Israel

nendo Gets an Exhibit.

If you happen to be in Israel in the next 5 months you might want to swing by the Design Museum Holon because they are hosting the first exhibit for Japanese design firm nendo. The exhibit chronicles nendo’s work from the studio’s inception in 2002, looking not only at the object they have created, but the creative process and design thinking that goes into them as well.

The exhibition will stretch from the interior to the exterior of the Design Museum Holon’s grounds, to provide an overall thought-provoking and immersive experience. A museum-first, the show will deal with the challenges and the related solutions that nendo – a studio led by one of the most prominent talents of this generation, Oki Sato -has encountered while interacting with the different typologies of objects and their unexplored areas. “This presentation investigates the only space in which Sato could not intervene, the space in between but on which he actually powerfully does: what is in-between, what is un-design and the carefully calculated operative-area left to light and air.

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FutureLAB Interactive Car Windows for GM.

Just in case you missed it, earlier this week all the major news networks announced how GM is back on top as the number 1 automobile manufacturer in the world. Ford is making huge gains, and both companies are being heralded for design innovation and product quality. Hopefully Detroit will do something about the plethora of over sized trucks and SUV’s that clog American roads, by making smaller more stylish cars that appeal to the masses the way the previously mentioned did over the last 20 years. I mean seriously, do you really need a Ford F-250 with a Triton V-10 engine if you don’t work on a farm or haul something daily? Anyway, I digress…

Recently GM, in challenged the FutureLAB at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Israel to make back seat windows interactive for kids. “Windows of Opportunity” project is designed to take advantage emerging technologies, and convert the rear windows of a car into an interactive playground for kids. The students from FutureLAB worked directly with General Motors Human-Machine Interface Group to explore the possibilities of the future. The result of their research and work is an entertainment center built around applications designed to deliver gaming, social networking, information, and creativity for kids.

It is this kind of exploration, and design development that will help propel GM, and other US car makers forward over the next few years. GM, and Ford having conquered the challenges of fit, finish, and style need something to set themselves apart from European, Japanese, and Korean brands in the future. This kind of technology might just do the trick.

500 People in 100 Seconds, Analog Meets Digital.

A friend of mine sent me the link to this video about a week ago and I completely meant to post it. The thing is, it kind of got lost in the shuffle of the Adobe MAX conference last week and I spaced it.

I really love what they have done with this music video. The idea is so simple and the execution is so well done. In 100 seconds, you have 500 individuals holding actual analog photos in their hands. The images they are showing reveal a stop motion animation, and the individuals create their own stop motion video as well. The piece just works.

Music: “Malinkovec Valzer” by Maxmaber Orkestar.

Made by Eran Amir, in and around Israel.

Live Concerts on Facebook via Cellcom.

In many ways I think Facebook is becoming little more than a giant ad engine. There are so many companies that now have Facebook pages and are attempting to get you to friend or like them, that it is pretty ridiculous. Most corporate pages are pretty generic when it comes to marketing their product or promoting their brand. By that, I mean they offer you little more than wall posts, and hooks to external websites or promotions. One company that seems to have figured out a way to push the envelope is Cellcom.

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Cellcom, is Israel’s largest telephone company and in an attempt to actually offer their fans something engaging, they have launched a series of live interactive Facebook concerts. The concerts will be broadcast each night for two hours over the next month. Cellcom is inviting the very best bands and performers in Israel to play live to tens of thousands of awaiting Facebook fans. The fans will in turn, be broadcast live to monitors surrounding the stage via webcam and they will be empowered to make comments, and ask questions throughout the event This creates a unique interactive experience between the performers and Facebook fans in real-time. (Something I have never seen done on Facebook before, but I could see becoming huge.)

Throughout the concert the performers will take the time to interact with the audience, answering questions, taking song requests and changing things up live based on comments and requests that are filtering through as they play each song. Meanwhile each Facebook fan will get a unique perspective of the event, all from their mobile phone or computer. This was created by the guys at Promarket and Logia, Israel and I think they have hit a home run with this. This campaign is unique, memorable, engaging, and has staying power. Kudos to Cellcom.