Rams – An exercise in restraint

July 18, 2014

The life and works of Dieter Rams

Dieter Rams (born 20 May 1932 in Wiesbaden, Hessen) is a German industrial designer closely associated with the consumer products company Braun and the Functionalist school of industrial design.

Rams began studies in architecture and interior decoration at Wiesbaden School of Art in 1947. Soon after in 1948, he took a break from studying to gain practical experience and conclude his carpentry apprenticeship. He resumed studies at Wiesbaden School of Art in 1948 and graduated with honours in 1953 after which he began working for Frankfurt based architect Otto Apel. In 1955, he was recruited to Braun as an architect and an interior designer. In addition, in 1961, he became the Chief Design Officer at Braun until 1995.

July 12, 2014

A trip to the north

Kebnekaise (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈkɛbnəˈkaisə]; from Sami Giebmegáisi or Giebnegáisi, “Cauldron Crest”) is the highest mountain in Sweden. The Kebnekaise massif, which is part of the Scandinavian Mountains, has two peaks, of which the southern, glaciated one is highest at 2,106 metres (6,909 ft) above sea level at the latest time of measurement. The north top (2,096 metres (6,877 ft)) is free of ice.

Kebnekaise lies in Lapland, about 150 kilometres (ca. 90 miles) north of the Arctic Circle and west of Kiruna near the popular Kungsleden hiking trail between Abisko and Nikkaluokta.

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.
Steve Jobs

June 11, 2014

The story of love locks

A love lock or love padlock is a padlock which sweethearts lock to a bridge, fence, gate, or similar public fixture to symbolize their love. Typically the sweethearts’ names or initials are inscribed on the padlock, and its key is thrown away to symbolise unbreakable love. Since the 2000s, love locks have proliferated at an increasing number of locations worldwide. They are often treated by municipal authorities as litter or vandalism, and there is some cost to their removal.

June 10, 2014

Hotel nowhere

Each year, Nixon organise one of the wildest and remote surf contests on the planet. Ten of the best European surfers are invited to an unknown surf destination, to battle against their own fears & human limits without the pressures of the public or the press.

An unexpected quest, one where the only enemy is yourself and your best ally is nature, in its rawest, purest form. In June 2014, the wild terrain of Kamchatka, Russia, was chosen to host this uncommon event. The Nixon Surf Challenge.

June 6, 2014

Review: MacBook Air 13″ 2013

The Air was designed to balance both performance and portability; it has a full-sized keyboard design and a machined aluminium casing with extremely low weight and thickness.

The MacBook Air is designed for thinness; it is also lighter than most competing models. The computer features a glossy LED backlit display and a full-size keyboard, as well as a large trackpad that responds to Multi-Touch gestures such as pinching, swiping, and rotating. With the release of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the Air’s multi-touch trackpad also supports handwriting recognition of Chinese characters.

June 3, 2014

New additions to the portfolio

Graphic design is the art of communication, stylizing, and problem-solving through the use of type, space and image. The field is considered a subset of visual communication and communication design, but sometimes the term “graphic design” is used interchangeably with these due to overlapping skills involved.

Graphic designers use various methods to create and combine words, symbols, and images to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer may use a combination of typography, visual arts and page layout techniques to produce a final result.

May 24, 2014

Why I’m moving to Italy

When I tell people that I’m moving to Italy, they usually ask what I’ll be doing there (teaching English) and how I came to my decision to do that. Since I get asked this so much, I thought this might be a good thing to write about.

Antwerp

During my junior year of college, I studied abroad in Antwerp, Belgium for three months. I had an absolute blast there and grew so much as a person, and officially caught the travel bug. That March, I went to Nicaragua for an alternative spring break trip. During that trip, our group got to sit in with a class at the university in Leon, with a group of students who spoke English fairly well.