—Product Design
In my own living room, I prefer the TV to blend in and be just one of the objects in the room, instead of being the focus of the space. So while the idea of monolithic design for TVs doesn’t appeal to me, I really appreciate the consqeuent execution of this design direction and the thoughts behind it, as expressed in this interview with Sony’s design team. One of their arguments is that TVs are frames for content, so any additional decorative design is unnecessary. Another point is that the TV should also enhance the space when it is turned off, almost like a sculpture. The concepts and execution is great, but I think the presentation is off. The images and videos are beautiful, but the TV is presented as an abstract object in a fictional space. It would have been more successful if the presentation had been less monolithic and more about highlighting how this design succeeds in enriching real-world living rooms.
—Architecture
An incredibly intriguing house in Tokyo by Sou Fujimoto Architects. The rooms are so open and nested that it’s very hard to understand how the spaces connect from these photos. The architecture also clearly dominates the interior, so it’s hard to determined what the living experience is like. Nonetheless, it’s an extremely attractive house and I’d love to live in a space like this some day.
—Graphic Design
The US Dollar is such an important currency worldwide that it’s design and look has the extra responsibility of not only being functional, but also representing the USA. Dollar bills so far have looked outdated, so it’s surprising that the current design was done in 2003.
This redesign was billed as a routine update and it’s clear from comparing the previous and current versions, that more emphasis was placed on security considerations than on visual design. It’s a shame that this project has not been approached more holistically, as the new design looks more like somebody took an old bill and accidentally printed something else on top. The big yellow 100 on the back with it’s awkardly shaped white background is one of the many things that just don’t work.
Let’s hope that The Treasury Department will learn something from the “Dollar Redesign Project”, an effort to crowd-source new designs for the US currency that has already produced much better results than this.
