Glass discs shelving

Nendo, a Japanese design studio, designed a timber shelf system with circular glass discs that serve as doors. The design of the transparent glass discs have a beautiful handmade quality about them and have been inspired by 'the historical practice of cutting sheet glass from glass discs'. 

These discs can be moved when one uses the finger-sized 'handles' by means of slots in the shelve. The glass also has bubbles and depressions in the surface that help distort the objects you place on the shelves behind them.  

Anyone for a cuppa herbs?

Truth, together with the digital agency Native, has developed the new 'Seeds of Truth' project. This project entails serving coffee in limited-edition biodegradable coffee cups. These coffee cups have a protecting ring implanted with seeds. When your done enjoying that cup of coffee, you simply scrunch this protector ring, drop it in the cup and add soil, water and love and 'voila!', you have your own herb garden :)

In Afrikaans one would say: "'n Koppie boeretroos so na aan my hart!"

Yes, it's that time again...portfolio!

Portfolio time...a time when 8 hours of sleep is something of the past, friends and family become strangers and emotions run high!

Design concept

I have been developing a concept for my proposed design...here is an extract from my treatise :)

'The educational resource centre aims to grow a reading culture by creating a place where primary school learners’ can develop their knowledge and skills. The knowledge and skills obtained by learners will enable them to grow positive self-esteems and to feel free to dream their own dreams. Enriching the education of numerous learners will all ultimately aid in growing a nation. The keyword that sprouts from all this is the word ‘grow’.

A tree portrays the grow-process beautifully in nature. Therefore, the heart of the design concept is the tree. Trees are essential to the existence of human beings, just as libraries and books are essential to the education of young learners.

A tree starts off with one small seed. The ‘mobile pods’ that travel to different schools function as the seeds. At whatever school they are planted; they help to develop and grow learners’ knowledge and skills. The ‘mobile pods’ will also implant a culture of reading within primary schools.

A tree is anchored firmly in the ground by means of its roots. The main function of the educational resource centre is to equip learners with library material so that they can build a foundation for their future education. The learners’ roots also narrate the story of their culture and where they come from.

Generally, people gather at trees. They provide shade as well as shelter. The educational resource centre will also be a place where primary school learners gather to develop, grow and share knowledge and skills. Knowledge is usually shared and passed on from generation to generation. These generations are often depicted in family trees. The sharing of knowledge and skills also creates opportunities for interaction between learners from different primary schools. Since the tree is a natural element, it ties in very well with the sustainable design approach. Just as trees produce beautiful fruits and flowers, the educational resource centre will grow educated learners with positive self-esteems.'  

Africa Week

I had no idea that it's Africa Week from the 21st to the 25th of May. Stumbled upon this postcard while I was purchasing my daily fix of caffeine at university. Try and see how well you know Africa :)

I love Kenny

Who is Kenny you might ask?

Kenny, by Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay of Raw Egdes for Moroso, is a rounded curvaceous armchair that is made out of single linear strips of fabric that are folded to create a volumetric shape that becomes like a cocoon in which one can sit in. This design speaks of simplicity and geometry. 

The designers used Kvadrat Hallingdal 65 textile known as a 'warp and woof' fabric where two different coloured yarns are woven perpendicular to each other. When one pulls out the warp, which is the longitudinal thread in a roll, more of the woof's colour is exposed. This effect creates a linear graphic that emphasizes the shape and geometry of Kenny.

Rough drafts for treatise layouts

Lumion rendering

We were the guinea pigs for the new Lumion 3D program in our Computers-class.

 Here is my attempt :)

This is the original image...

and this is the rendering I did in Lumion; trying to recreate the original image...

reCOVER coatrack

The reCOVER coatrack, by Teracrea, acts like a mini eco-system as it uses the rainwater from your drippy umbrella or raincoat to water plants. The base of the coatrack can be placed into any planter.

 These are perfect for the upcoming Winter!

Logo development

Here is a first look at my logo which still needs some refining...

The logo is designed for my proposed educational resource centre that serves primary school learners in the Kwazakhele township area. 

The name of the educational resource centre is 'umthi' which means 'tree' in Xhosa. I wanted the learners to relate to the centre and therefore I used a Xhosa name since most residents from the Kwazakhele township are Xhosa. The name is in lowercase to also relate to the learners that are in their primary educational phase.

The tree that is integrated into the logo design relates to my design concept which is pretty much about the tree. I'll be sure to post about my design concept next. 

The little boy sitting on the 't' just adds an element of fun to the logo and also makes a reference to the design function. The abstract hands that form the leafs of the tree symbolize the gathering of learners to read and learn.  

Any feedback or suggestions are most welcome :)