Healthy, home-cooked meals-to-go concept product wins first prize in Electrolux Design Lab competition.

Obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century. Could newly designed household appliances contribute to a healthier life style in the future? This was the challenge Electrolux put to young design students in the fourth edition of the Electrolux Design Lab. Metin Kaplan, a young student from Turkey, designed what the jury thought was the most innovative product - a product to take healthy meals on the go.

The winner of Electrolux Design Lab 2006 was announced today at the Design Lab final competition in Barcelona, Spain.

Metin Kaplan capitalized on the idea that people would take healthy meals with them if they could find a way to keep warm food warm and cold food cold. He created a mobile food carrier that keeps food at the desired temperature until it’s time to be eaten. This, figured Kaplan, would promote healthy eating and reduce the need for fast-food restaurants. Read the rest of this entry »

Mayor Thomas M. Menino recently released Boston’s proposed green building zoning article at a public meeting convened by the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Mayor’s Office of Environmental and Energy Services. Boston will become the first major city in the U.S. to require adherence to the US Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified standard as part of the private development review process.

“High performance buildings are the future,” Mayor Menino said. “As we continue to grow our city, we will do so in a way that is even more sustainable. Green buildings are good for the environment, public health, and the bottom line.” Read the rest of this entry »

Have a little time on your hands? Meet this challenge: Design new graphics for the classic C.O. Bigelow Apothecary Jar to be sold as a limited-edition item. Final winner will receive $2500 from the Gen Art Foundation.

C.O. Bigelow and Gen Art are hosting a national design competition dubbed the “C.O. Bigelow Apothecary Jar Design Program” that offers visual artists and designers a unique opportunity to design original graphics for its classic C.O. Bigelow Apothecary Jar. Inspiration for artwork should be the brand credo: Honest. Genuine. Trustworthy. The limited edition Apothecary Jar will be sold at participating Bath and Body Works stores. C.O. Bigelow also reserves the right to feature and sell this product online. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a little new year design pastime: Use the cork, foil, cage and label from no more than two (2) Champagne bottles (use of glass not permitted) to design a Champagne Chair for the Annual DWR (Design Within Reach) Champagne Chair Competition. Don’t laugh - the prizes aren’t shabby: One Grand Prize winner will receive a $1,500 DWR merchandise certificate and be featured on DWR’s homepage.

Strict rules: You are not permitted to use any additional materials—including tape and/or paint. The chair must measure no more than 4″ x 4″ x 4″ in height and be shipped in a box measuring no larger than 12″ x 12″ x 12″. Submissions must arrive at the DWR office no later than Monday, 15 January 2007 at 5pm, PT, so hurry! Oh - and you must name your chair. Visit the site for details.

In keeping with the theme about our recent trip to New Orleans, The New Orleans Photo Alliance is pleased to announce a call for entries for a mardi gras themed juried show. But, you’re not restricted to New Orleans Mardi Gras, oh no - you can submit photos for Cajun Mardi Gras, or even carnival celebrations elsewhere. It’s all permissable under the theme of Rituals and Revelry.

Submissions are open to all photographers, from amateur to professional, working in any photographic printing process or media. Submitted images may depict any aspect of carnival, from Twelfth Night to Ash Wednesday, maskers to marching bands, debutantes to doubloons. The exhibition will be on display at the New Orleans Photo Alliance gallery at 1111 St. Mary St. from 1 February to 15 March, 2007. An opening reception will be held on Friday, 2 February 2007, from 6-9pm.

Deadline for submissions is Tuesday, 9 January 2007. See PhotoNola.org for details, including prospectus.

We just returned from New Orleans, where the food was great and the people were awesome. But, hey - that town is just about empty. You all need to get down there and spend some bucks to help keep the French Quarter alive if nothing else…Most of the restaurants are open, and the streets are dry, even when it rains!

Read more about our extravagances at CoffeeBeanShop. You can start there and work backwards, or start with our first night at K-Paul’s on Friday and work forward. Either way, you might see one or two photos that will bring back memories if you’ve ever visited this city.

I’ll be back soon with some updates on contests, news, and etceterarara on design issues. Falalala.

PS: Need to recycle your Christmas Tree? Go to Earth 911 to find a tree recycling place near you.

The press releases and emails are slowing down for the holidays…I’ll post a few notes next week before I leave town if anything of value shows up. Otherwise, I’m headed to New Orleans to re-visit the French Quarter for the holidays. Only this time I’m going to sleep in a hotel rather than an MG (yes, that’s a car). Plus, I’ll be eating at restaurants rather than chugging beer and begging for free oysters on Decatur Street. Oh, that was a long time ago…

How do you like Curly’s costume? He picked it out all by himself at Pup and Stuff. Seriously. He’s paying for it, too.

Webstock and WIPA (Web Industry Professionals Association) are more than pleased - in fact hugely excited - to announce “World Wide Web-a-thon,” the start of an international series of web competitions.

Yes, geek Olympics is happening!

The concept is simple. A team of the representatives from two countries take each other on, at the same location, to build a complete website in 24 hours. No excuses, no extensions and no overrun budgets. Read the rest of this entry »

At left: “Don’t Bug Me!� beaded bag by Pat Mayer, from Beadwork Creates Beaded Bags: 30 Designs (Interweave Press).

To celebrate Beadwork Magazine’s love affair with bags, Beadwork announces their fifth international juried exhibition: The Beaded Bag! For some, a stylish handbag is the epitome of bags. Others may conjure bags as diverse as an amulet bag, a shopping bag, or a doctor’s bag. From glamour to utility, bags tell many stories! Beadwork looks forward to seeing where your skill and imagination will take you! The winning new designs will be featured in a gallery in Beadwork magazine and the bags will be exhibited at Bead Expo in 2007.

Preliminary Deadline: 12 January 2007. Visit the site for details.

Cotton Bay Estates & Villas, operated by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and the first The Luxury Collection branded property in the Bahamas, will host a young architects’ design competition.

Licensed and registered architects under 40 may submit a 3,000-sq. ft. to 5,000-sq. ft. one-story or split-level private resort home design on an estate lot at Cotton Bay, in Eleuthera, Bahamas. Qualified architects can register at the site. Deadline: 1 March 2007.