According to Gestalten, “manifesting creative visions into material objects and spaces is one of the most prominent developments in contemporary design today. Tangible documents how designers are using the stylistic means of graphic design to implement their ideas spatially to create three-dimensional designs, objects and orchestrated spaces.

The examples in this book show the unprecedented use of materials and innovative ideas – graphics morph into spatial sculptures, the intangible is made visual through handmade craftsmanship, physical experiences, visual environments and staged spatial installations such as art installations, interiors and architecture as well as urban interventions. ”

A few years ago I discovered these works while looking through design magazines at the bookstore and have kept an eye out for similar projects and creativity ideas since. Another lovely ‘tome to add to my collection! :]

I know I’ve stated again and again that one of my resolutions was to limit my spending expenses; in fact, I’ve been funding the coffeeshop hops and juicy smoothies with cash from my guinea pig psychology funds lately. However, I’ve been feeling a little stressed and thundercloud-esque since the beginning of the Winter Olympics, so when I noticed that Tangible had been discounted to $20 from the original price of $80… well, how could I possibly resist??

Design + art + love books will always trump fashion bags, food, and shoes addictions <3

According to research by Geraint Wiggins, “music is a uniquely human trait. Our brains automatically search for patterns in sounds, with different people (automatically differentiating) between different patterns and rhythms from the same constant beat.”

Throughout history, studies have shown that music directly affects our emotions and is also strongly related to movement, such as the gesture of tapping toes or finger snaps. In a visual sense, this is analogous to moving through a building or reading a painting.

Our tendency to recognize patterns, repetitions, and the relationships between (objects) triggered the birth of mathematics — ie. Pythagoras’s discovery of the mathematical relationship between the subdivisions of the length of a piece of string, and the harmonious tones they made when plucked.

photography by apractice.

The term frozen music (usually attributed to the German philosopher Goethe), or frozen gesture (Gauldie) is often applied to a building’s form and detail. A greek temple provides the simplest explanation… the columns express the main rhythm, the ‘beat of a drum’ or repetition as the observer walks throughout the building, the details of the columns fluting — smaller elements in harmony with the main rhythm.

This analogy with music is more difficult to discern in smaller product designs, nevertheless, a product can be said to demonstrate rhythm, expressed through its main elements and ‘harmonics’ in the detailing.” (Chapter: Composition, pp. 108-9)

The article draws information from a recent international research study, and references, concerning different socio-cultural and location in a non-western context. Places such as Tibet, Mongolia, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan. However, what caught my attention was the brief mention about a pseudo-technophobe:

8. “Increasingly the choice of whether to adopt, or opt-in to a technology is one of whether to opt-out of society.”

The disconnection between human and the interwebs are propelling us towards, what exactly? A community now suffering a society identity crisis? Are we as a social species inhaling a larger slice of comprehension and mindthink, or, doubtfully so, a wider berth of apathy?

also entitled: things I wished they discussed about at IXDA… and, couldn’t afford to go

• Build a portfolio.
• if you have nothing to build a portfolio with: start making stuff (blogs, websites for other people, photography, music, food, articles, clothes, video capture, favorite films, stories, interviews, games)
• use any and everything you learn towards your degree
• Walk up to your classmates and say hi
• Build conversations with people you see every day in your classes, on the bus, anywhere on campus. You’re all (more or less) here because you have some same interests and want to learn the same thing.
• Get a part-time job.
• Learn by watching and interaction.
• Listen.
• You’re going to have to deal with a variety of clients who won’t understand what your degree means. Get to know what people really think who live in a world entirely different from your own.



• Build robots and monsters.
• Spend some time learning PHP, Drupal, CSS Zen Garden and Flash.
• Keep up with the design world. News is happening every single day.
• Market yourself. You are selling the best and unique thing in the world: you.
• Get an eye-checkup.
• Go to local conferences in your city. Not just the ones hosted by school. Get to know the people you’ll be working for someday.
• Beg, borrow, design, make business cards.
• Give one to everybody you don’t know (but save a few for those who already do!)
• Upgrade your laptop sleeve or bag. It can only endure for so long.
• Carry pencils, pens, pencil crayons and a notebook everywhere.
• You never know when an idea is about to hit you in the face.
• Watch birds.
• Build your online identity. Social websites? Full name? Tagging photos? Do them all.
• Save pennies and spare change in a piggybank.
• Be creative. Limit your time on the computer and bring other approaches to your projects.
• Take advantage of free software and free food at fairs, conferences and club day.
• Question why every single day. (a la rbo)
• Abuse your university transit pass & student discounts.
• Post your projects online. People want to know what makes you tick.
• Be prepared for all-nighters projects the day before they’re due. Always carry a comfortable backpack to sleep on.
• Apply for scholarships and bursaries. Free money!!
• Don’t have a digital camera? Use your cellphone.
• Read design magazines, retro design books from the 50′s, and international culture.
• Learn to cook. You’ll have a better idea of following directions and good coding instructions.
• Grab your dad’s old film camera and go for a shooting spree anywhere in the city.
• Use your creditcard sparingly (save half your paycheque in an account you won’t touch)
• Don’t put up with the boring stuff if you don’t have to. Life’s too short. (a la karen)
• Drink coffee slowly.
• Or drink tea. (personal preference: steeped tea mixed with hot chocolate)
• Find your heroes.
• Volunteer at conferences (Web Directions North & IXDA are super awesome!)
• Take an everyday object and come up with ideas to make it simpler, functionable, better.
• Practice public speaking at Toastmaster Clubs. Not only do you need a steady voice, you also need to convey the idea to your audience.
• Think. You’re the audience. What do you want to know? Ask questions

If you think you know everything, it only proves how little you actually know.

Remember: It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be.

From the packaging of our belongings to the presentation of our surroundings, most of us recognize that design has, over the course of the past century, become a ubiquitous component in everyday life.

Design is signage and graffiti and labels and lace, posters and propaganda and toothbrushes and teapots: objects and artefacts that captivate and delight us, frustrate or provoke us, but why?

This is where design historians come in.

Design history is, after all, social history: it’s an evolutionary (and somewhat cautionary) tale of use and abuse, of innovation and migration, of the inevitable tide of obsolescence that puzzles some of us to such a vexing degree that we simply have no other choice but to become design historians to start making sense of things.

read more at Design Observer

Die Gestalten Verlag (DGV) are more than just book publishers, they are in fact the design world’s curator, giving opportunities to visual artists to showcase their work and making sure, it gets noticed – worldwide. [via Design and Making Things by Pingmag]