Light Responsive Table

This table, by Ripple Interactive is spunky and interesting. It is a little bit pricey (going for 1500-2100) but none the less a modern and hip addition to any space. It responds to touch and lights up when activated wherever it has been touched. This would be a very interesting peice in a club or bar scene and maybe even in some unusual restraunts. It is an innovative way to incorporate the lighting and decor into the furnishings.

Legos in the Kitchen

This is a countertop kitchen design done in Paris. It simply covers the entire island in the kitchen with legos. Not made entirely out of legos, but covers the original island. This is a creative tactic to add a large pop of color and to add a large change of scenery in an otherwise boring or old room. I just wonder: how easily this could be taken apart? Is this as durable as it looks?

Reading on the Go

This article found on core77 demonstrates a new device that Barnes and Noble is coming out with and releasing in late November. It is going to sell for $259 dollars when it hits the market. It is a way to wirelessly download and read books at ones own convenience. Also, you can "borrow" titles from friends that also have the same device for a certain amount of time. The best feature is that you can read any book you want for free as long as you are in a Barnes and Noble store at the time. It allows you to browse or read through an entire book. This is a good marketing tactic for them to bring customers into the store. Although you can read a book in its entirety if you remain in the store not many people have the time to do so. This will bring readers in to browse through the books and generally make more business for the store.

Guest Speaker: Carla Gannis

Having Carla come and speak in class was very informative. She is not only a very inspirational person to listen to but a great artist and designer. Carla told us about the beginnings of her artistic career and the education she received to get there. Also, about her past and how it was influenced by the jobs and influences her father had on her. He worked with media and computer art more than she had ever dreamed she would. He warned her that computer design was the future but she was more focused on oil painting, for that was her undergraduate major. She focused all of her undergraduate time on oil painting and physical, less-able-to-change art like that. She enjoyed it a lot but did not realize that her dad would be right and that she would end up in the computer world.

Carla spoke about numerous jobs and opportunities she was given. Being an art major it did not seem surprising to me that her first job out of school was working in a library. Without having a major experience or job before graduation it could be hard to find an art job immediately out of school. She was then presented with opportunities to expand her art career and grow into new forms of art and expression. She has a unique style and works a lot in series. This meaning that she will do a lot of digital works to even such things as light presentations or videos on a the same subject just a new variation of it. Seeing a lot of her work on the powerpoint presentation was inspirational for numerous reasons. Not only was it inspiring that she had a very unique style and picked up a lot of graphic technique along her career path but the many means in which she expressed her unique thoughts and designs were original in themselves. In a few of her galleries she has actually had fiber glass cut to the shapes of her designs and shot light and video on them to make them look real. This is such a unique approach to any design. One of my favorites that she mentioned was a "holograph" of a genie coming out of a cheap soda bottle. She had created the video and actually projected it on the fiber glass. Carla even mentioned that this exhibit was well-liked by people in Germany which means her art is seen in a vast majority of places.

Carla not only had an interesting story to share with us but lots of artwork to show on her powerpoint presentation. She showed us a lot of her digital work and even some paintings. Her work was interesting and in a lot of cases, surreal. She brings real life situation and ironys to the table and is able to put her own creative spin on them. On top of showing us her own art work she was able to add in other artists that she knows or admires and compare her work to theirs in an educational way. She had a great presentation and a spunky personality which made her enjoyable to watch.

New York Toy Fair

Every year there is a toy fair held in New York City at the Jacob J. Javits Convention Center. There were about 20,000 attendees this year in 2009. The photo above is an example of one of the many toy designs showcased at this event. This event is both fun for children and interesting for those of us who are a little bit older. It is fun to see how there are still such conventional toys that have been around forever, such as Lego's, but also new designs. There were toys so simple as clay figures to things so extravagant as the toy Lamborgini pictured above that is bedazzled entirely in Swarovski crystal.