breeze

a daily breeze of inspiration

Niiu – your customised newspaper

Niiu-zeitung
We are familiar with categorising information at any time through various channels of media. Whether through the morning news in the newspaper, reports in major online portals, or via the feeds of interesting blogs. Why not read a daily newspaper that contains content according to your personal interests, needs and habits. Your personalised newspaper. Maybe, with a focus on economy, politics or just sports?

Niiu, the world's first customised newspaper, is based in Berlin and represents the young person's lifestyle prioritising your information needs. Niiu combines diverse sources of information in order to offer the best of regional, national and international newspapers, a selection of internet content and communities. Each niiu is absolutely unique. Not only can you determine the content, but also the newspaper title, the motto, a greeting message and the layout. In addition, gadgets can be implanted such as weather forecasts, photos and sudoku puzzles.

Niiu will be printed on classic newsprint and delivered to your home each morning. Niiu is still in the early stages of development but offers us an alternative to get our daily information. Niiu may will appear in other large countries in the near future.

[via niiu]

Rugwind - sustainable and creative!

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German design studio Rugwind have created a great bit of social furniture. A cosy bench, for you and the people in your neighbourhood. The project, Guerilla Bench aims to subvert the objects of the typical urban environment, making them more human and functional. A bench that neatly folds up inside a standard European electrical box. A user simply opens the box, unfolds the bench and takes a seat by themselves or with friends to create a small gathering point for social interactions. The box blends into the street scene, only coming to life when a user with knowledge of its hidden life walks by.

Rugwind have already invented a range of sustainable projects, such as the All Terrain Hand-Seeder. It is their philosophy to design a future that deals with the environmental and economic challenges of our time. From waste, material abundance and inattention to resource efficiency, sensuality, pleasure and cultural interest. Their aim is to cultivate a desire for innovation and form-finding and creating things that are truly contemporary with the focus on the real needs of the people.

[via designboom and treehugger]

A VUE OF THE FUTURE WITH ISSEY MIYAKE

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It is remarkable that the most real feeling in perception of time “the present”, cannot be measured in any units of time. Present is duration-less, it is an infinitesimal. Nevertheless, both the past and the future, which are seen as durations in time, encroach on the present. So why is it, that we all think more about the future time and what we have missed than about the beauty of the current time?

Yves Behar in collaboration with Issey Miyake have developed ‘VUE’, a watch that reminds how important time is at this instant not later or before.

The concept behind the project is nothing but an industrial masterpiece with a quite literal approach to time. As stated by Yves Behar, time is precious, yet always presents us with a surprise ahead. The VUE watch is a way to feel time’s appearance and disappearance in our lives. By seeing only the current hour, while the previous hour representing the past and the upcoming one representing the future subtly fade in and out, visible only through partial arc slits. And therefore an existential statement about the fleeting nature of time.

This approach to telling time seems to be appropriate and truly refreshing. Why do we need to know the rest of the time that has yet to come or the past time that has long forgotten us?

An interesting new concept developed by the fuse project, an award-winning industrial design and branding firm with offices in San Francisco and New York City. The studio looks at developing and enhancing brands by creating long-lasting innovations and narratives that connect with the consumer's experience.

[via yatzer and buzz beast]

The Deli Garage – Spray Paint Your Food!

 

Are you adventurous with food but ever feel like your food doesn’t amaze you enough, does it look boring or need some life? Then Esslack Food Spray may be just the right thing for you.

Thanks to the very clever German team – The Deli Garage – you can now stain your tomato, pretzels, and whatever other food screams out to be covered in gold. Using these fresh spray cans full of edible silver and gold paint, food goes from ordinary to a delectable piece of jewellery in seconds.

With tasteful packaging, meticulous attention to design and fresh ideas, Deli Garage helps small local manufacturers turn handmade delicacies into special design products. The food label paired with creative agency Korefe to dream up the illustrative packaging for Esslack. Though busy, the vibe is as fresh as the concept of edible food spray itself.

[via lost at e minor]

Article By Mel Mueller (Trends Analyst) for uncluttered white spaces:: Mel Mueller is studying Media in Australia and Germany and spends her time jetting back and forth. Mel is an expert on trends and all things that impact the planet be it creative, environmental or inspirational. You can visit Mel’s Posterous:Breeze

via unclutteredwhitespaces.com

 

Switch off Your Lights for Earth Hour 2010!

It’s Showtime! It is time to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the way towards a sustainable  future. It is all about taking 60 minutes of discomfort and inconvenience to give the planet a chance. Take a stand and give world leaders the mandate they need to make the right climate deal.

Earth Hour is calling each individual, every business and every faithful around the world to show their environment concern by turning off their lights for an hour, from 8:30pm to 9:30pm (local time) this Saturday 27 March 2010. This is in support to the fourth year celebration of the Earth Hour, which originated in Sydney, Australia in 2007 when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. From there, it made a surge of interest from every concern citizen in every country around the world and had quickly become a global sustainability movement. The worldwide environmental activity is viewed to increase public awareness of the need to care for the environment. Along with that is the will to conserve energy, which is depleting alongside the alarming rapid climate change. In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

Earth Hour is organized by the WWF – the World Wildlife Fund – with almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries, it is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

People across the world from all walks of life will turn off their lights and join together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet. In over 100 countries across the world, iconic landmarks, huge skyscrapers, and large buildings have confirmed their participation in earth Hour. Global landmarks such as the Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, Bosphorous Bridge in Istanbul, Independence Angel in Mexico City, Italy’s Trevi Fountain in Rome and Leaning Tower of Pisa, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, India Gate and Red Fort in Delhi as well as China’s most significant historic landmark, the Forbidden city in Beijing will be going dark for 60 minutes in this annual stand against climate change.  They all join a comprehensive list of the world’s great man-made marvels and natural wonders, including the Eiffel Tower, Brandenburg Gate, Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Empire State Building, London Eye, Table Mountain, Christ the Redeemer statue, Sydney Opera House and the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, which will plunge into darkness for Earth Hour contributing to a historic moment in the climate landscape.

Earth Hour has done a lot to raise awareness of climate change issues. But there is more to it than switching off lights for one hour once a year. It is all about giving people a voice on the future of our planet and working together to create a sustainable future for our planet. Earth Hour is open to everybody. It is a call to action for every individual, regardless of location, culture, affinities, or position in life. So sign up now to acknowledge that, you’re switching off for Earth Hour 2010 and make a real difference, whether you develop new uses of technology, stage events, educate or change behavioural patterns and bring about the cultural change that make sustainable living all the rage. It all starts in your local community. So what will you do to become an Earth Hour Innovator?

[via earth hour]

Article By Mel Mueller (Trends Analyst) for uncluttered white spaces:: Mel Mueller is studying Media in Australia and Germany and spends her time jetting back and forth. Mel is an expert on trends and all things that impact the planet be it creative, environmental or inspirational. You can visit Mel’s Posterous: Breeze

via unclutteredwhitespaces.com

 

IKEA proving they are “More than a furniture Store”

The Swedish furniture and lifestyle brand IKEA has demonstrated originality and creativity in their unique and experiential marketing strategies. The international retailer’s most recent campaign involves the replacement of a great number of benches in four important and high-traffic metro stations in Paris – St. Lazare, Champs-Elysées Clémenceau, Concorde, and Opéra.

From March 10th to the 24th sofas, chairs and a few floor lamps will recreate a comfortable living room atmosphere, giving the potential customers a chance to interact with the brand by checking out its new Ektorp and Karlstad collection. Being surprised in an ordinary action, people can try in first person the quality of the products and their comfortableness via the ‘bum test’ of thousands of Parisians; particularly since IKEA is oftentimes embraced for its contemporary yet affordable furniture.

In collaboration with Agence 14 September IKEA succeeds to create a beautiful atmosphere in a previously rather gray and dreary space by invading the daily life of people, and most of all by putting a smile on their faces.

[via psfk]

via unclutteredwhitespaces.com

 

Max Wanger – Hello, Giraffe!

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Lose yourself in a world of romance, with Max Wanger’s unique light infused images. The colours and the emotions that are captured warmly reflect the essence of affection, love and passion. That is what makes his images remarkable. “There’s a way he sees the world and the lovers in it… and a way he shares it with all of us that is just irresistibly nostalgic, romantic, and joyful.” For this reason, his images embellish a large number of design and photography blogs and provide inspiration for his fans, all around the world.

Now he is taking it one step further. Max Wanger has turned some of his most iconic portrayals into charming t-shirts. Every month he creates another design in a very limited edition.

“First came the silhouette of the couple with a balloon… Then hands spelling out LOVE… the WISH tickets blowing in the wind… the lone seagull blowing a heart… and freshly launched for March: Giraffe!”

Edition no. 5 is now available here.

For more inspiration visit Max Wanger’s blog.

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via notcot.com

 

  

McNally Jackson Books Cafe by Front Studio

There will be winners and losers in the changing publishing industry, the catalyst being the emerging world of, e-books. Books are recognised as big winners if they are large blockbusters. Therefore it is the humble independent bookstores that are precious sanctuaries playing an essential role. Independent bookstores nurturing unique personalities stringing community links are significantly responsible for helping to identify local novels that may indeed become a bestseller. Nevertheless Independent bookstores are rare these days. In fact, corporate/online sellers are becoming the resource for most readers. Is the independent bookstore capable of re-inventing itself?

Front Studio Architects devised a beautiful, modern space for McNally Jackson Books leading a revival through allowing New Yorkers to continue sharing the charm of the interpersonal feeling within aiming breath new life into it a quietly subsiding sector of the publishing market. McNally Jackson Booksellers, located in New York City, is a spacious independent bookstore with pride and individuality. The mix of books, media and events reflects a sophisticated urban vibe; it is “not just a place to buy books, but a place to love them.” The whole design is centred on books and mirrors the warm character of the space.

“A scattering of books hangs precipitously from the ceiling, as if a pile of books had been thrown into the sky and frozen.”

“The curved wall surrounding the seating area is covered in a wallpaper made entirely of open spine books, the texture of the print adds a rippling affect of restless pages.”

“Because we are all avid readers and great lovers of books, our collaborations took on an amazing degree of synchronicity. We thus imagined a space where every moment evokes some visceral connection with books and with reading.”

[via KN]

 

The world's greenest search engine

Every year a rainforest area larger than England is burned or cut down. Therefore the deforestation of the tropical rainforests is the single most important source of CO2 emissions in the world and about 20% of all global CO2 emissions are caused by rainforest deforestation. It is a major contributor to:

•                Global warming

•                Global climate change

•                Carbon stores in soil

•                Reduced net oxygen levels

•                Biosphere instability 

For this reason Christian Kroll, founder of the Berlin-based firm Ecosia, is dedicated to work towards saving the Brazilian rainforest, consequently a positive contributor in the fight for climate change.

Ecosia is an eco-friendly Internet search engine backed by Yahoo, Bing and the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). It basically works like any other search engine but, unlike others, Ecosia gives at least 80% of its advertising revenue to a rainforest protection program run by the WWF. Because of this, Ecosia users can save about two square metres of rainforest with every search they do – without paying anything. Furthermore, all Ecosia servers run on green electricity, so they do not cause any CO2 emissions.

A spokesman for WWF said the green search model had the potential to become a major source of funding for environmental projects. "Each search with Ecosia will protect a piece of rainforest, so by making Ecosia your search engine you can actually help the environment one search at a time," he said. "An average Internet user can protect about 2,000 square metres of rainforest every year by using Ecosia – this is about the size of an ice hockey field. If only one per cent of global Internet users accessed Ecosia for their web searches, we could save a rainforest area as big as Switzerland each year."

Ecosia is banking on the same online advertising tactics that have pumped a fortune into the coffers of Internet search king Google.

"Thanks to sponsored links, search engines earn billions every year," said Christian Kroll. "Ecosia believes that there is a more eco-friendly way of using these huge profits and that the money would be better used to fight global warming."

By making Ecosia your default search engine, you can turn your web searches green, reduce your carbon footprint and make a real difference to the planet.

Ecosia is also the best choice if you are concerned about privacy. Some search engine companies store your web searches for several months and even analyse them to create a profile of you. They sometimes even sell this information to other companies. Ecosia, in contrast, deletes all user-related data within a maximum of 48 hours.

Install it now via Ecosia.org 

 

Squares, Triangles and the Art of Perspective

The US-American street artist Aakash Nihalani is one of the best-known representatives of the new street-art trend, who works with the medium of tape in public places around New York.  

He explains:

My work is created in a reaction to what we readily encounter in our lives, sidewalks and doorways, building and bricks. I’m just connecting the dots differently to make my own picture. Others need to see that they can create too, connecting their own dots, in their own places.

Diligent volunteers - for a good reason, will film everything he sticks: the transience of his street art is extremely high! One wrong step and a great yet simple combination of lines is gone – temporary art pure, though no less significant than the work of other artists.

Tape Art in Berlin
via streetart.berlinpiraten.de

Showing the growing number of artists, the colourful sticky tape and its three-dimensional-looking objects has become a worldwide movement.

Also check out: 'The Worlds biggest Tape Artwork' by famous Berlin-based street artist El Bocho for the Urban Affairs art festival.