Tag: PDD
A Green Plastic Dream
A plastic airplane with productions problems; perhaps the future of aviation is not as one might have expected. Nonetheless, with the ANA launch of the much awaited (three years overdue) Boeing 787 Dreamliner (image from Extra Vaganzi) earlier this week, airlines and aircraft manufacturers have good reason to be satisfied – at least for now.
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Does fashion always have to be style over function?
Fashion is, in some sense, like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. Although I’m staunchly pro-fashion (especially anything gold/metallic – I really am a magpie), I do see the merit in both sides of the ‘for’ and ‘against’ argument.
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Jobs & Barcelona FC: The best and the rest.
Like most people in this world, we mourned when we heard Steve Jobs had died. He was, after all, the auto-reply answer for designers when asked “what are designers good for?” I bet some people even answered “Jobs” when asked whatlife was good for.
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CMF trend: Unfinished finishes
Over the last year or two the design world has favoured the organic finishes nature offers us. But recently we have noticed this taking an extreme turn, as designers create a hyper-raw aesthetic that is both hideous and intriguingly beautiful at the same time.
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London’s Forgotten Spaces
At double the size of New York though more or less the same in terms of population, London is home to an extraordinary amount of abandoned, unutilized or forgotten places. In fact, every day on my way to PDD, I cycle through a nearby roundabout; an empty area taking up nearly 500 square metres. Places like that often make me wonder how rent in London can be that high, while so many places are essentially empty. I’ve recently discovered that I’m not alone in thinking so.
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Buenos Aires: A few thoughts on luxury in an emerging market
Buenos Aires is not really a place I thought I would ever go to. In fact, before going to BA the furthest I’d ever been from our beloved little island (the UK if you were wondering..) was to Israel when I was a young and fearless exchange student a good 10 years ago now. So when I (along with the rest of the team) arrived in BA I really had no idea what to expect, I’d heard stories and read-up as much as possible, beyond a reputation for fine meats and wines and of course, leather.
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Could swimming equipment manufacturers help adults learn to swim in an industry worth £1.5 billion?
David Walliams has heroically brought swimming back into the headlines, with help from the BBC promoting the Big Splash, by swimming the length of the River Thames. The government has also invested almost £250million into schemes to encourage adults and children to use their local swimming pools in the hope to reduce UK obesity levels and the strain on the NHS.
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Hells bells, whatever next?
August was the date for our very successful, highly competitive and somewhat fuzzy PDD wine tasting evening in Westbourne Park. The evening clearly revealed who the Jilly Goolden’s and Oz Clarks are amongst us, and equally those that spend their weekends rifling through the bargain bucket in Odd bins for Blue Nun.
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Models rule: from implicit to explicit (models) and back to implicit (design)
Our first day of The Ethnographic Praxis In Industry Conferenece (EPIC) kicked off after an afternoon of “reflectivities”. These were activities intended to promote the Ethnographic outlook of the natural surrounding environment of Colorado, USA, where the conference was held.
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Frankfurt Motor Show followed by the Goodwood Revival Weekend
What a week! Frankfurt Motor Show followed by the Goodwood Revival Weekend – a truly multi-sensory experience for anyone with a drop of petrol in their veins. Tristram Keech (Principal of ID at PDD) tells us more… and it’s not just about cars.
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Urban Regeneration: Park Hill Flats Sheffield
Last week saw the 50th anniversary of the opening of the notorious Grade II listed Park Hill flats, located high in the sky over Sheffield hilly landscape.
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Gritty Art in Buenos Aires
I’ve got a thing for gritty art. Twisted metal, raw edges, recycled flotsam, retrieved jetsam, rough textures, rude colours and crude material-all tied together with a quirky sense of humour. I’ll blame my 15 years living in the Steel City, Pittsburgh, on this predilection, but more on that in some future post.
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Material trend: Marble
Marble is culturally associated with tradition, luxurious taste, social status and grand interiors. This year has seen an influx of modern interpretations, introducing modern forms, fresh colours and combined with a variety of materials. Here are some that have caught our eye…
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Journey through the development centre.
PDD’s development facility has the capability to manufacture a multitude of things. From working prototypes, test rigs & visual models through to bicycle frames. Let’s follow a simple model through its journey from idea to tangible product.
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Joinery in the spotlight
Joins become the design rather than an invisible necessity of construction. From Butt, Dovetail, Tongue and Groove to Miter or Box joints… there are many ways of bringing wood together to create wonderful pieces of furniture. But we’ve noticed some new and interesting ways of constructing furniture creating everything from subtle details to bold and fun forms, all putting the joint in the spotlight.
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Hussein Chalayan in conversation with Claudia Croft at the V&A: Talking Fashion
On first sight of Hussein Chalayan, one could be mistaken for not assuming this minimally dressed, polite and calm man who lists Sunday brunch as one of his main enjoyments, is in fact the creator of the extravagant, show stopping fashion he has become synonymous with since his St Martins graduation into the 90s fashion world.
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Milk Packaging in Canada
Again, another blog post about milk (see the last one here: The second best thing after sliced bread. We talk milk bottle openers).
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PDD offers Human-Centred Design Workshop, London
Interest in Human-Centred Design (HCD) – designing solutions driven by the needs, desires, and contexts of people – has been growing rapidly the past few years, with many clients asking if we can provide training.
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