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10 Surprisingly Beautiful Designs Made Out of Trash

By Claire Cottrell on

Pauline Kael, the witty, highly opinionated New Yorker film critic who A.O. Scott, Roger Ebert, and Elvis Mitchell all cite as an influence once said that “trash has given us an appetite for art.” Ironically, trash has also given us some incredibly interesting, beautiful furniture. From London lighting designer Stuart Haygarth’s incredible lamps made out of discarded ceramic cat figurines and chandeliers made from plastic odds and ends found washed up on the beach to up-cycled chairs upholstered with crewel art rescued from a dumpster, click through to check out some of the most inventive designs made out trash. … Read More

Design

10 Delicious Edible Designs

By Claire Cottrell on

With the hedonistic holiday season suddenly in full swing we’re suddenly plagued by virtual visions of sugar plums dancing across every screen. Why is everything related to food right now? When we spotted American designer Victor Vetterlein’s playful edible task lamp — aptly named Bite Me — over on Dezeen, we got to wondering what other clever delectable designs exist in the world. Click through to check out the very best of the modern, mouth-watering designs that we found. … Read More

Design

Minimalist Redesigns of Familiar Product Packaging

By Judy Berman on

Call us shallow — actually, please don’t — but we have to admit that Turner Duckworth’s Diet Coke can redesign has put a serious crimp in our plan to quit soda. The subtle but appealing change proves once again that, when it comes to product design, less is almost always more. That must be why we’re so crazy about Turkish design collective Antrepo‘s series of minimalist makeovers of such recognizable international brands as Red Bull, Nutella, and even Durex condoms. Click through for a gallery of images from the project, which we spotted at Behance, and then check out Antrepo’s second set of redesigns. … Read More

Design

Dr Pepper Uses Ugly Can, Condescending Ads to Market Soda to Men

By Judy Berman on

There’s Dr Pepper. There’s Diet Dr Pepper — which, as many have noted, tastes almost exactly like the original. Then there are the countless variations (Cherry Vanilla, sugar-sweetened Heritage Dr Pepper). And now, since there apparently aren’t enough beverage options for those who like their carbonated water to taste like 23 unidentified, proprietary flavors, the Dr Pepper Snapple Group has unveiled Dr Pepper 10, a ten-calorie soft drink that is supposed to serve as the male alternative to the hopelessly girlie Diet Dr Pepper.

So, besides the token “10 bold calories,” what makes Dr Pepper 10 a drink for dudes? Hey, maybe it’s the ad campaign that insists the beverage is “not for women” and the terribly designed, matte gray can. (Then again, perhaps the benefits of this aesthetic are as undetectable as a dog whistle to those of us who possess two X chromosomes. Could it be that a metallic can carries, for your average heterosexual male, the ghastly connotations of silver lamé-clad drag queens?) Over at the Dr Pepper 10 Facebook page, they’ve posted “10 Man’Ments” to police the behavior of macho men on Facebook, which apparently “has a way of making even the boldest guys act like gossiping schoolgirls.” We’ll post those ridiculous tips — which include the exhortation not to use the abbreviation “OMG” or “post furry animal videos” — after the jump, in case you didn’t want to go to the trouble of “liking” the page to get a good, bitter laugh. Guys, let us know how you feel about being condescended to in the comments! … Read More

Design

Awesome or Awful: Personally Offensive Cigarette Warning Labels

By Judy Berman on

Starting next year, American smokers will see more than just a familiar logo when they buy a pack of cigarettes. Back in June, we looked at some gory new FDA-mandated warning labels, featuring pictures of addicts with holes in their throats and close-ups of oral cancer paired with reminders that “Cigarettes cause cancer” and “Cigarettes are addictive.” But designer Anna Astvatsatryan has a different idea about how to deter smokers. She’s created a series of cigarette-label mock-ups that trade the impersonal gross-out for insults that hit home: A pack of Camels reads, “I have a small dick,” while some Davidoffs admit, “I support al-Qaeda.” For our part, we find the Offensive Habit images somewhat sophomoric, although we can’t deny that they’re more pleasant to look at than pictures of diseased flesh. Let us know whether you think they’re an awesome or awful idea in the comments. … Read More

Design

New 7up Bottles Are Actually Kind of Cool

By Judy Berman on

There’s really no comparing plastic soda bottles to their glass predecessors. But if we must drink our high fructose corn syrup-packed beverages out of synthetic containers, they may as well be nice to look at. Coca-Cola, the most iconic of all soft drinks, has tried out a variety of designs over the years, eventually settling on an updated version of its classic “contour bottle.” Coke’s competitor, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group — which owns 7up and Canada Dry, among other brands — had been using the same “Splash” bottle design since 1995. Now, they’ve adopted a new “Legacy” model that UnBeige describes as having “a more sports drink look.” We’re not sure what makes it “sportier” than the earlier design, but we actually find its clean curves and smaller label pretty aesthetically appealing (perhaps because the bottom half so closely resembles Coke’s current bottles). What do you think? … Read More

Design

This Is Why Your Parents Are Fat

By Caroline Stanley on

Just kidding. Sort of. Yesterday Core77 tipped us off to this amazing archive of vintage product design on Flickr, and we’ve been grocery shopping like it’s 1969 ever since. After the jump we’ve hopped into the virtual time machine and rounded up some of our favorite examples of old school junk food, Supermarket Sweep-style. Some of these products you’ll recognize, some are a little more, shall we say, mysterious. Like, did you realize that 7 Eleven used to make its own beer? … Read More