Tag Archives: aesthetic

Digital Habits Is Innovation Platform Founded In Milan Italy

Digital Habits is an extension of the international design studio Habits.

Founded in Milan in 2012, it specializes in connected objects. For example, a few years ago during the 2017 edition of the Superdesign Show by Superstudio, Digital Habits examined in depth the relationship between the user, the context and controls of electronic products.
Since then, they haven’t looked back and their new prototypes go beyond the natural interfaces designed by others in the past. In fact, present multisensory systems now connect gestures, space, attention and feedbacks.

The presented products are control devices designed around humans, their anthropometry, their spaces and their best perceiving or moving abilities; they are not based on technical elements such as the size of the display, the currently available sensors or computational capability. Where need be they engineer and manufacture what does not already exist.

This is cutting edge stuff. 

These devices express a new design Humanism where the user has a central role prevailing to the underlying technology sophistication. This is a different approach from the usual ‘technological one’ where the tendency to standardize components brings also the standardization of user experiences.

Instead, Digital Habits has presented three new projects that have colour as a common thread linking the user experience, the object and the environment:


OSOUND XL: a new Air Gesture Control Bluetooth Loudspeaker, covered by colourful fabrics; Its wide size qualifies OSOUND XL as piece of smart furniture rather than just a well-designed electronic device.


COLOR SWING: an ambient light detection system of the color information of an object surface which is returned as a light feedback to the environment XVOID: a new generation of air gesture interfaces, to control light/colour intensity; for the exhibited project, the presented case is the control of white and coloured light.
Digital Habits has already won several international awards (RedDot Design, Core 77, Expo Award) and received a vast press coverage (selected by CNN as best 10 Technology objects for your home, presented on TED Talks ideas worth spreading, The Telegraph, Mashable, Gizmag, etc.). Digital habits products are available in most exclusive retailers. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Fun Pop Elements In Ballasox Footwear

"Punky goodness" and a bit of oxymoronic design? You bet and we love it.
“Punky goodness” and a bit of oxymoronic design.

If we’re living in an oxymoronic age (and it seems indeed that we are), then Ballasox footwear by corso como makes a lot of sense. Women’s fashion has never been off limits for innovation, experimentation and whimsy but today’s designs are also driven by comfort and economy.

That’s a lot of parameters to hit and with that in mind, let’s take a look at Ballasox- just one of many interesting lines of high fashion women’s footwear  from corso como.

We decided to focus on two styles that represent interesting designs and coincidentally are  the high and low price point in the Ballasox line: the Micaela with straps priced at $129 (usd) and the Prince priced at $60(usd). Fun! That’s a word we don’t often use when highlighting fashion. There are wonderful pop elements found in these shoes. Looking at the Micaela one is reminded of 1970’s Punk movement. The dog collar like strapping, the chrome studs and red and black leather colour scheme have an attitude that works. Especially if you’re pounding the streets on a busy weekend or hopping onto a motorcycle.

 

A still from the 1986 punk biopic film Sid and Nancy-
A still from the 1986 punk biopic film Sid and Nancy-

 

The Prince has a simple design and we adore the Warhol-like camo/snake patterning.  Perhaps you’ve heard of Stephen Sprouse and Monica D Murgia’s recent camo design dresses? In the 1980’s Sprouse worked with Warhol and those designs were just slightly ahead of themselves. Contemporary television shows like  Duck Dynasty and the mega-mall staple BassPro have changed all that. Camo isn’t just for your Dad to wear to the lodge- it’s become ubiquitous as Warhol predicted.

Check out the snakey Camo print in this closeup detail of the Prince
Check out the snakey Camo print in this closeup detail of the Prince

 

Back to the Prince. So this little shoe is not as unassuming as it first appears.

There is a pedigree and history of aesthetic design that is a part of its look. Yes, it’s technically a snake skin design but the type of snake chosen must have been carefully considered and settled on because this shoe would not look out of place paired with a Sprouse/D Murgia Camo dress. Now that’s a combination we’d love to see.  For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

 

Art Of Painting With Camera Focus At Hurban Vortex Exhibit In Cannes

hurban-vortex-boris-wilenskyIf you could choose just one photo exhibit to see all year, it would have to be Hurban Vortex in Cannes.
Often, photography is the visual equivalent of telling a one-word story, expressed through an immediately comprehensible image. In contrast, Parisian photographer Boris Wilensky takes you on a journey through time, space, and humanity. His photos are true documentaries which require time to contemplate, and listen to. Yes, listen to, not just look at. Because all of his work tells a powerful, juxtaposing story. A story of humans in cruel, all-consuming urban environments… facing challenges beyond their control… surviving in harsh conditions… A story that is already written but that is reinvented every time you look at the image.

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Boris Wilensky’s current exhibition Hurban Vortex at the Suquet des Art(iste)s in Cannes opened on December 9 last year, featuring a selection of 30 of his works. Much has been said and written about it, and him, since, so no further biographical introduction is needed. And what really shaped his life, are locations rather than dates – Israel and Palestine, Tokyo, Fukushima, and Cambodia.
An emotional trip to Israel and Palestine in 2005 left a big impression on the idealistic young man, and he started keeping and publishing travel journals to share his impressions. At some point he began illustrating those with photos. Meanwhile he kept working as a photographer in entertainment and sports.
In 2008, a café in Paris offered him space to display his photos. Thinking to himself, “This is a great opportunity… probably the only one I’ll ever have to exhibit”, he went for it. It was a success, and the impetus to turn his passion into a profession.

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A visit to Tokyo in 2009 would prove to be the pathway into that professional career as an art photographer. The swirling, frenzied city of dazzling lights around the clock inspired him to find a way to capture the craziness of the megalopolis and the loneliness of its citizens … and he found a way to do so by superimposing two photos taken in the Tokyo subway, of the train and its travelers. It turned out so well that this type of photography would soon become his signature.

On his next visit to Japan – and in fact to Fukushima, just one month after the 2011 reactor catastrophe there – he found a country that had profoundly changed. The Japanese were beginning to awaken to the consequences of boundless, unchecked use of nuclear energy. As a consequence, the garish lights all over town were dimmed, and the mood had become much more somber and sober.

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This was when the Hurban Vortex project started taking shape in the artist’s mind. “Hurban Vortex is an urban adventure with a big H”, he explains, the constant game between the concepts of humanity and urbanity, extending into notions of modernity and identity, future, sustainable development, ecology and economy. The City, symbolizing Progress and Modernity, in constant growth, now become a “megalopolis”, or a “City-world”, a space built by humans to live in but one that eats them up in return.

For this project, and forever drawn to Asia, Boris Wilensky returns to Tokyo, Shanghai and Bangkok to take as many “photographic backgrounds” as possible. Then he tours Cambodia for two months, the stark contrast to the other cities’ modernity. Here he immerses himself fully in the ancient Khmer culture, taking portraits of men, women and children. Many of those faces bear silent witness to the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime, and yet retain pride and dignity that speaks of inner strength.

originsOver 15,000 photos later, Hurban Vortex sees the light of day. The ensemble of artistic, esthetic and human adventure are at the core of the triptych that represents his works: Origins corresponds to 2009 (present), the period of an oblivious, profligate, consumerism-driven world. Collapse takes us into 2011 (future)…Fukushima, with its worldwide impact. The glasses and gas masks worn by the humans represent the man-made destruction of a world as we had known it before and which will never be the same. And in Post we find ourselves in an urban landscape filled with waste and shattered ruins. But people are no longer wearing their blinders… Maybe there is hope after all that cities may disappear but humans are still around? Or does the urban jungle always win in the end? You decide, because it is your personal interpretation, after an intense dialogue with the image… exactly what Boris Wilensky wants.

origins2What the viewer sees, is how this artist sees the world – not in the literal but figurative sense. But he does not dictate, he suggests. He considers himself a storytelling portraitist first and foremost, and an urban photographer second. As you look at his large-size pictures (180 x 120 cm), the image in front of you transforms from a flat canvas to a three-dimensional scenography. You are drawn in, pulled onto a stage, you become part of the performance, an actor engaged in a dialogue. You are the person across from the man in the photo, but you also become him, turning outward to the viewer.

origins3The continuous movement – the vortex – pushes and pulls you as the borders between Human and Urban blur and become Hurban. There are violently cold and anonymous city landscapes, consisting of monochromatic and starkly geometric patterns, entirely unlike anything you find in nature. But the human element, superimposed, invariably bestows them with a strangely appealing aesthetic. For the Silo, Natja Igney. This article originates at Riviera-buzz. Banner diptych image Boris Wilensky- concept by Jarrod Barker.

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PRINT ALL OVER ME co-creates collection with WORKING NOT WORKING

WORKING NOT WORKING is an obsessively curated network of the world’s best creative talent. With so many incredible artists in their arsenal, it seemed obvious that PAOM (PRINT ALL OVER ME) and WNW should create a collection!

Eight amazing illustrators and designers from around the world were chosen to be a part of the first WNW X PAOM collection. They are Tatiana Arocha, Laura Callaghan, Annu Kilpeläinen, Uli Knoezer, David McLeod, Karan Singh, Brian Vu and Shawna X.

On Thursday, November 12th we hosted a party at Rivington Design House in NYC.

Tote bag by Tatiana Arocha, $28USD
Tote bag by Tatiana Arocha, $28USD

 

Sweatshirt by Uli Knoezer, $85USD
Sweatshirt by Uli Knoezer, $85USD

Raincoat by Annu Kilpeläinen, $145USD
Raincoat by Annu Kilpeläinen, $145USD

Backpack by Karan Singh, $65USD
Backpack by Karan Singh, $65USD

Twill jacket by Brian Vu, $120USD
Twill jacket by Brian Vu, $120USD

Midi skirt by Shawna X, $80USD
Midi skirt by Shawna X, $80USD

Kimono by Laura Callaghan, $72USD
Kimono by Laura Callaghan, $72USD

 

Workshirt by David McLeod, $89USD
Workshirt by David McLeod, $89USD

For more from Working Not Working, check out their website and follow them on Twitter & Instagram. Shop the entire WNW x PAOM collection here.
All above photographs by Michael Burk, model Olu Alege.

Shining Hoodie by Jarrod Barker. Click me!
Shining Hoodie by Jarrod Barker. Click me!