Number 10 on the list: Nicholas O’Donnell-Hoare and Chloe McCormick’s 3D printed / hand woven spectacles
Another end of year collation of finery, but hang in there, these are my ten favourite products to have appeared on the pages (both physical and digital) of DEVELOP3D in 2011.
I’ve jotted a few words about why, on reflection, each story got my attention: They might not be the best designs of the year, or even of their genre, but there’s something about them that sparks more than a bit of my interest.
Feel free to drop a comment bomb about why I’m wrong, or even better, your choices from the past 12 months of DEVELOP3D wonderment.
10: 3D printed / handwoven spectacles
[see above]
One of the best things about working for DEVELOP3D is seeing what’s going in on in all spectra of design, and the futuristic element involved with new technologies. After another boom year for 3D Printing, Nicholas O’Donnell-Hoare and Chloe McCormick are part of a small clan of pioneering designers that prove it’s not just big industry that is pushing what can be done with new technology.
9: AEG Electrolux Nimble
It’s not often I’ve had the chance to get my dear ol’ Mam involved in an article on product design, but it genuinely helped. It’s also nice to see a company in the post-Dyson-revolution world that has some incredible ideas of its own. My Mam has offered to help with more features next year – suggestions please…
8: Miniot iPad cover
There’s a world of shitty accessories associated with Apple products. This is almost a cottage industry-produced item, made with care and that actually improves and accentuates the appearance of your gadget without burying it away.
7: New Designers top 5
A great event amongst all the student shows proving Britain has an amazing wealth of new creative talent that needs capitalising on. I chose my favourite five from the show and I’m almost begging you to have a look at each one because they’re all mint!
1 – Oliver Blanchard
2 – Jennie Morley
3 – Jon Freeman
4 – Sheldon King
5 – Chloe Rowley
6: Adastra SuperYacht
It’s big, it’s daft, it’s nothing but a render… But they’re actually building this floating beauty. I see enough concepts year-round that, like orange girls in a metaphorical northern discotheque, tug at my heart strings before unceremoniously disappearing into the night. This one is real and even sent me a dirty phone message…
5: TDK Boom Box
Poncey Shoreditch has a lot to answer for – its desire to be an artistic haven for moustache-sporting urban lumberjacks with the make-believe ‘attitude’ of 1980s Harlem (minus the violence and ethnic diversity) has a habit of creeping into you if you hang around there long enough. So with that as an explanation, I love the retro design cues and stylings.
4: Wacom Cintiq 24
Proof that size is everything. A bulky behemoth of a tablet, it’s brilliant.
3: Æsir’s Æ+Y phone
I’m not giving my iPhone 4S up for nobody – we’ve been through thick and thin together – but this turned my head. I know it’s the communications device equivalent of a Tina Turner outfit (shiny, glitzy razzmatazz covering an ageing interior with a funny limp), but look at it!
2: MINI Prodrive Rally Car
I. Love. Cars. I don’t care about the environment half as much as I care about things with engines. As far as factory visits go, this pissed all over McLaren’s spotless white floors. What the article doesn’t tell you is that I spent a good 10mins in silence in Prodrive’s trophy room/garage looking at all the dream cars from my childhood.
1: Purdey Damascus Gun
Even if you’ve never fired a gun; even if you never want to fire a gun; even if you’re a hardcore PETA activist living off carpet dust and rainwater: It is beautiful. If anyone complains about the price of it I will personally drag them by their nostril hair to the factory to show you just how much care, skill, attention and man hours go into each gun. Unbelievable.
