I set out to make our new portfolio box this past weekend. Here are some photos:

I had to design it first. Adam thought I had already finished it after seeing this photoshop mock-up. Go go hax0r photoshop skillz!

First cut, safety first!

I settled on using aspen as the material for the light color and availability.

A bunch of pictures are missing between here. The finger joints were one of the most in-depth parts of the process! But they are oh-so-classy

Cutting the hinge!
This was the test piece so I could photograph it. Cutting the actual piece felt like swimming in stars.

Installing the hinge.
A channel was routed in the back of the box so that the hinge would hide inside.

Burninating the screen (There was extra room so I snuck a poster in).
We wanted to put our logo on it and battled between the idea of laser etching or screen printing it. We settled on screen printing for the clean white on white look instead of burnt wood from the laser etching.

Putting the latches on and the outer panels. Almost a box. Exciting!

Screening printing the logo on.
Luckily it went on without a problem on the second try. Wood has a natural tendency to bow which made it hard to keep the screen flat on top of it. Crown up did the trick.

All together and clamped tight. Ready to be used the next morning.

It was fun pretending to be a woodworker. Now back to being a super nerd at the computer..

Found this great picture on Flickr the other day. You won’t find scenery like this in the ATL. So enjoy!

Freerice.com is a fun vocabulary test that hones your mind and gives rice to the needy through the UN Food Program. For every correct answer, you get a grain of rice in your bowl. After a half hour of playing, you should accumulate about a 1,000 grains which might be just enough for some rice pudding? Who knows.

Empty packaging designed by FLOWmarket has no function but to remind consumers about the negative trends of our global society. See for instance their piece on bottled water.

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Marc Ecko bought Barry Bond’s Home Run record-breaking-ball from some 21yr old who could not afford to keep it. What’s even more sick is that he paid $750K for it and has set up a website, www.vote756.com, to allow the American public to choose what he should do with it. The votes have been tallied and American pop culture has spoken. (more…)

We’re not really supposed to have dogs running around the office anymore at our new place. If only Ace and Taffy were young again like this, i’m sure we’d have no problem…

I fondly remember the hours of physics fun, in the early 2000s, playing with funny looking worms and spiny things at sodaplay.com. The only thing I could say when my friend showed me these real-life sodaplay-ish sculptures was “woa! no way! that’s not real!” over and over again. I want to build one of these so I can ride it…

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A very interesting view on what the future of this thing we call the “internet” will or can become. The narrator’s heavy futuristic accent makes everything sound so validating. It makes we want to trust him.

props to 7dv

An amazing article by Alice Rawsthorn on how designers are changing the world for the better. From a $100 laptop for schoolchildren in developing countries, to a pot for carrying water that can be easily rolled, designers are focusing their talents on the world’s poor, in an effort to positively impact the lives of the world’s unwealthiest 90%.

More information and specs on the $100 laptop.

I like designers who are exceptionally good at what they do. But even bigger kudos go out to those who really have a passion for sharing what they know. Check out the website of Nike footwear designer, Michael DiTullo as he gives up trade secrets for inspiring footwear designers.