This is not your usual wayfinding system. Hat tip to Tina Staeheli for designing this refreshing, minimal signage system for a (fancy) Swiss retirement home.
How To Work Better
I just stopped over at my friend BB’s blog and had to chuckle upon discovering the-above-oh-so-familiar photo. It’s the »How to Work Better« Mural is by Swiss artists Fischli & Weiss and covers an office building in Zurich-Oerlikon. You can prominently see it from the train when you get into Zurich station.
Wickelfisch
As swimming in rivers is big in Switzerland, the invention of the Wickelfisch makes total sense: The Wickelfisch is a waterproof bag that allows you to take your belongings with you, while you go for a swim. Why would you want to do that? Well, as the stream in a river makes you float away from where you started out it is oftentimes not possible to get back to your belonging all that quickly and easily.
Hat tip off to the designer. At this point you can only get it in selected stores in Switzerland, listed here (all in German). There’s a contact email over here.
(thank you Jaqueline)
Pluï
Now, here’s a charming new water toy for little ones. Immerse Pluï in water to fill up and then use it to create ‘rain’. The key is how you control the flow of water simply by sealing or opening the top nozzle with the tip of your finger. I can see our little Tilo loving this one. It’s called Pluï and was designed by Swiss Johanna Rickenback and Alex Hochstrasser.
(thank you Ueli)
Play with Trash
These playful floor stickers made me chuckle. It’s an initiative by the city of Lucerne (Switzerland) to get people to notice and use garbage cans. What a fun idea! Hat tip!
(via curious about)
The Printer’s Terms
The Printer’s Terms contains explanations of virtually all printer’s terms of the pre-digital “lead age of typography” in English, German and French. Designed by legendary Swiss Rudolf Hostettler.
KartonKlunker
KARTONKLUNKER is an assembly set of a cardboard chandelier. You read right, a cardboard chandelier. Thankfully there is no glue or any other tools necessary to assemble this beauty of a ceiling mounted lighting source.
KARTONKLUNKER is the first lamp by Rainer & Tobiad Kyburz, creating a playful contrast between the ordinary cardboard material and the luxurious object of a chandelier. It’s a Swiss product, through and through; designed, produced and boxed up in Basel, Switzerland.
I don’t know about you, but this chandelier made me smile. Two swissmiss thumbs up! Oh, and watch the assembly video below:
KARTONKLUNKER from Claudia Link on Vimeo.
Reversible
images by michaelsieber.com
Reversible is one of the latest inventions of Swiss Nicola Staubli. Reversible consists of steel tubes and fabric than can be assembled into four different seats. By flipping over the rear legs, the chair transforms into a lounge chair and vice versa. The reversible cover, tensed and wrapped around the steel frame, offers two color variations that fit both positions. Brilliant? I think so!
Leggero Vento
I noticed quite a few of these stunning looking kids caddies called Vento, when I was in Switzerland last summer. Aren’t they just beautiful to look at? Given the big grins of little ones sitting in them, it seems as if they’re comfy to ride on. What I find particularly awesome is that it has a dual purpose: attach it to the bike or push it like a stroller.
MStars
If you’ve traveled to Switzerland, you most likely know what the ubiquitous uppercase orange M stands for you see everywhere. It’s Migros, one of the biggest supermarket chains in Switzerland. (Well, at this point, it’s way more than a supermarket, they own banks, schools, amusement parks and so on.) Living abroad has amplified my fascination with products that remind me of my childhood. Whenever I go back, one of my first stops is indeed a trip to Migros. Knowing that, it’s clear that I get quite a kick out of Migros’ m-stars.ch site on which they sell all kinds of apparel and accessories with their store branding or products. Pictured above are the classic Milk packaging water bottle, the classic Midor strawberry ice cream packaging translated into a shopping bag, the M logo big and bold on a t-shirt and an M jumper.
I guess you have to be a Migros-Nostalgic like me to really appreciate this: m-stars.ch
swissmiss on Aeschbacher
Here’s some exciting news that most probably only my Swiss readers will get: I am going to be on Kurt Aeschbacher’s TV show, which is airing tomorrow, thursday march 31st at 10.20pm.
Here’s some info (in German) about all 4 guests on the show, including myself. (For those of you not familiar with Swiss TV, Kurt Aeschbacher is the Larry King of Switzerland.)
Exciting? Very!
Kuoni The Detourist
Swiss Travel Agency Kuoni released its 2010 Annual Report, appearing this time in the form of a daily newspaper. The Brand Report took on the function of a feuilleton, as an independent features section within the publication. It stems from the third Kuoni Getaway Council in Venice and offers a captivating compilation of texts on tourism. Renowned authors, essayists and scholars such as Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Orhan Pamuk, Thomas Steinfeld, Wolfgang Scheppe and Simonetta Carbonaro are represented with contributions.
(Thank you Manuel)
Soap Flakes
Swiss Nathalie Staempfli designed two ingenious soap dispensers that turn a soap bar into beautiful little soap flakes. One version attaches to the wall and allows you to use it with one hand. The other version is a grater that can stand by itself. It can be placed in the same way as a shower gel or shampoo.
Soap bars are more concentrated than liquid soap which has an ecological benefit: You don’t transport water around the globe and they only use paper for packaging. The solid blocks can easily be piled and allow a greater space efficiency during transportation.
This invention already made my week: Soap Flakes.
(Thank you Jason)
relativity
The first official exhibition of the london based gallery ‹between› featured 10 young designers and design studios around the world. They were all invited to think and respond to the meaning of the word ‹between›.
Swiss designer Marcus Kraft contributed a triptych which was an attempt to translate Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity into a piece of concept art: Sometimes, one second can change your whole life. On the other hand, a whole year can feel very boring, unimportant and dull. What if one year is as long as one day or even one second? — Maybe there’s no difference at all.
2011 diary
If you’re into paper timers, you should consider this playful 2011 diary by Swiss Julie Joliat with more than 50 connect-the-dots puzzles. But that’s not all, it also contains a lot of useful information, like maps, popular holidays, wine chart, monthly and weekly plannings. (It’s currently sold out but more should arrive early January!)
ruckXbob
RuckXbob is a combination of backpack and bobsled. The below video is a bit long/slow, but at 3:13 you can see the ruckXbob in action. What I find impressive is that it seems to work perfectly fine in powder. Looks like so much fun! Wheeeee!
It’s a new Swiss product and their site is currently in German only. But I am sure, if you email them, they’ll respond.
Wogg 49 built-in cupboard
I am a WOGG fan as it is. This Built-In Cupboard just pushed me over the edge. Yes, please!