Single-Serving Wine Glass is a Perfect Picnic or Party Ware

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)

10 of the most impressive subway stations

Stockholm Tunnelbana (Sweeden)

`Subway stations are usually designed in a clean and modernistic style in order to make people forget they are traveling deep underground. It is different in the Stockholm subway though, in which several of the deep underground stations are cut into solid rock which were left with cave-like ceilings. Oldnature meets nextnature. The fine ‘cave paintings’ make the finishing touch. (Link | Photo)

Munich U-Bahn (Germany)

Munich Public Transport System (MVV) is a splendidly constructed system consisting of dozens of S-Bahn (suburbian trains), U-Bahn (subway), Tram-Bahn / Straßenbahn (streetcar) and bus lines, connecting all parts of the city perfectly. This metro system has been opened in 1972 and has spacious and clean stations. The earlier ones are rather minimalistic in design while the later ones got more interesting architectural features and some works of art. (Link | Photo 1 | Photo 2)

Shanghai Bund Sightseeing Tunnel (China)

This has to be one of the most surreal, psychedlic and fun forms of public transport. The Tunnel connects East Nanjin Rd on the Bund, and Pudong near the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, running under the Huangpu river. It’s a psychedelic trip in a glass capsule along the 647 metre flashing, strobing tunnel.

(Link)

Moscow’s Komsomolskaya Station (Russia)

The Komsomolskaya station of the Moscow Metro is the most famous of all those on the Koltsevaya Line and of the whole system, and an icon of Moscow itself, partly due to it being located on Moscow’s busiest transport hub, Komsomolskaya Square, which serves three railway terminals: Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky and Kazansky. The station’s connotation is of a gateway to Moscow and to the rest of Russia, and its theme is of the patriotic history and inspiring future of the nation. It was opened on 30 January, 1952, as part of the second stage of the Ring line. (Link)

Frankfurt’s Bockenheimer Warte station

A weird subway entrance, looking like a train bursting through the sidewalk from below, is located in Frankfurt. Architect Zbiginiew Peter Pininski reported he felt inspired by surrealist artist René Magritte when creating it. (Link)

Metro Bilbao (Basque Country)

Bilbao, a small city in the Basque region, is proud of their subway system, not only because of its speed and efficiency, but also because of its design. Norman Foster, the architect who did the Reichtag in Berlin, the Gherkin in London, and the world’s largest airport in Hong Kong, designed Bilbao’s metro stations. The stations are well-lit and spacious. Foster uses a simple, yet aesthetically pleasing design, especially with the support beams, staircases, and lights. The entrances are especially unique. Nicknamed “el Fosterito,” the entrances are glass round tubes that emerge to the street level. (Link 1 | Link 2)

New York’s City Hall station (US)

While the stations of the subway are now often dirty, ugly, and are marginally welcoming places, this is not always the case. New York City once had the imagination to build stations which were beautiful as well as practical. The City Hall station remains the most impressive subway station in New York, and yet it hasn’t been used since 1945. (Link)

Chicago’s O’Hare Station (US)

The O’Hare terminal station was built in 1984, looking toward the airport terminal from the platforms. The curved sidewalls of glass block, backlit in different colors, illuminate the platforms and absorb sound in the station. The stairs and escalators at the end of the platforms ascend through a gray metal wall that mimics an airplane fuselage to deliver passengers to the fare controls and out into the airport terminal. (Link)

Dubai Metro Stations (UAE)

The elevated and at-grade Dubai Metro stations combine both heritage and modern designs. They have been modelled on the shape of seashell, inspired from the diving and pearl-fishing heritage of the UAE, while the interior design depicts the four elements of nature – water, air, earth and fire. Conceptual design of some stations includes traditional architectural ingredients used in antique Arab buildings such as wind towers, oriels, alleyways or internal arches. (Link | Photo)

Pyongyang Metro (North Korea)

Built to link secret underground military facilities, the Pyongyang Metro is nevertheless an important part of the transport infrastructure in the capital of North Korea (officially, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK). There is evidence that it includes secret government-only lines, although the extent of these, if they exist, is unknown. Its station architecture is among the most attractive in the world. However, relatively little is known about the Metro outside the country, as few visitors are able to investigate the system. (Link)
(from oddee)

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube redesign their websites

In the last months we have seen some Internet titans redesign their websites.

Facebook

First it was Facebook. They changed a lot. Before they had this bar at the bottom of the page with the apps, chat and so, which is now back to the traditional menus in the top and left.

People complained at the beginning, but this is normal. Changes of this type should be done in consultation with users, but in a dictatorship way. What do I mean with this? People do not like change. When people is used to a way of seeing information and to interact, to change it will always mean to go for worse, at least at the beginning. Over time, users will recognize that the changes were for good.

Twitter

Twitter was the second to change. The strength of twitter is updated tweets, and trends.
I have talked about twitter many times. At the beginning they struggled to cope with growth and they were down very often. Now they struggle to catch up with things like brighkite (which I love) does: location and photo. Even they could have video, maps and so… but no, they keep it simple. It remind me the fight between video VHS and Betamax. Betamax was the best technical option but VHS won. Well, twitter is not the best, but they have the most important ingredient: success.
Now popular topics, tweets, and users are clear in the frontpage. A “Top Tweets” section that dynamically updates using a custom algorithm to decide what is popular or of general interest. I have always though that the trends are absolutely useless but top tweets could be good, unless we start seeing “good night” or “followfridays”… They also have added a dynamically scrolling list of trending topics that when hovered over explain their trending status.

Youtube

The last redesign was for YouTube. Again people complained. If you take a look at YouTube you will be surprised by the simplicity. It is basically no design. Nothing. Very interesting that such a successful website chooses this simplistic approach. Their secret is in the ajax-like movement of things, with a new commenting system that highlights top-rated comments,  a “like/dislikes” rating system that replaces the previous five star system and a new “next video to watch” sidebar that is “smarter”. It feels different but not a lot. Take a look at the menus, the footer menu, just plain text. No lines no nothing. Is this more user friendly? It is less cluttered, that is for sure. Maybe because it is a google product and googles is not… well particular at design?

10 Most Creative Resumes

Sabrina Saccocio is a TV, radio print and web producer who has put together a great eye-grabbing resume, looking for a unique and interesting work, a Facebook resume.
(Link)

Pocket CV by Temitope Shoda. If you have to go to several jobs interviews in one day, this resume is, besides creative, very easy to carry.
(Link)

Michael Anderson’s portafolio not only shows he can create great graphics, it also proves he is able to turn ‘boring’ facts and figures into something exciting.
(Link)

Very creative resume from Kristian Leigh Walsh, inspired in Game of Life. Check the video:

(Link)

T-shirt resume. Very creative but you won’t be able to sue for sexual harassment if your future boss starts starring at your boobs.
(Link)

Samuel J. Mallett folded resume
(Link)

Resume in a box by ~Pixcaliba
(Link)

Eugene Isaac was trying to land a writing job at a magazine, so he came up with this creative magazine cover resume.
(Link)

Tired of writing or typing? How about sewing your own resume like graphic designer Melissa Washin.
(Link | Photo)

Art director Katen Adolski used pencil tools to show her career evolution.
(Link)
(Extracted from oddee)

Creative Shoes: 13 of the Wildest Shoe Designs and Brands

[ By Marc in weburbanist ]

While the majority of consumers are content to purchase the newest brand of name brand shoes, in the same color and style they always get, this doesn’t hold true for everyone. In our daily lives we only come across the occasional individual who truly works at expressing their personality via their shoes. Here are 13 groups of the wildest shoes you wouldn’t even see on the most outrageous free spirit:

(Images via fashionvictim101, popgloss, twolia, hellishhumor)

Fur coats are common, but fur shoes, not so much. In the Native American tradition of using every part of an animal, some creative shoe designers have taken this philosophy to the next level… creating shoes that appear animalistic to an extreme.

(Images via splendidcity, thefashionpolice, fashionvictim101, funalso)

Designers are always pushing the boundaries between form and function, in the hope of inspiring new lines that can be sold to a wider audience. Some designers add new features, while other try to go so minimalist that they remove entire sections of a shoe to reveal what’s beneath.

(Images via babydoll, declubz, myamazingfact, gemersiksufi, anshul, ebaumsworld)

Almost all shoes are designed in the same boring fashion, but there are definitely exceptions. Whether a designer utilizes a smoother, waving form, or manipulates the shape into something that hardly resembles a shoe, they all let their creativity go wild.

(Images via messandnoise, oddee, coutureavenue)

There aren’t any rules when it comes to design, and some creative innovators try to redefine what we consider set in stone. Some of the results are too radical for most people’s taste, but the occasional design will strike a chord with a larger audience (or a wealthy customer), and become a true success.

(Images via hem, specialfootwear, designswan, 2dayblog)

When you’re dressing up in costume, it’s important not to forget your feet. You can go for the realistic, disgusting look, or put on a pair of rats that look way too real. Either way, you’ll leave a trail of groaning friends in your wake.

(Images via aioviga, misslalaland, timetranscript, highheelshoemuseum)

High heels give a graceful, elegant look, and the height of a model. Just like anything, though, extremes can be ridiculous. Incredibly tall high heels can add an artistic flair to a model walking down the runway, but there is an element of very real danger. A lot of women have twisted their ankles, and taken bad spills.

(Images via interestingfacts, toxel)

Some shoes are made out of alternative materials in order to be more environmentally friendly, or add an interesting twist to a typically mundane clothing item, but this isn’t always the case. Necessity breeds invention, and sadly, this means that some of the poorest people are forced to make shoes out of any materials they can get their hands on.

(Images via sarahselectronicblogride, meganginter, geekscape, sikendi)

Not all mainstream shoe makers are boring. Shoe makers will make special edition shoes that appeal to a niche group of consumers, and advertise the brand as something unique. Form fitting shoes are meant to give better feedback to one’s feet, while still protecting them from the elements, but they look as out of this world as a pair of a dinosaur sneakers, or as ridiculous as a tennis ball shoe.

(Images via designswan, popgloss)

While it may not be incredibly functional, shoes can be a fantastic medium for artistic endeavors. There’s something inherently interesting about a common, and typically boring, element from our everyday lives being turned into something creative and unique.

(Images via freshvintage, fashionandnonsense, stylefeeder, nypost, effamadha)

Quirky and outlandish shoes are a great way to stand out in a crowd and express an artistic spirit. You can search high and low for rare and exotic designs, or add to an already existing model and make it your own. The true DIY fanatic will find a way to make anything unique.

(Images via declubz, funnypictures, impactlab, blacklognz)

Like a novelty clown nose, or gigantic foam hands and hats created for sporting events or special occasions, there’s a seemingly endless variety of shoes meant to cause a laugh. The stereotypical clown shoe is just the beginning, as almost any item can be turned into a semblance of a shoe, though it might not be the most comfortable thing to wear.

(Images via designswan, showmeyourshoes, gizmodiva, thefashionpolice)

Most people who have worn high heels will attest that they’re not the most comfortable clothing item in the world, but some designers express this in an industrial, and blatant way, by adding heavy, painful looking spikes and metals, and turning an elegant item into something intimidating.

(Images via cemilanmata, fun-maniac, myspace, twolia, untitiledarchive, weirdositylives)

Winsome Words: 18 Examples of Typography in Web Design

[ By Steph in Architecture & Design, Gadgets & Geek Art. ]

“Web design is 95% typography.” That quote has been repeated around the internet so many times it has practically become gospel – probably because it’s true. While images are important, most of what we process while browsing the web is text. Using the same old boring fonts doesn’t make for exciting design, so some graphic artists have turned typography on the web into a stunning art form unto itself. These 18 websites use typography to inform, but also as an (often interactive) design element that’s like a magnet for our eyeballs.

Espira Web Technology

Priorities, priorities, priorities. Espira Web Technology has emphasized the most important words on the page using large, eye-catching typography that’s a seamless part of the overall design of the site. Following the cardinal rule of using serif typefaces only for headings, the text is easy to read and almost forcibly pulls you in regardless of whether you even speak Spanish.

Jesus Rodriguez Velasco

Sometimes, typography is used in web design to firmly establish the theme or essence of what the site is all about. In this case, archaic-looking typeface and hand-painted symbols hint at what’s inside: “a veritable panoply of literary, visual and aural diversions related (or not) to academic pursuits, arcane (or simply dusty) vagaries and very earnest but most likely misguided contemporary concerns.” The author, Jesus Rodriquez Velasco, is a medieval and early modern studies professor at Columbia University.

Oliver Kavanaugh Design

It’s big. It’s loud. It’s overwhelmingly the most important element on the page, and that’s the point. Graphic and web designer Oliver Kavanaugh managed to make jumbled, overlapping text that might be far too busy in the wrong hands work with subtle texture, a controlled color scheme and careful attention to composition.

Ryan Keiser Design

“I create usable accessible colorful experiences.” All three of those adjectives also apply to the typography-centered design of this website, helping Ryan Keiser establish his brand in a way that’s immediate and memorable.

Denise Chandler Design

Can you resist scrolling further down the page after getting a look at this web header? It’s clean and simple yet dynamic – even without the cute animated insects. Web and graphic designer Denise Chandler showcases her talent with an online portfolio that’s classic and modern all at once.

The New York Moon

Sure, the most eye-catching element of this page is that huge vintage radio. But though it may be subtle, the typography on The New York Moon website still shines. It’s a great example of how less can be more – the type doesn’t have to be acid-bright or two inches tall to call attention to itself and help define the page.

Kidd 81 Design

It’s not hard to tell that Paul Jamie Kidd really loves his job. Everything about the playful, colorful typography on his website screams “fun” – but not in an annoying way, thanks to the balanced white space and neutral brown background.

Circus Family Design, Direction, Animation & Production

Whoa – four different typefaces in a row? That’s usually a terrible idea (especially on the web) – but Circus Family pulls it off here with an austere layout and monochromatic color scheme. The chosen typefaces give the site a very “edgy silent film” feel – appropriate given the nature of the company’s work.

Alpha Multimedia

How can a brand name force itself into your head without screaming like a headache-inducing car dealership commercial? Alpha Multimedia gets it done with excellent use of negative space, filling in the entire header with the word and subsequently drawing your eye down the page to view their featured work samples.

Lorem Ipsum Design

There’s an argument to be made that using ‘lorem ipsum’ isn’t a great idea when designing a website, but that doesn’t extend to using the graphic design agency of the same name. Lorem Ipsum Design goes bold and, well, graphic with a home page featuring nothing but two fonts, one a stark sans serif and the other a hand-written scrawl on a moveable post-it.

Maurivan Luiz Design

The word ‘WELCOME!’ in huge typeface with an exclamation point at the top of a website can be a sign of an amateur designer. That’s definitely not the case here. Maurivan Luiz keeps the friendliness from being cliché – the greeting warmly sets the tone for the site and balances well with the white background and the italicized serif text below it.

The Astonishing Adventures of Lord Likely

What would the blog of a hedonistic Victorian gentleman with a penchant for getting sidetracked by the ladies while solving mystifying mysteries look like? A little something likeLordLikely.com, a rather racy account of all sorts of mustachioed aristocratic adventures. The chosen typefaces and parchment-like background are evocative of the era, but the clean design is a nod to the modern world.

Love Freelancing

Sometimes, the right balance of typography is like music – it flows with its own rhythm and harmony. Web designer Kai Branch created this little site to hype an ebook of web designer interviews, and it does the subject proud with a beautiful composition of type in various fonts, sizes and orientations.

Giant Creative Web Design & Development

Who needs fancy illustrations when you’re this good with nothing but type? A web design and development firm called Giant Creative literally makes typography the center of attention on their own website. The design is clean yet fun, using a font that’s just playful enough to give a lighthearted yet professional impression.

Ben Lind Design

“I create simple, clean websites that are easy to use and fun to look at.” So says designer Ben Lind on his own website, but perhaps he needn’t have. The design of his site says it all, with a large typography graphic in the center that not only reads “Hi, I’m Ben, I love making websites” but also forms an L for his last name.

Elysium Burns Design

Graphic designer Sean Baker goes for bold sans-serif type for headlines and titles and a more elegant serif font for the text blocks, but with a tightly controlled color scheme and varying font sizes, it all comes together into a cohesive design.

FL2 Blog

It doesn’t get much bolder than this. Interactive agency FL2 isn’t shy about making typography just about as big as it can be both on their blog and website, leaving you with absolutely no question whatsoever which page you’ve landed on.

(from weburbanist)

Creative stuff

[gallery columns="2"]Collection of photos of creative stuff.

Design the case for your iPhone

There is very cool website called case mate where you can design a unique case for your iPhone, iPod, Laptop, etc…. It is made in flash and it is very very nice.

Give it a try. The final price of the case is a bit expensive but you’ll get something unique.

  

Amazing Inklet trackpad tablet app for MacBook

The Inklet app essentially converts your multitouch trackpad in your MacBook into a drawing tablet by adding pressure sensitivity when using with a Pogo Sketch, as well as “advanced palm rejection” which lets you rest your hand while drawing or writing. As you can see in one of the videos after the break, you can also quickly adjust your canvas area at your convenience. $24.95 and it’s yours, Picasso.

Amazing Program Turns Sketches into Photo Montages

What if you could create a fairly convincing image montage in mere minutes, using an online tool that automatically does all the work for you? It sounds insane, but five students from Tsinghua University in China and the National University of Singapore have created a program that does just that.

PhotoSketch allows users to create photomontages from basic stick-figure sketches – you don’t even have to have any kind of artistic talent to convey your idea. As explained in the video below, the tool takes a simple sketch of the desired montage elements and pulls photographs that correspond to them from Google, Flickr and Yahoo.

Sketch2Photo: Internet Image Montage from Tao Chen on Vimeo.

The program then decides from a variety of matching results which ones work together the best and merges each disparate image element into a cohesive whole. It even matches them to the scene with the correct color tones and adds shadows as needed. The whole process takes about 15 minutes.

While PhotoSketch is remarkably easy to use, professional graphic designers needn’t worry about it replacing their skills anytime soon. The resulting image montages don’t exactly pass for real photographs, but could actually help designers and digital artists create quick concept images to present to clients, saving a considerable amount of time.

It doesn’t appear that the tool discriminates between copyrighted and Creative Commons images or compensates the creators of the original images in any way, which would create licensing issues unless the problem is addressed before the tool is made available to the public.  But, PhotoSketch does open up a whole new world of possibilities for the Photoshop-illiterate and professionals alike.

(from weburbanist)