Getting people to notice road signs can be difficult, especially on busy commuter route.
In Australia the government is trying to tackle this head on, as they have experienced problems from people ignoring warning signs when entering a tunnel in which there was a fire.
As a possible solution, the ‘softstop‘ sign was created. A sign made from water and light it was brought to fruition by an R&D programme that used technology from Laservision, a creative technology firm that designs architectural lighting, permanent attractions and special events primarily for the entertainment industry, along with pump manufacturer Grundfos.
The combination of the two allows for a sign that appears directly in front of the car, making it difficult not to spot.
We have been sent this wonderful piece of work that is featured in the event, designed by Mobile Studio.
Called Mirare Maze Folly, the piece reinvents the classic garden maze, with walls that are made entirely of clear acrylic and uses plays on light and reflection.
The maze is a new addition to Mobile Studio’s family of modular systems offering infinite size and configuration, retaining the idea of permeability and sitting almost like a ghost folly within the design festival.
Find out more about the maze and the design week here.
In a clever marketing campaign Nissan has released a special advert for those that read the news on their tablets. The ad itself is for their ‘self healing’ paint, which recovers from light scratches to look as good as new.
The advert, created by TBWA/G1 Paris, creates scratches in the paintwork of the car as users try to swipe through the ad, which then repair themselves.
Very clever use of the swipe motion that people use whilst browsing to highlight another innovation.
It’s an age old tradition across the globe, you say “cheers” (or regional equivalent) then ‘clink’ glasses, an almost universal symbol.
Now American beer brand Budweiser in Brazil wants to make this social act, even more social, with their Buddy Cups.
The smart cups detect the contact between them and adds the other person as a friend on Facebook, this is done via a chip in the bottom of the cup and a code which you scan with your smart phone to activate it.
The cups are reportedly going to be used for events and concerts, but how far afield no one is sure.
The building has the world’s most powerful man-made tornado, and whilst this does attract visitors, this is not the reason for its existence.
Created from 144 jets spewing 28 tons of smoke in a 112-foot-high column, the idea of a tornado in a showroom containing over 150 luxury vehicles may seem like an odd one, but it is actually a clever fire-safety mechanism.
The building is made from a steel structure based on a double-helix, featuring a massive central atrium viewable from the floors that spiral around it. All rooms are open, all walls are curved and each of the 1800 triangular window panes on the exterior walls is unique. This however means that there are no fire zones within the building so by creating this tornado they are able to expel smoke emissions from within the building. It is said to take about 7 minutes for the jets that line the interior walls to get the smoke to whirl into a tornado and escape through vents in the roof.
An observation platform in Vöcklabruck, Austria is giving visitors a new perspective over a picturesque scene.
The platform is set below the water level in the middle of a lake, giving those from the shore the impression that people are below the water line.
The platform is a huge attraction for visitors to the region and consists of a ramp from the shore down to the cirlular enclosure which has seating provided for tourists to sit and enjoy the beautiful views.
We’re sure that most of you will be familiar with the childhood rhyme that gives the adage of beans being a musical fruit, now Heinz are playing on that with some deluxe flavours.
The 5 special flavours, will be available from London’s Fortnum & Mason in a special pack which includes a themed bowl and a special spoon that will play music or sounds whilst you eat.
The spoons contain a special MP3 player with pre-recorded sounds that can only be heard whilst eating through vibrations that travel up the jaw-bone to the ear.
Each flavour has a distinct sound associated with it, be it an Elgar ditty played with a cheese wire or the sound of rustling garlic skins.
The special edition bowls are also tailored to the unique flavours which includes, cheese, curry, barbecue, garlic and herb, and chili.
In a world of DVR recorders, Sky+ and TiVo it’s becoming harder for advertisers to reach their audience as many record their shows just so that they can skip the adverts.
In an attempt to tackle this issue head-on DDB Brussels has produced a special TV ad for Volkswagen that when fast forwarded still works as an advert.
Given the moniker ‘slowmercial’, this new format features the VW beetle convertible in action, mainly closing the roof. At normal speed this could almost be painful to watch were it not for the relaxing birdsong in the background, but at a fast forward speed the ad works well.
The advert is only presently only being shown in Belgium but you can see it below.
It is a clever concept but does it impact upon the effectiveness of the normal speed ad, after all you cannot bore people into buying a product1
It is reported to be both the largest inflated frameless envelope and the most expansive indoor sculpture ever created.
The 90 meter high inflatable boasts a volume of 177,000 cubic meters and uses 20,350 square meters of semitransparent polyester fabric as well as 4,500 meters of rope. Despite lacking a skeleton the 5 ton form fills the interior of a former gas tank.
Christo describes the experience as ‘virtually swimming in light’ as a result of the vast expanses of fabric, lit from above via skylights in the Gasometer.
Filled with diffused natural daylight and muffled sounds it becomes a place of tranquility.
Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde controls the weather and creates beautiful indoor clouds with the help of a smoke machine and dramatic lighting.
The fog machine emits dense vapour / smoke that makes contact with sprayed water and forms a small white cloud.
Smilde, who lives in Amsterdam, said he wanted to make the image of a typical Dutch rain cloud but inside. ‘I imagined walking into a classical museum hall with just empty walls,’ he said. ‘There was nothing to see except for a rain cloud hanging around in the room. I wanted to make a very clear image, an almost cliché and cartoon-like visualization of having bad luck. Indeed there’s nothing here and bxxxxcks, it’s starting to rain!”
The few people who have seen the clouds in person should consider themselves very lucky; each cloud only exists for a moment before dissipating.
To document the clouds Smilde photographs them; the only proof of their existence if a viewer misses them.
The first exhibit, called Nimbus, was created by Smilde in 2010.
3 Doodler is a new kind of pen that will draw in 3D. It will allow users to create sculptures or designs in 3D, either by drawing free hand, or by tracing sketches on paper then ‘welding’ the pieces together.
Currently only available by backing the project on Kickstarter for $75 or more, the pen uses 3mm ABS or PLA plastic as its “ink”, which is heated and cools quickly to build solid structures and shapes.
Although there is not a date for general release, nor a suggested price, from the Kickstarter page we can see that the lowest price they ask is $75 and the upper is $99, with plans to dispatch the finished product in February of next year.
To showcase the capabilities of the pen, the makers, Pete & Max from Wobble Works, worked with some wire artists on Etsy to create some special pieces and templates for backers.
The 3Doodler has seen a lot of press since it was made public and the project has received almost $2.1M in funding, 70 times more than the $30,000 goal.
Find out more on their Kickstarter page or watch the video below.
Fanta has produced the world’s first tastable advert. The concept developed for the drinks market in the United Arab Emirates, features a printed ad promoting their new recipe for Orange Fanta, which people could pop into their mouth and experience firsthand.
The campaign featured a full page ad, which is kept in a plastic sleeve within a publication, and encouraged the consumer to tear off a piece to try the flavour and share the experience with their friends as 100% of the ad is coated in the flavouring.
A clever concept to but we expect many would be reluctant to start eating paper supplied in a magazine?
Watch the campaign video below and let us know if you would be willing to taste a printed ad.
Africa Health Placements and South African agency Boomtown collaborated on an innovative direct mailer, targeted specifically at doctors.
Africa is currently suffering from a lack of medical personnel, in particular doctors, so to encourage foreign doctors to work in Africa they sent a special mailer that could only be heard by doctors. The mailer had a pressure sensitive pad, with a label stating “place stethoscope here”. Once the pad was activated the device played a low level MP3 that could only be heard with the help of the medical device.
The advertisement won a silver Clio Healthcare award, which rewards creative excellence in advertising in the medical industry. Check out the video below for more info about the campaign.
Recently Google gave developers the chance to get their hands on a pair of Google glasses, called Glass, or more importantly, access to the API which allows apps to interact with them.
They also set up an oppurtunity for ”creative individuals” to trial the glasses via a campaign on Twitter and Google+, called Project Glass.
Using the hashtag #ifihadglass they are looking for people to give a reason why they should be the first to get their hands on the glasses in 50 words or less, however the winners will still have to fork out £1,500+tax for the privilege.
To encourage people to enter Google has released a video on YouTube which shows how Glass can be used, inclduing the voice operation, which uses the line “OK glass” to begin a command; i.e. “OK glass take a picture”
The video also highlights the sort of tasks you can perform with Glass, from text messaging, video calling, photo taking to searching Google and finding a location on a map. There is also an automatic-picture-taking mode, which takes pictures at preset intervals.
The glasses are the next step in wearable technology, allowing the user to record everything they do, as well as interacting with others via video, although the headset doesn’t actually have lenses in front of your eyes, just a small screen (viewable via a mirrored glass block) above and to the right of the wearer’s right eye. Whilst not the only wearable technology in development (other companies including Microsoft has been developing their own versoin of Glass), the Google Glass is the one closest to completion, having first been announced last year, and featured in our blog last April.
Find out more at the Glass Website and watch the video below.
A system of stools that slot together to form a cube has been designed and built by Naho Matsuno.
Cube 6 is a product made from birch plywood and maple and the cube is 350 x 350 x 350mm when slotted together, and creates 6 stools or tables when taken apart.
Perfect for those who love to entertain or are short of space. The clever use of rails allows the stools to easily slide together and come apart when needed.
“The Phoenix is closer than it appears” is a 4 x 4 x 8 meters box that contains a swing in the center, and the inside is covered in mirrors on all sides, creating infinite versions of yourself as you merrily swing away the time.
The external is also mirrored to reflect the scenery of the room it is housed in, whilst also providing solitude for those inside the box.
This is an innovative and fascinating piece of art, and we hope that it comes to the UK one day.
“The Phoenix is closer than it appears” is a 4 x 4 x 8 meters box that contains a swing in the center, and the inside is covered in mirrors on all sides, creating infinite versions of yourself as you merrily swing away the time.
The external is also mirrored to reflect the scenery of the room it is housed in, whilst also providing solitude for those inside the box.
This is an innovative and fascinating piece of art, and we hope that it comes to the UK one day.
After creating innovation in the vacuum cleaner and hand-dryer worlds, James Dyson is taking on the all in one tap, producing a tap with their Airblade technology built in.
The new tap uses the Dyson V4 motor, which 125 engineers have spent 15 years working on, costing over £40 million to develop. All this goes to prove that despite this time of austerity Dyson has continued to invest in design and technology.
There’s a lot of different statistics being thrown about at the launch, but the ones that grab the most attention are the reduced carbon emissions; 67% less than traditional hand dryers and 62% less than paper towels.
The company has also developed new Airblade hand dryers that are smaller and more efficient than previous models.
Take a look at the hand dryer tap and the new motor in the video below.
Boca Do Lobo has featured on their blog the Top 10 public spaces, architecturally speaking.
The feature has some amazing examples of innovative design and amazing engineering from all over the globe, including the Floating Movie Theater, Thailand, El Bosque de la Esperanza, Colombia and possibly our favourite the170 foot Trampoline in Russia.
The list is a great representation of architecture from 2012 that is accessible to all, and helps to make the world a better and more fun place to live. Enjoy!
The Think Tank is an integrated, full service marketing agency supporting clients in the B2B sector.
Our knowledge, expertise and love of design allows us to provide a complete range of successful marketing services to clients from a broad spectrum of sectors.
Clients include OKI Printing Solutions, Formica, Kingspan, AkzoNobel, SAS International, Vision, B2B Marketing Magazine, Biome Bioplastics and many more.
Getting people to notice road signs can be difficult, especially on busy commuter route.
