Bookshelves

This is the day of great bookshelves. First I saw the Opus shelving system at swissmiss. They can be bought at Design Within Reach. And the muted colours of the selected books look so good.


















Then, at designsponge, I found this display from the Curiosity Shoppe in San Francisco.


















Ooh, my fingers itch to start sawing and glueing!

Beastman

Last year I wrote about Geoffrey Cottenceau's animals. It seems that many people have liked his idea, because I keep on seeing fabricated animals everywhere. Below Cottenceau's elephant and seal and Euro RSCG's campaign for outdoor brand Aigle. I'll try to find more examples.


























PS. I am very confused about copyright issues in design. When are you just inspired by something and when does it become stealing? When are you following the fashion of the moment and when are you just too lazy to be inventive?

Because of the internet it has become so easy to get access to good design. And therefore, great ideas spread quickly and are copied all over the place.

For example: there is a trend to present your work like this: (already discussed in many blogs.)



















(I found this picture online, but have made the poster white, because I don't want to point my finger at anybody...)
For me, it seems that when I see an idea for the first time, I cannot use it. I don't want to steal! But when I see it all the time, the idea has become public and I feel free to use it. But (un)fortunately, that's also when I get bored by it!

Theo Jansen

Artist Theo Jansen studied science at the University of Delft in Holland. After sticking to painting for seven years, he embarked upon a project with a flying saucer - which really flew. It flew over the town of Delft in 1980, drawing the people into the streets and sending the police into pandemonium. For about the last ten years he has been busy with the creation of a new nature - not with pollen or seeds, but with plastic yellow tubes. He makes skeletons which are able to walk in the wind. Eventually he wants to put herds of these animals out on the beaches to live their own lives.

source: www.strandbeest.com
See the animals in action at www.strandbeestmovie.com (choose video)