Italy

A Capsule of Memorabilia

If you are lucky enough to be in Italy this week you might want to take a train to Milan to check out the 2017 Milan Design Week. And if you do happen to stop in at Milan Design Week, be sure and check out the Capsule of Memorabilia from 3M and designer Patricia Urquiola. Based on the photos, it looks pretty spectacular.

Based on the belief that behind every memory, there is a story, and behind every story, there is a memory worth protecting, “A Capsule of Memorabilia” will give designers, creative professionals and thought leaders an experience of protecting memories into the future through a blend of architecture, design and innovative use of materials. 3M Design partnered with Studio Urquiola to bring the protection of memories to life using 3M’s Novec products which are designed to help protect, clean, preserve and cool products in smart, safe and sustainable ways.

Visitors will experience a one-of-a-kind photo booth where they can take photos with friends and colleagues using the components of a camera submerged in Novec fluid. The photos will appear on a screen that is protected by Novec, and then visitors will be given the opportunity to preserve the image and share it digitally through social media.

“It is exciting to be at Milan Design Week to share the magic of 3M material sciences to celebrate design and explore innovative possibilities that make people’s lives better,” said Eric Quint, chief design officer at 3M. “We have partnered with Studio Urquiola for this installation and together explored what’s possible through material science – reminding the world of the importance of protecting our collective memories.”

The inspiration behind the installation is the critical nature of ensuring that our memorabilia, whether physical or digital, will live on into the future – from precious artifacts and irreplaceable works of art, to books in a library that are historical and unique, and data centers across the globe managing the communication and storage, of all the digital artifacts that make up life’s special moments. 3M Novec is the featured material utilized throughout the installation, helping to provide the peace of mind that our collective memories are secured and live on into the future.

“The qualities of the Novec products are fascinating and triggered our collaboration to express a bigger story in an experiential way,” said Patricia Urquiola, founder of Studio Urquiola. “The collaboration with 3M Design was inspiring because we shared similar values and a vision about how design and architecture can amplify the qualities of magic materials, and in this case how they can protect our memories in to the future.”

The “Capsule of Memorabilia” exhibit is located at the Central Plaza of SuperStudio and will be open through April, 9.

Digital Habits Osound

I’m a big fan of design that blends into the environment, or hides in plain sight looking like something it’s not. I think it’s one of the reasons I like OSOUND from Digital Habits. This wireless speaker looks like a piece of minimalist wall art, yet delivers some pretty impressive audio for a small wireless speaker.

OSOUND features gesture controls, and streams your music via Bluetooth 2.0 specs. The gesture control interface lets you run the system with simple swipes of the hand without touching the device surface. There is also an iOS and Android app if you don’t feel like getting up.

The acoustic box is wooden to help create a more natural tone from the speaker. Designed in Milan Italy, Digital Habits not only thought about the acoustic quality of this speaker, they also considered how to help it blend into the environment. OSOUND COMES IN A variety of color tones (aqua, black, grey, white, burgundy and brown) to compliment your space.

AUDIO DATA
Speaker System: 3.5” speaker low/mid range and 2” tweeter
Power amplifier: 2×6 W (12V)
Response Frequency: 85 Hz to 20 kHz

COMPATIBILITY
OSOUND connects via Bluetooth for wireless high quality audio. The product is compatible with any Bluetooth 2.1 and higher devices.

ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS
Power: 100-240 AC 50-60 Hz

SIZE AND WEIGHT
Size 16 inches diameter x2. 75 inches thick
Weight 5 pounds

INCLUDED ACCESSORIES
AC/DC 12 V 2 A

20 Rules. The H-57 Commandments for Designers.

Milan creative studio H-57’s staff set out earlier this year to create a set of rules, or guidelines to determine what guides them every day. The fact is that most of these could be applied to any occupation.

To create the poster, the H-57 crew determined their personal guidelines, drew them on paper, cut them out, and glued them to a sheet of cardboard. Then the entire sheet was converted to what you see below.

In the end, these rules are what really should guide us every single day.

Bardi’s Bowl Chair, a Limited Edition Relaunch.

Arper is relaunching a limited edition of a mid-century modern classic. Lina Bo Bardi’s classic Bowl Chair. The bowl chair originally released in 1951, features a metal frame with four legs that attach to a metal ring that supports the chair. The upholstered seat can be rotated to a variety of angles allowing for various seating positins. The chair comes with loose seat cushions designed to enhance the chairs flexibility. The relaunch of the chair is to highlight Bardi’s legacy on furniture design, and connect the past and the future.

The relaunch of the Bowl Chair will be produced in black leather and a range of colored fabrics.