Author: designy things

Banana! Nendo Designs Packaging Design for Minion’s Favorite Snack

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Nendo was recently asked to design the packaging for Shiawase bananas, high-quality bananas grown on a plantation in a national park located in the north-central region of the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Grown using only organic fertilizers and adhering to the strict restriction on the use of pesticides, the produce became the first bananas to be awarded with 2 Stars at the International Taste and Quality Institute (iTQi) Superior Taste Awards in Belgium. To keep things as simple as a banana’s natural packaging, the Japanese design firm decided to steer clear of boxes or packing material, and instead applied stickers to the surface of the banana peel. The double layered sticker has a top layer that replicates the textural feel and colors of the banana peel, even down to the lifelike bruises and discoloration. When this top layer is peeled off, the second sticker reveals a description of the banana’s origins upon a background the color of banana flesh. Nendo also designed a paper carrier bag designed so that when the string handle is removed you can easily pick out the …

Cling Magnetic Clothing Hanger

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The Chicago-based designers at HANGDSGN are currently raising funds on kickstarter to create the first-ever detachable hook on a hanger. Using incredibly strong neodynium magnets placed in the center of each hanger, the Cling system takes away the weight and pressure traditional hangers endure over their lifetime. Available in white or black, Cling hangers work with a regular closet and can hold up to two pounds of clothing when clicked into place. While they still have a few weeks left to their fundraising campaign, the designers are currently in talks with a local manufacturer here in the U.S. who also happens to have a base in China. All images courtesy of HANGDSGN.

Designythings & Architect’s Toy Box Become The Latest Media Sponsors of Be Original Americas

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Earlier this month Designythings and Architect’s Toy Box became the latest media sponsors of Be Original Americas. The blogs join several other leading architectural and design publications and websites who support original design, including The Architect’s Newspaper, Core77, Contract Magazine, and Wallpaper*, as well as founding media partners Design Milk, Dwell, Interior Design, and Metropolis. As a journalist who appreciates the moral outrage and economic sting of having work appropriated elsewhere without payment or permission, I wholly support an organization committed to educating and informing the public about the importance of original design. One of the reasons I founded my blogs was to give back to the industry and the people it serves, a goal I share with Be Original Americas. It is also my goal to only publish original design on these sites, and I encourage my readers to notify me right away if they see anything that seems to be a blatant copy of something already on the market. In fact, at least twice I have been notified that work I was told was original was in fact knock-offs of other pieces already on the market and I …

Press Uncuffed Bracelets

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Hundreds of journalists around the world are currently imprisoned for nothing more than having the courage to report the facts. According to Dana Priest, the John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Public Affairs Journalism at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, the last three years have been the worst on record for the safety of journalists covering news in many parts of the world. Ever wonder what you can do to help? Press Uncuffed, a campaign powered by students at the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists, is helping to raise awareness of and help free imprisoned journalists by selling bracelets bearing their names. Available for $10 each on the Investigative Reporters and Editors online store, the cuff-like bracelets are made in Memphis, Tennessee with LuciteLux clear acrylic, a reminder of the importance of transparency of information. The Press Uncuffed bracelets honor nine journalists: Ammar Abdulrasool in Bahrain, Mahmoud Abou Zeid (Shawkan) in Egypt, Reeyot Alemu in Ethiopia, Khadija Ismayilova in Azerbaijan, Bheki Makhubu in Swaziland, Ta Phong Tan in Vietnam, Jason Rezaian in Iran, Yusuf …

Kikkerland’s China Design Challenge

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At an event held last month at the company’s shop in Manhattan, Kikkerland presented finalist designs from the Kikkerland China Design Challenge, an competition held in collaboration with Beijing Design Week Organization and Redstar Design Fund. Held during Bejing Design Week 2014, the theme of the challenge was “A Passage Into Design,” which encouraged young talented Chinese designers to present unique ideas based on Chinese heritage, history and mythology. The ideas also had to exhibit the quirky sense of humor and wit characteristic of Kikkerland Design. Nearly 1,000 design submissions were received, from which 30 were selected and prototyped during a workshop with professionals. Ultimately, 17  finalists were chosen from the challenge. During the New York event, an award was presented to challenge winner  Zhou Yi, who designed the Hutong Eraser, an eraser that represents the disappearing traditional architectural style that was once prominent in Beijing. “As the streets of Beijing are filled with more and more high-rise buildings, there are less and less Hutong style streets left,” says Yi. “The eraser will disappear as you use it, like the the disappearing Hutong.” The eraser, along with eight other finalists’ designs, will be produced and sold worldwide …

Sun and Moon Miyamoto Watch by Mr Jones Watches

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London-based Mr Jones Watches has launched their latest unusual timepiece, and this one will appeal to the old-school gamers out there. Named after the designer of the Super Mario video games, Shigeru Miyamoto, The Sun and Moon Miyamoto Watch features graphics inspired by the cartoon landscape of the world of Mario that many of us know only too well. Printed and assembled by hand in the watchmaker’s London workshop, the watch is produced in an edition of 100 pieces with each one numbered on the back of the case. The case is made of brushed stainless steel and the strap is navy and grey leather with pink stitching. “Sun and Moon” watches were first produced in England in the late 1600s during a period of experimentation with ways to represent the time. The position of the sun or moon in the crescent-shaped sky indicates the hours. As the hour disc rotates, the landscape changes from day to night. The minutes and seconds are displayed in the center dial and these run in the conventional way, so each …