For the month of july I will be broadcasting from Switzerland which means I’ll be indulging in way too much Zopf. (pictured above) Zopf is a traditional swiss sunday bread, usually found twisted or plaited.
Zopf Recipy German / English (ther german link has instructions on how to get the Zopf into its typical shape)
Swiss police officer and photographer Arnold Odermatt became famous in his retirement on the publication of Karambolage, his photographic journal about the traffic accidents that were part of his professional life in the Swiss canton of Nidwalden.
Arriving at the scene of an accident, Odermatt would take one set of photographs for the insurance or police reports, and then take another for himself. His reasons for doing so are mysterious, but the results are often strangely beautiful.
Swiss Institute Exhibition Info
Write up over on LensCulture
I stumbled across the below logo animation while looking up Flowerpots, a beautiful animated short by Rafael Sommerhalder.
FOCAL — Animated Logo from Crictor on Vimeo.
This Migros T-Shirt is fabulous. Especially if you wear it outside of Switzerland where hardly anyone knows what it is about. (Migros is a big supermarket chain in Switzerland!)
I am having a nostalgic-moment over here day trying to decide which of these posters and t-shirts to get. So, you’re not swiss and you have no idea what these designs are all about? They are the old-school ice cream wrapper designs of the ‘bestest icecream ever’ sold by Migros (big supermarket chain in Switzerland).
I totally grew up with these and all these years, they kept the iconic packaging the same. I am in (nostalgia) heaven! Which Poster to get? Which T-Shirt!
Hat tip to the Migros Marketing Department for creating these!
Lovely photograph of the inside of the Vitra House by Switzerland based gaëtan rossier.
With the Switzerland SBB Mobile iPhone App you have your own personal swiss train timetable and ticket counter in your pocket. With this app you get Door-to-Door travel information, “Take me Home” function with GPS Support and it allows you to buy tickets for public transportation services via credit card. Does it get any more convenient? How cool would it be if the MTA had something similar here in NYC?!
My friend Peter Hossli just pointed me to one of his latest articles, Nonstop News, in which he talks about today’s media world which is increasingly global, digital, and mobile. News keeps coming faster and faster. People want to be informed anywhere and anytime. In response to this trend Swiss publisher Ringier has launched a fully integrated newsroom for the Blick Group. Read the article.
(On a different note: I designed Peter’s site a few years back and am happy to see that the design seems to be fairly timeless, I am still happy with it!)
Oh, all this snow here in NYC is making me feel nostalgic. I wish I had a Davoser Schlitten (sled) here in NYC to take Ella sledding. Everyone in Switzerland grows up with these…
Oh, the memories of growing up in Switzerland, now packed into a minimalist nifty Swiss Railway Clock iPhone App (iTunes Link) by Thomas Feger. The clock, prominently displayed in every railway station in Switzerland, can be found more than 3’000 times across the country. Back in the 1940s when the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) was looking for a way to take advantage of their name for punctuality and incorporate this theme into their national image, they asked Hans Hilfiker, an SBB employee, engineer and prolific inventor, to come up with a highly visible clock that would not only form the basis of their later corporate identity, but it would help to guarantee on time departures as well.
Hilfiker, an exponent of products that were both functional and well designed, created the Railways’ masterpiece in 1944. The design, with its clear and easily read face, mimics the smooth running of the trains and incorporates clever features that demonstrate punctuality in a highly visible fashion.
The SwissRailwayClock is also available as a Mac OS X dashboard widget.
(thank you kevin)
Kevin Blanc, a fellow swiss designer here in NYC, who will be renting my desk for the time I am on maternity leave starting next week, is the proud owner of this amazing MIH Watch. I had me gasp. It’s *such* a beauty.
It is the official watch of the Musée International d‘Horlogerie (MIH), the international museum of watchmaking, which is situated in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The watch is unlike any you may have encountered in museum shops. The MIH Watch personifies the mission of the museum, which is to convey to a broader public the importance of horology, and of mechanical watchmaking in particular. The MIH Watch is not being produced by a watch brand on behalf of the museum, nor does it already exist under some other name. It has been designed from the ground up and incorporates a mechanism that you will not find in any other watch. The MIH Watch has a mechanical movement and its casing is fashioned from high-grade titanium.
Absolutely stunning: MIH Watch.
jug THERMOS, designed by swiss Jörg Boner, made me look. Thermos is designed as a coffee container for the road, and therefore comes in dimensions that make it fit easily into your pocket. Two cups go with the 0.5 litre container. During transport these are secured in place with a elastic band. When used, the elastic band simply changes function, becoming a handle, while the thermos flask becomes a coffee jug.
Stunning wooden bowls by switzerland based Christoph Finkel. The bowls are made out of wood that Christoph finds locally. He obviously pushes the limits of what is possible to create a perfect shaped bowl from a bulky pice of wood. Beautiful.
(thank you angelica)
This customizable swiss stroller license plate idea made me chuckle. More info, only in german or french though, over at kinderwagenschild.ch. (Boy, that site needs help!)
(thank you annina)
One day, I will own a home with a big giant modern modular fireplace by swiss company Rutz. They’re a small company located in Rehetobel, 10minutes from where I grew up, on the swiss country side. Their simplicity and playfulness are stunning. Have you ever seen a swivveling fireplace? I am gasping for air looking at these.
Funaction is a cushion that you can fill with air that is supposed to make your seating more ergonomic and comfortable. It’s all about good posture while working. Designed by Funaction.
The fabric of “f.Cushion” used 100% PET bottles recycled fabrics. Each woven meter of this yarn uses seventeen recycled PET bottles(0.5l). It has water-repellent function. The Fabric is by Christian Fischbacher, a company 10 minutes away from where I grew up in Switzerland, in a town called St.Gallen. Wheee!
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Penned and compiled by Brockmann himself The Graphic Artist and His Design Problems, is a cross between his History of Visual Communication book and the monograph Pioneer of Swiss Graphic design. In this book, Brockmann organized his work and notable works of others into categories, and then writes short design theories (ie Uniformity in Advertising), based on the groupings. This book does double duty also as a classic Swiss visual look book with hundreds of images, layouts, logo examples, and more, all placed in Brockmann’s impeccable grid design. 200 pages, 1 chapter in color.
(via JosefMullerBrockmann)
Coolest Bookends Ever: Quote/Unquote Bookends by Eric Janssen, manufactured by MERLO-T, Switzerland.
(via bauldoff)
How incredibly cool is this Candle Light Raclette set that comes with a superhip truck-tarp pouch? Made me smile and want melted cheese at 7:16am.