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The International Design Excellence Awards released its 2007 IDEA Winners.

Some picks:

e-Sullivan by the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology: "This portable handheld communicator for deaf-blind people, who rely solely on tactile sense to acquire information, can convert all types of printed material into Braille. It can also provide assistance with such computer-related tasks as instant messaging and Web browsing.

Stanley® MaxLife™ 369™ TriPod Flashlight by Stanley Works: "Offers you the convenience of a typical flashlight and the option of hands-free lighting." (No more holding you penlight with your mouth or by the crook of the neck if you need both your hands. Something so simple, yet so useful. I can't believe it took this long to think of this.)

Stanley® FatMax® Xtreme™ FuBar™ Utility Bar by Stanley Works: "FuBar combines the four most-needed tools—hammer, crow bar, board bender and splitter—into one solid, properly weighted, ergonomically correct tool. Unexpectedly, FuBar has also become popular with fire and rescue professionals as an effective life-saving tool." (It may not address the kazillion types of wrenches I can never keep track of, but this definitely unclutters the toolbox. Neat tool.)

And my favorite:

HomeHero™ Fire Extinguisher by Arnell Group for Home Depot: : "Most importantly, because of its fashion-conscious array of materials, colors and finishes, homeowners won't want to keep the HomeHero hidden out of view, ensuring it will be in reach when seconds matter." (True dat. So pretty.)

Rummage through the winning entries via a more convenient slideshow on Business Week.

Da webdevelopernow sette semplici regole di webdesign:

1. Fai un sito leggero da caricare
2. Metti pochi effetti, solo dove servono
3. Suddividi il contenuto in più pagine
4. Non fare pagine più larghe del monitor
5. Metti pochi effetti sonori
6. Imposta un sistema di navigazione prevedibile, al limite del noioso
7. Rendi leggibile il testo (ottimo è il testo nero su sfondo bianco, fonts sans-serif come Arial or Verdana)

Traduzione libera e sintetica dell'articolo originale

This makes almost no sense, because I can't tell you what this is for, but I'm curious which of the following two designs you like better. Unfortunately, this is for a side project which I can't yet announce, so I can't share too many of the design goals here. These are competing for a position at the top of a website. Only one of them will actually be used, though it's not too late for me to start a new design based on feedback. So tell me what each one makes you think, or feel, or want to cut with knives.

The final would have a bit of text set on top of it.

I have registered my domain name! Now, the next step is to register with Dreamhost and find some Wordpress themes to try out on a test host. Here's the list of sites that contain Wordpress themes. Do take a look at their copyright issues and usage issues too.

• Theme Viewer - By Wordpress.org
• Wordpress Extended Themes
• Wordpress Themes
• N.Design Studio Wordpress themes
• Just Skins
• Wordpress Theme Park
• Theme Porter
• Alex King Theme Browser - I can select the dropdown box and the theme will be in demo. Cool.
• Template Monster Wordpress Themes
• Themess Base
• Free WP Themes
• WP Designer

I think I just overloaded myself on the themes.

Thanks to Franz for the link.

I know non-designers read this, so a flourish is a set of embellishments, sometimes line drawings that designers often use. As a solo designer for a non profit, time and money are are very valuable(as if they aren't for other designers). Here are a few links for free flourishes I pulled up today. I'm trying to link the sources to give proper recognition to those who did the work, and to let those who read know where I'm finding this stuff. Mograph thread on flourishes and GDF with a few links to flourish fonts via dafont. I hope these will be as useful to the rest of you as they were to me. I try to interpret resources I find into some kind of composition when I can. Click the image to see what I came up with.

I'd like to be one of those people who trace old line art from musty books all day, putting them into vectors keeping the old style alive. Early design is just so interesting to me.

I just picked this up off of the Ubuntu forums...

The GIMP is getting a User Interface (UI) redesign and we can expect portions to be available now (the new select/crop tool) and more in 2.4 (like a single window to rule them all!)

Huzzah!!

Check it out on their very own wiki 

REMADE in Argentina es la segunda convocatoria de productos desarrollados con material reciclado y bajo impacto ambiental organizada por DESIGN CONNECTION by cienporcientodiseño.

A través de este proyecto la institución presenta productos inéditos, ecológicamente correctosy resueltos industrialmente de las empresas de diseño más reconocidas del país, en la Milano Design Week y la ICFF de Nueva York.

Las categorías para participar de esta segunda convocatoria son: muebles, lámparas, accesorios y objetos contemporáneos de vanguardia para todos los ambientes de la casa, incluso jardín y terraza. Las características fundamentales para la evaluación serán que los diseños presentados sean producidos con todo tipo de materiales reciclados o de reuso que puedan ser elaborados en Argentina a escala artesanal / industrial.

La preselección de los participantes se realizará en base a fotos de prototipos o de producto terminado que deberán ser enviadas a convocatoria@remadeinargentina.com.ar antes del 15 de Septiembre del 2007.

Los productos con los requisitos necesarios serán expuestos en el espacio “REMADE IN ARGENTINA” en la próxima edición de DESIGN CONNECTION by cienporcientodiseño, que se llevará a cabo del 19 al 26 de Octubre de 2007  en el Centro Cultural Recoleta. La selección estará a cargo del Arq. Marco Capellini y  la Arq. Mónica Cohen.

Más Info:
Cienporcientodiseño
Remade Italy

Traduzido seria algo como “Construir seu próprio projeto de morte“. Uma boa iniciativa. Criar projetos para tampas de caixas pequenas de cigarro. Um projeto colaborativo em que qualquer um pode participar.

Quem quiser dar uma olhada no site, vale o confere, tem outras já criadas muito bonitas.

Por: RenataFernandes.