Balance, Design, Products, Technology
February 10, 2012
By Cerentha Harris
Where we’ve been this week…
1. Treehugger for their “Most Beautiful Street in the World” post.
2. Apartment Therapy for this home office tour.
3. Design*Sponge’s wonderful wrap up of home office spaces.
4. Design Milk for their Designer DeskTop Wallpaper series.
5. MujiUSA has some very sleek minimal designs for the home office including these acrylic organizers.
6. Luludi for their cool way of incorporating plants into the home office – hang them on the wall.
7. Cleverhands shop on Etsy has a interesting alternative to the pencil case – check it out here. Good for home office workers on the go.
8. Vienna-based designers Less & More create beautiful wooden desk organizers. You can see them here on the US-Supermarket site.
9. Design Notes funny post on a new game – “Six Degrees of Cranbrook”.
10. Desire to Inspire’s post on a cool Toronto office.
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
February 7, 2012
By Cerentha Harris
One strategy for preventing the loss of portable devices like the iPad or smartphones around the house is designating a “landing station“. Most people just drop their phones and tablets on their desk or kitchen counter, but setting up a specific spot with a holder is a better idea if you’ve got a habit of always misplacing your device even though you swear, “I put it right here”…
Constructed of oiled oak harvested from German forests, both the Objekten DOCK Box and Dock Tray are available in light and dark oak versions, and each providing a handsome way to not only display/view your favorite screened device, but also offering the “landing station” to keep clutter at bay and decrease the chances of “now where did I put that _____?!”
By Gregory Han
This story appears in partnership with Unplggd, a site for people who embrace technology and design in their home.
Balance, Design, Products
February 6, 2012
By Iris Regn
At a Pecha Kucha event for the American Institute of Graphic Artists last year, graphic designer Andrew Byrom presented a series of takes on what a business card should – and shoudn’t – be. His son passed out a wooden card made literally from “The Desk of Andrew Byrom”. Andrew’s witty presentation softened his rigorous rethinking of the function of graphic design, and the involvement of his 9-year-old son made it a family event. Currently, the Eames exhibition that Andrew curated and designed with Deborah Sussman for Pacific Standard Time is at the A+D Museum. Here Byrom speaks about his work, how he works and Ray and Charles Eames.
You established your firm in 1997. What led to that point? After graduating from The University of East London in 1996 I worked briefly in the design department of Routledge, a leading academic book publisher. In 1997 I opened my own design studio in London and worked for various clients including Penguin Books, The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, The Industrial Design Centre, Time-Out Online and The Guardian Newspaper. Around this time I also began teaching graphic design at The University of Luton and Central St. Martins.
I moved to the states in 2000 to teach at Northern Illinois University. In 2006 I moved to Long Beach were I am a Professor at California State University. I divide my time between teaching, designing for various clients and playing with my sons Auden, Louis, and Julian.
I have recently been commissioned to design typefaces and type treatments for The New York Times Magazine, UCLA Extension, and Sagmeister Inc.
Above: A quote from the Eames’ on Byrom’s dining room wall.
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Balance, Design, Products, Technology
February 3, 2012
By Cerentha Harris
Where we’ve been this week…
1. Inhabitat ran a post on a beautifully designed little prefab cabin inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.
2. Interior Design magazine “10 Questions with Konstantin Grcic“ - who designed, among other pieces, Chair_One.
3. Huffington Post for their piece on the Eames’ film “Powers of 10″.
4. Co.Design on how plywood change the world…look out for pieces by Ray and Charles Eames.
5. Architizer for Drew House - an amazing building that includes a tubular section for the living area.
6. The Office Stylist for her post on 22squared’s cool office space.
7. Cubicle Refugee for her lovely, color-driven tumblr blog. Lots of eye candy during your coffee break.
8. Pinterest has so many good boards loaded with home office ideas but make sure you check out Design Studio for really eclectic mix of images.
9. Poppytalk for her home work space post.
10. Habitus for their interview with BassamFellows.
Balance, Design, Products
February 2, 2012
By Amy Feezor
Hot cups of tea and mugs full of coffee not cutting it on chilly mornings? Warm up your workspace with these easy picks.
1. Under Desk Heater, $89.00 Created to fit right under your desk, this soft plug-in floor mat provides extra warmth to legs and feet looking for relief from a winter-y workday. Get it: warmlyyours.com
2. Plus-Minus-Zero Heater, $389.00 Infuse your workspace with a little extra color using this lively compact design. Get it: Generate
3. Crane Space Heater, $34.99 Retro cool (in a way only a space heater can be). Get it: Amazon
4. Bionaire Ceramic Mini Tower Heater, $53.45 With a digital thermostat controls, LCD display, and remote control, you might feel like it’s your own robot of warmth. Get it: Amazon
5. Anna Little Ceramic Heater Stadler Form, $79.99 Add this streamlined design to your desktop and turn up the heat. Get it: Horne
Images linked to their sources within the numbered text
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
January 30, 2012
By Cerentha Harris
In his latest series UK-based photographer Todd McLellan takes old technology – a typewriter or rotary phone – and explodes them, meticulously laying out every tiny screw and bolt and wire to create beautiful images. Here he shares his 3-studio workspace and a few things that inspire him.
How long have you been working as a photographer? What drew you to shooting? I graduated with a BFA in 2002 from the from Alberta College of Art & Design. Assisting for 4 years I officially started shooting full time in 2006. I originally went to college to specialize in graphic arts/design, but changed my major after the first year. I really had a hard time sitting in the same room working on drawings all day. Photography allows you the freedom to explore the environment around you. I appreciate this and wanted to fully discover the medium.
Tell us about your workspace. Any special considerations that effected the way it is set up? I actually share a workspace with two other photographers. It’s a large setup with a car studio and two smaller studios. I feel very fortunate to have the freedom of space. The first part of the series started in the studio space but found some of them would take me far too long with many interruptions. I recently moved it to my office above the studio and am able to work on the projects much easier.
Your new work, Disassembly, strips down electronics to their elements. You’ve managed to capture a real beauty in the bits and pieces that come together to form once ubiquitous pieces of technology. The typewriter and rotary phone certainly no longer have a place in our home offices. Was there a reason you didn’t choose a laptop or cell phone? Most everything that I have taken apart has been mechanical. If you press a button or turn a knob you can physically see it doing its job. They are very interesting and complex inside. New technology although very complex, is not on a level you can see physically. I have taken apart my iPhone before and inside there are minimal parts.
What inspires you in your work? Things I see, sounds I hear, conversations with people, it’s amazing what can come up if you let your mind wander.
Balance, Design, Products
January 27, 2012
By Cerentha Harris
1. Bloomberg Businessweek for their piece on the SAYL chair.
2. Saltsurf.com’s blog is beautiful. Even if you don’t surf or have never been to the beach this blog takes you away from your desk for a few minutes and lets you indulge in gorgeous shots of beach and ocean. Plus their new canvas totes would hold your laptop rather nicely. Enjoy!
3. Design Observer for Adam Harrison Levy’s review of A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor. Sounds like a fascinating book.
4. Milo Paper for their cool notebooks. They’ve dubbed them “Men’s Collection” which is a shame because they really would be perfect for women too. So don’t be put off. Check them out – you can even personalize them.
5. SF Girl By Bay has revamped her site and now there’s even more great interiors for home office inspiration.
6. An Organized Nest for their 6 tips on dealing with mail – real snail mail not email.
7. Oki Ni for this awesome messenger bag/lap top carrier.
8. House Beautiful gives us a nice slideshow of 16 different home office styles.
9. Architizer for this amazing house by Blank Studio. It’s in a town called Superior at the base of the Superstition Mountain range in Arizona.
10. Brain Pickings for Maria Popova’s thoughtful post on Charles Eames (including a great link to an Eliot Noyes essay on Charles).
Design, Products
January 26, 2012
By Cerentha Harris
For the past few weeks Susan Lyons, our Materials Creative Director, has covered Herman Miller’s five material design principles over on our Discover blog. We’ve heard about honesty, utility, economy, pleasure, and possibility and the role these principles play in helping us choose the materials for our designs.
One principle is particularly relevant to Lifework readers: It’s the idea of utility. Lyons talks about utility in connection to Embody – a chair that finds its way into many a home office. “When we talk about material utility,” Lyons says, “what we really mean is that we use materials to solve problems.”
To hear Lyons talk about the rest of the principles simply follow these links: honesty, economy, pleasure, possibility.
To find a home office chair check out our tips on how to choose the right one for you. (And FYI – we’re now shipping our most popular office chairs for $29. Read all about that here.)
Balance, Design, Products
January 25, 2012
By Amy Feezor
Ever since architect Emily Fischer founded Haptic Lab in 2009, she’s been wowing the design world with her unique “Soft-Maps” quilts (a great gift for new parents, the newly married, or dear old friends).
Hear a little of what’s playing in her Brooklyn studio—also responsible for creative collaborations in architecture, art, furniture, and even kites—in our latest Playlist.
What do you listen to while you work? I spent years working in buttoned-up, quiet architectural offices in the city, so I definitely take advantage of having my own non-traditional working environment. The music is always loud when it’s playing in the studio, usually drowning out the din of DUMBO’s bridge traffic. When I need to focus on a specific sewing project, I listen to audiobooks downloaded via the New York Public Library. The NYPL has over 20,000 audiobooks available for download in MP3 format for free, and I average around 12 books a month. (Mostly classics like War and Peace, Proust, everything written by Dickens and Edith Wharton…and now I’m blacksliding into YA with the Hunger Games series.)
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Balance, Products, Technology
January 24, 2012
By Cerentha Harris
New year, new you. If you’re still hoping to clean up your act in the new year, maybe some cheap/free apps will help you along your way. Theres nothing better than finding a well designed piece of software that can greatly improve your daily life on the computer by helping you organize information or achieve tasks easier than before. We’ve collected some of the most popular productivity apps that will hopefully do just that for you.
Dayone $9.99
What better time to start a journal than a turn of the new year? Dayone is a deceivingly sophisticated journal app for your computer and mobile applications. One of the biggest issues with keeping journals is making it easy enough to write in. Dayone has covered all the bases by integrating smart features like menu bar quick entry, reminder systems, calendar view, and more. It also has Dropbox integration for syncing.
Sparkbox $19.99
Forget iPhoto. Sparkbox proves to be the next best thing in image management. Some of the handy features includes the Safari Websnap extension integration. If there is a blog page full of images you want to save for later, in a single click you can have them all downloaded and ready to categorize in Sparkbox. There are also color-coded image searches, and a brilliant tagging/highlighting feature which allows you to annotate images with your thoughts. All of this comes packed in clean UI which will fit right in with other Mac software.
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