chrisdiclerico.com » design

it’s my dick in a box

chris — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:23:44 +0000

Another case of unfortunate logo design, but what exactly do you think is in the Storage Deluxe box?

embarrassing soccer display

chris — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:44:34 +0000

As a “bloody American” I’ll admit I’m not as in touch with soccer (football) as my Dubai-British “mates.” I do know that America will be in the upcoming World Cup in South Africa, and that we are very likely to get our assess handed to us. I feel like it isn’t right to also have to be completely embarrassed by the uniform. Does the jersey really have to look like a Miss America sash over the shoulder of every player? Really? Maybe they could have the position written across it too, so it could read, “Miss Goalkeeper.”

We should stick to snowboarding in the Olympics.

charles eames interview and the intro of the iconic lounge chair in 1956

chris — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:14:58 +0000

This amazing short video is a fun, insightful, and frustratingly pretentious interview with Charles Eames in 1956. There are a few great quotes in there about Charles’ and Ray’s design philosphy, but more importantly to me, it appears to be one of the first times the iconic Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman was revealed to the public. I bought one of these chairs from Design Within Reach about a month and a half ago, and I love it. The design is virtually unchanged since this 1956 version, and is still just as modern looking and comfortable, though I do hope it has become a little more classic and a lot less pretentious. (For the record, I bought a sample from the closing SoHo showroom and got a SIGNIFICANT discount with only minor minor imperfections on the back wood panel.)

[via drawn.]

wine label

chris — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:02:06 +0000

I really, really hate it when something I’ve been talking about but have been too lazy to properly design comes to market. For years I have been droning on about how dumb it is that wine bottle labels don’t have a little tear-off part that has all the relevant details of the wine on it. I constantly forget the name and details of great wines I have tried and therefore never get to have them again. When discussing the idea with some restauranteur friends, it was explained to me how impossible it would be and how the moisture blah, blah, blah. Then I left for Costa Rica.

Well, here’s the idea, done, complete, and perfect. “To remember, peel here.” Fuckers.

The simplest ideas are always the best ideas, just like the flugal binder.

[via notcot.]

Voxan Cafe Racer Super Naked by Phillipe Starck

chris — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:55:35 +0000

Phillipe Starck has now officially dipped his design hand into every category of things. This naked street bike, the Voxan Cafe Racer Super Naked, is pretty badass, though the gas tank looks a bit painful.

It’s just a concept for now with no official price or release date.

[via notcot.]

A Single Sheet of Paper

jason — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:33:58 +0000

‘A Single Sheet of Paper’ is a collection of … origami(?) from artist Peter Callesen

Oh my god.

[via del.icio.us popular]

let’s take pictures

chris — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:06:16 +0000

Let’s Take Pictures is a collaborative, worldwide photo collection put together in the most incredible Flash portfolio I have ever seen. It works so well and looks so beautiful. I rarely say that kind of thing, especially about Flash, but this site is near-perfect. I absolutely love it. I wish my photos were this good and their presentation on my site were this innovative.

[via the fwa.]

laser cut skateboard decks

chris — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 06:45:13 +0000

Refill magazine is curating an exhibit of beautifully designed and laser cut skateboard decks at a Sydney’s MTV Gallery. They’ve got a Flickr set up with a bunch of picts.

Absolutely stunning. I’d be proud to hang one of these on my wall.

[via core77.]

2-direction slide

chris — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 05:53:05 +0000

I’ve had a crazy couple of weeks, this last one especially, and blogging has suffered. I usually make myself drafts in GMail of things I want to blog about, but I haven’t had a chance to go back for over a month. I just found this from Feb 12.

I’ve been making little sketches to myself for years of what I think is the perfect smartphone form-factor. It’s simple really, a slider mechanism that goes 2 directions. Horizontally for a full keyboard, and vertically for simple phone controls and the numerical keypad. Although my sketches are a little different, Samsung is the first to bring out a phone that is very, very close, and looks very good. If it weren’t for the impending release of the iPhone, this Samsung F520 would be on my wishlist.

[via gizmodo.]

moleskin city notebooks

chris — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 20:58:10 +0000

I absolutely love these new moleskin city notebooks. They’ve created fantastically useful city guides by adding maps, loose notes, reusable stickies, and tons of blank pages into the standard, beautiful moleskin format. They’re available for only a select set of cities right now (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Prague, Rome, Wien, Boston, New York, San Francisco, Washington) but I hope they catch on and become more widely available.

[via josh spear I think.]

yakuza table

chris — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:45:25 +0000

The Yakuza Table from Reddish is absolutely gorgeous. Traditional Japanese Yakuza tattoos cover the simple wood design. I have no idea what it costs, but I want it.

[via notcot.]

2006 IDEA Awards

chris — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 06:58:30 +0000

Business Week has a rundown of all the winners of the 2006 IDEA Awards – these are the gold standard awards for Industrial Design organized and run by the IDSA. Some of the designs are so good they hurt. Like this sushi/sashimi plate that makes me want to commit suicide, it is so great and so simple. Design like this always make you think, “Why didn’t I think of that!!??”

This self-deploying tent makes me want to start camping. And this taxi concept is excellent – don’t know why nobody else ever thought to turn the passenger seat backwards..

I think if I was an industrial designer I’d actually want to get up out of bed in the morning… As opposed to now where I try to figure out ways to kill myself with the office supplies at my desk.

BMW Clever concept

chris — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 07:11:14 +0000

Along with the 3-series coupe, this week BMW unveiled the “Clever”, a 2-seat, 3-wheeled concept vehicle, enclosed, and safe, crash-tested and airbagged, and absolutely gorgeous. I LOVE it. The article claims it is, “expected to cost around $10,000 and would have a top speed of 50 mph” and an expected 188 MPG! The coolest part is the tilting cabin, which angles itself correctly for turning, properly shifting its center of gravity, and allowing good cornering without tipping over.

Instantly reminded me of this segment I saw for the 3-wheeled “Carver” on TopGear. Readers wrote in, and the article now also shows this video.

[via del.icio.us.]

NYTimes.com redesign

chris — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 10:54:01 +0000

It looks like Khoi Vin’s capable hands have already had a major impact at NY Times.com. The homepage is redone – looks a little like The Onion, and interior pages are fantastic.

For those of you who DON’T know, Khoi is a brilliant designer and founder of Behavior. They recently redesigned The Onion to many accolades. Shortly thereafter, in December of 2005, Khoi was lured away by the Design Director position at NY Times.com. His work is generally spectacular, and this is no exception. His personal blog, Subtraction.com is also beautiful.

As a side note, CNN.com is also slightly redesigned. It looks like only the homepage for now, but it also looks as if they have read a page from the Khoi Vin design book. Good for them. If only FoxNews would catch on…

Second side note, Khoi Vin’s girlfriend, Joy Parisi, runs my favorite small business of 2005, Paragraph. (I wrote about it here.), in Union Square. And I bought Stephanie a membership as a birthday present months ago. I don’t think she’s used it yet. That makes me a little mad…

Mini Roof Studio

chris — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 22:31:48 +0000

I don’t think I have to tell anyone here that Mini (you know, the cars) consistently have the BEST marketing and viral marketing campaigns I have ever seen. I hope I don’t have to remind you about the whole Counterfeit Mini commercials and DVDs. In any case, their new online effort is fantastic in so many ways.

Mini Roof Studio allows anyone to upload designs for the roofs of Minis. Any style, any colors. Your design gets added to a gallery of cars browsable through a sweet zooming interface that even includes content tags so you can link smartly from subject to subject.

Designs are available as downladable files that can be easily turned into real roof decals at any local car customizing shop. Too good. There are some amazing designs up there, kind of like skateboard graphics for your car, and someshit ones too, kind of like shit for your car. All in all, just another really smart, well executed idea from the same folks that brought you a counterfeit Mini made out of two motorcycles duct-taped together.

[thanks Jess.]