March Madness

Hello my friends!

Can you believe it's April already? I know I can't. With barely a month left in London I've been scrambling about in an attempt to see/do/experience everything I can before the days run out. Between loads of projects, class trips, and weekend getaways, it's been hard to find time to catch my breath. But hey, who said that was necessarily a bad thing?

Anyway, every once in a while I come across something super-duper awesome (that's a technical term) that I just have to share with you. Last week, my multi-disciplinary design studio professor took us to the Design Museum in London. Although it was a haul to get to, the museum had the perfect mixture of Modern and contemporary designs.

Currently the museum has two exhibitions - Extraordinary Stories and Designs of the Year 2013. Both featured iconic designs in architecture, industrial, interior, fashion, and graphic design. There definitely were not any shoddy designs here. That being said, the Designs of the Year 2013 was by far my favorite - see the complete list of nominations here.

Check out a few of the designs that stood out:

Flyknit Trainers

Designed by Nike

Created with a fine polyester thread and manufacturing process that minimizes waste

and uses 2/3 less material than previous production methods. Left over waste from production 

weighs less than a piece of paper!

Louis Vuitton Collection

Designed by Yayoi Kusama

A Summer '12 collaboration between the designer and Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama

featuring Kusama's art installations. These installations were a part of a collection based on the artist's

poem "Love Forever" and were displayed in London's Selfridges department store windows.

Child ViSion Glasses

Designed by The Centre for Vision in the Developing World & Goodwin Hartshorn

These glasses provide vision correction for children aged 12 to 18 in the developing world. 

The lenses are made with a special liquid that can be added or removed to adjust the prescription.

Digital Postcard & Player

Designed by Uniform

This prototype music player uses paper electronics to play music. 

A special conductive ink is used on the postcards which acts as a switch when touched. 

Well Proven Chair

Designed by James Shaw & Marjan van Aubel

These moulded chairs are made from a lightweight composite material made of wood shavings and bio-resin.

The mixture creates a foam-like substance that uses the wood waste created from other furniture factories.

Now how cool was that?

I'll admit it, I'm a design geek. But honestly, being able to create something beautiful and useful is such a thrilling opportunity, especially when it has such a profound impact like some of the aforementioned designs. Speaking of beauty, though, I spent the past weekend in gorgeous Amsterdam. Unfortunately for me, many of the museums were going through renovations and weren't open the entire weekend (womm womm). Still, I was able to see most of the permanent collection of Vincent Van Gogh at the Hermitage Museum as well as experiencing the Heineken Experience. And while the weather was largely bone-chilling, the city offered no shortage of beautiful canal side views, quirky architecture, and amazing street art as well.

One of the many canals in Amsterdam.

The brewery at the Heineken Experience.

Twas' a bit chilly.

I've never seen more bikes in one place in my life.

A canal by Museum Square.

Some amazing street art. Shout out to Van Gogh.

The iconic I amsterdam letters in Museum Square.

Until next time,

*All descriptions provided by labels at the exhibit. Photos taken by me.

U.K. English Word of the Week: "shoddy" meaning badly made or badly organized