An Effort Most Futile by Msxi





I got an email from an artist named Msxi the other day, a graduate from Central Sain Martins School of Art who is originally from Singapore, letting me know about her work. As I was browsing I came across this great illustrated project she did called An Effort Most Futile. The series tries to illustrate “the negative effects we have made and continue to make on our environment.” The story also goes about showing how difficult it can be to try and make these changes.

The drawings are really intricate and beautifully done, and definitely put a lot of perspeective on the situations. I had to crop into a couple of these drawings, which are absolutely huge and epic in scope. Really great stuff.

Check out more images under the cut.

Continue reading this post…

Bobby Solomon

Text by

July 24, 2009 - See more posts by Bobby

Tweenbot: The Adorable Robot Who Needs Your Help

My friend Max sent me this great video about a little robot named Tweenbot, who has a little flag attached to his head telling people he needs their help because he can only move in straight lines. It’s creator, Kacie Kinzer, wanted to see if it could get from the northeast corner of Washington Square Park to the southwest corner, completely dependent on people to steer it in the right direction.

The experiment ended up being a success, as it only took 42 minutes and 29 people to help it out. And while I think it’s a really cute experiment, it kind of made me think of the even bigger picture.

Why is that these people are willing to help a cardboard robot find it’s way, but not a homeless person living in a cardboard box? Obviously there’s much less commitment to a small cardboard robot that’s scooting by in a public park, but it’s still kind of odd to me. I’ve been thinking a lot about trying to figure out ways in which I can help people less fortunate lately. It’s kind of what President Obama has been talking about with his commitment to public service, and giving back to our fellow people. I’ll be posting more about my ideas soon, but if you’re an artist or designer or creative type in general, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Bobby

Bobby Solomon

Text by

April 13, 2009 - See more posts by Bobby

KOR ONE Water Bottle

Living in LA you see a lot of people sucking down bottles of Voss like it contains the fountain of youth when in actuality they’re wasting $5 for a glass bottle filled with purified tap water. For me personally, a nalgene has been a great way to carry water around, tap water is fine, thank you. But the folks over at RKS have decided to take water bottles up a notch with their new design called KOR ONE.

The KOR ONE is trying to elevate design in water bottles so that people will feel hip and cool with one in their hand, but at the same time, stopping you from buying plastic or glass water bottles that you end up throwing away and don’t get recycled. The bottle is made from a “copolyester called Tritan”, which unlike most plastic water bottles doesn’t contain those gross chemicals that everyone warns you about. So you’re helping the environment in a big way, keeping yourself from drinking gross stuff, and you happen to look rather stylish at the same time. I totally dig it.

The one downside is that the KOR ONE is going to be $30 when it’s released August 1st, but if you didn’t have to buy another bottle for at least 5 years, that’s a big savings, right? Head over to their site and check it out for yourself.

Bobby

Bobby Solomon

Text by

June 24, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby

Help

I talk a lot about simplicity when it comes to design, Apple being a good example, and trying to live and do things simply is something that I think about a lot. The acronym K.I.S.S., “Keep It Simple Stupid”, is probably one of my favorite words of wisdom. And I have a feeling the designers behind the Help brand of remedies took this motto to heart.

Help is small company that’s taken matters into their own hands, creating one package that says “I have a headache” and another that says “I’ve cut myself”. But inside aren’t just ordinary remedies. For headache relief they’ve filled the pills with 500mg of acetaminophen, because it works like aspirin or ibuprofen but without the stomach problems they can sometimes cause. For their bandages they’ve eschewed the Band-Aid-esque design for the use of hydrocolloid, a clear material that they use in hospitals “to help wounds heal faster and reduce scarring.” So not only are their products a step ahead of what you normally find, but they’re also packaged beautifully using molded paper pulp.

You can also buy custom t-shirts featuring their logo, the letter “I”, and then they let you fill in the rest. I’ve decided my shirt would say, “Help, I created Kitsune Noir”. They even have a section simply titled “Bored?” which features a number of different sections to keep you amused, depending upon how you feel at the time.

But their brilliance doesn’t end there. They also happen to be rather witty, telling you that their pills don’t come with coatings and dyes, but if you enjoy those kinds of things you’ll “have to eat them separately.” For their bandages they tell you that they’re made for minor cuts and blisters, “so if your injury is bleeding everywhere, you might want to use something else.” I think it’s wonderful that they don’t feel like they have to be scientific or fancy about simple cures for simple ailments. For a company that basically makes band-aids and aspirin they’ve done an impeccable job, and hopefully they become quite successful and win lots of design awards!

Found through MoCo Loco

Bobby

Bobby Solomon

Text by

April 10, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby

Ads via The Deck