This week is AFL Grand final week with my team Geelong against Collingwood. Go Cats! Players will battle it out with a Sherrin which is indeed an Australian design classic.
The unique oval shape of our footy came about by T.W Sherrin fixing up a misshapen rugby ball. In 1880, he designed the “sherrin” with indented rather than pointy ends to give the ball a better bounce. In 1897, Sherrin footballs went into mass production.
The Sherrin is the official ball of the AFL and its distinctive red oval shape has come to symbolise the uniquely Australian game. The "sherrin" featured in the exhibition 175 Years of Victorian Design
Australian design classic the Sherrin Australian rules football.
The Philadelphia table radio for Philips is an early career design by Ian Edgar who would go on to lead the Centre for Industrial Design in Clayton for Philips.
Philips Philadelphia Table Radio designed by industrial designer Ian Edgar in the 1960s.
The Mini Quench and Maxi Quench are seventies pool side tumblers designed by industrial designer Lionel Suttie for Bessemer. Packaging graphics and copy celebrate the Australian outdoor lifestlye.
1970s Bessemer plastic tumblers designed by industrial designer Lionel Suttie.
Studio Limo's project New Moon was the proud winner of the Motion Design category at the Create Awards last night. This project was also announced as winner of Project of the Year which is the third year in a row that this Wacom sponsored category has been awarded the overall winner. Last years's winner was Shaun Tan for Lost Thing which would go on to win an Acadamy Award.
Wacom CEO Mr Il-Tae Kim presenting Studio Limo with the award for Motion Design at the Create Awards.
Studio Limo receive award and $5000 cheque for Project of the Year at the Create Awards.
Tape Melbourne is an inspiring installation by Numen currently spanning the West Terrace of Federation Square constructed from 30km of sticky tape. I was fortunate to experience it as I waited to meet Bernie Walsh prior to the Create Design Awards event. I could not help linking this work to the donut selloptape dispenser designed by Catalyst Design Group in 2006. The sellotape donut dispenser was featured in the exhibition STILL09 and was an entry in the 2006 Australian Design Awards. RMIT industrial design alumnus Hugo Davidson is a director of Catalyst. ......That's a lot of donuts!
Tape Melbourne installation by Numen - Federation Square Melbourne
Heathrow Airport has unveiled the Heathrow pod, the airport’s most innovative transport system. This system started life as a Bristol University project. I recall this project was often referenced in research by students in the ZeroCar upperpool studio at RMIT which David Flynn and I ran in conjunction with VEIL in 2009. It is brilliant to see concepts like this one developed and realised.
The Pods system was developed by UK company Ultra and BAA and consists of 21 low energy, battery powered, driverless, zero emission vehicles capable of carrying four passengers and their luggage along a dedicated 3.8km guide way. This system has much in common with the ZeroCar studio outcome by Charles Ng pictured below.
The pods will carry the 500,000 passengers travelling between the Terminal 5 Business Car Park and the main terminal each year, giving them a smooth and virtually silent five minute ride. The journey is on demand and non-stop from start to destination at the touch of a computer screen.
Each temperature-controlled Heathrow pod has been designed for privacy and comfort and allows passengers to select their own direct destination. There are no timetables (and no waiting), as a central computer ensures that pods are distributed at each station according to passenger demand. When waiting for a passenger, the pods recharge themselves at battery points, so are always ready to go.
Heathrow Pod interior.
Ladybug electric vehicle concept design by RMIT industrial design student Charles Ng.
Some free time in Launceston last week allowed for some browsing. This early bakelite Healing radio was grand but not exactly hand luggage and also a bit early also for my collection. A Charles Furey "Moderne" or later models by RMIT alumni Ted Healy or Bruce Hall for A G Healing would tempt me a little more.
Exploring and developing a bowl concept inspired by the painters palette, UTAS second year student Hugh Nagle has employed a palette of technology for prototyping. Encouraged by Furniture Design program director Simon Ancher, this piece is a work in progress and an outstanding vehicle for exploration of materials and manufacturing technologies.
Life Specifics is an exhibition of new furniture by Simon Ancher. Life Specifics includes six new pieces and is currently on show at the Design Centre Tasmania.
Simon Ancher pictured with new works in Life Specifics Exhibition, Design Centre Tasmania.
Detail of solid blackwood clipped wing bench by designer Simon Ancher
The FutureGrad Workshop at University of Tasmania School of Architecture + Design was a huge success and an important initiative to support students graduating from Architecture, Furniture Design and for the first time in 2011 the Interior Design program. Representing the DIA Victorian Branch I was fortunate to attend most sessions which were all informative, engaging and full of valuable insights from an excellent range of presenters and panel members.
It was a pleasure this week to make a trip to Launceston representing the DIA Victorian Branch at UTAS in Launceston. The home of James Boag's Brewery, I could not resist this shot given the RMIT student work this week on beverage bottles with O-I Asia Pacific.
RMIT industrial design demonstrated the programs strong links with industry yesterday with a one day intensive project with O-I Asia Pacific facilitated by senior designer and RMIT alumnus Julian Ditchburn.
Briefing materials for industry collaboration between RMIT industrial design and O-I Asia Pacific.
Today we are all reflecting on where we were and what we were doing when the World Trade Centre was attacked in 2001. I was working in Outerspace, well more accurately working back late at Outerspace Design Group on a project deadline with senior designer Paul Taylor. If I recall correctly we were working on prototype refinements for the neuroview brain scanning helmet. I had my mobile phone off and my partner rang the office several times as the events unfolded, eventually, and at the time reluctantly I left work, and at home we watched the footage of the towers collapsing into the early morning.
Ejo developed and project managed the batch production of the first commercial installations of this brain scanning technology for London, New York and Melbourne labs in 2000. When at OSDG in 2001 we were working on product refinements for future models. The eeg electrodes detailed at that time are still used in Neuro Insight equipment featured in the video below. This technology and its application in advertising was featured on a recent episode of the Gruen Tranfer.
The release of the Nike Mag will serve to further inspire current RMIT industrial design students who have been working on future footwear concepts - see previous posts on footwear design and Nike designer Hodong Sung.
Back to the future with the release of the Nike Mag - Image courtesy nikemedia
The mythical shoe that originally captured the imagination of audiences in Back to the Future II is being released – and they’re here to help create a future without Parkinson’s disease.
1500 pairs of the 2011 NIKE MAG will be auctioned on eBay with all net proceeds going directly to The Michael J. Fox Foundation. Each day for the duration of the ten-day auction, one hundred and fifty pairs of the 2011 NIKE MAG shoes will be made available via eBay’s Fashion Vault. The auction starts September 8, 8:30PM PST, and will end September 18. Thanks to a previous 50 million dollar match given to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, all donations will be matched, effectively doubling the contributions from the auction.
The original NIKE MAG was worn by the Back to the Future character Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, in the year 2015. It came alive, lit up and formed to Marty’s foot. The 2011 NIKE MAG shoe was designed to be a precise replica of the original from Back to the Future II. The aesthetic is an exact match, down to the contours of the upper, the glowing LED panel and the electroluminescent NIKE in the strap. The 2011 NIKE MAG illuminates with the pinch of the “ear” of the high top, glowing for five hours per charge.
The Ford Capri was an automotive export project by Ford Australia, Broadmeadows in the eighties. This one appeared recently at the end of my street and is proudly driven by a local store owner, purchased from the original owner, a retired CEO. Over 66,000 were produced from 1989 to 1994 with over 90% exported, mainly to the US as the Mercury Capri.
Ford Capri rear tail lamp and badge detail.
Australian automotive export program - the Ford Capri
The Olivetti Valentine typewriter is a design classic. The distinctive red case caught my eye as this one sat on the floor of an antique shop in Williamstown twenty years ago. The paper price tag tied on with string said $25.00. My Olivetti collection, now numbering 37 typewriters and calculators started that day.
Design classic, the Olivetti valentine typewriter by Ettore Sottsass and Perry King.
