Things we do, thoughts we have and things we like at Vostok Studio
In Cockedey‘s own words: stick it on full screen, watch in HD, turn the sound up, sit back and just take it all in.
Camera: Canon 5dmk2
Music: “Main Titles” and “Blush Response” from Vangelis.
More information on the process here.
We have a thing for Japanese knives at Vostok. Javier brought with him from Japan three beauties with engraved blades and wooden handles for Ricardo and myself. It’s not that we’re great cooks (though we’d like to think we are), it’s just that there’s something about the craft behind the surgical precision of a sharp metal blade and the raw familiar smoothness of wood that’s timeless and beautiful.
Today I came across this knife box made by Keiji Ashizawa Design via Tokyo Art Beat:
In Ashizawa’s own words:
Hirosaki Knives have been around for approximately 1000 years. The cases for the knives are made from paulowina wood and apple tree wood. These woods are used not only for the unique look of the design, but also the efficiency of the protection of the knives. Paulownia is unique to the history and culture of Japan. Finally, the apple tree that is used as the rail and connection comes from the apple tree in Hirosaki which is the most famous producer of apples in Japan.
I fell in love with Haruki Murakami four years ago. The most un-Japanese of Japanese writers had me at hello. Our affair lasted 18 months and when it ended I promised myself never to go down that path again. I felt irritated by every new pot of pasta he boiled, by every new jazz song he hummed, by every new shirt he ironed. No more moons, no more dreams, no more unknown female voices stalking you on the other side of the phone. It’s my fault really. I have a tendency to binge on things I like and then feel nauseated by the slightest reminder of them.
But, as with all artificial restraints, temptation always ends up looming in. And following the trace of Murakami through Tokyo in this NYT article is what did it for me. (Side note: it’s great to see what the NYT design team can do when they don’t have to juggle with enormous amounts of content and ads):
Perhaps I will read 1Q84 after all. Just, you know, one more for old times sake.
I suggest reading the entire NYT piece, The Fierce Imagination of Haruki Murakami, and if you’re interested in buying the paper edition of the book, watching this video of Alfred A. Knopf’s cover designer for 1Q84 for a sneak peek of what your money will be worth. Fun fact: “The title of “1Q84” is a joke: an Orwell reference that hinges on a multilingual pun. (In Japanese, the number 9 is pronounced like the English letter Q)”.
UPDATE 31/09/2011:
A beautiful signed and numbered (only 111 copies) limited edition of 1Q84 is now available. This project is a collaboration between Simon Rhodes, Kristen Harrison at The Curved House and designer Stefanie Posavec. Covers printed by Justin Knopp at Typoretum. Photos available here.
Jean Prouvé was once quoted saying: never design anything that cannot be made. Part designer, part architect he always conceived himself primarily as a craftsman, a builder. In Norman Foster‘s own words, in Prouvé’s work “technical imagination is placed at the service of function and economy”.
And that’s infinitely apparent when you understand the thought process behind his first attempts at prefabrication. How to produce furnishings and components that were simple to ship and easy to erect? How to create structures that were both solid and adaptable; temporary and long-lasting? Simple: modular design. His structures tended to be light, flexible, and even mobile, combining traditional building materials with aluminum and steel.
At the time, Mr. Prouvé was revolutionizing the concept of construction so he went back to the basics. He kew that if he was to create a new language, he first needed to devise an alphabet and that’s what he did, he created “L’alphabet des structures”. Because once you devise the basic elements of a system, it doesn’t matter what the future holds; you’ll know what to do, how to react.
Most of the problems we face as designers today aren’t new so it’s always refreshing and inspiring to see how others have tackled them before. And then it’s just a matter of learning, adapting and applying.
If you have a chance, Industrial Beauty (though I like the name in Spanish better, Belleza Fabricada), is an exhibition at Ivory Press Madrid of some of Prouvé’s most significant work, including drawings, sketches and furniture. It will be open until November 12th.
For an overview of some of his work, this Flickr compilation is a good start.
Remember that psychedelic TV show Bill Murray’s invited to in Lost in Translation? Well, that to me is modern Japan in a nutshell. Wild, maniac, riotous, and completely out of this world. Japanese pay enormous attention to things we’d be oblivious to and find satisfaction in places that are an absolute mystery to us. I admire them for that.
It seems as though they find –or at least prior to the earthquake they did– great pleasure in portraying themselves that way to the world. “We’re weird, we’re geeky but we’re awesome”. And few people have done as much to get that message accross than Morinosuke Kawaguchi. His first book, Geeky-Girly Innovation: A Japanese Subculturalist’s Guide to Technology and Design is an ode to that.
Happens to be that Mr. Kawaguchi will be in Madrid next week in the third edition of Asia Geek, an event organized by Casa Asia and Fundación Japón. We’ll be there so if you happen to drop by, come on over and say hi.
‘Til then, here’s his conference on TEDx Tokyo on…above all things, Japanese toilets, to keep you entertained.
1980 photograph by Italian photojournalist Mario de Biasi part of the “Changing Japan 1950-1980” exhibition at the JCII Photo Salon in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. Open until October 30.
- Demonstrate from the top that high quality and attention to detail are prioritized and appreciated above everything else, including being the first to market, having the most features, or having the most aggressive prices. If you can get those as well, that’s great, but quality will not be sacrificed to do so.
- Instill these values in your staff. If you can’t, hire a staff for which you can. Better yet, hire a staff for which you don’t need to.
- Aggressively pursue simplification, elegance, craftsmanship, and the highest-class user experiences in the product line. Ruthlessly cut or hold features or entire products that aren’t good enough.
- Make it pretty.
How not to bring good design to a platform?
Skip steps 1–3 above.
Infographics are super useful to help you understand complex information quickly. Minube, Spain’s leading social network for travelers (and cherished client), is giving them a try. How else can you convey that in four years the number of visits to your company (website and mobile) has increased by over 600%? No small feat by the way. That travelers value mobility immensely. That what seemed like an enormous amount of content three years ago, today, users can create it in just a few months?
Minube keeps growing and we’re proud to join them on that ride.
Tender and succulent pork loin braised in Perdo Ximénez with a side of juicy grapes braised in Drambuie and sweet apple purée. The chef: Marcelo Soria. The occasion: nothing in particular, just good friends sharing good food one Friday afternoon. Thank you sir.
