Dieline Finds

Here are some of my recent favorite package designs found on {The Dieline}. The hanger tea bags are so cleaver and I love that {Method} came out with laundry detergent! Can you believe that all you need is 4 pumps for 1 load and you don't have to deal with large bottles, messy caps, or heavy boxes of powder detergent!

Creative Concepts and Clever Packaging

Here are some pretty creative concepts and packaging found on {Packaging | UQAM}. I am unable to translate the descriptions, or else I would have included them - but I think they are pretty self explanatory.

Embracing Water.

The Dutch have been in a constant fight against the tides that rise and fall, building dikes, pumping out water in areas below sea level, etc. Rather than fighting the water that is infiltrating their land, they are using it as a part of a new development called {New Water} which will feature the world's first floating apartment complex - {The Citadel}. This new project was designed by {Koen Olthuis} of {Waterstudio} in the Netherlands. This new complex will use 25% less energy than buildings on land because of the water cooling system. There is a high focus on these energy saving projects. Olthuis has designed several of these floating residences around the world and believes that we should stop trying to contain water and learn to live with it. The New Water and the Citadel projects are an attempt to embrace water in the Netherlands, which is almost completely composed of wetlands. I have also included images of houses build on the wetlands in Holland.

Glastonbury Solar Concept Tent

{Orange} revealed their vision for the "tent of the future" - the {Glastonbury} Solar Concept Tent. This tent utilizes cutting edge eco-engergy technology that will allow campers to keep in touch and power their camping gadgets! Though this tent is only a concept, the vision of the Orange Solar Concept Tent has been designed to celebrate Orange’s 11th year at Glastonbury. Below is a list of the main features and explanations of each:

Photovoltaic Fabric
Latest research shows that by weaving specially coated solar threads into conventional fabric, revolutionary new ways of capturing the sun’s energy could soon become a reality. These radical advances mean that rather than relying upon familiar fixed panels, designers were free to conceive how a tent of flexible solar fabrics might look. The Concept Tent’s solar shell uses this technology to full effect with three directional glides which can be moved throughout the day to maximize its solar efficiency, capturing the optimum amount of energy which can to be used throughout the tent in a variety of new and exciting ways.

Glo-cation technology
To avoid festival-goers ever losing their tent, the Concept Tent would be fitted with innovative “glo-cation” technology. Glo-cation works by enabling campers’ mobile phones to identify their tent using either an SMS message or automatic active RFID technology (a longer range version of that used in London Underground Oyster cards); both would trigger a distinctive glow in the tent helping identify it from a distance.

Wireless control hub
The heart of the Concept Tent is a central wireless control hub which displays energy generated and consumed as well as providing a wireless internet signal; all information is displayed on a flexible, touchscreen LCD display screen. Integrated into the hub is a wireless charging pouch which powers mobile phones and other portable devices without the need for messy wires and multiple chargers. The ‘magnetic induction’ technology passes an electric current through a coil embedded in the charging pouch, this in turn generates a magnetic field which creates a charge and powers the battery.

Groundsheet heat
Also controlled by the central hub is an internal heating element embedded within the tent’s groundsheet; this under floor heating is triggered automatically once the interior temperature falls below a set level. Kaleidoscope Strategist, Finn McKenty, said: “The development of photovoltaic fabric will revolutionize festival tent design, in working with Orange we have created a vision for a solar tent that we believe is a great glimpse of what’s to come.”

Dorms should have these!

It would be a great idea for college dorms / apartments to come with {these}! Well, maybe if each compartment was a little bit larger, but the concept is great!

Ligne Roset Boutique

For years I have been checking out all kinds of concept designs on the web and was excited to hear that {Ligne Roset} opened a new boutique {concept store} (unfortunately far away in Austin, Texas). They are known for their keen eye for talented designers and recently partnered with French designer {Philippe Nigro} to produce his new line of upholstered furniture called Confluences. Ligne Roset is one of the world's leaders in luxury contemporary furniture design and introduced its first concept boutique. They will provide superior quality and design for every aspect of modern lifestyle, from living to entertaining. Consumers will receive the instant satisfaction from their purchases - being able to take them right out of the store. The store layout will evoke a gallery-like atmosphere. Aside from the modular seating by Philippe Nigro, I loved the concept hanging light fixture.

The Do It All Knife - Concept

I love seeing all sorts of concept products out there in hopes of them one day being on the market - this is one of them. This set of multi-use knives is pretty awesome, cramming many functions into one and saving space in your drawers. This is a concept by {Caroline Noordijk}, and it includes three knives. They make use of the unused side of knives, which is pretty smart. In theory this would be a nice idea for those who need to save space, but for the most part I enjoy having all my kitchen tools and gadgets separate and would be too accident prone to try and peel a potato with a giant knife...

Color Picker

How cool is this!? {Color Picker}, designed by Jinsun Park is a concept pen that would allow you to scan colors from anything around you and instantly use that color for drawing. The pen would contain and RGB cartridge that the pen would then mix according to the target color scanned. Amazing idea and much more convenient - one would no longer need to carry around multiple pens and pencils.