It’s not often a piece of design gets lauded on this website, but The Rakes’ artwork for their new album Klang and associated singles 1989 and Reason is worth lauding. Brought to my attention by the UK’s Creative Review, the sleeves by Work Associates take their inspiration from Bauhaus and Ludwig Hirschfield-Mack’s experiments with light projections from the 1920s. Simple and elegant, yet complicated and striking at the same time, read the full story here.
We’re all for retro at goodrichard.com, and big lovers of music, so this new MP3 player is perfect. Designed by industrial designer Stefano Pertegato based in Milan, the NVDRSTape is an MP3 player that resembles an old school, old-fashioned cassette tape.
Playing on the emotions of thirty-something technology lovers, there have been retro gadgets masquerading as cassettes before, most notably the Mix Tape USB memory stick. But, although the NVDRSTape has a USB plug, it goes lots further and ticks more retro boxes than perhaps it useably should.
The genius lies in the fact that to maximise its nod to the world of chewed up tape and 80s sounds, dodgy clothes and even dodgier haircuts, the NVDRSTape comes with a choice of 45, 60, or 90-minute playing times. Of course, that means that you have to be even more selective than with an iPod Shuffle with which MP3 files you’d like to listen to, therefore only choosing your absolute favourite tracks.
Further retro coolness is added when charging the kinetic battery. Wind the spool and charge is added; do the same and tracks can be rewound or fast-forwarded. Not entirely practical granted, but the bright, period colours will put a smile on your face, and add to the appeal of the designer machine. It even comes in an opening cassette case (which can be used with headphones) to protect it, and displays the time elapsed in the ‘tape’ window.
No price has been given for the NVDRSTape (and you can guarantee it won’t be available at old cassette prices), and only 1,000 units are to be made at first to test demand. On idea alone it deserves to be a hit, although you’d need another MP3 player with you if you’re easily bored by listening to the same music over and over again, or are prepared to change the playlist every day.
Nostalgia freaks as we are, we like it, though admit that it scores low on a few practicality points. Speeding back or forward through tracks will be a chore, and may add ‘spool finger’ to medical dictionaries. The limited capacity and plying time might be an issue, too. But, in a world of multiple downloads and formats, it brings the selective art of the mix tape back. When did you last make one of those?
Tuesday 3 March may well become a life-changing day. To make for a smoother publishing workflow, we’ve all switched platforms to Macs in the office. Though it’s still early days, and some of us are still adjusting to the new (and better) ways of working the new hardware enforces, most would agree that the switch has proved successful.
Not just at work, either. Though I’d used the publishing fraternity’s favourite machines in my previous job, that was over seven years ago, and they didn’t like the network at all. Since then, I’ve been an exclusive PC user in the office and at home, but not any more. Goodbye slow operating system and blaring cooling fans and hello faster, prettier working and barely whispering aluminum unibody MacBook Pro.
Living with someone who writes about Macs everyday, the switch was always just a matter of time. The machines’ arrival at work was inevitable and we knew they were coming, but I was unprepared for how fast I would want to ditch the Microsoft way of doing things (even though I did find it terribly frustrating). I’m now proud to be well and truly a Macophile, and can’t see me switching back to a humdrum and anonymous PC again.
This of course, does bring about its own set of problems. Like software programs that need new versions downloading and documents that need converting to work on the new platform. But, my old HP laptop has virtually been stripped of my stuff, and is almost ready to be mothballed. I’ve not missed it at all, and can’t wait to start using the neglected and slightly battered PowerBook G4 that has sat around in the study for ages.
It sounds silly, but an unexpected side effect is that I feel strangely happier and less stressed in my (almost) Windows-free world. And, although I’m still treating the new work machine way too much like a baby, welcome shiny new Mac world. It’s going to be fun.
Only a handful of creations in transport conjure up both feelings of sensation and sadness, but Concorde was one of them. The baby from an Aérospatiale and British Aircraft Corporation marriage, the supersonic passenger airliner first took to the skies commercially in 1976. Beautiful, graceful, and flying from London and France to the US in less than half the time of other airliners, onlookers were stunned when Concorde made its début flight, and saddened when it was retired 27 years later.
Setting many records in its 27-year life, Concorde boasted an average cruise speed of Mach 2.02 (1,330mph), thanks in part to its double-delta wings. With success came tragedy, though, and on 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590 crashed just outside Paris, killing all 104 passengers and crew on board. Flights resumed in 2001, but Concorde never recovered, and its final flight, G-BOAF, was from London Heathrow to Bristol, on 24 October 2003. The ultimate form of luxury travel, only 20 aircraft were ever built.
Did you know?
Travelling supersonically, the heat generated by the compression of air made Concorde’s fuselage extend by up to 300mm, opening a gap on the flight deck between the flight engineer’s console and the bulkhead. To avoid overheating the aluminium structure, the majority of the supersonic liner’s surface had to be white, and so liveries were restricted.
Have your say
Do you agree with Royal Mail’s choices for the British Design Classics stamps series? What design icons would you like to see immortalised on postage stamps? Leave a comment below and tell us what would make your top 10 list.
No, not something that can be added to the Mini car’s body, but a short skirt with a hemline usually about 20 centimetres above the knee. A defining ladies’ fashion garment, the miniskirt (along with the Mini) encapsulates the style that defined the 1960s. English fashion designer Mary Quant was inspired by the short skirt designs of Courrèges, and in 1965 made even shorter garments. As she was at the heart of the fashion scene in London at the time, the miniskirt was able to transcend the high streets and become an international trend.
The miniskirt made less of an impact on fashion in the 1970s with critics noting that the garment couldn’t get much smaller. But, the miniskirt never really went away, with cheerleaders wearing a variation in the 1980s and 1990s, and the ‘rah-rah’ and ‘puffball’ creations becoming popular. The hot summer of 2006 brought the miniskirt back full circle, with many being worn by women in London once more.
Did you know?
Jean Shrimpton caused a stir on Derby Day at the Melbourne Cup in Australia in October 1965 by wearing a short white shift dress by Colin Rolfe. Causing a sensation, Shrimpton reported that the designer had run out of material, but it was too late; the miniskirt had started a new fashion trend.