 1971 by a graphic design student at Portland State University (who was paid just $35 for her work), the logo was first used with the brand name appearing behind it. Though the original logos were never retired (you can still purchase ‘vintage’ gear with the original logos), a little over a decade after its inception the company opted to drop the brand name in favor of the ‘Solo Swoosh’.

Wal-Mart

(image via: InstantShift)

Before it became the giant retailer that it is today, Wal-Mart was a single discount store in Rogers, Arkansas. As the company grew by leaps and bounds, the logo underwent only minor changes. The “Discount City” logo introduced in 1968 was used on employee smocks but never on store signage; when you take that logo out of the timeline it seems that the retailer hasn’t made many drastic changes over the years. The most noticeable alteration was in 2008 when the star was moved from the middle of the name to the end, leaving the official Wal-Mart logo without a separator (like a hyphen or a star) for the first time in over 40 years. Interestingly, the current logo looks quite a bit like the company’s original logo.

Apple

(image via: InstantShift)

Today, Apple has one of the most recognizable logos in the world, but the company’s first logo was a complicated mess featuring Isaac Newton sitting under a tree, apple dangling above his head. The too-complex logo was scrapped after less than a year in favor of the iconic rainbow apple with a bite missing. When Steve Jobs returned to the helm of the company in 1997, the old rainbow was ditched in favor of a sleek, stylish monochrome apple which now features prominently on every product the company sells.

Canon

(image via: Neatorama)

The Japanese imaging products company actually started life as Kwanon. The name was taken from the Buddhist bodhisattva Guan Yin, who is known in Japan as Kannon. When the company expanded in 1935, they adopted a name that they thought would appeal to a wider audience. Since “canon” had a similar pronunciation and positive associations, the word became the company’s new name. With the new name came a new, simple logo: the company’s name in a typeface which at that time did not exist in North America or Europe. Since then the logo has undergone a few refinements, but no major overhauls.

Microsoft

(images via: LogoTalks)

Most technology companies are particularly concerned with keeping up with the times, which makes perfect sense. Microsoft, however, does not seem to care as much about keeping their image interesting as some other tech outfits. Microsoft’s original logo (from 1975) was a disco-type font which didn’t last long. The second logo (used from 1982-1987) featured a distinctive “O” which was known within Microsoft as a “blibbet.” In 1987 the current “Pac-Man” logo was adopted (so called because of the slashed “O”) and since then various tag lines have accompanied the logo.

Xerox

(image via: InstantShift)

You have to hand it to Xerox: they have come back from so many challenges – from market changes to accounting scandals – to keep on doing business more than a century after the company was founded. These days it seems like they spend more time trying to keep their company name from becoming a common verb than actually doing business, but they bravely soldier on. Their most recent logo reflects the company’s desire to prove that they are more than just copiers.

IBM

(image via: Neatorama)

Name changes, mergers and changing times amounted to a century of logo updates from IBM. However, the most recent logo has remained in place for nearly forty years now while the machines sold by IBM have changed dramatically.

Volkswagen

(image via: InstantShift)

Volkswagen, one of the world’s most beloved car brands, actually started out life as a pet project of Adolf Hitler. After WWII, the British took control of the company and removed the graphical Nazi elements from the logo. The company’s long, fascinating history has led to surprisingly few logo redesigns, with the company choosing instead to stick with the familiar stacked letters inside a circle.

(from weburbanist)

Extremis is one of my favorite outdoor brands. The reason is that they do not bother bringing designs to the market unless they have a true innovation that really works for real life. This year, their creative touch has turned to making a “Table Shelter.”

In November, they launched the Hopper table and now have a matching shade and drizzle protection system to complement it. Made in galvanized steel, it can be slotted into sockets placed right by the bench’s feet. The “structure” can be left closed or open open, acting as much as a shade structure as it does a protection from drizzle. And — in real life — that makes it a winner.

Tools for togetherness
Dirk Wynants who designed this contraption is a highly colorful character with a vision. He believes in “tools for togetherness”… Quite often when you read a company’s mission statement on their website you fail to see any relevance between those well written lines and your own experience of the brand. This is not true for Extremis. I certainly think this new Hopper bench and shade are great for easy informal gatherings year round.

For those less familiar with the brand this is a copy of how the brand describes itself:

Extremis was established in 1994 on the initiative of Dirk Wynants. The company started very modestly with the creation of the multifunctional Gargantua garden table. From the Westhoek (Gijverinkhove, situated near the French border in a far-off corner of West Flanders) Extremis has managed to secure a firm position on the international design scene. From the very outset, a major part of the production was meant for the international markets, as the home market could not secure the necessary continuity

Extremis is much more than just a line in furniture — it’s a way of life, aimed at bringing people together to enjoy life to the full. For the past 15 years, Extremis, based in West Flanders in Belgium, has been making Tools for Togetherness, to promote the true burgundian lifestyle.

As trend analysts new mantra is that “nice is the new black,” I am sure we will see more “tools for togetherness,” perhaps competing with Twitter as a means to interact? 

Guerrilla marketinghas perfected the technique of catching people’s eyes and grabbing their attention, targeting consumers in unexpected ways and unconventional places. That, of course, is the point of this once-fringe form of advertising, which has now been taken up even by large corporations like Adidas and Microsoft. These 10 posters show just how powerful guerrilla marketing can be, whether trying to solicit donations for charitable causes or provoking you to join a gym.

‘Real Hip Hop’ Bus Stop Ad

(image via: Geurilla de Talentos)

A floating afro sits at head-level behind a bus stop seat, just at the right height to make it look like anyone who sits there has quite an impressive head of hair. This poster by ‘Real Hip Hop’ is definitely an eye-catcher.

Snuff Clothing Bloody Cleaver Poster

(images via: Ads of the World)

What do bloody cleavers have to do with skiing? That’s anybody’s guess – apparently Snuff, a clothing brand for ‘hard core’ skiers, was just trying to get people’s attention. The campaign was based around the idea that “death is only a matter of time”. Alrighty then, let’s go skiing!

Erotika Sex Shop Car Window Stickers

(image via: Ad Goodness)

It doesn’t get much more in-your-face than this. An Italian sex shop called ‘Erotika’ covered all of the windows of a car with stickers showing people in rather suggestive poses. The car, situated right outside the door of the shop, featured another sticker that said “Toys you can’t wait to use”.

Anti-Graffiti Bus Seat Poster

(image via: EatLiver)

The Australian Public Transport Authority got tired of people spray-painting graffiti on their buses and trains, so they targeted the ‘graffidiots’ with this ad campaign that reminds would-be vandals what the consequences of their actions could be.

Witness Against Torture Elevator Ad

(image via: Ads of the World)

An otherwise blank set of elevator doors features two sets of fingers peeking out from the seam, as if someone inside is trying to escape. Once you’re inside the elevator you see the owner of those fingers: a man in a prison jumpsuit and leg-cuffs. Witness Against Torture, a human rights group, used this ad to campaign for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

Get Up and Run Chair Posters

(image via: Brand Infection)

VIP Gym thought images of a flabby, cellulite-ridden butt topped with a pair of love handles would be enough to make people want to ‘get up and run’. Glued to chairs in restaurants and cafes, the poster gives you the uncomfortable feeling that you’re seeing way more of strangers than you would have liked.

Feed SA Shopping Cart Posters

(image via: I Believe in Advertising)

You’d have to have a heart of stone to avoid being affected by the images of poor, starving children sitting in the bottom of your shopping cart. Any food placed in the shopping cart appear to be delivered right into the needy child’s hands. Feed SA, a South African charity dedicated to feeding disadvantaged people, put these decals in shopping carts and saw a marked increase in donations and a significant boost in website traffic.

Suicide Prevention Posters

(image via: Ad Goodness)

So simple, yet so effective. These posters by a Brazilian suicide prevention organization use nothing but white paper and the silhouette cut-out of someone falling – with the negative space from the cutout appearing to save them.

Anti-Smoking Stick-Ons

(image via: Zlatanova)

Tailpipe smoke is gross… and the same goes for the carcinogen-loaded clouds that erupt from the mouth of a cigarette smoker. An anti-smoking group equated the two by placing posters of people’s faces with the cut-out mouths strategically placed at the end of tailpipes.

Where’s Your Child? Grim Drowning Awareness Campaign

(image via: Life Saving Victoria)

This poster featuring a motionless child hovering at the bottom of a pool – placed underwater so that from above, it looks real – is part of a drowning awareness campaign by ‘Watch Around Water’, an Australian safety initiative. Parents who caught a glimpse of this rather grisly warning no doubt held their children a little tighter, so perhaps in this case disturbing equals effective.

(via weburbanist)

Your head spins, your stomach clenches, your heart pounds furiously. You’re thousands of feet above the ground with nothing but glass keeping you from teetering over the edge in a lengthy and final fall. Do you have the guts to look down? Hundreds of feet in the air, these 13 tower platforms and observation decks – often with transparent floors – offer absolutely breathtaking views of cities like Shanghai and landscape features like the Grand Canyon.

Burj Khalifa Observation Deck, Dubai

(images via: unique buildings, mithunonthe.net, le grand portage)

You’re never going to get a higher vantage point from a free-standing structure than that attainable at the Burj Khalifa observation deck in Dubai. Unless, that is, somebody builds a structure even taller than this world-record tower, which reaches half a mile into the air. The observation deck is on the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa (formerly known as the Burj Dubai) and on a clear day, it provides absolutely jaw-dropping views of practically the whole of the United Arab Emirates.

Stockholm SkyView at the Ericcson Globe

(images via: globearenas.se)

You’ll literally feel on top of the globe when you hitch a ride in one of the glass ‘gondolas’ at Stockholm Skyview, a moving observation deck that travels up two sets of rails on the exterior of the Ericcson Globe Arena in Sweden. Each gondola can take 16 people over 426 feet into the air for an unforgettable view of the city of Stockholm.

Top of Tyrol, Austria

(images via: aste architecture)

Virtually invisible against the snow in the winter, ‘Top of Tyrol’ was designed to blend seamlessly into its environment and provide a vantage point that most people couldn’t achieve without some serious mountain climbing abilities. Designed by Aste Architecture, Top of Tyrol cantilevers nearly 30 feet out from the pinnacle of Austria’s Mount Isidor, about 10,500 feet above the ground.

Shanghai World Financial Center, China

(images via: kanegan, bernt rostad, le grand portage)

Before the Burj Khalifa came along and shattered all kinds of records, the observation deck at the Shanghai World Financial Center was about as high as it got. The glass observation corridor, which spans the summit of the building, is half a kilometer in the air – but the faint(ish) of heart can still get a thrill by checking out lower decks on the 94th and 97th floors instead.

Five Fingers Viewing Platform, Austria

(images via: goldenrochs.at)

Get five different views with five different features in each jetty of ‘Five Fingers’, a viewing platform in the Austrian Alps. The first has a picture frame for souvenir shots, the second a glass floor for that vertiginous feeling, the third a trampoline for the foolhardy (this one is only open for special events, lest tourists bounce themselves right over the cliff), the fourth a hole in the floor to peek through and the fifth, a telescope.

Sands Skypark, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

(images via: marinabaysands.com)

On the top of three skyscrapers, 656 feet in the air, Singapore boasts a 1,246-foot-long rooftop deck by architect Moshe Safdie offering an incredible view of Marina Bay. The curving Sands Skypark is shaped like a ship and equivalent in size to the Eiffel Tower laid on its side. Among its most notable features is a 150-meter-long infinity swimming pool, which makes guests feel like they could swim right over the edge.

Landscape Promontory, Switzerland

(images via: etienne deffinis, architonic)

Designed by Paolo Burgi, Landscape Promontory is a suspended metal platform that almost looks like an insanely oversized, modern version of a carnival ride – except that it (thankfully) doesn’t move. The viewing platform extends out from Cardada mountain in Switzerland and is marked with symbols and explanations that tell of local history and literature.

Willis Tower Skydeck, Chicago

(images via: charlotte speaks)

Step out onto the deck of the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower ‘Skydeck’ – an enclosed balcony made almost entirely of glass – and you’ll feel, for a moment, as if you’re about to hurtle to a rather unpleasant death on the streets below. Or perhaps, if you’re the brave type, the height won’t phase you at all and you’ll just be completely entranced by an unparalleled, uninterrupted view of the Chicago skyline.

Aurland Lookout, Norway

(images via: todd saunders)

You know that stomach-clutching, heart-in-your-throat sensation you get on roller coasters just as you’re coming up to the edge of a terrifyingly steep drop? That moment is drawn out indefinitely at the Aurland Lookout in Norway, a stunning wooden overlook that puts nothing but a sheet of plate glass between you and the countryside below. Designed by Todd Saunders & Tommie Wilhelmsen, the minimalist structure celebrates the region’s natural beauty and exemplifies its spare, modern design sense.

Eureka Skydeck, Melbourne

(images via: eurekaskydeck.com)

They named this thing ‘Eureka’ for a reason – it’s about the tamest exclamation that would emerge from your mouth as you walk out onto it. As you look down through the glass floor, you become acutely aware of the fact that you’re nearly 1,000 feet above street level. Jutting 9 feet out the side of the building, the Skydeck offers the highest public vantage point in a building in the Southern Hemisphere.

Grand Canyon Skywalk, Arizona

(images via: vistor.com)

Stepping out onto the Grand Canyon Skywalk is probably the closest you’ll ever get to walking on air. The U-shaped walkway, considered quite a feat of engineering (or an over-developed eyesore, depending on your viewpoint), extends 66 feet from the canyon’s edge and its two-inch-thick glass floor lets you gaze down 3,600 feet to the canyon floor below.

House on the Rock Infinity Room, Wisconsin

(images via: panaramio, gadling)

As you emerge from the cluttered depths of one of America’s most bizarre roadside attractions, The House on the Rock, you can clear your head on a cantilevered viewing platform that extends 218 feet over the forest floor. Once you reach the end of the ‘Infinity Room’, which has 3,264 windows, you can look out the final pane of glass, which is set into the floor at the tip.

i360 Tower, Brighton, UK

(images via: e-architect.co.uk)

England’s Brighton Beach will get a 600-foot needle tower with a circular glass viewing platform that can hold 125 people, following years of delays. The i360 Tower – which might get a name change by the time it’s complete – is set to become Britain’s highest observation tower, granting 360-degree views of the coast.

When snow begins to pile up, snow plows head out to take it down. These glorified power shovels are a triumph of basic technology against the forces of nature, and even then there’s room for adaptation, customization and decoration. So clear the way for these 10 cool cutting edge snow plows… or better yet, let THEM do it for you!

Porsche 968 Snow Plow

(images via: Eastbounddown and Pelican Parts Forums)

Ever wonder what the snow plow driver drives? No, it’s not a shop… but the Porsche 968 Snowplow isn’t exactly what it appears to be, either. “In honor of April Fools Day, each April I write my column about something humorous,” explains Bruce Corwin, owner of the 968 above. “One year I took the snowplow off a friend’s truck and parked my 968 behind the plow. I took a few photos that looked like the plow was attached to the front of the Porsche and wrote a column about the Porsche ‘snowplow option’.”

(image via: Found Shit)

We’re guessing the Corvette Snow Plow above was “constructed” along the same lines, though the flashing orange light on the roof is a nice touch.

Roofus Radio-Controlled Robot Snow Plow

(images via: ConceptPop and Gizmodo)

Meet Roofus, the Radio-Controlled Robotic Snow Plow who’s gonna tell ya somethin’ good: plowing your driveway just got as easy as playing a video game! Shiny orangeRoofus was originally designed to clear snow from roofs – hence the name – but snow is snow and Roofus just eats it up. Roofus rides on twin caterpillar tracks and packs two electric motors plus a gasoline engine – it’s Mr. Freeze’s Prius! Bolt on some peripheral attachments and Roofus can mow your lawn, sweep the drive and more… actually, YOU can, by just flexing your thumbs.

Russian Jet-Powered Snow Plows

(images via: Mileanhour and Dark Roasted Blend)

When General Winter gets all ornery-like and threatens to put the kibosh on your holiday travel plans, who ya gonna call? Snow Busters!… now equipped with Klimov VK-1 jet engines upcycled from Red Army surplus MiG-15 fighter planes. These bizarre jet trucks are used in Russia and the former Eastern Bloc to clear snow off airport runways and, on occasion, de-ice airliners. If you thought flying Aeroflot sucked, guess what? It blows, too.

(image via: Dark Roasted Blend)

Train tracks also get the blow-dry treatment in eastern Europe, as the makeshift snowblower above illustrates. Now that’s one loco locomotive!

Yuki-Taro Robotic Snow Plow

(images via: Pink Tentacle and Geekologie)

Anyone for some Japanese over-engineering with a dash of cute overload? Arigato, snowplow roboto! The cute (of course) creation above is Yuki-Taro, an environmentally-friendly snow plowing robot that seeks out snow with two video cameras (one in each “eye”) and an on-board GPS receiver.

(images via: Ubergizmo and Techeblog)

Yuki-Taro was designed to help elderly homeowners clear their driveways and walkways. As for what to do with the cleared snow, 880 lb Yuki-Taro simply eats it – whereupon internal compactors form the snow into uniform bricks which are then excreted out the back. If a coalition of several Japanese universities and research institutions didn’t design Yuki-Taro, we’d have to guess a bunch of Japanese kids did. Toss in the eyebrows and the Pikachu mod and we’re sure of it.

Fabulous Fifties Snow Plows

(images via: Travelpod/Hildreth75 and Perimeter Run)

They say time goes by slower up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and the winters, well, they seem to last forever. That still doesn’t explain this four door, four wheel drive, 1955 Buick snow plow. We can’t explain it either, so simply gaze upon it in awe and wonder.

(image via: Club Chopper Forums)

One of the most iconic cars of the finned, fabulous Fifties was the 1957 Chevy, ideally as a fuel-injected 2-door Bel Air convertible. The snow plow sedan version… not so much. Even so, you’d have to be Mr. Plow to be any cooler than the driver of this tricked out, chrome-bedazzled rig.

Hybrid GOAT ROBOT 22T Lawn Mower/Snow Plow

(images via: Techeblog)

“Hybrid Goat Robot” sounds like the title of a very bad B-movie we’d nevertheless love to see, but the Hybrid GOAT ROBOT 22T from Eva Tech is actually a tank-like treaded vehicle that maintains your yard and drive season in and season out.

Check out the Goat Robot 22T making a baaad winter goood:

Remote Control Snow Plow, via Lmedinaxyz

(image via: Eva Tech)

You’ll need to put out $11,999 for the pleasure, mind you, but that’s probably cheaper than keeping your own living goat – and they don’t plow snow all that well.

Hell’s Snow Plow

(images via: TheAllisonRose and ZhenPanda)

Train snowplows are all kinds of awesome from the get go and there’s really no need to jazz ‘em up – so when that happens, it’s off the rails awesome… so to speak. Take the Evil Clown artwork on the train snowplow above… Hell’s Snow Plow indeed!

(image via: John Vass)

When this Bozo on expired steroids comes roaring down the track somewhere in the wilds of rural Montana, be afraid, be VERY afraid, be Stand By Me afraid! Oh and we love the single gold tooth, nice touch there.

RoboPlow

(images via: AutoMotto)

When Robocop wants to plow his driveway, you’d better believe he’s not plowing it – he’s a robotic cop, right? Besides, odds are he’s got RoboPlow: the leanest, meanest, robotic snowplow there is. Don’t be surprised if if rolls up – on 6 wheels, no less – and booms out “Clarence Boddicker, I’m here to shovel your driveway!”

Here’s a promotional video from RoboPlow’s creators, IdeaLABORATORIES, showing this badass mutha in action:

ROBOPLOW, via IdeaLABORATORIES

(image via: Godlike Productions)

RoboPlow sports a wicked 50” wide angle-able blade and packs 660 amps of power. It features a pair of 10-watt LEDs for night-plowing (not the same as night-putting), a pair of flashing red LED brake lights and a fully articulated camera on top to freak people out – if looking like a runaway dwarf casket wasn’t enough. When the cam turns your way, you half-expect a Martian heat ray to blast forth! Available in any color you want – as long as its black.

Pedal-Powered Snow Plow

(images via: 1World2Wheels and Simply+Green Solutions)

From the wild to the mild – we give you the pedal-powered snow plow. No motors, no LEDs, no GPS or frikkin’ laser beams and yet, it’s still awesome… AND fun! It might not be mean but it sure is green. “It probably took me 50 to 80 hours to complete the pedal plow,” says crafty DIY-er Kevin Blake. “With a little bit of mechanical aptitude, some metal working resources and a couple of old bikes, just about anyone can make a pedal-powered snowplow.”

Pedal Powered Snowplow, via MrPlowKevin

(image via: Mother Earth News)

Thanks to Kevin’s exhaustively complete directions, just about anyone CAN build themselves a pedal-powered snow plow. We’re not sure what Kevin’s regular job is, but with ideas like these he should tell his boss to “take this job and shovel it!”

Long Island Railroad Snowplow W83 “Jaws III”

(images via: RMLI and TrainWeb)

Looking like a cross between the boss Blue Meanie from Yellow Submarine and a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk in Flying Tigers livery, snowplow W83 “Jaws III” was probably the most exciting thing to ever ride the rails of the Long Island Rail Road. Built by the LIRR machine shop atop a 1907 flatcar way back in December of 1915, W83 cleared snow along the main line for decades before being rebuilt and repainted in November of 1978.

(images via: TrainWeb)

After a further 8 years of faithful service, the LIRR finally retired snowplow Jaws III (or perhaps by then, “Dentures III”) in 1986. The larger than life, toothy rolling shovel was handed over to the Railroad Museum of Long Island and remains parked just outside the Greenport Freight House.

(images via: Busted Tees and Culturish)

“Call Mr. Plow, that’s my name, that name again, is Mr. Plow!” Ahh yes, Mr. Plow cruised into pop culture consciousness on November 19, 1992, on the ninth episode of The Simpsons’ fourth season. There it has remained, stuck like a snow plow buried beneath an avalanche on Widow’s Peak. Just consider, though, if “Plow King” Barney had been driving any of the above 10 snow plows he’d never need to be rescued and consequences (and Springfield history) would never be the same.

(from weburbanist)

Unusual bus stop designs

Creative and unusual bus stop designs that make the time you spend waiting for the bus a bit more bearable. (Pics)Futuristic public transport bus stop in Curitiba, Brazil

Curitiba Bus Stop

Football goal posts were placed in bus shelters around Sao Paulo, Brazil to promote the World Cup

Guarana Antarctica Bus Stop

Yummy strawberry bus stop from Japan.

Strawberry Stop

Beautiful Yosemite Falls trail bus stop is perfectly suited for the setting.

Yosemite Falls Bus Stop

Relax while you wait for the bus to arrive.

Hammock Bus Stop

Fully enclosed stop with air conditioning in Dubai.

Air Conditioned Bus Stop

This minimalist structure that looks like a single sheet of white concrete was designed by architect Justo Garc�a Rub�o and located in Casar de Caceres, Spain.

Casar de Caceres Bus Stop

No ordinary bus stop decorated by Iris Hynd in Cornwall, England.

Moroccan Style Bus Stop

Beautiful bus stop design from Estonia.

Estonian Bus Stop

Creative watermelon bus stop in Ishaya, Japan.

Watermelon Bus Stop

Unusual �school bus� bus stop from Athens, Ga.

School Bus Bus Stop

Creative London bus stop by Bruno Taylor gives commuters a chance to have a little bit of playtime while they wait for the bus.

Swing Bus Stop

Bus stop designed for the Vitra design museum in .

Vitra Bus Stop

Creative bus shelter with grass roof in Sheffield, England.

Sheffield Bus Stop

Designed as part of the smart mobilities project, this bus stop was presented in in 2008. Users waiting inside the bus stop could engage via a touch screen interface while pedestrians waiting outside could interact with a 6ft. custom LED display.

LED Bus Stop

(via Toxel.com)

How do you make a full-sized commercial airplane look like a toy, or give the illusion that your human subject is touching a cloud? Photoshopis an easy answer, but a much more low-tech method produces results that are just as amazing: forced perspective photography. Just as in filmmaking when miniatures convincingly stand in for buildings, landscapes or fantastical creatures, the trick is all in positioning, lighting and timing.

The Old Tower of Pisa Trick

(image via: martyportier) Everyone is familiar with this iteration of the forced-perspective photography trick: pretending to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It�s all about where you place your subject in relation to the background. At least this photographer took a different tack, giving his model a �relaxed� pose.

Pluck a Sphere of Light

(image via: mr. moog) Take that same idea and apply it in a new way and you�ve got the kind of photo that makes you look twice. To achieve this effect, photographer Lee �Mr. Moog� used shallow focus and allowed the lens of his camera to render out-of-focus points of lights as little floating spheres.

Mind Your Step

(image via: maybemaq) Is that the foot of a giant descending from the sky to crush a priceless historical site into bits of gravel? From this angle, it sure looks like it.

The Scariest Watering Can Ever

(image via: froodmat) When a watering can is big enough to suck you up into its spout, you�d better run.

Blowing in the Wind

(image via: jeppe olsen) Photographer Jeppe Olsen took a whole set of forced perspective photos out in the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia, which provide a minimalist background ideal for deceptive shots like this one, making both the foreground and background subjects stand out equally.

Fixing the Washington Monument

(image via: mjsmith01) What kind of monstrous crane would be required to pluck the Washington Monument right out of the ground? The silhouetted crane and illumination of the monument make this photo even more effective.

Miniature Woman

(image via: alexandre duarte) Forced perspective photography takes more than just selective focus or using the blur/sharpen tool in Photoshop. Clever positioning and light are also crucial elements in a successful photograph.

Tiny Plane Crash

(image via: maybemaq) In some cases � like this one � timing is everything. No special effects or Photoshop necessary.

Hold On Tight!

(image via: emikw) One of the famed natural formations in Arches National Park, Utah is in the palm of this photographer�s hand when sharp focus is maintained on the entire image.

Giant Jesus and the Toy Plane

(image via: david leeth) Even 900-foot-tall stone Jesus gets bored sometimes, so having a toy plane to play with is a plus.

Toy Cars, or Giant Man?

(image via: erkannix) This is definitely one of those photos that make you go, �what?� It�s hard to tell exactly how the photographer achieved this effect, but according to his Flickr, there was no Photoshop involved.

Please Don�t Fall, Cloud

(image via: p0rg) The artist says �I kept messing it up and not aligning myself ( I was using tripod & self timer) and did it about 10 or so times. When I was happy with the result, I turned and saw that an old man walking his dog had stopped to watch my bizarre antics. He smiled and walked off. I must have looked completely mad because he was not in line with the cloud, so he would have seen my press my camera, run like a madman to the same spot 10 times and preform a melodramatic pray to god.�

Hanging Out

(image via: laura deangelis) �Three years ago, I picked this guy up, put him in my pocket and claimed him as my own,� says photographer Laura DeAngelis.

Splitting Headache

(image via: the moronic inferno) Believe it or not, this photo wasn�t staged. Photographer Dave Brownlee calls it �serendipity� that the heads and bodies of four separate people just happened to line up so well.

Puzzling Place, Indeed

(image via: richard heeks) In this case, it�s the location that�s providing the illusion, not a trick of photography. The Puzzle Museum in Keswick, England contains an oddly-shaped room with a sloping ceiling, walls and floor so that from a certain vantage point, turning one person into a terrifying giant.

(via weburbanist)

Calling all shopaholics and sacks addicts: we’ve got your fun bags right here! These 15 weird & wonderful shopping bag designs take the concept of “love handles” to a whole new level while consigning the basic, bland, brown bag to the boredom bin.

Shopping Unplugged

(images via: Ads Of The World)You know those Smart Electricity Tips your power provider often includes with your monthly electric bill? The ones you glance at and then toss in the trash? Meralco (the Philippines’ leading power company) had a better idea: give away cool designer shopping bags that have “Electricitips” printed on them.

(images via: Ads Of The World)Not only do Filipino power users keep their electricity tips handy, they also look cool toting the reusable, faux power cord handled shopping bags wherever they go.

Leather & Laces

(images via: Kong Online)Kong Shoes wants you to remember them, any time and any lace… laces, actually. Yes, it’s the old “cinch your bag by tightening the shoelaces” trick, gets me every time. I guess that’s the idea.

Not Your Father’s Golf Bag

(images via: Wisdom By Woody and I Believe In Advertising)When French advertising agency Agence V was charged with raising the visibility of the VW brand at the 2009 Paris Auto Show, they whipped up this neat shoulder bag that displays part of the door from a Volkswagen Golf GTI, then gave out free bags to everyone who attended the show.

(images via: Creative Guerilla Marketing)Not only was traffic at the VW booth noticeably higher, show-goers took the versatile bags home with them, thereby spreading the VW brand long after the auto show ended.

Bags Under Your Eyes?

(images via: Coloribus)The somewhat disturbing “Eye Bag” was conceived and created in 2009 by the Leo Burnett Frankfurt advertising agency to help promote Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara. The cute yet creepy bags were distributed to customers at selected department stores and included a free sample of the mascara inside.

Amused By Muse

(images via: This Next and AdGoodness)The Muse Beauty Salon (c/o Tokyu Agency Inc., Tokyo) has come up with an ingenious alternate use for those twisted and braided samples of dyed hair commonly displayed at the hair dye rack. Maybe “twisted” cuts a little too close to the bone, but carrying ANYTHING by its hair just seems a little odd. On the other hand, it’s so easy a cave man can do it.

Bag Those Braids

(images via: ThinkAboutIt and Humor.com)Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko‘s claim to (fashion) fame was her trademark golden hair braid. At least, it’s better than being known as the “Gas Princess”. In any case, someone with mad photoshop skills decided her crowning glory could be put to a more prosaic use – carrying a load of perogies, perhaps?

Bags To Make You Blush

(images via: Adverbox)So you’re a lingerie store in the heart of Berlin, Germany, and you want to show the general public how nice your lingerie is – by showing how nice it would look on your customers. That’s the challenge thrown down by Blush, the Berlin lingerie store, to ad agency BBDO. We think BBDO did a great job if the photos above are any indication. Then again, we haven’t seen photos of Hubbies or grandmothers carrying the bags – danke schoen!

No Waisted Effort

(images via: Lab092)This cleverly designed bag – called the “Burn Bag” – was used in the Philippines to advertise GNC‘s Burn 60 fat-burning supplement. If only it were that easy to shrink your waist a few inches… which seems to be the message GNC’s trying to tell you.

LIFE (Or Other Magazines) Behind The Burka

(image via: Duval Guillaume)When P Magazine from Belgium wanted to get people thinking of what life behind the burka was like, they came up with this clever shopping bag that burka-izes the beauties featured on their magazine covers.

(image via: Adtention)The idea for the Burka Bag grew out of an article in P Magazine about the daily life of women in Afghanistan, where wearing a burka is commonplace. The magazine commissioned over 100.000 black bags designed with a burka cutout at the level where most standard-size magazines show the eyes of their cover girls. Indeed, as the above image shows, most any magazine featuring a full cover shot of a woman can get burka’d by being bagged.

Shop Until You Drop

(images via: AdGoodness)Graphic artist Antje Gerwien treads a fine line between groovy and grotesque, the the above bag designs illustrate so well. According to ReVital, who commissioned Gerwien to create the bag design, the intent was to “focus on putting the demographic curve back to normal”. We see… so, are we there yet?

The Choice Of Teabaggers Everywhere

(images via: I Believe In Advertising and Mastione)This shopping bag was designed in the form of an extra-EXTRA-large Lipton Clear Green Tea bag. Created by the DDB Integrated advertising agency of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the bags included actual sample bags of Lipton Clear Green Tea and were given to shoppers at area malls.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Of Champions

(images via: Bored Panda)Wheaties, more than most breakfast cereals, has always striven to break new ground in attention-grabbing advertising. The “six-pack abs” bags above are a prime example. Lift a few fullWheaties shopping bags on a regular basis and you, too, could look like a champion!

Migraine, No Gain

(images via: Directory Journal)Panadol wants to be what you grab when you’ve got a headache, so they whipped up a series of excruciating ad bags to bring that fact to your attention. The full effect is realized when you either grab the bag by the grips (above left) or swing it by its strings.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

(images via: Directory Journal and Ads Of The World)One of the classic trompe l’oeil (“deceive the eye”) techniques involves associating a real object with the image of another. The shopping bags above do just that, with an orangutan and a human child.

Case Closed

(images via: PicForMe)Speaking of six-packs… no need to brown-bag your bottles anymore, thanks to this graphic bag that literally has nothing to hide. Designed to advertise Shumensko, a Bulgarian beer, this bag comes in handy when you need to tote anything beer-related or otherwise – there’s an otherwise?
(image via: Odd Stuff Magazine)With the use of shopping bags as advertising media on the upswing, one wonders how long before we’ll see bags featuring flexible OLED screens showing video ads and commercials. We’re guessing it won’t be long… can you handle it?

(from weburbanist)

All praise the zipper: the ubiquitous, maintenance-free, no muss, no fuss fastener that trumps both buttons and Velcro! Zippers operate smoothly, silently and safely day in and day out, often in close proximity to our most sensitive bodily parts yet they rarely – “There’s Something About Mary” excepted – cause us anxiety or grief. These 10 toothy examples of zany zipper art illustrate the mix of appreciation, admiration and YKK-stamped tabs by which society holds these fascinating fasteners.

Zippered Walnut

(images via: Ellen Rixford Studio and WebMD)

Artist Ellen Rixford knows how to grab one’s attention, as this zippered walnut shells, er, shows so well. The walnut is actually crafted from clay, is 6 inches long and is highlighted by an industrial zipper. Rixford created this striking image for a drug company advertisement… perhaps regarding a non-surgical treatment to replace testicular surgery.

Juming Museum’s Zipper Lotus Pond

(image via: BIG art)

Fly fishing anyone? Get your rod (and reel) to Taiwan, where the lushly landscaped grounds of the Juming Museum are graced with a most unusual pond. Designed by respected Taiwanese artist and sculptor Ju Chun, the Zipper Lotus Pond was completed in 2009.

(images via: My Confined Space and Broccoli City)

Sharp eyes may notice that the zipper slider carries the logo “JU-JUN”. It’s not clear exactly what the artist’s intent was in using this logo though the similarity to his name may offer a clue.

Zipper Tongue

(images via: Stylelist and Snopes)

When zipping your lips isn’t enough… yes, this is a photoshop. Not completely though, the zipper hardware was added to an actual “lingua bifida” body modification for a Worth1000 photoshop contest. Considering the increasing number of bodymods that have crossed the Net of late, we may yet see an actual zippered tongue some day. You just won’t see it in my bathroom mirror.

Life In The Fastener Lane

(images via: Pixyard, TACO and Telovation)

This group of images highlights zippers that have been painted or otherwise integrated into streets, avenues, boulevards and other paved pathways. One might ask (in a Seinfeld-esque voice),“What’s the deal with zippers and roads?” Perhaps artists note some correlation between the role of roadways in society and the functionality of zippers on an individual’s clothing. Or, maybe they just need sufficient space.

(image via: Impact Lab)

While paint and chalk make sense for roadway artwork, more obtrusive installations such as the Big Zip above are best suited to sidewalks and soft shoulders. Pedestrians and bicyclists may disagree, however.

Sebastian Errazuriz’s Zipper Dress

(images via: Britannica and Newslite)

Guys who already have trouble “unwrapping” their dates aren’t going to be thrilled by the Zipper N3 dress. Designed and created by 31-year-old Chilean artist Sebastian Errazuriz, the intention wasn’t to facilitate hanky panky but instead provide women with a so-called “credit crunch dress” that can be adapted to form over 100 different styles. Errazuriz used 120 zippers to make the dress, which he hopes to have mass-produced by a major clothing firm.

Amalia Versaci’s Upcycled Zippers

(images via: AmaliaVersaci and Amalia Versaci – ETSY Shop)

Amalia Versaci has got a name made for fashion and indeed, the Rhode Island School of Design grad focuses her creative energies on clothing and accessories. Her special emphasis is on the zipper, however, and her designs often employ zippers and parts thereof in original yet appealing ways. Versaci has taken a special interest in vintage and upcycled zippers, taking inspiration from the shapes and designs popular when zippers were as new, exciting and futuristic as Velcro is today.

(images via: Amalia Versaci)

Hear no evil with Amalia Versaci’s zipper slide earrings! I SAID, HEAR… ok, we’ll move on. Upcycling vintage zipper slides and adding today’s colors, tones and shades adds up to an attractive combination well suited for today’s New Traditionalists.

(images via: Amalia Versaci)

Jewelry isn’t the only purpose Versaci dedicates her zipper creations. Above are magnets made from heavy-duty YKK industrial zipper slides and collages crafted from vintage zippers still attached to their backing fabric strips.

Hirotoshi Itoh’s Grinning Stones

(images via: ScienceBlogs Bio-ephemera)

Part of the fascination of fossils is that what’s been locked in rock for countless millions of years is suddenly displayed before your very eyes. Hirotoshi Itoh’s zippered stones are something like that, except weirder. From skull-like grinning boulders to congealed coin purses to a soupcon of seashells secreted in silica, Itoh offers a glimpse into the heart of rocks whose concealed treasures are revealed with a mere casual zip.

(image via: Jiyuseki)

Creepiest, of course, are Itoh’s granitic grinning stones. Funny, I don’t recall Han Solo smiling as he gazed out from Jabba’s imprisoning block of Carbonite… unlike Itoh’s mouthy marbles, I guess he just wasn’t into it.

Benoit Lemoine: The Zip Tape Experiment

(images via: Benoit Lemoine and Design-Milk)

The cool thing about zipper tape is that it can be used to reveal heretofore un-noticed shapes and structures that COULD be zipped but aren’t. Forked tree limbs, bipod street lights, anything that conforms to a Y-shape (don’t get cheeky now)… just zip it! Benoit Lemoine has made somewhat of an artistic career for himself being the Banksy of Zipperdom, an odd avocation if there ever was but hey – someone’s gotta do it.

(images via: Stupid.com)

A variation on the zipper tape Lemoine chooses to use is Popped Zipper Tape, which makes your parcel, package, briefcase or whatever look like it, well, popped a zipper.

Karen L. Davidson’s Zipper Mosaics

(images via: Zipper Mosaics by Karen L. Davidson)

Winters are long & cold up in Minot, ND, and residents have come up with some interesting ways to avoid cabin fever, snow blindness and the like. One of the coolest (sorry) ways to get through those frigid months – the ones with an R in them – is Original Zipper Art as practiced and promulgated by Karen L. Davidson. From pins to plates to Christmas Trees and more, Davidson knows how to make a zipper do tricks that’ll bust your buttons.

(images via: Zipper Mosaics by Karen L. Davidson)

Davidson takes advantage of the wildly diverse color palette bestowed upon today’s plastic, polyester and metal zippers by manufacturers, thus avoiding messy paints and volatile solvents. A bonus is that the colors are either baked on or mixed into the zippers’ substrates. Designed to be long lasting from the start, Davidson’s zippers do the same for her art!

Zipping Across The Ocean

(images via: Asiajin)

Japanese artist Yasuhiro Suzuki set out to make a big impress ion at the 2010 Setouchi International Art Festival, and one would have to agree his zany zipper motorboat helped him succeed in spades. Suzuki must have noticed that the long, radiating wakes left by boats on smooth water look a lot like zippers unzipping… well, somewhat. In any case, inspiration led to construction and the result was the world’s only Zipper Motorboat. Here’s a short video of Suzuki unzipping Neptune’s fly:

Zipper Motorboat at SIAF 2010, via Shumiyama

(image via: Funny-Potato)

Zippers: where would clothing (and zany art) be without them? Buttons and Velcro have their good points but zippers are faster than buttons and they make a cool sound; not that painful ripping sound that so irritated Morty Seinfeld and doubtless many others. The Art of the Zipper simply completes the zipper’s long interaction with modern society by meshing the functional with the creative. Not much more to say… so I’ll zip it.

(from weburbanist)

We drink beer from bottles, but even with a small single-serving wine bottle there is always a glass – so why not combine the two in to one and save everyone some hassle? These plastic glasses might not go over well at a formal dinner party, but for a toast-on-the-go or quick picnic they could just be the perfect table(-free)wares.

One inventor did just that, and then founded Wine Innovations around the concept. Though his yogurt-style, peal-off lid initially did not go over well with potential investors it ultimately has led to booming sales in Great Britain.

Think about it: sports games, large celebrations, all without the worry of broken glass underfoot and with the easy-carry advantage of walking around with non-spill, pre-filled glasses of wine. Hopefully they can do not just red and white but sparkling wines as well, since these would be ideal for something like a sizable New Years Eve event.

Whether this one-use disposable partyware is a step in the right direction in terms of sustainability is another question. Still, the units can be recycled, and surely it is at least a better design than handing out both miniature bottles and plastic cups (as they do on airplanes, etc…) for wine.

(from dornob)

Since I found out that the Carrefour logo (French supermarket chain) had a hidden “c” (in white), I started seeing a lot of logos with hidden stuff.

Here you have some:

Carrefour

Living in France and having Carrefour supermarket all around Europe, it is only now that I realized that there is a “C” in the white part of the logo. Carrefour is one of the biggest European retailers, and it’s also French for “crossroads”. The logo symbolizes this word via two opposite arrows. They also added the first letter of the name, because if you look closely you’ll see the letter C in the negative space between the two arrows.

Toblerone

You’ve probably seen the Toblerone logo dozens of times – it’s just a mountain, right? Look closer. There’s a bear shape hidden in the negative space within that mountain, symbolizing the city of Bern, Switzerland where the Matterhorn mountain that inspired the logo is located.

Sony Vaio

VAIO was originally just an acronym for Video Audio Integrated Operation – since changed to Visual Audio Intelligence Organizer. But the strange, seemingly abstract logo derives from another lucky coincidence: ‘VA’ represents an analog wave and ‘IO’ represents digital binary code, perfectly illustrating the integration of analog and digital technology.

Presbyterian Church

How many symbols can you fit into one relatively uncluttered, uncomplicated logo? The Presbyterian Church logo is a pretty good example of making this work: you’ve got a cross, a bible on a pulpit, a pastor’s robes, a dove, a fish and fire all within the same basic shape.

Northwest Airlines

Before they changed it to something far less interesting – and then faded into oblivion by merging with Delta – Northwest Airlines had one of those logos that contain a bit of symbolism entirely  unnoticed by the vast majority of the public. Sure, it’s got the ‘N’ and ‘W’, seemingly placed inside a circle for no good reason – but check out the location of that little triangle making up the upper corner of the ‘W’. It’s the arrow of a compass, pointing northwest.

Museum of London

Well now, isn’t that a pretty… blob. But there’s more to the Museum of London logo than an artsy splash of watercolor; the various colored circles actually represent the changing shape of London throughout history.

Milwaukee Brewers

Sure, it was just a bit of luck that gave the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team a name with the initials ‘M’ and ‘B’, but it took a great logo designer to see how those letters – combined with the negative space in a lowercase ‘b’ – could form a mitt with a baseball in it.

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra escaped its staid reputation a bit with this redesigned logo, featuring the letters ‘LSO’ in a modern script that forms a single wavy line. But what you may not see immediately is the abstract image of a conductor waving with one arm and conducting with the other.

Hope for African Children Initiative

In this trick of the eye, you’re actually drawn to look at the negative space first – the continent of Africa in white, albeit a rather unfaithful rendering. A closer look reveals the shapes of a child and a woman on either side in shades of orange.

Elefont

Designed by Mike Erickson (otherwise known as Logomotive) for a fictitious company, this logo has three different elements combined into one simple and visually striking symbol. That curving lowercase ‘e’, which stands for ‘elefont’ and highlights an elegant font, also has an elephant trunk shape hidden inside it.

Eighty 20

Do you ever see a logo and think to yourself, what was the designer thinking? How does this random image contribute to or identify this brand’s identity? In this case, at least, you’re simply not in on the joke – unless you’re a math nerd. If you view the dark squares as ‘1′ and the light squares as ‘0′, the two rows read 1010000 and 0010100, which read 80 and 20 in binary.

Cluenatic

Perhaps it’s not the most readable logo ever, but it works flawlessly as a visual representation of the puzzle game ‘Cluenatic’, which involves unraveling four clues. Each of the four letters in the world ‘Clue’ are nested inside each other like a puzzle or a maze.

Bison

Designed for a rock band from Vancouver, this logo is like one of those left brain/right brain quiz images: what do you see first, the picture or the word?

Amazon

This logo doesn’t seem to hide much at first sight, but it gives you a little insight in the philosophy behind the brand. First of all, the yellow swoosh looks like a smile: Amazon.com want to have the best customer satisfaction. The swoosh also connects the letters a and z, meaning that this store has everything from a to z.

Baskin Robbins

The old logo of Baskin Robbins had the number 31 with an arc above it. The new logo took this idea to the next level. The pink parts of the BR still form the number 31, a reference to the 31 flavours.

Big Ten

Big Ten is an academic union which was founded in the year 1896. Until 1990, this union consisted of 10 universities, but in June 1990 Pennsylvania State University was added. They didn’t want to change their name, so they added the number 11 to the logo.

Continental

Continental is a manufacturer of tyres. You could actually see this in their logo, because the first two letters create a 3-dimensional tyre.

Eight

Every letter is made of the number 8.

Fedex

This is probably one of the best known logos with a hidden meaning. If you look closely, you’ll see an arrow that’s formed by the letters E and x. This arrow symbolizes speed and precision, two major selling points of this company.

Formula 1

At first, this logo might not make much sense. But if you look closely, you’ll see the number 1 in the negative space between the F and the red stripes. I also love how this logo communicates a feeling of speed.

GreenLabs

I know this logo looks like a simple, boring green tree, but if you look at the tree crown, you’ll see that it can also be interpreted as a brain. The logo lays emphasis on the strong intellectual capabilities of the company’s staff and also reflects ‘green’ and ‘labs’ parts of their name.

Hartfort Whalers

This logo also uses a negative space to create the letter H. You can see three different parts: the letter H and W and a whale’s tail in blue.

NBC

The NBC (National Broadcasting Company) is one of the biggest American television networks. I think most of you have already seen the peacock in this logo. The peacock has 6 different tail feathers, referring to the six divisions at the time that this logo was created. The peacock’s head is  flipped to the right to suggest it was looking forward, not back.

Roxy

Roxy is a company that specializes in clothing and accessories for girls who love snowboarding, surfing… The company is actually a part of Quiksilver. The Roxy logo is made of two Quiksilver logos that form a heart.

Sun Microsystems

The Sun logo is one of the most famous ambigrams in the world. You can read the brand name in every direction; both horizontally and vertically. This logo was designed by professor Vaughan Pratt of the Stanford University.

Tostitos

If you look at the centre of this logo, you can see two people enjoying a Tostito chip with a bowl of salsa. This logo conveys an idea of people connecting with each other.

Twins

This logo was made for twins. To reflect the essence of the duo, a bold typeface was created to reflect the boldness of their approaches. The number 2 was integrated to show the creativeness of their ideas.

Unilever

Unilever is one of the biggest producers of food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. They produce a huge amount of different products and they wanted to reflect this in their logo. Each part of the logo has a meaning. For example: the heart represents love, care and health -  feeling good, a bird is a symbol of freedom. Relief from daily chores – getting more out of life.

Body Wisdom

In this case, a logo design for a high end day spa,the hands effectively convey massage, while the proximity of the “eyes” within the owl shape created by the hands clearly say “wisdom”.

Amnesty International 30th anniversary

This logo was designed by Pekka Piippo from Finland, for the Amnesty International 30th Anniversary of Finnish Division. Clever multiplication of 5 fingers on 6 hands mark the occasion of 30th Anniversary occasion.

ED logo

The designer of ED – “Elettro Domestici”, “Home Appliances” in English, changed the concept of traditional logo designing through this logo. The designer has amazingly used the negative space to demonstrate the letter “E” and “D”

Fuga

It is a logo for Architecture Center Of Budapest. It might seem something like a maze but if you follow the white space, the four lettered company name will become evident.

!N3K8

It is a business and IT consulting company based in the UK. The logo explains the word “intricate”

Lafayette

Galeries Lafayette (Paris), you will notice that it’s logo represents Paris with its joined letters “t” to form Eiffel Tower.

Marriage

What better logo can be used to symbolize a marriage with two mirrored “R” in the middle. No frills, no shadows, still so powerful and meaningful.

Mosleep

Very cleverly the designer have integrated a bed and the letter “M” in this logo. You cant miss to love it.

Piano Forest

If you notice the logo closely you will observe the trees placement form the keys of a piano. An intelligent way to display two different terms, “piano and forest”, through a single logo concept.

Yoga Australia

At first glance the logo is a simple picture of a young girl doing her yoga but if you watch it carefully the body posture is creating the Australia Map.

8 fish

I am sure, at the first glance you can’t figure out the 8 fish instantly or maybe I am being a little dumb. The designer, very creatively, uses the negative space and monotones to show 8 fish in one logo.

Academy of Fine Arts

The logo shows merger of the lower case letters “A”, “S” and “P”.

B

Although you might think it is a simple “Symbolic Logo” showing a “Bee” but what makes it more appealing is the portraying of the letter “B” and the real “Bee” through a simple symbol.

Minimum

This wavy logo looks like “a queue of letter ‘U’ but I would like you to give a second look. Designed by Kilment Kalchev, the logo spells the word minimum in an unrecognizing manner. I really enjoyed figuring it out

New Man

The reversible Newman logo. This logo is the best example of simple but clever logo.

Treacy Shoes

This logo is the cutest example of hidden logos. The hidden shoe packed between the company initials conveys the company message in a very stylish and interesting way.

Anthropomorphic design is nothing new, but these furniture objects are quite literally made of people. A cross between art photography,performance artand home furniture design, these strange shots show us a surreal artistic perspective on everyday household objects. These photographs may not be safe for work … nor are the creations they depict safe, and they do not really work.

From stacked human shelves to place settings set on structural bodies, arched figures holding entertainment systems to a lamp-headed person, these images shot by photographer David Blazquez feel almost uncomfortably raw and personal.

The feeling of discomfort is augmented, of course, by the nudity of the posed figures – but is also tied to the surreal depictions of familiar forms. The composite ‘people furniture’ seems at once stable and solid yet also simultaneously soft and poised to collapse.

Sensual or sexist? Simplistic or sublime? It is said of the best and most controversial artists in history that they were masters of their craft before they broke away from mainstream techniques, materials or approaches. Likewise, Peter Rolfe did not simply start by making suggestive and erotic pieces of furniture – he began by becoming a master of fine wood furniture design and construction.

These forms may come as a shock to moral sensibilities – or might not, depending upon the cultural context of the viewer. Either way, however, the layered, carved and polished wooden forms are incredibly well-made despite the complexities involved with having opening and closing doors, drawers and other moving elements.

Whether sublime, sexy or something else entirely, each part is carved with incredible delicacy and precision – from the human forms themselves to the props with which they interact – such as the supporting object above designed to look the part of an remarkably life-like cloth draped over a dresser.

Before you begin to wonder whether this work is more sexist than sexual, it is worth noting that he has crafted male forms as well as female ones.

Still, some of the women are modeled with arguably unrealistically ‘perfect’ curves by societal standards – and the locations of some of the drawer openingsand storage spaces do leave open questions about just how erotic these pieces truly are. But perhaps that is their purpose, or at least part of the point: to create conversations, spark controversy and question our avoidance of sexually suggestive forms in contemporary furniture design.

(from dornob)

This are some of the most creative business cards you can find in Internet. Enjoy!

Craig Tracy is dedicated to creating surreal moments in time. Without the use of digital manipulation or photographic tricks, he creates dazzling body painting compositions that have elevated this particular type of artistic expression into the realm of fine art. He recently opened a gallery in New Orleans: the first gallery in the world dedicated to fine art body painting images.

Although he’s been an artist his whole life, it took Craig Tracy a number of years to truly find his passion. His first professional art job was airbrushing t-shirts in a shopping mall. This experience gave him the foundation that would later lead him to discover that he could – and should – paint on unusual surfaces.

After college, Tracy went on to become an illustrator. Like many artists, he found the work dreary and depressing. With no artistic freedom and no way to imbue the projects with his own style, he felt trapped. After retiring from illustration and declaring his freedom from stuffy commercial work, he discovered that body painting was the only type of art that truly made sense for him. Starting out painting faces, he progressed to painting bodies and eventually began showing and selling prints of his body paintings in his own gallery.

Since then, Craig Tracy’s work has developed into a full-time passion. His body paintings show the strength and aching fragility of human bodies, juxtaposed perfectly with the fluidity and transience of the pigments in which they are covered. In some paintings, the model blends with the background, creating a stunning illusion. In others, the painted model is the focus of the piece. The above piece (bottom right), named “Butterfly” as a reference to the subtle butterfly disguised as a nose, features a woman as the leopard’s nose bridge. Her bottom forms the big cat’s top lips. The artist took 24 hours to paint the model and backdrop, pausing only for a one-hour nap.

Unlike Emma Hack, an artist who uses body paint to melt models into the background of her paintings, Tracy seems to celebrate the human form present in his work. Rather than hiding the model, he allows the curves and shadows of her body to interact with the entire piece, adding a depth, texture and powerful mystery to the paintings.

In doing this, he travels to a rather artistically dangerous zone. Just how much should the model’s form be allowed to influence the shape and direction of each piece? At what point does the body cross the line between canvas and subject? Each of Tracy’s paintings seem to play with these limits, exploring the human form as both the focus of the painting and an incidental part of it. Between those two extremes are many shades of grey, each of which is explored lovingly by the brush of the artist.

(all images used with permission of Craig Tracy)

The result of his playful and experimental approach to art and his obvious passion for what he does have made Craig Tracy one of the most respected contemporary body painting artists in the world. If you’d like to see more of the artist’s work, Craig Tracy Gallery can be found in New Orleans. It’s the only gallery in the world dedicated to fine art images of body paintings, and it also features videos of the body painting process for those interested in seeing the paintings unfold.

(from weburbanist)

[ By Steph in Gadgets & Geek Art, Urban & Street Art. ]

Jumbles of beheaded bodies, limbs entwined, torsos twisting, hands reaching out – in compositions that are both glaringly Asian-influenced and psychedelic – call to mind some orgiastic body painting experiment, until you focus on the strange perspective and profusion of hands in various sizes.

This is no ordinary example of beautifully crafted body painting, and as stunningly realistic as the images appear, they’re actually computer-generated. Contemporary Korean artist Kim Joon uses 3D animation software to assemble the perfect body for each piece, building the form and grafting on skin texture before moving on to the intricate designs.

One piece, entitled ‘Neverland’, pays respects to Michael Jackson, but deeper behind this lies an homage to what Kim admits is his idea of the perfect male body: ebony-skinned and powerful. But the real star of each digital work is the body decoration, which Kim identifies as tattoos. To Kim – who says his single biggest influence is Jimi Hendrix – tattoos are sensual markings that simultaneously represent desire and repression, beauty and scars.

“I would like people to be able to think about their own tattoos and re-examine their lives through seeing my work. Tattoo or tattooing symbolizes the multi-layered composites of desire and will, emotion and action, pain and pleasure of self and other (tattooist) which can be translated as a complex system of complicit activities,” Kim told Art Radar Asia.

“This is much like the way in which our lives are conducted in the larger social matrix. I want people to be able to feel the tension between human (in)ability to control desires and situations. That we have less control than we think in defying forces in capital driven society.”

(from weburbanist)

[ By Delana in Architecture & Design, Guerilla Marketing & Ads, Subvertising & Counter-Ads. ]

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but there are times when the packaging matters just as much as what’s inside. When you’re shopping for anything from a bottle of juice to a new pair of shoes, the package is what catches your eye long before you consider the merits of the actual product. That’s why designers spend so much time and energy designing the perfect container for every product imaginable. Some are perfectly sensible and some are so far out that you can’t help but wonder what they were thinking. These packaging designs are some of the most eye-catching and wonderfully inventive from recent years.

Fast Food Fun

(images via: TheDieline)

Eating at a fast food restaurant is always fun for kids, but what about grown-ups? This Burger King concept from designer Bernadette Coughlin would let adults have fun creating their own Burger King from their various food packages, and switching his appearance by changing out the pieces.

(images via: TheDieline)

Just as fun is this suite of interactive, modular takeout packages for the Food City chain. The boxes are totally waterproof and free of glue, and the customer transforms them from box to eating tray. Add-on containers hold sides and sauces, making for a customizable experience without any excess waste.

Healthy Foods Can Be Fun, Too

(images via: TheDieline)

On the other end of the spectrum is this brilliant brand of healthy snacks called VitaMeal. They’re aimed at reducing childhood obesity by putting appropriate serving sizes of healthy foods into places where kids congregate, like schools and recreation centers. Each product has a “personality,” making them easy for kids to get excited about. The vending machines themselves are modular in nature so they fit into the available space, and they’re designed to work with special “credit” cards that bear the likeness of one of the snack characters. Parents put credits onto the card and decide which snacks their little ones can and can’t buy.

(images via: Toxel & Gajitz)

Making healthy foods more appealing is often just a matter of the way they’re presented. Above, fruit juice is packaged in boxes that look and feel like real fruit skin, making them interesting to the touch as well as delicious to the taste buds. Just below that, a new concept for packaging healthy foods puts carrots, celery and blueberries into packages usually reserved for very unhealthy products. Carrots are packed like cigarettes, celery comes in a French fry container, and blueberries are in a blister pack like chocolates…all in the hopes that consumers will want more fresh, healthy foods if they come in unusual packages.

The Packaging Is the Product

(images via: Treehugger 1, 2)

As beautiful as some packaging is, sometimes it’s simply excessive. With some products coming wrapped in two or three layers of plastic, paper and cardboard, it’s enough to drive any environmentally-minded person crazy. So when a company integrates their packaging into their product design, it’s a win on every level. At the top, Hangerpak is a box to ship tee shirts that transforms into a hanger once in the customer’s hands. Below that, Lite 2 Go is a modular hanging light kit that’s packaged inside its own shade, greatly cutting down on the amount of waste generated by each individual product.

(images via: Treehugger)

One of the worst parts of bringing any new product home from the store is having to deal with all of the wasted packaging – this is especially true of carefully-packed items like televisions. They usually come with layers upon layers of styrofoam, cardboard, plastic and plenty of little paper leaflets. But this packaging design from Tom Ballhatchet is different: it’s actually functional. The box formerly used to hold a television transforms into a stand for that television; the cavity that once cradled the TV and kept it safe turns into shelves for your DVD player and other accessories.

Smells Like Creativity

(images via: The Dieline 1, 2)

Women’s perfume is often packaged in lovely curved bottles, but men’s cologne is usually stuck in plain square or rectangle containers. These two concepts take men’s fragrance to a whole new level of packaging design. At top is Scent Stories, a concept from Polish design studio Ah&Oh. The bottles are all based on classic literature, featuring quotes from Poe, Orwell, de Sade and Laclos stories, along with tops that resemble characters from memorable pieces by each author. Below that is Levelus, a tongue-in-cheek package for a manly fragrance; the level is functional and can actually be used to straighten picture frames in the bathroom while you get ready for a big date.

It’s All About the Shoes

(Images via: LovelyPackage, Gizmodo, Treehugger)

It’s often said that you can’t improve on the design of the mousetrap – and the same goes for the humble shoebox. But that doesn’t stop some designers from trying to cut down on shoe packaging waste or simply make the box more interesting. At top is Milli, a concept from student designer Jenny Kim. Milli stands for both millimeters – the unit of measurement used for bullets – and milliseconds – the unit of measurement that often decides the winner of a race. Her bullet shoebox represents the speed and power needed by runners. Bottom left is a brand new packaging design from Puma that incorporates a less-wasteful box with an exterior bag, eliminating both the laminated cardboard box (which is often hard to recycle) and the single-use exterior plastic bag. Bottom right: Newton shoes are packaged in 100% recycled cardboard (rather like cardboard egg carton material) and instead of being stuffed with paper, the shoes are stuffed with a pair of socks and a reusable shoe bag.

Drink it Up

(images via: TheDieline, LikeCool, TheDieline and DesignYearbook)

Beverages – from sodas to sports drinks to alcoholic beverages – already come in a wide variety of packages. But often, when we go into a store not sure of what we want, a unique package can be the deciding factor for our purchase. Above, beverages packaged in these incredible bottles would be sure to catch any shopper’s eye.

(images via: Reuben Miller and TheDieline)

Not all packaging innovations are for the sake of aesthetics only. These unique packages were designed with a desire to make lives easier. Above, a resealable soda can would prevent bugs and dirt from contaminating an open soda while allowing advertisers a brand new spot to reach their audience. The rectangular soda bottles would be the first major change to the shape of plastic beverage bottles, but it could save untold amounts of money. Packaging beverages this way would allow them to stack more closely and save room, thus drastically reducing transport costs.

(images via: LovelyPackage, TheDieline, VisualAdvice, PackagingoftheWorld)

Although most of us don’t want to admit it, a product’s packaging has a huge impact on what we purchase. Would you rather have a package on your shelf with a boring plain label or one that has clearly been designed to please the eyes and be useful? Above: flavored vodka comes in astonishingly cool flasks, the design of which won a bronze award at the 2009 German Art Director’s Club Competition. Lower, the 360 Paper Bottle could dramatically cut down on plastic bottle waste and still give the consumer a fun drinking experience. The “Milk” package is a two-liter carton which was designed as an experiment in unique packaging and communication. Bottom, a visual representation of what’s inside: a spoonful of sugar.

Playful Packages

(images via: TheDieline 1, 2)

It can be almost painful to throw away the coolest packaging – when you select a product based on how it’s packaged and bring it into your home because you like the way it looks, tossing the package into the trash is a little heart-wrenching. These products allow you to keep the wrapping around. Top, a set of dice help you decide what to be for Halloween while the canister they come in is an endlessly entertaining toy. Below that, a package containing rolls of film also works as a pinhole camera. It comes complete with instructions to help you construct your own photographic masterpiece.

You’ve Got the Music in You

(images via: PackagingoftheWorld 1, 2)

Music, being creative and highly subjective, lends itself well to creative and innovative packaging. Here, Peter Gabriel and the band Marrow both went with unusual packaging ideas for their music.

(images via: Azltron)

Science vs. Witchcraft did something a little different with their CDs and packaged them in old floppy diskettes, complete with retro labels and paper sleeves. As an added bonus, users can play a text-based game when they insert the diskette into a computer.

(images via: PackagingoftheWorld)

You wouldn’t use just any earbuds to listen to all of that creatively-packaged music, right? Audiovox designed these packages knowing that many people choose their earbuds as a fashion accessory rather than an electronics accessory. They put them in these personality-rich packages to help consumers decide which personality fits their lifestyle and their needs the best.

Power Up: Health Products

(images via: PackagingoftheWorld and Gajitz)

Any parent knows that getting kids to take vitamins can be a rather difficult task. These Omega-3 supplements come in kid-friendly packaging that might once and for all end the battle over taking or not taking vitamins. Below, creative first aid packaging whispers, rather than shouts, what’s inside – leaving the product to speak for itself.

Beautifully Creative Packaging

(images via: PackagingoftheWorld and Freedom of Creation)

There’s really no question that we’re simply drawn toward creative, attractive packaging. Even if the product is exactly the same as the one next to it, we simply want the one that looks more interesting. Whether it’s Mr. Clean packaged in dumbbell-shaped bottles or L’Oreal skin cream nestled in a golden sphere, many of us will buy a brand other than our usual when a different product offers a more attractive outer wrapping. Even though the packaging often just ends up in the trash, that first impression in the store makes all of the difference. Most of us decide in a split second, right when we see a product for the first time, whether we’re going to buy it. Since we can’t test out every product in the store, we rely on the packaging to tell us part of the story and draw us in.

(from weburbanist)

For $99 you can have a unique iPhone cover made of wood (bamboo) that fits your iPhone to the micrometer.

Take a look to their website: grove

These are beautiful, unique and expensive cases to make your iphone a unique piece in harmony with the nature.

You can buy a plain case for $89 or add your own design engraved with laser on the back. You can also choose from a set of artwork they have.

Walking Men 99™ is a site-specific Public Art Installation, surrounding the site of the upcoming Four Seasons Hotel in NYC’s Downtown area, a photographic collage of 99 pedestrian traffic-light icons collected from around the world. The installation will remain on display for one year, starting January 16th, 2010 through January 15th, 2011.

http://www.formwerkz.com

LoftLife takes a look into The Cement Factory loft, Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill’s legendary and unusual live/work complex in Barcelona. Originally, the space was, in fact, a cement factory but it also resembles a cathedral with its high, narrow windows and gothic-style arches.

Today, the factory serves as Ricardo’s personal home, as well as offices, laboratories, and a venue for exhibitions, lectures, and concerts.

Take a look inside.

Photos by Verve via LoftLife.

©2009 Design Milk | Posted by Jaime in Architectur

Emma Hack has made a name for herself as one of the most creative and visionary Australian artists to come along in years. But she doesn’t work on canvas or clay; her medium is the beautiful form of the human body.

Hack began her career as a makeup artist, hairdresser and children’s face painter. But her talents have continued to grow and evolve over the last two decades into the mature and fascinating form she works in today. Her paintings are applied directly to models’ bodies and match up perfectly with their background, acting as a kind of camouflage. But the bodies are not entirely hidden in the patterns; rather, they become part of the pattern and allow the background to flow even more beautifully.

The wallpapers featured are by the legendary designer Florence Broadhurst, licensed specifically for Hack’s use. The intricate designs can sometimes take up to 19 hours to apply. When finished, the model’s body is at once a continuation of the design and a completely unique work of art on its own. The designs accentuate, rather than hide, the fluid beauty and grace of the human form.

The wallpaper paintings began with Emma doing the painting herself and a photographer making the images. However, as she has continued to grow as an artist, Emma has taken over the photographyas well. She has experimented with adding creatures and other types of designs in to her paintings, adding a new element to the concept of her amazing body art.

Although most of her subjects have been female, Emma has also experimented with painting the male form. The wallpaper designs she uses with the male models are necessarily different; they highlight the strength of the male form and the very different curvatures of the male body. She calls all of her models her “muses,” and her affection for the art and for the human form is apparent in every painting. She manages to make the bodies of her muses look infinitely inviting, fragile and soft without once over-sexualizing them.

Emma’s work has been shown and celebrated all around the world, winning her several awards and establishing a firm following for the budding artist. She has done many series other than the Wallpapers, including “Cowscape” which features stunning paintings on cows. Her inspiration, she says, comes from nature and all of the diverse cultures of the world.

(from weburbanist)

 from http://www.weburbanist.com

When asked to list essential, life-enhancing furniture around the home, there are not many people who would include their toilet. However, remove it from their home and they’d be aware of it in a very short time. The humblest seat in the house is also the most vital. For that reason, let us celebrate the ingenuity, creativity and widespread influence of modern toilets  – because to build the ideal home, you really should start at the bottom.

(Images via: MSN and Tension Not).

First up, some public toilet designs that you might see moving indoors sometime soon. This design by Monica Bonvicini uses one-way glass to create the unsettling illusion that you’re performing your ablutions in full view of the whole world. If you can fight down the feeling that surely somebody can see you with your pants round your ankles, it’s a fascinating (and deeply weird) way to watch the world go by.

(Images via: Spluch and John Chow).

But if a public convenience in full view is seen as a very public inconvenience, why not hide it away? These two toilets take up the challenge by using the y-axis to hide all sins. The toilet at top is normally stored underground, so all you can see is the scenic sculpture on its roof – but pop a coin (1 yuan, in this case) into the slot and hey presto, one toilet. (We’re presuming that it won’t sink down again while it’s still occupied). The Urilift is designed to meet the needs of boozy gentlemen weaving their way back home after an evening in their cups – during the day it looks like a manhole cover, but at night it twirls into view to present urinals in all directions.

(Image via: Whole Wheat Toast).

And for making sure that nobody takes your public toilet for granted? Okay, so this design is a spoof (at the Hunter’s Point Shipyard Studios, SF). But this is guaranteed to make any guy think twice about doing what comes naturally to him. A design that heightens awareness, shall we say.

(Image via: luxurygaze).

And if you want to want your toilet out of sight in your own home, here’s a classy-looking option. This Bench Toilet doubles as an elegant table, thanks to a sliding wood panel. (But there is a catch: it costs over $11,000 – so this is one for when you are really…er, flush).

(Images via:  Yanko Design).

For a commode that you’d be proud to display in full view, have a look at Sung Hoon Mun’s Cell toilet. Its polished surface and fashionably curving lines make it look like it was designed within the supercar industry…and under the hood – I mean lid - you would be surprised to find that it doesn’t require a tank, hence the unusually ground-hugging egg shape.

(Images via: Pinny Cohen and Diamond Vues).

So now for toilets that take things a little too far. On the left, the winningly-named Pimped Out John, sporting a frankly ludicrous array of modifications including a laptop, a gaming console, TiVo, a fully-stocked refrigerator and even some exercise pedals to help you lose weight while you…lose weight. This is a one-off item and not available in the stores, and frankly we are glad of it (imagine the effect it would have on kids that already hog the bathroom in the morning). Another distinctly noncommercial example is the Isis toilet, which shimmers because it is studded with $75,000 of crystals. On a practical note, I bet it gets cold in the winter.

(Images via: Propelair and Cooler Solutions Inc.).

The house of tomorrow will hoard its precious water. There are already methods in development to use kitchen sink grey water to flush toilets, but until they’re part of a designer’s standard toolkit, it would be sensible to cap the amount of water available without detracting from the unit’s function. This is what Propelair aims to do – by sealing the bowl and pushing air through it, it uses just 1.5 litres for a full flush (around 80% less than the standard).  The Dignity toilet provides a sanitary alternative to a regular water supply in drought conditions – it holds its contents hygienically for a week, and then the top is undocked, augered into the ground in a safe spot, and opened.

(Image via: Collections Etc.).

BAD boy.You know how pets do that really disgusting thing with the drinking of the water in the toilet? This toilet-themes dog water bowl has us in two minds: obviously dogs will love it, and the design makes good sense (automatically refilling as it empties). But isn’t it teaching your dog to drink out the toilet? If you have given up trying to dissuade Fido from his disturbing habits, this is a practical way to concede defeat.

(Image via: Yanko Design).

And while we’re talking about items that give the wrong message – how about a toilet seat that tells you exactly how much weight you’re losing? That is precisely what the Toilet Seat Scale does (precisely). People with a weight micro-management problem form an unhealthy queue here, please.

(Images via: Spluch and Freshome).

So we are agreed – toilets can look great. But would you want to live in one? For South Korean Sim Jae-Duck, chairman of the World Toilet Association, the answer is a firm “Yes” – or at least, a house that looks like one until you go inside and see the luxury on offer. This stunning example of ultra-modern designwork (with a touch of eccentricity) is advertised as “a place of sanctuary” – just like its humbler counterpart.

(Image via: The Register).

But if you think a house-sized toilet is faintly ludicrous – what about this building? Could this be the world’s most monstrous porcelain throne – andwhy?

From weburbanist.com

Camouflage isn’t just for hunters and the army anymore – it’s being used to make artistic statements, beautify urban environments, make ugly cars look nicer and for shock value. These examples of unusual use of camouflage show how versatile the concept is, from making homes blend into forest environments to creating eerie optical illusion effects in photography.

Trompe L’Oeil Body Painting

(images via: Emma Hack)

Body artist Emma Hack blends models seamlessly into wallpaper backgrounds in a series of photographs entitled ‘Wallpaper Collection’. In several of the photos, her models hold birds, creating an eerie sort of floating effect.

Nearly-Invisible Utility Boxes

(images via: We Jet Set)

Utility boxes become far less of an eyesore when they’re painted to resemble their surroundings as artfully as these ones seen in Los Angeles. Artist Joshua Callahan employed trompe l’oeil painting techniques to help them practically disappear into the background. It’s quite a fun and beautiful use of art to minimize the ugliness of these big, gray boxes.

BMW 7-Series with Trippy Camo Paint Job

(images via: World of Cars)

This BMW E65 7-Series was spotted out and about in Munich with a psychedelic camouflage paint job. BMW is reportedly testing out new ‘camouflage systems’ for future prototypes. It’s certainly a creative interpretation of camo print, but we doubt that it’ll help the car blend in.

Coke Machine Camouflage Suit

(images via: WebUrbanist)

Trying to avoid a stalker? Perhaps this Coke machine suit is just what you’re looking for to get around on the street without being spotted. Made by designer Aya Tsukioka, it unfolds from a red skirt into a full-sized replica of a vending machine. It may not be terribly convincing – especially when your shoes are poking out of the bottom – but it’s certainly a creative idea.

Quirky Urban Camouflage Photography

(images via: Desiree Palmen)

They really only work if you stay completely still, but these camouflage outfits – created and photographed by Desiree Palmen – are definitely trippy to look at. Palmen’s subjects are painted to blend into their environments, from park benches to bus seats.

Camouflaged House

(images via: The Cool Hunter)

Camo print has been applied to many objects, but this modern home covered in images of trees certainly seems to be a first. The exterior is designed to fit in among the greenery that surrounds it, and will seemingly disappear into the forest once the budding fir trees on all sides of it grow to their full height.

More Urban Camouflage Photography

(images via: Galerie Bertin)

Chinese artist Liu Bolin stresses the use of camouflage as a survival technique, mimicking nature. Of his camouflage photography, Liu says “Chameleon has the unique property of changing hues to match the color of the surroundings for self-protection. Rattlesnake can bury most of the body in sand soil. This can not only protect itself but also have a better access to food. There are also many animals, such as gecko, beetle etc., which have learnt to deal with the environment and the enemy in the longtime fight of life and death. In order to survive, good concealment has become the most critical factor.”

Camouflage Wedding Cakes

(images via: Sugar n Spice Bakery, PattyCakes TN)

For people truly obsessed with all things camo, a traditional white wedding cake will never do. Why stop at camouflage-printed bridesmaid dresses, ties and tablecloths when you can have a camouflage cake too, complete with fake dead deer head toppers?

Luxury Camo for Beater Cars

(images via: Nerd Approved)

Got an ugly, worn-out beater sitting in your driveway? Transform it into a luxury car instantly with a car cover that looks like a high-end automobile. This product doesn’t really exist, but the mock-up above (with a corner lifted up to illustrate the effect) shows that at least from a distance, it kind of works. Theoretically, you could even cut out the windows and drive around like that.

Urban Camouflage Hoodie & Graffiti Boiler Suit

(images via: Aaron Larney)

Artist Aaron Larney created this camouflage hoodie to blend into a real urban setting – specifically, a notice board. The hoodie itself is made from paper, covered in signs offering things like office equipment and lost dog rewards. For the graffiti photo, Larney enlisted the help of graffiti artists Matt Child and Dosah to help his subject blend into the wall by way of a painted boiler suit.

Kamo Kilts

(images via: Pittsburgh Kilts, GeekTimes)

For the Scotsman dedicated to wearing a kilt at all times – or the hunter who’d like to experience a cool breeze in the hot summer months – kilts are available in all types of camouflage print, including ‘Hunter Orange’.

Woman in Window Optical Illusion

(image via: Sudokuz)

It’d be hard not to look twice at this woman painted to blend into the wall and window frame behind her. It’s a pretty effective optical illusion, with the chipped paint of the window frame painstakingly recreated on her skin.

Urban Camouflage Art Installations

(images via: Laurent LaGamba)

Laurent LaGamba’s photographic installations deal with the juxtaposition of humans, nature, technology and urban space using camouflage techniques. The photos show people blending into store shelves, cars, appliances, airplanes and grocery store check-out counters.

Andy Warhol Last Supper Camo Jacket

(image via: HypeBeast)

Andy Warhol’s iconic combination of Leonardo da Vinci and camouflage print has been memorialized on a Burton jacket. ‘Camouflage Last Supper’ was one of Warhol’s final paintings from a Last Supper series that also included a black light Last Supper and several prints of the famous painting that also included corporate logos.

Matching Wallpaper and Gaudy Shirts

(image via: JPG Magazine)

Inspired by a scene in the film ‘Garden State’ where Zach Braff begrudgingly tries on a shirt made to match the wallpaper in his parents’ bathroom (top photo), this photo series by JPG magazine pairs ugly wallpaper with matching gaudy tops.

Read more…