Blue Orange Juice

June 8th, 2009 by Richard Stowey

blue-orange-juice

It’s always struck me as strange, that the colours of the orange juice in ASDA seem to like being a little different. They used to be green, but recently they have decided to change the packaging to a predominantly blue colour (it is blue. picture is off colour). Now is it just me, or does this go against some sort of industry standard of orange juice being orange? And if there isn’t one, can one be invented?

Samsung T220 Packaging Icons

June 2nd, 2009 by Richard Stowey

samsung-monitor-packaging

I recently purchased a new Samsung SyncMaster T220 monitor. It’s a significant size and resolution enhancement over my laptop screen. An increase from 15.4″ to 22″ is quite a large jump, and very refreshing.

I was intrigued by two of the warning icons on the plastic software CD packaging. What looks like a baby and an adult with the plastic bag over their heads and choking. I quite like them because they are simple, effective and quite fun even though the message is strong and important.q2feakbnzq

Objectified, The Documentary Film by Gary Hustwit

May 28th, 2009 by Richard Stowey

objectified at the barbican

I went to see Objectified the movie on Saturday at The Barbican. The film is directed by Gary Hustwit and about the relationship we have with all of the objects around us, all of which have been designed. The film takes a look at the world’s objects through various interviews with Designers, the people who originally conceive the idea and turn it into reality.

The film was at The Barbican and as I hadn’t been there before I made the mistake of presuming it would be similar to a normal cinema. I am usually careful to pick a seat about 3/4 the way from the screen and near the middle. This is so I can see the large screen and hear the sound in the best possible way. Of course, having a cinema within the Barbican Estate would of course pose limitations on height etc. The cinema is actually long and shallow (with a large possibility of someones head being in your way) so for future reference, Cimena 2 on Level 4 has an optimum seat position of only a few rows from the front.

The documentary is very interesting and offers designers and design fans a chance to see interviews with a few of the big names of the industrial world. Jonathan Ive, who rarely makes a public appearance in the UK, can be seen to explain many of the design features of the aluminium shell of the Macbook Air, iMac and Apple Keyboard and get rather lost in the process of explaining the rationale behind it. For designers it’s a chance to see the people who they have read and heard so much about actually talking about what they have made. For non-designers it’s a chance to see into a world constantly asking questions.

The film covers many different topics, but conveys the obsession that Designers have with their products very well. The film is a pleasure to watch, learning and understanding a little bit more about the designers and their products who are so well known through modern culture. Unfortunately I missed getting tickets for the London Premiere event with after show Q&A, which would have been a good chance to ask some interesting questions.

For now, we’ll just have to continue asking why.

It was nice to see the LC-A (Lomo Kompakt Automat) on the poster too!