John Harris's article is timely, not just because the present structural fabric of parliament is unfit for purpose, but our system of parliamentary governance itself is unfit for purpose (Parliament is falling down. Let's move it to Birmingham, 9 September). What a heaven-sent opportunity for review and revision.
A federal system in which each of the four member countries has equality, with their own parliaments for governing their own distinct affairs, would require the creation of an English parliament, built for purpose, with a smaller number of sitting MPs. The British federal parliament could be located centrally to the member countries in Birmingham or the north of England to deal with pan-British affairs such as foreign policy and defence.
Continue reading...Plumen has revealed its new energy saving LED light bulb, which aims to be both “efficient” and “beautiful”.
The Plumen 003 has been designed by product design consultancy Hulger, in collaboration with Claire Norcross and Marie-Laure Giroux, and took five years to develop.
The new light bulb acts as “two lights in one”, says Plumen, with two functions it gives off a “downward spotlight” to illuminate specific tasks, such as for those eating or reading, and a “soft ambient light” to light the surrounding environment and people's faces.
The soft light is achieved through a gold element in the centre of the light bulb, which aims to make people “look more beautiful”, says Plumen.
The gold element in the middle of the bulb has been engineered by Hulger in collaboration with Plumen's engineering team to diffuse and reflect the light, which reduces glare, and provides a softer light on side views with a more direct light below.
“Sustainable design often lacks sex appeal, LED bulbs being no exception,” says Nicolas Roope, creative director at Hulger. “To persuade all those who still haven't moved to low energy lighting, we needed something really special to tempt them in. We needed some seductive sustainability.”
The design of the bulb has been inspired by Danish designer Poul Henningsen's PH lamp, which was designed in 1925, and was an softer alternative to the classic Edison bulb.
Consultancy Hulger created the original Plumen 001 LED light bulb in 2010, which Plumen claims was the “world's first designer low energy light bulb”.
The bulb won several awards, including the Brit Insurance Design of the Year award in 2011. It was also added to the permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the V&A.
The Plumen 003 goes on sale in Harrods from 1 October, at a price of £150, and lasts for 10,000 hours. More info can be found here.
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Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a prototype for Vision Van; its electric delivery van which has been developed to make home delivery faster and more efficient.
The Vision Van includes fully automated cargo loading and a launch pad for drones, which are able to drop off packages during the final stage of the delivery process.
The addition of drones will boost delivery times by up to 50% on the last mile, according to the company. For instance, if the van stops in a residential area, it will be able to deliver multiple packages to nearby homes autonomously by air as well as by hand.
“The intelligent automation technology connects the entire process, from loading and transportation by road through to delivery to the consignee,” says Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans.
“This makes it easier for the deliverer to do business and rapidly reduces the delivery time for end customers.”
Mercedes-Benz is incorporating smart technologies into the van, such a telematics unit which collects and processes data about the package delivery status.
The van also comes equipped with 75 kW electric drive and has a range of between 80 and 270 kilometres.
Mornhinweg says: “Equipped with an electric drive system, the Vision Van not only operates locally emission-free, it also moves almost silently. This means that it can be operated in cities even during times when there are traffic restrictions or for late-night deliveries in residential areas.”
Mercedes-Benz has not commented about when they expect the Vision Van to roll out.
The post Mercedes-Benz hopes to transform home delivery with drone-equipped van appeared first on Design Week.
A portable device that cools vaccines so that they can be transported without expiring has been declared the 2016 James Dyson Award winner for the UK.
The design by William Broadway has been inspired by an idea Albert Einstein patented in 1906 called Icyball, a refrigeration unit for farmers that didn't require electricity and lasted for 24 hours.
Broadway's design is a response to the estimated 19.4 million children worldwide who failed to receive routine immunisation services annually. More than 60% of these children are living in developing countries.
This is according to the World Health Organisation, which also suggests 1.5 million deaths could be avoided if vaccination systems could be improved.
Broadway's Isobar prototype contains ammonia and water heated in a low pressure vessel. The ammonia vaporises and separates from the water into the upper chamber where it is trapped by a valve. It stays trapped here until the cooling effect is needed.
A £2,000 prize has been given to Broadway to develop his design and he plans to invest in creating more advanced prototypes and applying for patents.
Broadway says he is pleased “the technology can get a bit of the limelight.” He adds: “It was such an innovative technology in 1929 that was forgotten and taken over by electric refrigeration.
“It gives me the confidence to pursue it whole heartedly in the knowledge that I can actually make this device and that it could have a great impact and benefit thousands of people.”
The win sees Broadway entered into the international James Dyson Award competition, which carries a £30,000 prize and will be announced on 27 October.
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The NHS website is set to be completely redesigned by 2018, into a centralised hub where patients will be able to order prescriptions, book an appointment and find a GP.
The overhaul is part of a wider Department of Health initiative to “achieve digital excellence” in the NHS.
The new NHS.uk website will allow patients to register with a GP, access healthcare records such as test results, and receive medical advice.
It will also allow them to view and book appointments, and order and track prescriptions, says the Department of Health.
As part of the initiative, data from NHS-approved health apps will also now be added into patients' records.
This data will be used to help “guide patient choice”, says the Department of Health, and the website will include a library of health apps and wearable devices, which have been given the NHS seal of approval.
There will also be a redesign of the existing MyNHS website, which currently provides information to patients on health services in their local area.
It will be programmed to give “better data” on local services performing well across certain healthcare areas, starting with dementia, diabetes and learning disabilities. Data for services' performance based on maternity, cancer and mental health will follow.
It will also include infographic tools such as maps and graphs, which will show how performance across local services has changed over time.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt made the announcement this week, and the digital transformation will be headed up by the NHS' in-house team NHS Digital.
Andy Williams, chief executive at NHS Digital, says: “Our purpose is to harness information and technology to deliver better health and care.
I am excited by the agenda outlined…and believe we have only just begun to achieve the true transformational change and deliver the real benefits that digital technologies can bring to doctors, nurses, social workers, patients and the public.”
The new NHS.uk website is expected to roll out by the end of 2017, according to the Department of Health.
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As Liverpool unveil their redeveloped Main Stand, we take a look inside and out of one of the largest all-seater single stands in European football
Continue reading...There's a changing of art's top guard (if not sheets), while Mark Zuckerberg runs into censorship issues and London is set ablaze all in your weekly art dispatch
Tracey Emin and William Blake
Two British mavericks meet as Tracey Emin's works, including My Bed, are mixed with those of the visionary romantic artist and poet who wrote The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.
• Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, 16 September to September 2017.
The first ever London Design Biennale takes place this month at Somerset House and showcases installations from 37 countries around the world.
This year's theme is Design by Utopia, and some exhibits look at plausible, existing solutions towards creating a happier, more idealistic world, while others explore hypothetical ideas.
Some don't offer solutions at all, but instead use art and design to create their own interpretations of utopia and dystopia.
The inaugural show certainly has a few teething problems a small handful of exhibits were being hurriedly constructed on its opening day, and there's a lack of thematic order to the exhibition space, making it a little random and incongruous.
While some of the installations appear convoluted and tenuously linked to the theme, there is also imaginative, thought-provoking and intuitive work on offer, which proves design's role in both tackling world issues, and helping to highlight them.
Here are our five picks from the show:
Norway: Reaching for Utopia Inclusive Design in Practice
By Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture
Norway's mini exhibition space within a room in the West Wing is a succinct, informative look at how the country is using design to create social equality.
The space is one of the least visual but most powerful of the show. It answers questions about inclusive design, demystifying what the term means, and explaining why designing systems to suit everyone can help create a more sustainable economy.
It uses infographics to depict the people who are forced to the peripheries of society due to poorly designed systems, such as those with disabilities and older people, and also explores gender discrimination.
The exhibit then shows examples of public sector services in Norway which have been rebuilt based on the principles of inclusive design, including hospitals, universities and railway systems.
The piece is a proactive look at how developed countries have the resources to make public services more inclusive, and sets an inspiring example for other countries to follow.
Turkey: The Wish Machine
By Autoban
Turkey's modern-day wishing well is a simple but poignant way of inspiring hope in a country which has been at the pinnacle of the migrant crisis.
Visitors can write their wish on a piece of paper, roll it up and slip it inside a futuristic pod, then step across a tunnel of transparent hexagonal tubes to drop it into the suction-powered machine.
They'll then see it spiral through the tubes, and even make its way around the West Wing of Somerset House, where the tubes have been neatly laced across the walls.
The destination of the messages is unknown, and the Somerset House staff certainly won't give anything away. While the wishes themselves may be inconsequential, the installation incites hope and consideration for others through design, brings an ancient concept into 2016, and openly invites visitors to interact with the display.
Lebanon: Mezzing in Lebanon
By Annabel Karim Kassar Architects
Lebanon was lucky enough to have been given the entire outdoor River Terrace space of Somerset House the perfect setting for a colourful, authentic imitation of the streets of Beirut.
While the majority of pavilions depict the future in some way, Lebanon's take on Utopia is to present the country's existing, community-based culture as happiness in itself.
Visitors can expect a microcosm of Beirut authentic food and orange juice stalls, a barber, a “cinema” filled with hand-made mattresses and carpets and an area where they can play backgammon. A giant map of the city covers the floor, a reference to the fact that the city was until recently mainly navigated by landmarks rather than its map system.
The pavilion is an interactive look at how utopia can sometimes be found at home, and gives visitors the chance to temporarily absorb themselves within the culture of the country.
Japan: A Journey Around the Neighbourhood Globe
By Yasuhiro Suzuki
Japan's offering is a clever look at how design can be interpreted in alternative ways. Artist Yasuhiro Suzuki bases his piece on the Japanese concept of “looking at one thing as if it were another”, and distorts everyday objects to make them appear as different things.
Visitors will be subject to strange objects which create optical illusions, such as spinning portrait images which depict people blinking, an acrylic, hollow tree stump which has water dripping into it from an unknown place in the ceiling every few seconds, and an “unravelled” model of a globe encased in a zip.
The piece looks at the endless possibilities of design, and also spreads the message that utopia can be found in being open-minded to different points of view. It makes for a visually pleasing display too, with attention to detail and playful design assigned to both tiny and huge objects.
South Africa: Otium and Acedia
By Porky Hefer
South Africa's fluffy depictions of dangerous animals with their jaws wide upon hang from the ceiling of the Embankment gallery, inviting visitors to climb inside (though you're asked not to do this through tongue-in-cheek “Please don't feed the animals” signs). These giant, playful seats toy with conflicting ideas of innocence and corruption, a symbol of the country's troubled history.
The cuddly toys-cum-chairs are an idyllic look at how South Africa has seen change since the end of the apartheid, while still remembering the past. Although not strictly interactive, the pieces are a unique addition to the exhibition. It's probably for the best they can't be sat in, as climbing inside the hanging devices would be a fittingly perilous experience.
While many of the exhibits employ the use of extravagant digital resources, this is a colourful array of back-to-basics craft which successfully communicates an idea of childhood innocence as utopia.
The London Design Biennale takes place at Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA from 7-27 September. Tickets are £15 with an additional £2.35 booking fee if booking online, or £11.85 concessions. Buy tickets here.
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“Tough decision. Is it a brand sound so irritatingly catchy that you wonder how you found yourself singing along? (Think ‘mmm Danone'). Is it the perfect combination of sound and audio such as the BBC's classic news beeps that accompany it's radiating circles title sequence? Or do you go for Xbox's very on-brand exhilarating whoosh that heralds the muting of my son for another few hours? Each has its merits, but as the lights go down and the popcorn rustling subsides, surely nothing can beat ‘Pa pah pa pah pa pah pa pah papapah' probably the only non-verbal jingle you can write down in gibberish and yet still instantly recognise*.”
*Pearl and Dean, obviously.
“My favourite piece of sonic branding comes from Nokia not the infamous ringtone, but the ‘Special' text message tone. Three short beeps, two long ones and three more short beeps spells out SMS in morse code. Even though it annoyed most people, it's definitely memorable. It's also a really clever way to encapsulate what the brand does in a sound, and so carries more meaning to it than your standard jingle something to consider when it comes to sonic branding.”
“I still have a Pavlovian response to the HBO ident (static noise + bass note/angelic voice), even years after watching The Sopranos, Curb, The Wire, and so on. I think that's how good audio branding works it's like the bell that Pavlov's dog learns to associate with food. If you hear the HBO ident before any programme, you're conditioned to think it's slightly better. By contrast, the Intel sting is like a closed loop. If I hear the sound, I think Intel, and if I think ‘Intel' I hear the sound. But it doesn't really build an association with anything apart from itself. It's like training a dog to think ‘bell' when it hears a bell. Sort of impressive, but not Pavlovian impressive.”
“Sitting in a cinema, the lights have gone down, and from the darkness appears a lion's head which gives two loud roars. To me, this sound indicates that I'm about to be transported to another place, at least for the duration of the film. The MGM lion's roar acts as a signifier for memories, associations and feelings memories of happy times and associations with great films.
However, a lion's roar not being an entirely unique sound, the MGM audio logo must work in association with other elements of the brand and experience. If I heard a lion's roar coming out of the darkness, and I wasn't in a cinema or watching TV, I might feel differently.”
“This is a really interesting question as there's so much more connection and power experienced when visual movement and sonic connect.
Some of the more memorable are:
The Movie Houses: They have distinct sonics potentially more audio but they recall that lovely positive feeling you get before you settle down for a film brilliantly. I defy anyone not to have a positive feeling towards the Pearl and Dean sonic.
McDonalds: The whistle (it must have a name?) is probably one of the most successful sonics that has been owned and extended throughout a brand world.
Intel: This has to be one of the most recognisable four notes ever.
Lloyds TSB: The For The Journey campaign ran a sonic for five years that was so successful it ended up being released as a record, and charted you'll find it online.
Magnum: While the crunch sound they use is not a traditional sonic like the other examples it is a totally ownable sound that no other brand could use as it's so distinctive.”
“I spent a lot of time in my childhood around computers, playing video games or exploring the internet, especially on systems like Windows ‘98 or XP. But the logo and sound I will always remember is the Windows ‘95 one, which was the operating system of the first computer I was able to experience, thanks to my grandfather's passion for electronics. This sound promised me a lot of discovery, and since that day it's stuck in my mind. Actually, It's only recently that I discovered that Brian Eno, one of my favorite musicians, was the composer of this sound…”
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Delivery app and service Deliveroo unveiled a dramatic rebrand this week, swapping out its line-drawn kangaroo for a new, flat icon of a rather angular kangaroo head.
Created by DesignStudio, the new logo makes a bold move away from an illustrative to a more symbolic, emblematic look.
But many people have interpreted the abstract kangaroo symbol a little differently… readers and twitterers have drawn a striking resemblance with the “two-finger salute”.
Bit late with this one but does anybody else see the 2 finger salute?https://t.co/vy9HRrOeVH#Deliveroo #logo pic.twitter.com/POteZpYTQX
— Bryan Werbinski (@Bryski_d) September 8, 2016
While it remains to be seen whether the delivery company is giving a metaphorical “fingers up” to any of its frequently emerging competitors (reader comment: “Literal two fingers to Uber Eats?“), DesignStudio want the bold, new logo to become a “character” easily associated with the brand, and intends for the minimal look to “reduce cultural associations” rather than establish them.
The rebrand may also signify a fresh, new start for the company, which hit headlines recently regarding controversy around its new contracts for delivery riders.
Apple is veering further away from extraneous wires in its 2016 round of product launches, revealed this week.
The new phones include the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which start at £599 and come with a set of AirPod wireless headphones.
In fact, the phones won't even include a headphone socket, and users will need an adapter which comes free with a phone purchase to use an old pair of headphones.
The phones can also allegedly be dunked under water to a depth of one metre for 30 minutes without breaking (though we suggest you don't try this), have a 12-megapixel camera, and have the longest battery life of all iPhone models to date.
The launch also sees the arrival of the Apple Watch Series 2, which is also water resistant so can be used when swimming, and has a built-in GPS system.
Along with the physical products, the launch will also see the rollout of Apple's latest operating system iOS 10, which will see a new Home app added to the App Store a control hub which allows people to manage all of their connected home products, such as thermostats, lighting and security cameras.
The inaugural London Design Biennale opened at Somerset House this week, and sees 37 countries take on the theme of Utopia by Design.
There's a chunky price tag of £15, but visitors will be able to step into Beirut with an immersive outdoor market stall exhibition from Lebanon, gawp at huge, ferocious-cum-cute animal-shaped chairs from South Africa and witness sustainable design solutions from the likes of Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Norway.
While some installations deviate away from the theme, there's a huge amount of imagination, creativity and smart design thinking, which look at how design can be a very powerful tool in both conveying and helping world issues.
Coinciding with London Design Festival, you can catch it at Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA from 7-27 September.
An updated version of the 3Doodler 3D printing pen launched this week, aimed at professional product designers and architects.
The 3Doodler Pro not only draws solid structures in thin air, but also lets users change temperature and speed, enabling them to control the speed of construction.
It can also be used for longer and more intensively than previously before needing a charge, and can draw with a variation of different plastics, which replicate wood, copper, bronze and nylon just in case any designers need to create a nylon-based architectural masterpiece.
Faraz Warsi, creative director at 3Doodler, says the pen could be a welcome alternative to using a 3D printer, which is “expensive”, “requires specialist knowledge” and takes “time to print products”. With the pen, designers can create 3D structures whenever “inspiration strikes”, he says.
The pen is priced at £187, and will soon be available to buy worldwide online from the 3Doodler site.
The flatpack furniture company opened its first ever order and collection store in London this last week, at Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.
The retail concept marks a turning point for the brand, as it moves away from warehouses only reachable by car, to a more local and convenient experience.
This is probably particularly suited to Londoners, where public transport is king and driving can be perilous.
In a similar style to Argos, customers can order online for collection at the store. Alternatively, they can order in store for home delivery.
The Stratford branch is Ikea's first convenience store in a shopping centre, though it first trialled the concept in Norwich last autumn.
Got a design story? Email sarah.dawood@centaurmedia.com.
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Josep Maria Jujol's contribution to Gaudí's Barcelona masterpieces, and those he created himself in Catalonia, have been overlooked. A new documentary seeks to give him the recognition he deserves
Visitors to Barcelona will all sooner or later find themselves in Antoni Gaudí's fairytale Park Güell, admiring the view of the city from one of the sinuous benches made up of fragments of coloured tiles. For many, the benches of Park Güell are the essence of Gaudí, but they are in fact the work of another artist and architect, Josep Maria Jujol.
“When tourists go to Parc Güell, what do they look at? They look at Jujol's work,” says the architect's son, also Josep Maria. “I mean, what they most rave about in Gaudí's work is Jujol's contribution.”
Related: Gaudí's Catalan shadow: the art of Josep Maria Jujol
Continue reading...The models for Spanish clothing brand Desigual walked the runway at New York Fashion Week yesterday with faithfully recreated Snapchat filters as their only makeup.
The brand, known for zany prints and patchwork, showed off a denim-heavy, '70s-inspired collection. It paired pretty well with the whimsy of Kim Kardashian's favorite filter, the flower crown, as well as my mom's favorite, the bee face! Other models sported the deer lens, a crown of yellow butterflies, and of course, a dog nose.
A photo posted by Valentina Frugiuele (@fwstreetstyle) on