Archive | design RSS feed for this section

Towards a Cyberpunk Sky

By Tom Saunter on May 9, 2012 // design

When plans for The Shard were unveiled my first thoughts were that its piercing aesthetic would be too harsh for the London skyline. But now it’s been ‘topped out’ and soon to open to the public, it’s time to get used to it.

Shard London Bridge Complete | Towards a Cyberpunk Sky | Digital Cortex

I heard somewhere that Irvine Sellar, the property magnate behind the tower, intends for his creation to stand for more than 200 years. Well, of course it does, but this concept did the most to shift my perspective.

Imagine how this city will feel in two centuries: totally transformed, utterly modern and yet (hopefully) still uniquely London. The Shard is another step towards an exciting Future London.

To illustrate my point, here’s a video flyover showing the tower in context. Watch closely and you’ll see  London’s slow climb towards a cyberpunk sky:

Comments { 0 }

Lee Broom’s Neon Furniture

By Tom Saunter on January 6, 2012 // design

I stumbled into /r/cyberpunk the other day, where I came across the work of a chap called Lee Broom, a British interior and product designer who has won recent acclaim for his work at Westfield Stratford and The Nightjar.

His stuff is traditional with a very modern twist: think 19th century meets TRON. Yeah, pretty awesome. My favorite piece is an antique chair found in a flea market somewhere in Paris, “left unrestored and then adorned in turquoise neon, giving it new life but without forgetting its journey.”

luminaire bergere profile 530x383 | Lee Brooms Neon Furniture | Digital Cortex

Some of the other designs that I liked (click thumbnails to expand):

For the discerning cyberpunk, Broom’s full range of products are listed here.

Comments { 0 }

A New Kind of Business Card

By Tom Saunter on January 5, 2012 // design

Question: How do you share that great idea of yours while keeping your intellectual property secure? Answer: You use a non-disclosure agreement.

Beer in a London pub 001 | A New Kind of Business Card | Digital Cortex

Beer: tool of the trade

But NDAs are way too formal for the modern entrepreneur, who is more likely to meet a potential partner or investor at a conference, in a coffee shop, or over a beer than arrange to meet at the lawyers.

In an informal situation, the most common business exchange is probably handing someone your business card. I’ve been thinking about this, so in the spirit of sharing ideas, here’s what I’ve come up with:

What if your business card could unlock new conversations?

On the understanding that a signed non-disclosure agreement allows for a far smoother flow of communication in the exchange of business ideas, my business card design offers the ability to turn a casual conversation into a pitch scenario, but without the formality.

Take a look at this mockup I created for MOO Cards, who sadly weren’t interested in the exclusive ownership rights!

perforated NDA business card idea 530x265 | A New Kind of Business Card | Digital Cortex

Click the image to see in fullscreen

My design is a perforated piece of card designed to be ripped in half:

  • One half lists the usual business card details
  • One half has space for a signature against the statement:
    “I hereby agree to treat your idea as confidential in a bond of trust”
    (or whatever)

Each party keeps one half of the card in this interactive business exchange. Not legally airtight, of course, but still an innovative means of quickly forming trust with a potential partner.

So then, anyone out there want to help turn this design into a reality?

Comments { 0 }
Video

The Random Tattoo

By Tom Saunter on January 2, 2012 // design

Take one QR code, a script that fetches a random bit of web frippery on demand, and a willing patch of skin. Put them all together and you have The Random Tattoo. Enjoy!

Comments { 0 }

Typewriter Cocktail Machine

By Tom Saunter on October 3, 2011 // design

Excuse the continued delay to fresh posts here lately. I’m currently drafting a talk for a conference next month called Get Together - hosted by the Next Bigger Better Society - and truth told as it’s my first speaking gig I’d like the content to be as fresh as possible.

I’ll be talking on the subject of technology and evolution, probably around how the liberal arts act as playground to new & culturally transformative ideas. If you’re interested in coming along, tickets are available right here.

In the meantime though, here’s the first of some less heavyweight posts I’ll be making over the coming weeks!

I love how this invention takes an analog medium (plastic / liquid) and mimics a digital one (LCD display) in the guise of another analog medium (the typewriter) to output not words, but what looks like a terribly strong concoction of different drinks. Each customer would create a different, personalised recipe based on their input.

I can see this being really fun in a bar that sold tokenised access to the machine, along with predefined recipes such as the keywords ‘pineapple’ or ‘cherrybomb’, each letter plugged into its own mutually exclusive blend of base flavours. Nice work morskoiboy (site currently down).

Comments { 1 }