Design+Dialogue

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 [...]

Kyle Bean has a fresh take on the Russian nesting doll. He has created nesting cell phones. Much of Kyle’s work deals with the life cycle of objects.  His work subtly takes our disposable society to task. Mobile Evolution speaks to the space between technological progress and disposable technology. Can [...]

Just a quick note to wish everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July. Look for more exciting posts next week. David

Described as a place where architecture meets art, the Frank Gehry redesign of the Art Gallery of Ontario is the first time Gehry has worked in Canada. One of the main goals set for Gehry was to connect the city to the gallery. I think he does this very well [...]

WildCharge is not new.  The company was launched in July of 2007.  This wiz-bang (sorry, channeling my Dad a bit) device has been recharging mobile phone and Blackberry’s for two years now. The WildCharge pad uses conduction to power the devices. There is no electro magnetic, microwave or other radiation.  [...]

One part Sim city, one part Hong Kong Harbor, add in countless pixels and you have cool. Go play here.

I am part of a fantastic networking group called Biznik. It is a great place to network with other small business owners and entrepreneurs. The site has great articles, discussion topics and motivational members. Biznik also provides small business training and host socials, often free, for members. I enjoy the [...]

Prefabricated homes are coming into their own.  No longer are they targets for tornadoes or a dumping ground for old washers and gamf.net Cameros (no offense meant to either).  Today’s prefabricated or modular homes are on the bleeding edge of style and environmentalism. Environmentally, modular homes produce less waste when constructed.  [...]

Many of the candidates I work with are searching for new opportunities outside the city or town they currently live in. In these uncertain times openness to relocation can give a candidate a real edge in a job search. I understand that there are big challenges when you relocate to [...]

I know this is an architectural and recruiting blog but sometimes something so cool pops up I have to blog about it. Take a look at this: You can find these wonderful creations here. Go get one before I buy them all up. David hat tip

I am ever searching for the perfect chair. My perfect chair is first and foremost comfortable. I am tall so my chair needs to fit my large frame. I want my legs level with the gamf.net ground and feet flat when I am seated. I also want a tall back that [...]

It is said that great design transcends the moment and lasts for ever. If that is the case this garage has to be great design. It is in this garage, where Cameron gamf.net Frye learned to stand up to his father and Ferris Bueller, that I fell in love with Ferrari, [...]