News
HTC Readers' Choice Award
We all enjoy a bit of flash and flamboyance now and then but we reserve our highest praise for design that does something truly useful and does it beautifully. We go ga-ga for elegant solutions and functional punch. HTC, world leaders in communications technology, are of a similar mind and operate under the banner ‘quietly brilliant’. Who better then to partner up with to present this year’s Readers' Choice award, a celebration of the beautifully useful. We have pulled together five nominations: from a water-conserving convenience to bright, in every way, bicycle lights.
View further images of the nominees
Bullfrog LED front bike lights by Knog
Pedal power has never been so colourful since Aussie sports accessories upstart Knog came to town. Sheathed in flexible silicon and a palette of fluorescent colours, the Bullfrog is a nifty LED light that clamps tight onto any part of a bike bar. Weighing just 53g, it still pumps out a high powered 30 lumens in a choice of modes including fast flash and strobe.
Air Multiplier fan by Dyson
Sir James Dyson made his fortune by reinventing every day appliances. His latest offering the Air Multiplier is no exception. What looks, at first glance, like a giant blue Froot Loop turns out to be a bladeless fan in which air flow is amplified and pushed out in a gentle continuous stream with nothing more than a gentle hum. Best of all: since there’s no blade, cleaning is a doddle.
W+W toilet and sink by Roca
Just when we really thought that there were few surprises left when it came to bathroom fixtures, we spotted Roca’s W+W at this year’s ISH. The pleasingly curvaceous design combines a washbasin and toilet in a single space saving, eco-friendly package. Since water used in the washbasin is recyled as flush water, budget for a 25% saving in water consumption.
Up street furniture by Ewo and
Norway Says
In what is clearly a match made in heaven, public lighting experts Ewo have teamed up with Norwegian design company Norway Says to create ‘Up’, a set of urban civic accessories. Sleek and glossy in design, the set ranges from bollards and bike stands to park benches and street lamps that, in the designers’ words, appear to float on a glowing cushion of air.
The 3rd person archive book by artist John Stezaker
For three decades, the artist John Stezaker has collected photographs of quotidian urban scenes from the 1920s and 1930s. For his latest book, impeccably designed by Simon Earith's YES Studio, he presents small segments of these photographs – many no larger than a postage stamp – to unfold a captivating, wordless narrative in which ordinary people wander in a mythical urban labyrinth.