Fantastic art with Global Standard's "Faber Castell", drawn in one single, circling stroke.

An advertisement for a pen from Global Standard, the artists starts drawing circles with out taking his pen off the paper. And the next time you notice, a famous piece of art appears.

By Chan Hwee Chong from singapore. 

It is truly amazing. Check out the short movie below. 

Faber Castell from eric yeo on Vimeo.

＜Chan Hwee Chong ＞http://www.behance.net/Hweechong

http://thisiscolossal.com/2011/10/incredible-spiral-illustrations-by-chan-hwee-chong-for-faber-castell/

There are some crazy people, people who see the world differently, and they are the ones who make a difference. Apple's " Think different" commercials in 1997.

I would like to introduce to you Apple's commercial campaign since 1997, "Think different". A video showing some famous people such as Einstein, Edison and Gandhi.  Although its simple, it still makes me thrill.

"There are some crazy people…people who see the world differently…and they are the ones who make a difference. They are the ones who invent, who has imagination, who searches, who creates, who stimulate others, who can move on."
This is from Apple's commercial. It may seem crazy, but the crazy people change our common sense.

Harvard professors say Steve Jobs was similar to people such as Josiah Wedgwood, John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, how he was a aggressive top-salesman, full of curiosity, and fabulous imagination.

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being

Apple has announced Steve Jobs obituary on their homepage.

The top-page has Steve Jobs portrait, and the numbers "1955-2011" next to it. When you click on the photo, the following statement appears.

"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being

Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

Some words according to Steve Jobs death. At one point Steve Jobs was thinking of becoming a monk at a Zen temple in Japan, which makes these words even more strong. It is a message for us who still have a life to live.

The twitter account of American TV show "What's Trending" (@WhatsTrending) tweeted Apple CEO Steve Jobs death at first, and restricted it immediately with apology. But unfortunately, the breaking news was true.

Below are Jobs words:

 When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important thing I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life, because almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure--these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

1984, a year before Jobs was kicked out of Apple, he pulled out the Machintosh from his bag and the FD out his pocket. (Video)

Here is a video of the press conference unveiling the Macintosh in 1984, young Jobs was 29. This was one year before Jobs was kicked out of Apple. He takes out a floppy-disk out his pocket and inserts it in the mac, and there was clapping and cheering when the black and white letters "Macintosh" was shown.

Let me explain the background of this scene where he takes out the Macintosh out the bag, and the FD out his pocket. Jobs didn't like the eject button on the floppy-drive, so he introduced auto eject. He claimed it has to be the size of a phone book, and proposed it to be 30cm squared. No doubt the staff had difficulty making it small enough for Jobs to  be able to take it out his bag, but made it in time for January 1984. Unfortunately Jobs mis-predicted the demands, and made it go in the reds for the first time ever in Apple's history. This led Steve Jobs to leave Apple in 1985.

At first sight, it may seem like a black and white sketch, but it's actually made out of nails. A very delicate piece of art.

Starting from one end of the campus, Marcus Levine hammers the nails, free-hand. Once you nail it, there's no adjustments.

It's interesting how the pictures expression changes by the light.

＜Marcus Levine＞http://www.levine-art.co.uk/

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/13982/marcus-levine-hammer-nail-works.html

Futurist Alvin Toffler predicts 40 changes within the coming 40 years.

Everyone wants to know what it'll be like in the future. Alvin Toffler as known as "Futurist" or "Big thinker" answers to such questions. The research he made is called "40 FOR THE NEXT 40". In the research It says the era will shift from Post-modern to Ultra-modern. The subject for Google was 'data', whereas the subject for Facebook has been 'People'. Facebook has the potential to be the infrastructure, just like our gas and electricity. Companies will increase their values by making themselves "connectors", and they'll continue to be companies like 'Apple'. In other words, instead of creating products, companies will host the markets, and earn money by connecting producers with consumers.


The movie below called 'Big Thinkers - Alvin Toffler [Futurist] (1 of 3)' is different to "40 FOR THE NEXT 40" above, but shows us how future was thought of in the nostalgic past.

You can read "40 FOR THE NEXT 40" from the link below:

http://www.google.co.jp/search?q=40+FOR+THE+NEXT+40&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:ja-JP-mac:official&hl=ja&client=firefox-a

Photographer Nick Night creates extremely beautiful pictures and videos. What has he been inspired by?

Photographer Nick Night is explaining how the displays of the Natural History Museum has inspired him in his works.

SHOWstudio.com: Nick Knight shoots Lady Gaga for Vanity Fair

His photos and films are extremely beautiful. Recently I am truly interested in what the creators were inspired by. 

Nick Knight discusses how he has been inspired by the collections of the Natural History Museum & V&A.

Lady Gaga above was also made by Nick Night.

The time in the movie proceeds with the current time. By watching this different world through the screen, it makes us be aware of our real world.

"The Clock" by Christian Marclay is currently exhibited at the Venice Biennale. This work is made by joining parts of  clocks and watches from different films. And they correspond with the real time, making it a  24 hour video.

This film was made after two years of work by Christian Marclay. The real-time and the times in the movie proceeds together. By watching a different world through the screen, it makes us be aware of our real world.

Movies from all over the world, including Hollywood films and independent-Asian films can be seen in this piece of work. It awakes personal memories, making different times overlap; the past time, current time and the time seen in the movie.

In some scenes, the same actor can be seen more than once, but filmed in different years. You can't watch this without considering "Time".

This work will be exhibited at the Yokohama Triennale.

http://www.art-it.asia/u/admin_ed_feature_e/yvKBQHCwb9cmLxYnEO2l/?lang=en

A complete over view of NS_CONCEPT exhibition. I hope it'll make you feel that you came to the exhibition.

"NS_CONCEPT Exhibition " finished with great success. Thank you for all of you who participated. 
As a expression of gratitude , I would like to share a video of what it was like, especially for those who did not make it to the exhibition.

This exhibition brought together many creative artists, focusing on concepter Naoki Sakai.

The design concept was, "The Permeation of Time".

A lot of the creators have been stimulated and inspired by my works.

Why do people who like watches, like cars?Is it that they believe in the beauty of the machinery?

Concepter and director of Water Design, Naoki Sakai is just about to launch a new brand, "NS_CONCEPT".
The first memorable product will be a collaboration with SEIKO, "NS_WATCH".
It has already appeared in a number of magazines, including web magazines "Response".
Link below.

http://response.jp/article/2011/07/11/159298.html

This is amazing. They creatively show a tennis game using a flip book, with minimal information.

While it seems so simple, this video is calculated so precisely. Every move is strictly timed. It reminds me of Masahiko Sato's works.

A very unique way to show a tennis game, how they express the game without any players actually playing tennis.

WIM•BLE•DON from BRYANKU on Vimeo.

They are simulating the match while watching the actual game.  It is visualizing the final set of the Wimbledon Championships Men's Final between Rafa Nadal and

Roger Federer. The movie was created by graphic designer, Bryan ku.

＜Bryan Ku＞http://cargocollective.com

http://www.triangulationblog.com/2011/06/wimbledon-by-bryan-ku.html

NS exhibition is only an event to announce one single wrist watch, but also a place for many creators inspired by the idea to gather, simultaneously.

Here is the watch Nao Tamura and I are going to produce. It would be a pleasure if readers of this blog could come to the exhibition. Below is a comment from creator and my friend, Shunji Yamanaka.

To Measure. In days gone by these were practical skills that everyone needed to have. To measure distance in strides. To measure time by the sun's position. To measure corn by the bushel. We eventually began to seek more "precision" measurement and started to use instruments all around us in everyday life. Weight scales, weather gauges, orientation gyroscopes, clocks and watches are just some examples. Through the ages we have tended to be fascinated by these charming high precision instruments.

But these devices have started to disappear. Nowadays we can quickly check the temperature from the internet, the time from multiple displays and the sizes and weights of products are printed on or in catalogues. We have less opportunity to see the primary measuring device or the raw information. We live in a world where we don't even need to know who measures or how these categories are measured.

In such an era like this, here is a wrist watch to impress on the owner the importance of "Measurement", once again. It’s complexity, but at the same time it’s simple style combines to not only display the time, but precisely measure it too.

NS Exhibition is not only an event to announce the launch of a single wrist watch, but also a place for many creators inspired by the idea to gather, simultaneously. Please attend to enjoy the show, talk to other creators and meet with Naoki Sakai as well. The event will take place on July 21st and 25th.

Shunji Yamanaka

About the NS exhibition:
Day: July 21st - 25th
Time: 11:00~20:00
Place: EYE OF GYRE / GYRE 3F 5-10-1 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo
Tel: 03-3498-6990

The global average age of 2010 is 29.1 years old, that is 26 years lower than the average of Japan; 45.1 years old.

On my way to Kansai on the Shinkansen, I happened to come across a magazine called WEDGE edited by Satoru Maeda, and read an article named "courses of electronics". If I were to summarize the article, it was about the average age of Japan (45.1) much higher compared to the global average (29.1). In the 80's, the average age of Japan was 32.5 years old.

The average age of Japan has risen, in the 90's - 37.7 years old, and 00's 41.5 years old. Since then, Japanese companies stopped producing new things, and started to follow things/products from the United States.

Looking at the average age of America, it did enter in its 30s in the 1980, but has kept it there.  It is predicted that it won't plunge in its 40s until 2040. Windows, Apple, YouTube, Skype, Twitter ,Facebook, the producive markets all started from the States.

How about Korea? THey entered in there 30s in the 00'S, but still there even today (average age 37.9 in '10). And of course China is right behind. Would it be the States that will win the race?

8 bit games have been loved all over the world for a long time. What makes them so attractive ?

A projection of a 8 bit family-computer game on a building. How many of the games and characters do you know in the short movie below?

8 bit Invader (maping) from Darkfejzr on Vimeo.

Projection mapping with tribute to the old memorable 8bit games. Famous games and characters such as Mario, Pac-man, Space invader,and Bomberman are featured in the movie. The characters look interesting, even today. The collaboration of 8 bit games and projection mapping is quite unique. Thanks to Dark's Playground (graphic designer) who made this awesome work.

http://www.darkplayground.ic.cz/

http://www.fubiz.net/2011/06/27/8-bit-invader/

A robot made product named "Endless Chair" is thought out precisely, until the point where it gets destroyed and recycled.

Made by German designer, Dirk Vander Kooji. Everything that exists in the world is fraught with the potential that it will eventually get discarded and become trash.

DMY Award winner 2011: Dirk van der Kooij - Endless from robertanderson on Vimeo.

This product can be easily decomposed, and reused again, just like the cycle of reincarnation. The chairs and desks are made in approximately 3 hours, by melting plastic and making several layers out of it. This project was originally Dirk's thesis project.

Dirk Vander kooij＞http://dirkvanderkooij.nl/

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/15216/dirk-vander-kooij-endless-at-dmy-berlin-2011.html

A Great Campaign made by Volkswagen in Stockholm. A lottery with a reward to car drivers who legally follow the speed limit when taken by the speed camera, raised through fined cars. Through this campaign, the average speed was reduced by 22 %.

The object of this campaign was to stop speeding violation.
Great idea, I wonder what kind of campaign it would be in Japan?

They try to make us follow regulation by using speed cameras in Japan too, but the idea of it is exactly the opposite.

It may be difficult trying to conquer problems with positive aspects like this one in Japan.

They managed to slow down the average speed by 22% through this campaign.

http://creativecriminals.com/ambient/volkswagen-speed-camera-lottery/