echt.

all things bike. coffee. and design.

[fletcherkoch]

bend.

A recent project and exploration into domesticated sculpture within the confines of bent steel and wood.

I chose plywood for its availability and cost as well as its ability to bend well and in a predictable way.

My goal was to create an object that was mass producible, eye fetching and unique in the way it interacted with objects and people.

View this project on my Issuu profile here.

[fletcherkoch]

oneELEVEN

A flat pack lighting solution I produced in November of last year. See more on my Issuu project page.

Constructed entirely of fluted cardboard, with no glue and over 40 individual parts.

Designed to elegantly accentuate the gold tipped bulb (sold separately).

Shapes cast above and below contrast in both shape an hue for a mellow and moody atmosphere.

The packaging was meant to mimic the playfulness of a puzzle box.

Each light is laser cut from a single sheet of cardboard to minimize waste.

The box doubles as a unique shelving solution.

Tabs and scoring direct users to a more permeant solution.

The light can be hung or mounted as a wall sconce.

[fletcherkoch]

boogie.

Track bikes hold a special place in my heart for their simplicity in design, unique nature, and connection with the simple act of riding a bicycle. They are so easy to build and maintain, and with a resource as vast as the world-wide-web, the online database of beautiful bike photos floating around is astounding.

But every once in a while I come across a bike that really captures my heart. This Cannondale Track is certainly one of those cases. I’ve followed the many iterations of this bike on the Radavist, but the owner seems to have finally settled on a beautifully functional city configuration that pronounces the rarity of  this red Cannondale classic. Feast you eyes over on the Radavist for more pics.

[fletcherkoch]

rdio.

This past Monday marks the death of a great thing, Rdio’s on-demand streaming service. Rdio, who has been acquired by Pandora, started their shutdown process early Monday. When I got their email saying they have ceased billing me and my playlists and collection would be taken down over the next month, I was broken hearted. The service held a special place in my heart, and was possibly the only thing holding me back from switching to the more popular Spotify (I have since made the switch). Rdio, while certainly targeted for a niche, did a number of things exceptionally well, and in my opinion had much more to offer than the larger Spotify.

One thing Rdio offered that is a dying trend is the ability to listen to full albums. Now you can argue that paying customers can do this on Spotify, but Rdio stressed the experience whether you paid or not. For the same reason I enjoy putting a record on, I liked how much of that physical experience Rdio crammed into their service. Users could read reviews, bios, and see progression in an artist’s music, as well as listening to an album in the original way the artist intended, from start to finish.

In my experience, thus far with Spotify, I feel like I am trapped in a dimly lit room surrounded with little green lights emanating from a wall of recording and mixing equipment. I see sliders and feedback lights that make the experience feel so mechanical. Contrast this with the cool blues and clean whites that so many have adopted. Facebook, Outlook, Word, Twitter, Apple Mail and so many others have embraced this relaxed design approach. It feels like sitting in a classic red Egg Chair in an otherwise white room filled with natural light: calm, comfortable, and enjoyable. Rdio certainly captured this aspect of listening to an album wholly.

Design aside, there are a number of logistical and user experience ideas that are “ripe for stealing” as Verge writer Casey Newton touches on in his article “Five things Spotify should steal from Rdio” and I couldn’t agree more. I encourage you to go take a read. But for now, I will mourn a service that was dedicated to the beauty and primacy of the album, cared about the user experience, and reminded me of days when music was more than just an auditory event.

[fletcherkoch]

kettle.

This kettle designed by Estelle Sauvage uses an incandescent bulb to heat water. It’s a great use of all that thermal energy wasted and the relationship between the heat and light produced by the bulb is unique.

More images and story on dezeen.com.

[fletcherkoch]

dramprom.

Designer Roger Arquer created a lamp that plays with heat, light, and condensation. I imagine the effect of pooling drops running down the sides is massively fun to observe. I want one.

Images and more info on dezeen.com.

[fletcherkoch]

induction.

Magnets. They’re the future.

Wasting energy by overfilling kettles and boiling more water than you need is a commonly overlooked daily energy crisis. Miito, a new German “kettle” that aims to solve this problem, uses magnetic induction to heat only the water you need. Using your own vessel, users can heat any liquid by placing the vessel on the base and putting the inducting rod in the vessel.

With more and more innovative uses for the basic concept of magnetic induction, from wireless charging to propulsion, magnents are finding more and more uses aside from on the fridge and in your electronics. The basic principle of electromagnetic cooktops is applied in the Miito, but on a more energy conscious scale.

Check out the Miito site and Kickstarter!

[fletcherkoch]

current.

Current Table by Marjan van Aubel

Just add wireless charging and you have the table of the future!

[fletcherkoch]

365.

That’s the number of spoons pictured above, and that’s the number of spoons that Stian Korntved Ruud carved every day for a year. Carving or fabricating one spoon a day, I followed his progress on his Instagram. He wanted to explore the unique qualities of wood and challenge himself to explore the potential of the everyday eating utensil. I’ve picked 10 of my favorites to showcase here. Go check out all 365 here!

#14

#109

#123

#146

#199

#257

#291

#329

#345

#359

[larsericksondesign]

“This is incredible. Wooden Shade.”

[fletcherkoch]

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This might be one of the best things, ever. Be sure to watch it until the very end!www.artfido.com/popular-art

Posted by artFido - fetching art on Monday, December 15, 2014

[fletcherkoch]

R1.

This is UralVagonZavod’s Russia One: a tram unveiled last year at UVZ Corporation’s “Innoprom-2014″. The design has been dubbed the BatTram as its resemblance to the Batmoblie is apparent. Designed and built to replace Russia’s aging tram system, the system boasts technical improvements on the outside as well as the interior.

Boasting dynamic LED lighting, music to suit the time of day, GPS and GLONASS), air conditioning, anti-bacterial hand rails and WiFi, the futuristic look isn't just for show. There is even a USB 3.0 port for the driver to top off his phone. Holding potentially 190-270 passengers, the interior is modular and can be arranged to accommodate varying passenger loads.

The exterior panels are made from compositional materials that produce the clean modern look. With an omnidirectional design, and no need for aerodynamic design, the tram boasts an angled windshield. The angle produces a 30% increase in visibility on all sides for the driver.

Made of almost entirely Russian parts, the tram is a symbol of national pride. UVZ says that initially with rollouts in Russia, they hope to implement this model in other major cities across the globe as well. Mass production will potentially begin this year.

[fletcherkoch]

It’s helping people to do the things that they want to do, making it relevant to their lives. Allowing people to become more productive. That’s the Human philosophy.

Peter Griffith, Head of Phones Design at MIcrosoft on technology and modern phone design

Read the full interview here.

[fletcherkoch]

material.

This is the c2cup: a renewable coffee mug made out of the material it holds. Using resins and byproducts of coffee roasting, chaff is combined with the bio-based resins to create a biocomposite that is heat resistant and moldable. With roughly 2,000 pounds of chaff produced by commercial roasters each week, this would be a renewable way to keep petroleum based products out of landfills. The product and its mission raise good points about the materials we use in the things we design.

The biodegradable composites can be injection molded and even 3D printed. Yet, despite the intriguing product, the creators’ Kickstarter campaign failed to raise the funds to move toward production for consumers. Yet the producers say that raising awareness about the material is more important than the actual cup itself. The small, North Dakota based company, is also talking with Keurig Green Mountain to potentially produce a 100% biodegradable K-Kup for their Keurig Coffee brewing systems.

[larsericksondesign]

Milton Glaser | Short Films

[fletcherkoch]

"The world is a very astonishing place" Milton Glaser | Short Films | Milton Glaser has some incredible words about how design works and how to look at the world.

[fletcherkoch]

fold.

This is the Loop Chair by Elish Warlop. What began as a simple material study morphed into an examination of folding. Through specifically the study of material and connections, the chair began as one cut in a piece of paper.  a study in folding, material, and connections. The structure comes in felt or polypropylene. 

[fletcherkoch]

Build to Learn: Why You Should Make Things No One Will Use

build to learn.

The classic approach to experiential learning and what researchers in the field like to call “learning by doing“ is revisited in this article. I know it may be for a tech blog, but there are obvious lessons to be taken and applied to, not only design, but every facet of our lives.

Go take a read!

[fletcherkoch]

MCM.

This is the Manual Good’s - Manual Coffeemaker No.1. Designed to “elevate the ritual of coffee making by hand”, the maker is made up of two simple parts: the glass cone and the base. The carafe is an added bonus that adds to the aesthetic, but is not included in the base model.

I have had my eye on this one for a while. Manual Goods puts out some cool stuff, but this piece is by far my favorite. It takes Hario v60 filters and models the shape of the cone after the same dripper as well. My only concern would be even extraction as the walls of the cone are flat. The brew might be somewhere in between a Chemex and v60. I would love to add this one to my arsenal!

“Craft over convenience. Ritual over routine. Simplicity over novelty.”

You can follow Manual Goods on Instagram

Find what Manual is up to on there site