Found this gem at newscientist.

Alternative propulsion methods are always interesting just because our lives our dominated by so very few.  If anything just sit and watch the beauty in it’s movements.

From NewScientist:

It’s not a bird or a plane: it’s an unusual flying object that propels itself by flipping inside out. Created by engineers at Festo in Esslingen, Germany, the floating band filled with helium takes on different shapes while expanding and contracting to generate thrust and move through the air.

The design is based on the inverted cube shape discovered by inventor and mathematician Paul Schatz. By dissecting a cube into three parts, two star-shaped units can be produced at either end with an invertible belt in the middle section which is the same shape as the flying band. The system reproduces the entire structure: it opens to release the band while the ends remain on the ground as a docking station.

The flying object itself is made up of six identical prisms filled with helium, held together by a carbon-fibre framework. Three motors drive the motion coordinated by a tiny onboard computer, pre-programmed to replicate the inversion sequence. Using a smartphone, a person on the ground can guide the object around a room, which will be demonstrated on Monday at a trade show in Hanover, Germany.

The firm still hasn’t come up with a specific use for inversion-driven propulsion. The mechanics of automated systems are typically based on rotational or linear motion to drive, for example, motors or grippers, but inversion is seldom used in designs. The company has now launched a competition challenging students in Germany to suggest a functional idea that could be implemented in an industrial environment.

I guess sometimes yay for corporate overlords?

I came across Sagaki Keita’s work and thought it was some of the most amazingly psychedelic art I’d seen in some time.  The precision on the macro scale down to the seemingly haphazard and spontaneous nature of the micro is amazing.  I’m always a bit taken a back that he doesn’t lose his way when creating these pieces.

The interview was done via email.  Sagaki speaks little english and thus the text has some hiccups here and there.  I’ve kept it as is, with little alteration as not to misconstrue or misrepresent Mr. Keita’s words.

I don’t post much electronic on here, I don’t know why not, but just haven’t I’m definitely a fan of the genre. One of the guys who always wow me with each successive album is Amon Tobin (I even went on a purchase spree to fill gaps in my catalog). Found sound paired with his ingenuity behind the boards makes an Amon Tobin something else to experience.

Check out his track by track commentary on ISAM here.

I’m a bit of an inforgraphic nut, so when these came on my radar I knew I had to repost these.  These must have been a painstaking endeavor to complete, but they turned out better than the creator could have hoped.  To see more head over to Pattern Matters.

About Pattern Matters:

AUGMENTING THE ROLE OF PATTERN IN GRAPHIC DESIGN THROUGH TACTILE EXPLORATION
Pattern Matters is a graphic design-based project inquiring on possible ways to augment the role of pattern by looking into the design process and tactile exploration through pattern making. It demonstrates the way of how this design element of pattern can be adopted differently on various platforms in graphic design. The main objective of this project is to inspire designers to look at pattern in every possible angles. Pattern Matters also aims to demonstrate that pattern is a crucial form of design element in graphic design which eventually evident that pattern is not merely a decorating tool.

by @bjones21

Found at Creative Review

Stanley Donwood, who has been at the helm of every Radiohead cover to date, linked up with @creativereview to explain the art and concepts behind Radiohead’s latest King Of Limbs Newspaper Album.  I’ve provided some choice pieces and quotes; you can grab the full piece here.

The artwork is designed in the guise of a Sunday newspaper, complete with plastic packaging printed with the album name and imagery. It contains two 10-inch clear vinyl records in a sleeve, a CD of the album, a perforated blotting-sheet artwork, and a newspaper containing art and texts by Donwood.

The newspaper was printed in the US, and uses a standard US newspaper format, which conveniently folds down to approximately album size.

“In Rainbows was a great big, solid cardboard thing, if you were determined you could probably kill somebody with it, it was very heavy, and almost like a definitive statement,”

The King Of Limbs artwork is to be in complete contrast to that of In Rainbows, a figure that’s not rigid and finalized just as the news is; as Donwood says:

“It’s not like the news stops when a newspaper comes out,” he continues. “It’s just ‘this is what’s happening today’. So this is released into the world on this day, and this is where this band are right now… it is a continuing thing.”

Donwood on the CD Packaging: ”If it could have been any worse, it would have been . . .” Meanwhile the vinyl sleeve is made up of a series of oil paintings by Donwood and the band.

Head to Creative Review for more pics & info.

When I saw this I could think of only three things: it opens a portal to hell, its used as next millennia social experiment, or it signals aliens. I still wouldn’t doubt that one of those is still an option. Either way it’s now on my list of sites to see. Architecturally awe inspiring.

From Rocco Architects:

Guangdong Museum is one of the four cultural landmarks for Zhujiang New Town of Guangzhou. Conceived as an Objet d’Art in a monumental scale, it is an allegory to the impeccably and intricately sculpted antique Chinese artifacts of a lacquer box, which collects and reflects treasures of the times. The museum is designed to house objects of treasure, and is also a treasured object of fascination. It is an identifiable cultural icon, giving visitors a memorable experience on the traditional wisdoms as well as the appreciation of the cultural identity of the city.

by @bjones21

This is one of the most awe inspiring thing I’ve seen in a minute. I”m not a overtly religious, but I can see finding God being relatively easy in a place like this.

I ran across Scott Campbell’s work and thought it was definitely worth sharing. The intricacies of the work and the steady hand it must have taken to create them is astounding.

Found this gem of design and functionality over at DesignMilk.  Pretty much speaks for itself as a slick interpretation of the classic game. From the designer Andrew Clifford Capener:

The purpose of this project was to revive an old, but loved game. The idea was to excite people about typography by giving them the ability to choose what font their scrabble set would come in. The set would be available in the font of your choice or with an assorted font pack. Additional font packs (including your favorite font) could be ordered through Scrabble’s website. The scrabble board and interior box are made out of solid walnut, and the exterior box is made from birch. Each of the 6 board pieces is magnetized to fit together perfectly and each piece slides nicely into its respective slot in the box and is secured by interior magnets as well. The interior of the exterior box as well as the bottoms of the 6 board pieces are lined with cork, to protect them while in use.

Slide on over to Andrew’s page to find out how you may be able to lock down your own.

So yeah with this post it becomes obvious I’m a bit of  a dork.  Always into comics as a kid and every now and then one swings my way, and I’ll snag a few issues or two of, but anyway I ran across this on Behance and thought they were pretty fresh.

From the VISEone:

Here I combine my love of Designertoys and Comics. I use any platform and strip their skin to show what comics appear underneath the surface.

Related to the Comic Theme I often use sculpted elements to fit the theme.

Mixed Media: Apoxy Clay, Collage Technique, Acrylic Paint, Decals

The art collective Carnovsky, consisting of Francesco Rugi and Silvia Quintanilla have done a series of some of the most interesting pieces I’ve seen in recent memory with their RGB set, which at its zenith is able to transform whole rooms into  a intense sensory experience.

They were kind enough to answer a few of my questions, that I hope will be part one of  more discussions with the busy pair.

Where did you individually study?

Francesco Rugi: I’m an art historian and I studied in Bologna (Italy) and Silvia is a industrial designer, she studied in Bogotà (Colombia). we met at Domus Academy in Milan, where both graduated in design.

Was there a moment when you believed the art world was one you wanted to enter into?

Not really a specific moment, maybe we both have always been interested in art, and in particular in the contaminations between art, design, and other worlds.

Was there a piece or artist that you remember that intently put you on your paths?

Hmm, diificult to answer there are too many…

Favorite mediums to work with?

We don’t think to have a favourite medium to work with, but we are actually really fascinated with all the print techniques,  or better, with all the image reproduction techniques, antique and new, and in different media, from tapestry to inkjet… and we also love working with paper and cardboard.

You came on the scene for me with the RGB Wallpaper and after some time as a collective you’ve created a larger number of works; Artificialia, Love ’60, and your design for the band “3/4HadBeenEliminated“.

Actually the works that you mentions are previous to RGB. You know, the problem with a website is that you have to keep it update and it takes a lot of time: we have many other works we haven’t yet published, some because we are still working it, others we are just looking for the right way or right time to show.

Where did the concept for the RGB Wallpaper come from?

We start thinking on RGB since two years: RGB come from different inspirations and ideas: experiment with lights and colors, to create surface that could mutate and interact with different chromatic stimulus and a reflections on ancient frescos and how it could be possible to make stuff like that in the present time, and so we came up with the wallpapers that for us is not only home decoration but at the same time should refers to narrative and paintings. It takes lot of time to develop the graphic language of RGB either in terms of research of the sources that we use either in terms of design process.

Your projects with 3/4, how did they come about did the band contact you randomly or was there a personal connection there?

We really love to work with musicians and do graphics design in the field of music like CD cover. We think this is a field where you have a lot of freedom to experiment which is difficult to find when you do graphic design for big companies. In the specific case of the 3/4 we are good friends with the band, and also big fans of their music, so we are always happy when we have the possibility to create some artwork for them.