Extreme Mobile Home Vacationing

Blogger Marcos Morales and his family of four are vacationing throughout Spain - in a mobile green home. The Vodafone Mobile Home, creatively combines glass house living, tiny house design, loft-like features, sustainable elements, and portable architecture all in one very small, very portable package. The modern interior has a kitchen, bathroom, living room, and two beds upstairs and the entire unit is less than 20 feet long. via: JetsonGreen

NeoCon 2009: Fun at Knoll

Bright and fun colors, interesting finishes and cheerful color combinations were a fresh take at Knoll. Raspberry and tangerine combinations were key, while blueberry and lemon was crisp and fresh. A touch of patent finish brightened bar stool seating in a rainbow of hues.

Colorful Furniture - BG Norge

Yesterday's post was all about colorful outdoor furniture, today we look to brighten the indoors with these new introductions from BG Norge. We agree with Apartment Therapy, the turquoise is quite possibly our favorite of the colors, but the bright, grass green runs a pretty close second. BG Norge's style is a subtle nod to the past, with many of their current designs inspired by those of the 1960's - we especially enjoy the soft, organic ring pattern of these pieces on the slightly textured fabric that just looks so very comfortable.

Bright Green Outdoor Furniture - Loll

We spotted these great green outdoor furniture designs by Loll over at Jetson Green's blog. We love the bright colors, the unique shapes and, of course, the fact that they're so environmentally sound. Made from 100% recycled post-consumer HDPE with 90% of the manufacturing waste sent to a recycling plant, Loll uses recycled packaging and does a number of other things to reduce the environmental impact associated with their business. What could be better, just in time for the heat wave outside right now? Lovely!

NeoCon 2009 - Furniture Design

One of the best parts of NeoCon is perusing the innovation in furniture design...

Cocooning shapes, fun connectivity and bright colors were the story at Allermuir:

Retro modern hues on futuristic shapes were eye-catching at ICF:

Soft neutral tones at Tuohy on interesting rounded triangular shapes:

NeoCon 2009 - Davies Office Refurbishing

Green statements, eco-friendly practices and sustainable manufacturing techniques are always a very large part of what makes NeoCon such an interesting show. This year, we really enjoyed seeing Davies Office Refurbishing focusing on the simplest, yet one of the greenest, elements of sustainable design - Reuse. The company, located in upstate New York, offers clients many options in which to outfit their offices, such as remanufactured pieces from top selling brands, a product exchange program and help managing your inventory of office equipment.

However, the best part of their booth was their innovative approach they took to tell you their story. Demolished, used and abused office furnishings become a serene, modern workspace with a very cheeky green twist.

NeoCon 2009 - Happiness at Haworth

We are fresh off the plane, back from NeoCon 2009 and while it was a long day yesterday, the mood at the Merchandise Mart was upbeat and positive. Haworth was one of our early stops and their sun-shiny brightness motivated our morning at the show. Fun laser cut graphic applications, interesting fabrics and innovative new functions and features were a great start to the day!

Sense of Humor... In Advertising

Laughter seems to be the new black and the popular crowd is whipping up funny advertising to make their products part of the new in-crowd. Take a moment to click, watch and laugh at the following ads. Why not, isn't it Friday?

Intel is getting a lot of buzz for this funny advertisement playing both on TV and on the internet - who know the guy who invented the USB was a rock star?

Another technology company is bringing the funny to their advertising for their new search engine, bing. Microsoft wants to make you laugh with a fast-paced play on our obsessive need to search for everything and the wacky results you sometimes find in your browser.

Carl's Jr. decided to let comedy group Nigahiga, the masterminds behind YouTube's #2 most-subscribed channel, take over their online advertising. This rocketed their new ads to the #1 spot on the most watched viral videos of the week. These aren't subtle, "what brand is this anyway?" YouTube creations. Their new "$6 burger" is featured prominently, as the video's focus throughout the entire advertisement.

Sense of Humor... At The Office

Bearstech, An internet design firm in Paris wanted to convey their "innovative and animal image in order to promote the wild and raw aspects of their approach of virtual technology". Paul Coudamy, the architect of the projects, designed "The Bear Cave" with three separate areas - a meeting space, a leisure space and a working space. The cavernous walls are covered in a whirling vortex of reclaimed woodpieces collected from trash heaps, construction sites and old flooring creating a sense of creative strength. A play on the company's name, the Bear Cave is a humorous and relaxed approach to modern office space design.

via: Contemporist

Sense of Humor... In the Kitchen

Who said you need to stare at your boring, blank stainless steel refrigerator. Or, maybe you're sick of looking at the stark whiteness that is your microwave. For those with a sense of humor and a little creativity, these decals are for you!

These stickers by Brastemp range from the simply monotone to the wild and graphic. Either way, it adds new life into your existing appliances.

Motifo transforms the clean slate of the refrigerator door into a truly custom work of art - the squares can be configured into simple graph patterns or, with a little artistic talent, into a masterpiece of art.

via: 2ModernDesignTalk

Sense of Humor - Trash Can Be Cute & Funny!

To encourage Londoners to keep the town litter-free and looking great, designer Paul Smith created these quirky trash bins now installed around the city. A tool for instant gratification, when you toss trash into the receptacle, the bunny's ears light up providing you with a little touch of fun for your day. Who knew trash could be so much fun?
via: Bloomacious

Sense of Humor - Product Design Edition

Having a great sense of humor is critical in today's challenging marketplace. We're finding humor to brighten your day in product design, marketing, advertising and even in retail. This week we're focusing on ways to appeal to the consumers sense of humor as a way to stay relevant in the current changing marketplace.

Humor in product design:

When the "little black dress" becomes the "dresser" - this design by Judson Beaumont is a cheeky play on fashion and our love of this wardrobe basic:

Just when you thought the bathroom wasn't a place for humor, Pressalit makes a statement with their fun and funky toilet seat designs from ISH 2009:

Maybe your kids will pick up their toys just a little faster when they can "feed the furniture". This collection of storage pieces, by Jitan Patel of Kokoomo, creates a whimsical approach with zippered eyes, nose and mouth formations. Does your furniture look hungry? Photo via: MocoLoco

Maybe you're looking for a little fun in product design just in time for Father's Day. If that's the case, enter to win Design Milk's contest for these humorous cuff links for the Lego aficionado in every Dad. The designs by Jacqueline Sanchez are available in a variety of sizes and colors, so sign up today - you only have until June 12th!