Category Archives: Consumer Product

I’m Speechlessly Amazed – FLARToolKit Augmented Reality

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I’m really not sure that there’s words that describe my first reaction to this Augmented Reality other than “ahh-buhhhh?”

I’ll be damned if i didn’t call everyone in the office within yelling range over to my cubicle to watch the fascination, and with reactions pretty much the same all the way across the board, it seems as if this technology is going to be turning all KINDS of heads in the near future!!

To see for yourself make sure you have a webcam and a printer. Ohh, and a preparedness to be AMAZED! Go to GE’s website and follow their instructions. If you don’t have a webcam or printer, click through to watch the video i’ve posted.

After doing some digging i found out the technology is called FLARToolKit. (More info here)

Thanks Creative Bits for the info!

Video of this phenomenal technology after the jump.
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Thank you economy! and Time Warner! 1¢ Movies!

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Any of you Southern California residents out there that may have taken a nice roundhouse kick to the left temple may appreciate this little slab of cold steak to nurse that wound! Time Warner Cable is offering 1¢ Movies on demand from a pretty decent selection of 30 movies through their On Demand service. Being a So Cal resident myself… and being a poor artist… i salute you Time Warner. We may have had our feuds in the past, like that one time when you locked up on my and fast forwarded my DVR all the way to the end of my show while i got a nice 2x speed, soundless viewing of Top Chef (and again during 24), but this totally wipes the slate clean. Thanks!

The service seems to be only on Valentine’s Day, but what else are you doing in So Cal? I mean, you could go to Morton’s Steakhouse any old night, right? Pfshhh.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “But, Luke, why are you promoting Time Warner Cable? That doesn’t have anything to do with design!” to which i would reply “You’re right, especially judging by that landing page, yuck! but, this is pure MARKETING genius.” Here’s a company that realizes that most of it’s viewers will be out of the house, or not watching television, so they give them a great incentive to keep the viewership high in the times when they predict it being low. All my speculation of course, but that’s why I’m featuring this, my dirty little secret is that i am in love with marketing.

Click here for details from the mouth of the horse itself.

Thank you @ADramaticMommy via Twitter for the tip!

EverSave may Ever Save my …

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Finally. someone has heard the plea of designers and programers across the world!! Everyone who works long hours slaving over a computer screen knows the “zone” in which saving becomes less and less important because you feel as if it will break your zen. I doubt it’s just me who feels this way. I’ve gone from concept to completion on a few project all the while forgetting that happy little command+S… and don’t get me wrong, it sure has bitten me in the ass on more than one occasion.

Scenario: Working on a magazine layout for Churm Media, still being stuck in Quark without the wonderful auto-recover features of InDesign, while being in the “zone” and working for 30 minutes plus to finally come up against the beach ball… the ohh-so-hated beach ball. So, i wait… hope… wait some more, only to have the next screen fade from my yes and the “send error report” window taunt me like a little demon who knows the failure of my non-saving ways. Flash forward to THIS little helper, EverSave.

EverSave… is a free application for the Mac which saves your documents on regular intervals based on your preferences. You can save on all applications or just a select few and most importantly it seems to work with any application!

Thank you SwissMiss [via The Next Web [via lifehacker [via Cool OSX Apps]]] for this AMAZING product… and it’s FREE!

Quiksilver hosts All 80s All Day Vert Challenge

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Quiksilver ALL 80s ALL DAY VERT CHALLENGE Secret Location

Quiksilver, a Huntington Beach-based lifestyle and apparel brand, held a flashback to the 80s contest on Saturday, Dec. 6, in conjunction with Tony Hawk and his newest business venture, shredordie.com, a Web site where everyone from top athletes to everyday users can post their favorite sports clips.

Launched in October 2007, the site had very little press coverage – until now, that is. The All 80s All Day Vert Challenge, held at Quiksilver’s headquarters, featured 21 well-known skaters of the 80s, such as Huntington Beach native Christian Hosoi, Steve Caballero and Bucky Lasek. These skateboarders – now successful business people – were decked out from head to toe in 80s garb.

Hawk flashed back to his roots with his blue shirt – worn in the 1987 skate film “The Search for Animal Chin” — highlighted hair and, of course, his bright pink skate deck, which he got out of storage specifically for the daylong challenge. Hosoi outfitted himself in spandex pants and a cutoff T-shirt, finishing off the ensemble with a wig. Pink highlights, ripped denim and high tops were some of the other flashy fashions worn during the event.

But the skaters weren’t the only ones who dressed up. More than 800 people attended – and they were required to don clothing popular during that time period. Side ponytails, bright pink high heels and hoop earrings were in abundance – and that’s just the girls! Guys wore torn T-shirts, big hair, suspenders – the works.

Amidst all the 80s mayhem, a skate competition ensued. The 80s-style vert ramp and skate decks proved to be a challenge for the skaters, but they were determined to skate to the best of their abilities.

“We gotta ride the real deal here,” says Hawk. And they certainly did. With 80s punk bands like The Ramones and The Clash playing in the background, the skaters competed in three challenges: Vert Challenge, Big Air Session and Jam Session.

Cash prizes were awarded to the first through 11th place winners, and Hawk took home the first place prize of $1,980, which he distributed amongst the skaters who didn’t place. Other awards include the Overall 80s, which went to Hosoi, and the Big Air, which went to Bucky Lasek.

The only video allowed at the event was from shredordie.com, which will release it, relying on the viral lure of Internet video to get the word out about the site’s features to action-sports buffs.

Quiksilver also debuted some of its Spring 2009 collection – with an 80s theme, of course. The brightly colored, printed and patterned vintage fashions were on display in the company’s expansive headquarters. The vintage outfits will be available in January.

Preview Video and photos after the jump.

All photogrpahy is copyright Luke Hodsdon @ ninethreestudio

Written by Kristen Schott @ ninethreestudio

Please contact Luke Hodsdon or Kristen Schott @ ninethreestudio if you would like to use any of this material. Thank you.

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Have you ever felt…

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persistence and dedication slip through the tips of your fingers? That’s how my day went at about 2:13pm today. There i was, refreshing my way to a final victory of internet deal surfing. Click after click, unwanted product after monotonous unwanted product… Until the saving grace of the woot-off blessed my fingertips with it’s unattainably pixelated “bag of crap”. Hurried, I clicked on the I WANT ONE button only to find that while the midst of my workday has taken me to a tabbed browser 10 seconds too late… SERVER BUSY is all i got. The months of daily woot checking and mid day hoping for a woot-off has again left me questing for the day that i get my bag of crap….

You’ve won this time internets… this time…

Portfolio: HALFrican-american

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In the spirit of the presidential election, inspiration hit me. Up until the election was over no one really heard about the “race issue”, but once Barack was crowned king (figuratively speaking, of course) of our great nation it seems like that was the ONLY thing everyone had to talk about. I understand it’s a great time for our nation’s history and whatnot, but the negative connotation places on the issue of race is just sickening… So, long story short, this little bit-o-inspiration hit me.

Please don’t flame me or send me hate mail. This is NOT a racist message, it’s an observational render.

If you’re a supporter of the arts, like Obama, hate Obama, are half African-American or just feel like scoring some sweet swag… then check out My HALFricanUSA Cafe Press store. All the proceeds will go to keeping my refrigerator fully stocked with Mauntain Dew and Dr. Pepper. Thanks!

Best idea ever: The HOW TIE™

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HOW TIE™
instructions included

Job Interview? Briss? Court Appearance? Yes, a necktie is definitely called for, and not a clip-on! No problem…relax, take a deep breath, remember your days in the boy scouts, and study the oh-so-easy knot-tying instructions printed right on Fred’s handy How Tie.

Thanks Design You Trust for the link. (How Fresh and Creative Ideas Rules the World)
Follow through to see other ideas too, this one was just my favorite.

Guest post to win a free Apple MacBook Air?!!

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Right now Smashing Magazine is holding a contest to it’s readers with a grand prize of a free Apple MacBook Air. All you have to do it write intriguing, original guest posts for them. The requirements are fairly short, 400-1200 characters.
Apple MacBook Air

Please follow the jump to see the entry from Smashing Magazine.
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Cheap and great Tatebanko paper diorama kits

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Tatenbanko - HokusaiTatenbanko - HiroshigeFor only $9.95 each, these dioramas take me back to 3rd grade. Granted, mine usually consisted of old G.I.Joes whos mid-section rubber band had broken and then found their way under my brothers wood burning kit… a little read paint, some dirt (which we were NEVER short of in The Antelope Valley), twigs, grass and a bit of hot glue gun. BHAM! instant battlefield! Needless to say, i was a sheltered, bored little child. there’s nothing to do in the desert when it’s 117º outside and the wind is blowing dust devils into your mouth! Ohh how that brings me back to the middle school playground where half of our lunch would be chewing through the rocks that just blew into our faces… mother earth’s all natural pop-rocks; now with no trans fat! I’ll have seconds!

It was either this or stealing my mom’s cookie tins and pitting the black and red ant tribes against each other in a battle of epic proportions. ohh, how they did hate one antoher. And i’m convinced the black ants were either the gatherers or just plain wussies, because the red ants won every time. Even when we stacked the odds with a 1:4 ratio the red team was triumphant. Now, don’t flame me for ant cruelty, this was years ago, i was a little kid. Thanks again boredom!

Incredibly affordable, these diorama kits will most likely give enjoyment long after assembly.

‘Tatebanko is the forgotten Japanese art of creating amazing dioramas and scenic perspectives from paper. Tatebanko was popular and widely admired from the 17th century (Edo period) to the early 20th century. Then it all but disappeared. “It’s a Beautiful Day” has now revived and reinterpreted this simple and elegant Japanese art with two new paper craft kits. The kits feature the works from two famed Edo artists – Hiroshige’s Kambara, Evening Snow and Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Beautifully designed and printed in Japan with elegant metallic accents, the kits are nicely packaged A4 size and make a diorama that is 7 1/2” W x 3 1/2” D x 4 7/8” H. Each kit has a playful secret and interesting details that make assembly fun. With these kits, Tatebanko will undoubtedly enjoy a well-deserved renaissance.’

Hokusai (left): $9.95, Buy it here.
Hiroshige: $9.95, Buy it here.

Thanks Why Me? via Better Living Through Design.

Creative advertising: concept to execution

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Creative Advertising - Use only what you needEvery designer has heard the tired old expression “form follows function”. Well, the following designers took that and tossed it out the window. This is more Function follows form. Every one of these was designed with surroundings in mind, materials accounted for and logistics calculated. The agencies that produced these must have made a buck or two in their days of glory.

To read more about these advertisements check out Big Head Design and Toxel. Thanks again for another great post Jusin at BHD.

3 more images after the jump. Continue reading →

Shortrcut Keyboards for your Mac

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Finally! Someone has taken the sleek, intuitive design of the apple keyboards and made them even better. For anyone learning, who already knows, or wants that constant reminder that SHORTCUTS ARE THE WAY TO BE EFFICIENT (cough cough, sorry, I’m a little adamant about efficiency), here’s your solution. They come in a couple different formats, and just skin right over your current keyboard.

Available for Photoshop, Aperture, Final Cut Pro/Express, Pro Tools, After Effects & Logic Pro and on the hardware for MacBook Pro, Macbook (Black and White), Macbook Air, Apple Thin Keyboard, Apple Thin Wireless Keyboard & Apple Classic Keyboard.

Luke’s to do list: 1. Convince boss to splurge the $40 dollars…. 3. Take over the world.

Thanks SwissMiss for the link! Thanks PhotoJoJo for the product!!