Hosted in Milan’s Ventura Lambrate, RCA Paradise challenged students to “contemplate the discovery of something or somewhere more wondrous.” The products they presented are all inspired by a “quest for a better future.” One of the most creative pieces was Recording Machine, which splatters paint onto the walls in response to noise – creating a visual representation of sound. Rafel Oliva, who is studying MA Design Products at the RCA says “The performance space becomes a container of all the expressions, desires, words and sounds from the audience that participate – freezing the sound on the wall and collapsing all the inputs into one space and time.”

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Interactive designers rAndom International have created a lighting installation that can map and replicate human movement. Located at the MADE exhibition space in Berlin, the project was presented as part of a dance performance coordinated by choreographer Wayne McGregor and composer Max Richter. As two dancers moved around the perimeter of the installation, 3D cameras recorded the shapes made by their bodies and replayed them on a brass grid of over 10,000 LED lights. The image created by the lights always resembles a single figure, no matter how many people approach it at once, but it can combine the movements of more than one body.

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Gravity Stool by Amsterdam-based designer Jólan van der Wiel is a project that if nothing else, it’s quite magical. Using a combination of gravity and magnetic fields, he’s able to sculpt these organically shaped stools that are unique and one-of-a-kind. So, how does he do it? Well, to begin with he’s concocted a mixture of liquid plastic and iron. He’s also designed a “magnet machine” that houses super strong magnets that basically lift the material up forming the unusual shapes that the stool becomes.
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German architects J. Mayer H. have completed the first two of 20 roadside service stations for a new highway running from Azerbaijan to Turkey, through Georgia. The huge concrete structures shelter petrol filling stations and stretch around glass walls that enclose supermarkets, farmers’ markets and exhibitions for arts and crafts.

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In photographer Lee Eunyeol’s ‘Starry Night’ series the sky and the earth appear to have switched places, and planets and stars appear embedded within cracks in the earth. Lee’s stunning light installations are created by installing LED bulbs in natural settings to create epic illuminated landscapes. Using temporal photographic techniques the artist creates these mysterious sights, which reach off into the distance like magical forests in a fairy tale.

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Red Design Group is an Australian company that creates creative and exciting environments for retail business across the board (from 7-11 stores to high-end luxury retailers) and they even have quite a space of their own. One of their recent projects was a candy store, also located in Melbourne.

The store was developed for an importer of sugar-free candy called Sweet Enough, who decided to open their own retail shop. They knew that just any old candy store design wouldn’t be enough and they wanted customers to have an experience when in their store, so they brought on Red Design Shop to create a one-of-a-kind design that would have people spending just as much time shopping as walking around checking out the store.

They wanted the design to bring out the inner child of each person who walks inside, so they decided to create a “room” using childlike illustrations. Drawing everything on white paint using a simple black lines makes it feel almost like a coloring book. And, the candy stands out, too!

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Belgian designer Maarten De Ceulaer has designed a perfectly named line of seating entitled Mutation Series. The bubbly-looking pieces are meant to resemble a cellular mutation or even a nuclear reaction, a virus, or something that has grown abnormally freakish. The project can also be seen as a new way to upholster classic pieces but in a sculptural way. Covered in a durable velvet-like finish, each piece is completely unique and nearly impossible to replicate.

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Not Tom was approached by British bone china maker Buttercup China to create a stand at the Spring Fair 2012. Lining the wall with over 800 plates to create a giant scalloped pattern, Not Tom was able to demonstrate how simple, quality products can create a dramatic impact. The display won the best stand in show prize, too.

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San Diego’s original, Mission Federal ArtWalk is the largest art event in San Diego being held on April 28th and 29th. More than 400 visual artists from all over the world show and sell their art. Live music and dance stages, interactive art for children and the picturesque background of hip and historic Little Italy make this event a must-do every spring in San Diego. For more information visit www.MissionFederalArtWalk.org.

Furniture taste is a variable thing, but there’s no denying that these pieces are weird. Avant-garde, modern, and just downright painful, this furniture is not for the faint of couch. These pieces seem to belong more in a museum than a living room. Defying expectations of what furniture should look like, and still managing to be aesthetically interesting is an admirable feat.

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