The Vostok blog » Miscelanea

Why we say no to speculative design

gabriela — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 12:53:41 +0000

We found a great letter thanks to @martuishere on the subject. We abide religiously by number 3 and thus feel the need to post it here:

Unlike advertising agencies, we are not in the business of selling. We love our work and we love showing off the diversity of work we’ve done (please ask to see our portfolio!) but that’s because every project is crafted with thought and research, and with respect for our clients. We put all our resources into every client that engages us because we don’t need to save our best ideas to sell ourselves to potential new clients.

Supernicestudio.com

US troops, synthetic design and war

gabriela — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 15:26:34 +0000

You’re in a foreign country. You’re stripped of means of communication. You need to survive. What do you do? You rely on the only true universal language: pictograms.

Click here for high-res photo

Concepts any John Doe needs to convey: date, time, water, food, lodging.

Concepts the US Army needs to convey: means of identification, ambush, booby traps, hideouts, weapons, destruction, pullover, surrender + date, time, water, food, lodging.

It exemplifies analytic and synthetic thinking at its best, no?

This guide was made by Kwikpoint. A visual translator company that works with designers, linguists and diplomats to replace “pounds-or kilos-of language dictionaries and phrase books” with images. Javier Cañada bought this sample in 2004, at the height of the Iraq War.

"Organic design"? Bullshit

javier — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:03:20 +0000

Belive it or not, this is snow under the microscope:

Some designers like to say they create “organic designs” when their stuff is curvy, flowy and transparent lie flowing water or maybe rugged and imperfect like wood bark. But then you see these pictures of snow flakes under the microscope and think these designers are just bullshitting you to sell their stuff under a good looking label.

How the japanese multiply

javier — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:03:53 +0000

It may be an old one but I just found out at reaction [beta] and man, I’m still in shock:

Salty toothpaste

javier — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 10:18:23 +0000

I just discovered that Thai toothpaste tastes salty. I guess it has to do with the fact that Thais don’t have sugar flavored breakfasts but salty ones (soups, noodles, etc.). I wonder if it works the same way for other Asian cultures. And… Is that a Colgate thing or is it a common practice among toothpaste brands?

Donald Draper on focus groups

javier — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:35:21 +0000

Is data from focus groups really relevant? This is what Donald Draper thinks:

Keep rockin' the minimalism

javier — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:02:35 +0000

Hi Everybody,

I just wanted to say thanks for sending a t-shirt all the way to Alaska! You have a great portfolio. Keep rockin’ the minimalism.

Mikaela

No, thank you Mikaela!

Hoverboard!

javier — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:06:39 +0000

Hoverboard. Nils Guadagnin. Back to the Future!

And if you believe (as I do) that Back to the Future is one true source of innovation and inspiration, check this delightful poster by Justin van Genderen:

Designing Obama arrived

javier — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:20:15 +0000

Hooray! We just got our copy of Designing Obama, a project that came out from Kickstarter in which we appear as Silver contributors, and it really is a great book. Here it is

Vostok's iPad wallpaper

javier — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:17:29 +0000

Today we had some spare time to do an iPad wallpaper feauturing our 3-window rocket. Here’s how it looks and the original file for you to use it:

… and the file (links to the one you have to use, 1024×1024 px.):

Enjoy it.