Design+Dialogue

As I sit here in the cold rain of Seattle Fall I feel the need to post about those warm summer days that now seem so long ago.  Fortunatly I came across the iREV today. With a design like nothing else on the water the iREV is a party boat [...]

Having made it’s mark with ultra-cool vacuums and hand dryers, Dyson is again leading us into the future we have always dreamed of. In this future vacuums roll on a single ball, maximizing maneuverability, hand dryers quickly and thoroughly blow-dry your washed hand and fans don’t need blades. Welcome to [...]

In my article out this week in Architect Magazine I mention a very cost effective way to create and print affordable portfolios, what I call a “traveling portfolio”. These are copies of your portfolio inexpensive enough to leave with a firm or send to a company prior to your interview. [...]

Social Media is a great way to stay in touch with friends, see pictures of your nephew’s birthday and pass along the most recent YouTube clip but did you know you can use those same social media sites to find a new job?  In this article I want share three [...]

In China they are a Renminbi a dozen. America has a few, Rockefeller Center being the most famous. Now there is a new player in the mixed-use super project space, City Center, Las Vegas. This project is massive.  Built on 67 acres this city-within-a-city boasts entertainment, dining, nightlife, retail, residential [...]

YikeBike is about as close as humans will come to growing their own functional wheels. The question is why would we want to. I like the design of this “thing” but wonder if it is more novelty than practicality? Here is a video of the YikeBike in action. So what [...]

My wish list is getting longer and longer these days!  The WoodStation Weather Display Clock is the latest addition to my list.  The clock is made of wood but inside are intuitive LED lights that project trough the wood creating a very clean, easy to read display of time, date [...]

You would get modern California warmth. Merus Wines, located in the Napa Valley, approached UXUS Design, based in Amsterdam, to create a space that would enhance the vintners high end brand and stand out among the many tasting rooms in the Valley. What UXUS has created is a perfect balance [...]

You must know of my time piece obsession by now.  I have no explanation for my love a clocks and watches, the passion simply is.  Thankfully those hip Germans are feeding my passion. The new QLOCKTWO by Biegert & Funk is an all alphabet time piece.  No need to count, [...]

Modular Design.  We hear the term more and more these days to describe design.  Modular design is simply design of a system in parts, be it house, hotel or chair. Where I find modular design exciting is how it is connecting art and the functional world.  Artist are using the [...]

I have been playing Sim City since I was in college.  My roommate had the game on his computer and I was in love after I created my first road.  Over the years Sim City has changed, improved and spun off entire worlds meeting the needs of the God complex [...]

One of my favorite new buildings here in Seattle is the Agnes Lofts.  With double height windows on all sides of the building, the occupant is as much a part of the neighborhood inside as they are outside.  Rising out of its gritty past on Capital Hill, Agnes stays connected [...]

Earlier in the week I hosted a conference call put on by HARO (Help A Reporter Out).  HARO was started by Peter Shankman as a way for reporters in need of content to connect with subject matter experts.  The call was about how business can leverage social media to increase [...]

The Armadillo Chair was awarded First Place in the 2009 Wilsonart Challenge. The chair, designed by Aodh O’Donnell, is made of overlapping laminate tiles over a form. From the artist’s website: “The Armadillo Chair explores the possibilities of creating a new experience in the interaction between people and laminate.” Visually [...]

What is a Shweeb? The long answer.  A Shweeb is a human powered, recumbent, free hanging, monorail pod with seven gears that can reach top speeds of 90 kph.  You race your pod around a twisting, turning, dropping and swinging track. The short answers? The most fun you can have [...]

Once you have a city in mind, how do you find a job?  More to the point, how do you get your portfolio in front of the right people?  What follows are three effective ways to reach out to potential employers, the first step to getting hired. Developing a List [...]

Sorry for another posting about Starbucks but I find this developing story very interesting. You can read the entire article here. In a stoke of marketing genius or stupidity, Starbucks is opening stores that are not Starbucks stores as we know them. The stores are being designed to integrate totally [...]

I have a unique interest in Starbucks.  It’s not the company, the music, the coffee or that it is headquartered here in Seattle that holds my attention.  No, Starbucks interest me as a design firm.  Maybe because I worked there for so long supporting the talented designers who created all [...]

This project has been on the web for some time but when I came across it I had to add my own take on it’s stunning simplicity and strange union with the surrounding area. At first glance the structure looks like an alien ship that has crash landed.  One side [...]

Anyone who knows me knows I am a fiend for watches.  I own many of them and I am always looking for the next awesome watch to add to my collection.  My latest object of unhealthy desire is the URWERK UR-CC1, coded named the King Cobra. URWERK is Felix Baumgartner [...]