Balance, Design, Products
March 26, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
Gregory over at Unplggd is moving house and looking for a new desk. And, while I’m not moving house I am looking for a new desk (this dining table just doesn’t cut it anymore). We clearly have very similar taste – Herman Miller’s Airia desk is top of both our lists! Check out Gregory’s post for his full list.
Airia was designed by Ayako Takase, Cutter Hutton and Chris Specce of Kaiju Studios, a design consultancy based Providence, RI. “There are lots of beautiful desks out there, but they don’t support work and home functionality,” says Takase. At the same time, says Hutton, “We designed it to be shown off and on display in your home. The millwork detail on the walnut frame, sleek legs, and elegant form let Airia fit well with both classic and contemporary furniture. It’s timeless. We intend it to be a desk you’ll keep for the rest of your life–and give to your kids.”
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
March 26, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
Around the web this week:
1. An Accident of Hope Summer Pierre is an illustrator and author of The Artist in The Office: How to Creatively Survive and Thrive Seven Days a Week. Her blog is heartwarming, smart and packed with interesting interviews about people’s work lives. Where to start: The John Porcellino interview.
2. Contemporist Launched in 2007 this picture-driven site showcases great new design and contemporary architecture from around the globe. Where to start: Click on architecture for some great projects.
3. Blue Ant Studio If you like mid-century design you’ll love this blog. Where to start: The Art Studio. I love the Chair Exam poster.
4. The Office Stylist For everything you ever wanted to know about a home office. Where to start: A great post on hiding cables – the bane of every home office.
5. Arch Daily You will never need to buy another architecture magazine again. It’s all here. Where to start: Check out building of the year. There’s some incredible work here.
Design
March 26, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
Materialicious posted this great little home office space by Atelier 37.2. According to Arbitare “The Italian achitect Francesca Bonesio in collaboration with Nicolas Guiraud, a French photographer, have recently founded Paris-based atelier 37.2 37.2.” They deal in “micro-architecture.” The cube is still a prototype but it’s a great starting point for a home work space. I’ll keep an eye on these two. Looks like their collaboration will be a fruitful one.
Design
March 25, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
Sometimes you simply don’t have space for a home office. At least that what you may think. The San Francisco Chronicle‘s Wallflower blog just posted a great little roundup of truly tiny offices. The one above is tucked into an unused space at the end of a hallway.
Design, Products, Technology
March 25, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
“Download the illustrated home office template with empty bookshelves and desk and load it up with your icons for an amusing way to organize your Windows desktop.
[via The Daily What]
By Gregory Han”
This story appears in partnership with Unplggd, a site for people who embrace technology and design in their home.
Balance, Design
March 25, 2010
By Marie Chemney
British illustrator Kate Banazi’s career as an illustrator began in a small, London studio but now happily occupies a home in Sydney, Australia, where she has lived and worked for the last three years. Kate shares her home with husband Alistair and 12 year old son Milan (also a talented illustrator.) Kate’s illustrations have appeared in Business Week, Australian journal Meanjin, Financial Review, Telstra, DT Digital, Future Living and in the last issue of Herman Miller’s very own Jugglezine (below).
How did your career in illustration come about? I originally freelanced in menswear design working on a tiny label with a friend, but after Milan was a born I couldn’t have as much fun in the fashion business, and that led me to freelance illustration.
How did you end up in Australia? I met my husband while I was on holiday here, on a blind date no less. We returned to London for four years where we decided to move to Australia, as we thought it would be great for Milan to grow up in the sunshine. Milan loves to go camping, mountain biking and snorkeling and the climate certainly helps for all those things.
Who do you illustrate for? Anyone who’ll pay me! It’s a varied, eclectic client base really and that suits me as its not straightforward illustration that I do. My clients include magazines, editorial, fashion.
What inspires your work? It could be anything. Sometimes nothing for months, then overload! I’m sucker for a piece of shiny orange plastic and a bit of brown corduroy. The brain works in funny ways!
Where is your home office and how much time do you spend there? It’s downstairs underneath the house in a quiet leafy setting. I’ve worked there for a year. It used to be in the house, but the space I have now is much more practical. I’m there for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I do try and keep some structure.
Which items in your office can you not do without? A scalpel and my drying rack. Two infinitely useful things to an illustrator.
Do you share the office with anyone else? No. It’s my space.
How do you stay organized? I don’t! It’s a constant work in progress. I do have method behind my madness and I constantly say that “I will get it done” but real life gets in the way. Even though it’s not tidy I know where everything is. Anyone moves my stuff and they die!
Balance, Design, Technology
March 24, 2010
By Amy Feezor
Music has always driven Dress Code, an award-winning design studio on Manhattan’s Lower East Side run by Andre Andreev and G. Dan Covert. After meeting at California College of the Arts, Andre and Dan both moved on to work at MTV in New York (check out their work for the VMAs here). They left in 2007 to start their studio, and now—in addition to the albums and merch they still design for friends in bands—they count MTV, Lightbox Theatre, CMT, and Belvedere Vodka among their clients. Andre and Dan told us a little about how music continues to influence and inspire them.
What do you listen to while you work? Andre: While I’m working, I usually like down-tempo stuff like dubstep or chop n’ screw. Nothing that’s too energetic or fast-paced. Dan: I am mostly into indie rock and some older rock and hip hop.
How do you listen? A: We all have headphones, but also have a sound system. D: At the office, I usually work with headphones on—one ear in and one ear out—so I can hear the phone and not be a total ass by blocking everyone out.
Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? A: On a daily basis, I check out nahright.com for mostly rap and hip hop. Whenever I want to stock up on some new mix tapes, I to go mixtapetorrent.com. Sometimes I check out voodoofunk.blogspot.com for these great West-African records, most of which are pretty hard to find. Most recently I found a blog of Bulgarian metal that I used to listen to as a kid, which is great because most of the early recordings were only on tape. D: Pitchfork, Pandora, Nodata, and Sordomusic.
Does music influence your work? D: Very much so. Music has been a huge influence in our work from the beginning. We started designing small runs of screen-printed posters, merch, and albums for our friends in college. After school, this helped us get jobs at MTV. And when we left to start Dress Code, we continued to design albums and merch for our friends’ bands, as well as starting to direct music videos.
Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste? A: It’s mostly friends. I trust their taste when it comes to a genre. For instance, Jon sends me a lot of dance and electro; Matt sends me mostly southern rap; Shannon just sent me some dubstep. When I lived in Seattle, I used to listen to KEXP all the time; to this day, I still turn it on to hear some new eclectic mix. D: Most of my friends are really into music as well so I get a lot of recommendations from them. And my brother has always been a big influence on my musical taste. He has been in a ton of bands and has a great ear.
What song or artist best represents the work you create? A: This might sound like a joke, but I would say Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em. Why? He is young and naive, yet confident and successful. So many people hate on him, but he still turns out hits. His music production is totally DIY and stripped down—it reminds me of early punk when musicians barely knew how to play their instruments. There is an energy with him that I can associate with. D: ODB. Because there ain’t no father to his style.
Andre’s Playlist
Turn My Swag On, Soulja Boy
Hustlin’, Rick Ross
I Know Why, Gucci Mane
Straight Out The Rarri, Young Jeezy
I Got, Three 6 Mafia
Standing in the Kitchen, Yo Gotti
A Milli, Lil Wayne
Chevy a monsta, Rich Boy
So in Love, Shawty Lo
Growing Pains, Ludacris
Dan’s Playlist
Starring, Freelance Whales
Osaka Loop Line, Discovery
Two of Us, The Beatles
Hand Me Down Your Love, Hot Chip
Birds On Ice, Shook Ones
Beaches and Friends (Hey Champ Remix), French Horn Rebellion Vs. Database
Foreground, Grizzly Bear
Hayloft, Mother Mother
Home, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
I Don’t Wanna Hear It, Minor Threat
Transylvanian Candy Patrol, Savoir Adore
Images: Dress Code
Balance, Design, Products
March 23, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
We had great feedback from our chat with professional organizer Peter Walsh. Peggy, one of our Lifework readers, had the following question for Peter:
“What does one do if paper challenged? I save papers for reading, papers for filing, papers just in case I need something, papers with medical information…I try to go through these papers, file them in alpha order and then don’t have the room to file them somewhere! Where can I start?”
Peter says “Invest in a color coded filing system like File Solutions which uses both visual and written cues to help you easily and quickly file and retrieve items. If paperwork is overwhelming, invest in a file system like the one I mentioned and start TODAY with the new system, don’t get caught up in trying to go back and file everything from the past. Start today and move forward maintaining the new system. Slowly go through old papers or, alternatively, just accept that they’ll never be completely filed, put them in a box and don’t let them stress you.”
The file folders above are from the Container Store. For more ideas check out Amy’s Five Fabulous: File Folders post.
Balance
March 23, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
Less distractions and no commute were the two of the reasons people like working from home, according to a new survey released from Microsoft. The Microsoft Telework survey, which covered 3,600 workers in 36 cities nationwide, found that people were more productive and efficient when working from home. Now we just need employers to catch on. The survey also found that only 15 percent believe their company supports flexible work arrangements. Via Techflash.
Image above of Leonora Oppenheim‘s London home office (with a Herman Miller Celle chair) via TreeHugger.
Design
March 23, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
Eames Design: The Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames, includes a 1969 interview with Charles Eames and Madame L’Amic of the Musée des Arts Decoratifs. It was published in conjunction with a design exhibit at the Louvre.
Our sister blog, Discover, pulled out a few choice sections from the session and reminded us that the interview was later used as the audio track for a film the Eames Office made on the design process called, “Design Q&A”.
Q: What is your definition of design?
A: A plan for arranging elements in such a way as to best accomplish a particular purpose.
Q: What are the boundaries of design?
A: What are the boundaries of problems?
Q: Does the creation of design admit constraint?
A: Design depends largely on constraints.
Q: What constraints?
A: The sum of all constraints. Here is one of the few effective keys to the design problem: the ability of the designer to recognize as many of the constraints as possible (and) his willingness and enthusiasm for working within these constraints—the constraints of price, size, strength, balance, surface, time, etc.; each problem has its own peculiar list.
Q: To whom does design address itself: to the greatest number (the masses)? The specialists…the enlightened amateur…a privileged social class?
A: To the need.
Image of Charles and Ray Eames courtesy of the Eames Office.