BJÖRK – Biophilia

ABOUT

Biophilia is the eighth studio album by Björk. Billed as the first “app album”, Biophilia is a multimedia project released alongside a series of apps linking the album’s themes to musicology concepts. It was also followed by a series of educational workshops in four continents.
The Biophilia app consists of a series of 10 separate apps, one for each song, all included in a “mother app” which contains a menu made up by a three-dimensional constellation which the user can shift, zoom and orbit by swiping their fingers to open the apps. The first time the app is opened, an introduction by David Attenborough describes the application and the project itself.^[59] This introduction was also used to open the Biophilia Tour residency concerts.

CREATOR

The creator of the album is Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk. Music critics have consistently championed Björk’s work, praising her innovative approach to singing and composition, her pioneering use of electronic beats, her groundbreaking music videos, and, above all, her singular voice, describing her as “the most important and forward-looking musician of her generation” and “the best non-pop female vocalist of the last 30 years”.

RULES / RESTRICTIONS

The app is available on various devices and smartphone app stores. Every app is a subcategory of a ‘mother’ app and each represent a song of the Biophilia album. The apps are roughly divided into two kinds: the ones in which the user play a sort of games, and the other ones that work like a musical instrument. You can only use the screen and the options that are provided with every app song, however the user can already create very varying compositions with these tools.

COMMENTS

Awesome project. Björk truly knows how to innovate and keep the interest of the public.

VITRUVIAN PAINTING MACHINE

ABOUT

The Vitruavian Paint Machine is a project that’s performed in the Van Abbemuseum. They made a painting on the walls which would by influenced by the visiting people. If visitors passed the painters it was possible to choose a color. Depending on the color and the people, the painters would change their painting.

CREATORS

The creators of this performance were Luna Maurer and Edo Paulus.

RULES/RESTRICTIONS

The creators worked with four different colors. Each color has a ‘rule-made-form’. But the creators weren’t the people who selected the colors, the audience did. So the audience would decide which color they had to use (next), so they decided partially what the painting would look like. The way of drawing would also change depending on how many people where in that room. The specific rules you can find on http://conditionaldesign.org/workshops/vitruvian-paint-machine/

COMMENT

This was a really interesting way of art I heard of in another class. I thought it was very interesting/fun that people could intervene and could decide what would happen next. It was very fun that we got the assignment to make drawings with rules of this kind of our own. It’s an easy example of intervening in someone’s project, but it does get amazing results.

PHOTOCHROMIA by Madison Maxey

ABOUT

Photochromia is a project from “The Crated” a design studio which Madison Maxey is a part of it. For this project she worked with a company called Print All Over ( digital printing partners) to create clothing that changes patterns in response to light. The trick: photochromatic inks, which are made up of molecules that turn transparent when exposed to sunlight. The technology has been around since the mid-1800s, yet it still feels futuristic when applied to clothing. The clothing line includes baseball caps, T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, backpacks, and more.

CREATOR

Madison Maxey is a around designer. She builds prototypes, writes codes and likes in generally to experiment at the intersection of design and technology. Her interests lie between 2nd generation wearable technology, additive manufacturing and computational design. Her main focus is The Crated a Innovation studio focused on developing 2nd generation wearable technology. They Believe that the key to productive wearable tech lies within the realm of fiber science. With this in mind, they focus on performance & responsive materials and soft circuitry.

RULES/RESTRICTIONS

One of the most important rule in this project is the fact that she could realize this project with the digital printing partners Print all over me. A Online platform where everybody is able to collaborate, create and produce in real world. Another rule is the fact that Photochromia’s technological abilities are pretty basic; disappearing ink doesn’t perform nearly as many sophisticated tasks as some of Maxey’s competitors, like Ralph Lauren’s Polo Tech Shirt, which tracks biometric data from the wearer. she thinks that opening up how we think of wearable tech with projects like hers and others will help prepare people for what wearables might look like in the future.

COMMENTS

This kind of Projects are very investing in the way the designers work with new technologies and processes to create new and new ideas for the future living. For me it is wonderful that we  live now in the beginning of a new post digital era where old knowledge, techniques can be combined with new never before seen technologies to create individual and innovative projects with we are able to continue through open sources and platforms.

Links

http://www.madisonmaxey.com

https://paom.com

Of Instruments and Archetypes by Studio Unfold

 

ABOUT

A range of wireless digital measuring instruments; a calliper, measuring tape and protractor. Measurements of physical objects are transferred in realtime to an on-screen digital 3d model on which it needs to fit. Through this project, measuring becomes something without numbers, but with accurate precision; measuring becomes making. These instruments can then be used in an application where archetypical, parametric objects can be customised with exact measurements and materialised by digital production techniques such as 3D printing.

CREATOR

Studio Unfold is a design studio from Antwerpen witch ask a lot about the future role of a designer and how is it changing in a time when design and manufacturing become increasingly more digitized? This question is key to understanding the work of design studio Unfold. The studio, founded in 2002 by Claire Warnier and Dries Verbruggen after they graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven, develops projects that investigate new ways of creating, manufacturing, financing and distributing in a changing context.

RULES/RESTRICTIONS

One of the typical ways/ rules how unfold is working is the fact that they often collaborating with a vast network of kindred spirits and specialists, so the collaboration is the most important thing in there projects. The try to merging aspects of the pre-industrial craft economy with high tech industrial production methods and digital communication networks which makes them to a perfect example for a innovative and experimental open design office.

COMMENTS

I really like this project because they try to make a bridge between old craftsman tools from the past and new digital production ways like 3D printing. The Idea to create a digital measuring instruments; a calliper, measuring tape and protractor is really clever because in future we will need this kind of tools to manufacture our own products etc. Unfold  is also nominated with this project for the prestigious Designs of the Year award issued by Design Museum London!

LINKS

http://unfold.be

Cover collection by Daphna Laurens

ABOUT: Dutch designers Daphna Laurens have created a series of storage containers that partially conceal their contents behind metal grilles. The covers can be separated from the bowls to fill them, or they can be used singly as open containers.

CREATOR: Daphna Laurens

RULES: Using material; aluminium and cork to create a series of storage containers.

COMMENTS: I think this is a really clever and nice idea to combine three different materials by creating a totally new kind of containers.

LINKS: http://www.daphnaisaacs.nl/index.php?/objects/cover/

Funzige Box

ABOUT

Funzige Box is a project by illustrator Funs Janssen (Funzig). The project tells a story about himself and to tell this story he made a box containing all sorts of tools to make prints. People can participate and use the tools inside the box such as a stamp and silkscreen to create their own Funzig illustrations. The main illustration which is made with the silkscreen is a bear, which is symbolic for himself. In addition to this people can add claws for instance with a rolling stamp and people then take their own customized illustration home with them.

CREATOR

Funzig, a studying illustrator at the Willem de Kooning Academie in Rotterdam is an illustrator who mostly works analogue because of his fascination with crafts. He mostly uses black and white with sometimes the addition of one other colour. Funzig – which is a derivative for his name – means vulgar and he likes to search for the border of which can and cannot be done.  Vulgarity is often incorporated in his illustrations as small details.

RULES/RESTRICTIONS

People can only use the ready-made tools but can choose between three colours. The silk screen print and the stamps can be made with different levels of pressure, and the rolling stamp can be used in different ways. The stamps can of course be placed anywhere on the paper. The print can also be customized by choosing which colour is stamped/printed first, the paint is partly transparent.

COMMENTS

The nice thing about this project is that people can actually make the print of an illustrator, something that is not common. Normally an illustration or print can only be bought. In this way Funzig enables people to participate in his process and in this way learn more about him.

Pictures belong to: Funzig

Designed by Animals

 

ABOUT

Front is a Stockholm based design studio. For the Designed by Animals collection they asked animals for help and they gladly lent a paw, helping to create objects like coat hangers, lamps and vases.

 

CREATOR

The design studio – consisting of three women; Sofia Lagerkvist, Charlotte von der Lancken and Anna Lindgren – bases designs on common discussions and experiments collaborating with themselves from beginning ‘till the finished product. They often assign external labourers such as animals, computers or explosions, making the products – and in this instance the collection – collective.

 

RULES/RESTRICTIONS

All products are different. The only thing they have in common are that they are made of the same material with the help of animals. Of course the animals have no idea that they are designing and so they just do what they do normally creating different objects every time. The collection keeps its form because the basic things the animals do are the same, just performed a little differently each time. The designers can stop the designing process at any time when they are satisfied and start finishing the product.

 

COMMENTS
I really love this project since I have been wanting to do a similar project myself, using the behaviour of animals as labour as a means of production. Though I think this project could have been made more interesting by making it less simple for themselves. For instance the paws of dogs creating vases is very literal, I think that is just a beginning stage of what it could be if they develop more on this.

Rijksstudio

ABOUT

The Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands is digitalising their collection in high resolution for everyone to download and use in any way without having to ask permission. This is because the copyright of these works have been expired and they feel that everyone should have access to these art pieces.

 

CREATOR

The platform is created by the Rijksmuseum with Bankgiro Loterij and Cultuurloterij as sponsors. The platform is for open use and every day the Rijksstudio adds photographs. The collection of people making things grows as long as they are using the service.

 

RULES/RESTRICTIONS

There are no rules and restrictions. You do not even need to sign in to download the published photographs and no permission is needed to use it even for commercial use. The only thing that is notable is that some are not available for commercial use because the copyright is not completely expired.

 

COMMENTS

I am in love this idea. Art should be for everyone and even though the pictures are made by photographs, they don’t use the copyright which should then actually be on their pictures. They put a lot of effort into it and don’t ask for anything in return. I think this is a beautiful gesture towards open design and the people of the Netherlands. I would really like to use this platform in one of my designs one day and see what possibilities it holds.

 

LINKS

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/rijksstudio/

Fun Food Plates

 

ABOUT:
Melamine plates with images of fun scenes and characters made from healthy foods to encourage children to have a healthy attitude towards eating.

ARTIST:
Rachel Froud

RULES/RESTRICTIONS:
– Round plates
– Attractive to children
– Healthy foods

COMMENTS:
I really like the funny attitude of this collection. I would totally buy them for my child if I had one! It makes healthy food much more fun. Hope the kids won’t go play with their own food during dinner!

LINKS:
http://www.artsthread.com/portfolios/funfoodplates/

Encapsulation

  

       

ABOUT:
A collection to bring the wearer closer to nature by giving them the option to preserver and wear.

CREATOR:
Amy Stringer

RULES/RESTRICTIONS:
– Combine silicon with nature
– Only use materials out of nature
– It has to be a ring
– The silicon has to be transparant

COMMENTS:
The calm look of the accessories really appeal to me. It’s unusual shapes and weird look of the grass coming out has a special look. I don’t know if i think the concept is really strong… But i like the look of real things out of nature captured in objects.

LINKS:
http://www.artsthread.com/portfolios/encapsulation/