Tag: design

Accessible Transit: London Overground

This is the fourth installment of my Accessible Transit Map series. Intended as a replacement map for those with disabilities, this map illustrates which station stops on the Transport for London London Overground system is accessible for those with strollers or with a disability.

London Overground, a suburban rail network in the United Kingdom, is part of the National Rail network linking 20 of London’s 32 boroughs. Starting in 2007 Transport for London consolidated different existing rail concessions and extended new trackage to form the London Overground.

As in previous maps, I have removed all stations which are not handicapped accessible. Maps represent corporeal objects, through convenient fictions – a representation which works for a majority of its users. But where are the maps for the disabled or those require additional accessibility? Wouldn’t the mother with newborn in stroller need a different map then those without the need to lug all the accoutrement’s of childhood? Equally, those in a wheelchair require a map different then one which the walking can use. I decided to rectify the situation by editing the maps of major metropolitan transportation systems, in order to create a map for those who are not represented on the official map.

You can download the London Overground Accessible Transit map below – which comes in two versions – Network and Geographic:

Other Accessible Transit Maps for your perusal:

Helvetica: The Fixed-Gear Bike of Typefaces

The main argument of using Helvetica is that it’s “neutral.” That is absolute bullshit. There is nothing neutral about Helvetica. Choosing Helvetica has as much meaning and carries as many connotations as choosing any other typeface. It has as many visual quirks as any other typeface it was meant to shun for needless decoration. Helvetica is the fixed-gear bike of typefaces: it’s as basic as it gets, but the statement it makes is as complex as anything else. Standing for independence and going against the grain, supposedly not caring about what others think or of being duped for the upgrades and improvements that “the man” forces upon us. Helvetica is old. Helvetica is clunky. No business, service, or product deserves Helvetica in the twenty-first century more than anyone deserves to sit in a dentist chair in the 1960s.

– New University of the Arts London Logo, or Why I Hate Helvetica

V&A Museum: British Design 1948–2012: Innovation in the Modern Age

Yes, I love British Design, but that isn’t much of a secret: I’ve written about the Halley Research Station, British Design Classics stamps by Royal Mail, British Rail Corporate Identity, 1965-1994 and innumerable posts about the London Underground Map. So I bring great tidings: at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is an exhibition which has been ongoing for the last few months entitled British Design 1948–2012: Innovation in the Modern Age:

In 1948 London hosted the first Olympic Games after the Second World War. The ‘Austerity Games’ (as they became known) took place at a time of economic crisis in a city devastated by bombing, but they provided a platform for reconciliation and reconstruction. In 2012 Britain welcomes the Olympics once more, and while the spirit remains, the context in which they are taking place has entirely changed. British Design 1948–2012 traces those changes by exploring buildings, objects, images and ideas produced by designers and artists born, trained or based in Britain.

The displays examine the shifting nature of British design over 60 years: three galleries respectively explore the tension between tradition and modernity; the subversive impulse in British culture; and Britain’s leadership in design innovation and creativity. The exhibition reveals how British designers have responded to economic, political and cultural forces that have fundamentally shaped how we live today. They have created some of the most inventive and striking objects, technologies and buildings of the modern world.

The V&A is an amazing museum, and if you are anywhere near London, you must see this exhibit before 12 August 2012.

The above video features the following designers:
Jay Osgerby & Edward Barber (Barber Osgerby) – London 2012 torch designers
Margaret Calvert – Motorway Sign designer
Andrew Stevens & Paul Neale (Graphic Thought Facility) – exhibition show designers
Kenneth Grange – Kodak camera designer (Brownie Vectra Camera)
Thomas Heatherwick – London Transport bus redesign

Prince Holds The Katamari On His Shoulders

Prince Holds The Katamari On His Shoulders

This was for my sculpture 1 class at the Academy of Art University over in SF. we were to make a sculpture in wax to be cast into bronze. The topic of katamari damacy came up with a friend and i decided i might wanna do something in that theme… but then again i also wanted to make an Atlas holding the world on his shoulders… so i thought about it and the only logical conclusion is that i should do both!

The sculpture is 9 lbs. of cast bronze, 8″ tall, with a liver of sulfur cold patina base on both pieces and then a cupric hot patina on the Prince. the Katamari is designed to balance on the back/arms of the Prince so the two pieces are not welded together (this was an aesthetic choice because it’s really cool holding the ball on its own and also i wanted to make sure the patina on both was distinctly separate). the Katamari was cast hollow with one bump missing which was then welded on later.

What is the Katamari Damacy? Only the trippiest and most awesome game for Playstation 2, where you have a sticky ball and you have to roll larger and larger things. All of this is to fix the damage the King of All Cosmos‘ created after a night of binge drinking which wiped out all the stars from the sky. The King, who is dissatisfied with his 5-cm-tall son’s small size, charges the Prince to go to Earth with a “katamari”—a magical ball that allows anything smaller than it to stick to it and make it grow to collect enough material to recreate the stars and constellations. If you play long enough The Prince is successful, and the sky is returned to normal, but the Earth is destroyed.

Like I said, it is pretty awesome and hypnotizing game.

See more photos of the Prince Holds The Katamari On His Shoulders.

prince holds the katamari on his shoulders

prince holds the katamari on his shoulders