When great design inspires healthy living, there’s not much more we
can ask for. Y Water’s perfect union combines a cool and kid-friendly,
100% recyclable bottle with removable, biodegradable labeling and
a flavored, vitamin- and mineral-rich, low-sugar, organic beverage.
Once empty, the container becomes a toy that kids can link to other
bottles through biodegradable, connectable rubber “Y knots,” letting
them create spaceships, animals, robots, or whatever else their
imaginations can dream up. When all is said and done, parents can
log onto www.ywater.us and receive a free mailer to send the bottle
back for recycling.
The cheery Y-shape inspired the drink’s name, a playful riff on two
of the most commonly asked kiddie questions: “Why?” and “Why
not?” As Y-Water designer Yves Béhar says, “The brand, the bottle,
the graphics, the name … everything is one, connected by the idea
of giving a smarter, healthier and much more fun experience. The
category is so bland, so un-original … but kids are open-minded to
new and creative things, and that is what we wanted to give them.”
The Philadelphia Museum of Art welcomes visionary Dutch designer Marcel Wanders in a self-designed, self-curated exhibition called “Marcel Wanders: Daydreams.” This dreamlike, multimedia installation of objects was personally selected by Wanders to represent pivotal points in his 20+ year career. Video images, lighting, and sound illuminate his creative development over the years.
New films—detailing Wanders’s design process and philosophy in projects ranging from manufactured products, hotel interiors, and design art—also make their public debut at the retrospective. The films’ soundscapes provide Wanders’s personal views on design.
“Marcel Wanders: Daydreams”
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Curated by Kathryn Hiesinger
November 22, 2009- June 13, 2010
above: images from Stefan Sagmeister’s 2008 book, “Things I’ve learned in my life so far”
Absolut Vodka‘s ads are immediately recognizable, and over the years, their campaigns have become truly iconic. However, the company’s newest tv ad campaign, produced by TBWA/Chiat/Day, is a bit too similar to another icon’s work for my liking.
While beautiful, the ad’s imagery and tagline (“Doing something differently leads to something exceptional.”) are incredibly similar in look and concept to graphic design star Stefan Sagmeister‘s 2008 “Things I have learned in my life so far.” A successful design book and exhibit at Deitch gallery in NY, “Things I have learned in my life so far” was inspired by a list of life lessons Sagmeister jotted down while on sabbatical the year before, and then spelled out using creative environmental typographic tools – everything from hangers to body paint, furniture to food, lightboxes to giant, white inflatable monkeys.
I interviewed Sagmeister in 2008 right after the book came out for Graphis. Just this week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sagmeister again for the upcoming fall issue of Clear Magazine. He returns to NY from his latest sabbatical year (in Bali) in September, and told me that when approached for this tv spot, he declined to work with the firm, as he’d committed to only personal design work over the year, and wasn’t taking any new client work.
Take a look for yourself below. And check out my interview with Stefan Sagmeister for Graphis by visiting my Writing Samples page or clicking here: The Art of Introspection.
Photographer Miru Kim is an urban explorer. The Korean-born, New York-based artist spoke at the 2008 TED Conference about her ongoing series, Naked City Spleen. Juxtaposing her own delicate human form with haunting, industrial ruins, Kim’s work alternately reveals extreme loneliness and a bold fearlessness, and contrasts the living, supple world with a decaying one. In Naked City Spleen, we follow Kim’s fictional main character through abandoned factories, hospitals, subways and catacombs around the globe. Kim is also the founder of Naked City Arts, a New York-based organization dedicated to promoting young artists in the city and drawing artists down to lower Manhattan.
To learn more about Miru Kim, check out my interview with the artist in the upcoming issue of Clear Magazine.
