fig + fox

New York design firm Atelier DNA’s incredible new...

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:35:00 -0500

New York design firm Atelier DNA’s incredible new Windstalk concept, a proposed wind energy system that would use a novel compression mechanism to generate electricity…

Each stalk will contain alternating layers of electrodes and ceramic discs made from piezoelectric material, which generates a current when put under pressure. In the case of the stalks, the discs will compress as they sway in the wind, creating a charge.

If approved, the system would be used to generate power for Masdar, a compact pedestrian only planned city under construction outside of Abu Dhabi.

(Source: Discovery News)

rabbitfeet: Hey everyone in Tumblr land, My husband and I,...

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:32:01 -0500

rabbitfeet:

Hey everyone in Tumblr land,

My husband and I, along with our friend Jheri Evans, are starting a semi-annual print magazine (yes, an actual printed publication!) to go along with our music blog, Decoder. It’s going to be chock-a-block full of art, interviews, poetry + short stories, comics, and more.

To get the first issue off to the presses, we need to raise some clams, so we kindly ask that you consider donating to our Kickstarter. There are some pretty neat rewards for those who donate (besides getting a copy of the magazine, of course). Even if you only give $1, you’ll get to download the first Decoder mixtape that has tons of exclusive tracks from awesome artists and bands.

Please check it out! And don’t forget to bookmark www.secretdecoder.net so you can keep your music library fresh and sparkly.

christopherangus: Look closely and you’ll see your hidden home...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:43:04 -0500

christopherangus:

Look closely and you’ll see your hidden home away from home. The Mirrorcube is a nearly-invisible treehouse that truly blends in with nature. Built with exterior walls made from reflective “spyglass,” the pre-fab structure reflects its surroundings to become almost undetectable. (An infrared film, invisible to humans but visible to birds is placed within the glass to stop kamikazes.) Designed by Scandinavian architects Bolle Tham & Martin Videgård, it’s got a wood and aluminum body, and comes complete with restroom, queen-size bed, and Goonies-esque rope bridge.

From a beautiful photo-set over at ISO50 - the Olivetti Arco...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:32:12 -0500

From a beautiful photo-set over at ISO50 - the Olivetti Arco Series office desk, from Studio BBPR. Totally gorgeous and, like so many things, way too big for our tiny apartment!

(Source: ISO50)

Using a miniature thermal printer, Berg’s Little Printer -...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:34:42 -0500

Using a miniature thermal printer, Berg’s Little Printer - what we’re tentatively calling the novelty desktop news ticker of the year - prints out a customized newspaper that you can program via phone.

crashsymbols: Thanks to Dan Casey, aka Yalls, my wife and I can...

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:12:01 -0500

crashsymbols:

Thanks to Dan Casey, aka Yalls, my wife and I can breath safe at night. Thanks to him we’re still alive today, sucking down good Oakland air in the East Bay (more commonly the “Easy Bay” to those who call it home), while he might have just left us to die where our US Airways flight dropped us off in San Francisco, still fresh from West Virginia. So, it’s no exaggeration for me to say that thanks to Yalls, America will win the space race. As plans unfurl for a new Yalls-absence-suppressor in more solid form , Crash Symbols is proud to inaugurate its new series of lamentably fake 12”s with “Vapid Glitch Vow”. More than just an anagram of my name, it is uniquely Yalls; soul-funk poptronica driven by Casey’s incredible idiosyncratic beatwork, and lent further support by the inclusion of a totally indulgent ten minute extended mix that is absolutely necessary for fullest enjoyment. -Dwight

MP3 :: Yalls - Vapid Glitch Vow

Listen to the new track above and download the entire single, including (I repeat) a ten minute extended dance mix, over yonder from bandcamp.

We got to design the album artwork for this digital single from Yalls that just dropped today.

Crash Symbols’ latest release is Sponge by Digital...

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:20:00 -0500

Crash Symbols’ latest release is Sponge by Digital Leather. We also did the packaging for this one. You can pre-order the cassette here!

We got to put together a digital mixtape (called Lobos) for a...

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:17:58 -0500

We got to put together a digital mixtape (called Lobos) for a blog called Matinee As Hell, and we also designed this cover art for it. Listen here.

Here’s the front cover of a 7” that we designed. The...

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:15:46 -0500

Here’s the front cover of a 7” that we designed. The vinyl is coming out on Crash Symbols, the band is called Leisure, and the record is titled Greenlight. You can pre-order the vinyl here, if you like (and/or download the single). It also will come with a book of our collages!

Here’s a cover we put together for a digital mixtape by I...

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:12:25 -0500

Here’s a cover we put together for a digital mixtape by I Come To Shanghai, titled No Drugs DJ. You can check out the mix here.

thedailywhat: Badass Bridge of the Day: The Moses Bridge, as...

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:24:22 -0500

thedailywhat:

Badass Bridge of the Day: The Moses Bridge, as its name suggests, is pedestrian bridge that creates the illusion of walking through water — in this case, the West-Brabant waterline near Fort de Roovere in the Netherlands.

Designed by RO & AD Architects, the bridge was built using Accoya wood, a type of modified wood that offers the enhanced durability necessary to sustain a sunken bridge.

[accoya / inhabitat / mmm.]

Julian Montague, a Buffalo based artist and graphic designer,...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:42:07 -0400

Julian Montague, a Buffalo based artist and graphic designer, has been documenting the covers of his thrift store acquisitions since February of 2009. Recently, a few of his faux-covers, designed as part of his Secondary Occupants project, appeared alongside those. The project, focused on the interaction of animals (particularly pests) and human architectures, also involved the creation of a fictitious originator and associates, though their “aims… are not entirely clear”. Where the Worm Dies Not is presumably a weighty and thoughtful tome, but the cover is a delightful send up of the famously simple “concept visualization” covers from the past century.

Stumbled across this gorgeous, handmade chair last night. A bit...

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:50:00 -0400

Stumbled across this gorgeous, handmade chair last night.

A bit about the shop and its owners, via their Etsy profile:

Atelier-001A is a multidisciplinary studio specializing in furniture design. At once workshop, laboratory, and gallery, Atelier-001A’s collections feature bold design concepts, mastered technologies, and fresh perspectives on traditional materials and their uses. Founded by Jean Darveau and Caroline Trudeau, Atelier-100A is the culmination of a wealth of passion and experience in the fields of design, industrial production, and fine woodworking.

They also currently offer a hammock, ottoman, and table. Unbelievably beautiful things!

We’re thinking about making some new fig + fox letterhead...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:53:08 -0400

We’re thinking about making some new fig + fox letterhead along Phil Apeloig’s lines.

letterheady:

Philippe Apeloig, 2007 | Source

Beautiful, compact, and we want it for our tiny studio apartment...

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:37:46 -0400

Beautiful, compact, and we want it for our tiny studio apartment - Leonhard Pfeifer’s Ravenscroft desk. I don’t know what about the piece suggested the name “Ravenscroft” to anyone, but God bless America, nonetheless.

A longer version of this post appeared at [^]LAND Magazine.

Luke Hart’s rubber bookshelves - a profound and beautiful...

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:59:00 -0400

Luke Hart’s rubber bookshelves - a profound and beautiful novelty, though I’m not actually sure how someone with a largish collection could use them to hold more than a handful of books, with any larger tomes distorting both the shelf above and below. I suppose that may not be the point. Whatever the case, they’re gorgeous.

(Source: Behance)

One of a beautiful set of vintage computer brochure covers...

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 21:04:00 -0400

One of a beautiful set of vintage computer brochure covers recently featured on ISO50 - I’m pretty captivated by the rolling chair in this one.

(Source: ISO50)

These lovely vector illustrations are by Ben O’Brien....

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:54:00 -0400

These lovely vector illustrations are by Ben O’Brien. I’m drawn to them (no pun intended) not only for their beautiful, vibrant palettes and playful illustration style, but also because of his excellent use of pattern. Patterns are all around us, but we don’t always notice them.

This particular excerpt of his work is called “Ben’s World” (his views on the outside world). I love looking through other people’s creative lenses, especially when their viewpoint is a different, cheerful take on things that we see often. Ben calls illustration “the perfect area in between the client-based, problem-solving of design work and the creative, story-telling nature of animation”. What a great field to work in!

These are two views of a Unitarian Church in Lexington, designed...

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 13:03:00 -0400

These are two views of a Unitarian Church in Lexington, designed by architect Herb Greene. We’ve recently responded to a related job offering and found ourselves captivated while we researched the man himself, born only a couple of hours from where I was and educated near another family nexus in Illinois. Although pictures of the church are hard to find online and I can’t quite ascertain whether it’s still in operation, the structure seems marvelous and beautifully executed, conceptually reminiscent of the Frank Lloyd Wright wilderness homes I saw growing up in West Virginia.

In this limited-budget project, the congregation wanted a house of worship that related to the earth, to life around them rather than only to heaven. In the final project, the Church has continuous windows looking out to surrounding landscape. A window seat provides overflow seating for 50 people. Steel trusses minimize structure to enable the roof to “hover” over the congregation. For educational and other programs, the lower level has large windows and ease of access to the site. Black stain on a mass of cedar siding and white painted steel trusses give this suburban church a degree of regional identity. (via HerbGreene.Org)

Hine Mizushima is a toy designer / crafter and stop-motion video...

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:42:31 -0400

Hine Mizushima is a toy designer / crafter and stop-motion video artist living in Vancouver. She created this adorable “Japanese Traditional Monster Kit” (which I unfortunately can’t find for sale anywhere) that allows you to put together your own version of her playful felt monsters. Here are some possible combinations:

I know I would’ve adored these as a kid. (Okay, I still totally adore these.)

If you want to pick up something from her Etsy shop, 10% of your purchase cost will benefit a Japan Earthquake & Tsunami fund.

I also highly suggest watching this unbelievably cute stop-motion video spot that she made, “Mr. Squid’s Handmade Moment”.