Plastic vs Cardboard

May 1, 2012

Our long term client, Wexxar Packaging has a new machine from their IPak tray forming line. The IPak RP 100 is unique in that it folds reusable industrial plastic trays, these usually being disposable cardboard. We were curious to know what advantages they provide, especially environmentally. Our research showed collapsible plastic trays are the smart, reusable alternative to using cardboard packaging. They outlast and outperform traditional expendable packaging such as cardboard and wood. With the “eat local” trend, they are also used to display fresh produce directly on floor as if delivered straight from the field. [...]

Specialized Turbo – Game Changer

April 20, 2012

The Specialized Turbo is the first non clunky, light looking e bike. At first glance it looks like a regular sweet looking street bike. Take a second look and you start to see the difference. The first great innovation was the design and integration of the battery pack into the down tube form, this makes it look part of the bike and not just an added block, like on typical e bikes . The second is the simple use of contrasting colours and finishes which reduces the visual massing of the bike especially the down tube and gives the bike similar proportions to a regular street bike. Nicely done. Now who’s up for a test ride?

Exquisite Science

April 10, 2012

I recently watched Vanessa Gould’s fascinating documentary Between the Folds who profiles brilliant artists, mathematicians and scientists reinventing the ancient Japanese tradition of origami. The art of paper folding is used as a medium for construction, to develop algorithms, to explore more origami techniques and shows how closely art and science are intertwined.  Not only are these origamists creating unimaginably beautiful pieces of art and thought-provoking mathematical models but foremost trying to explain the world through paper art. Everything about this documentary is exquisite and absolutely captivating.

Technology advancement and the change in our icons

March 23, 2012

While reading a bed time story to my 2 year old niece I saw a drawing of a phone. I realized that its iconic shape we’ve known for many generations has now completely changed. The iconic red phone with the dialing wheel as known by our grandparents, parents and even ourselves can’t even be identified as such by my niece. The latter has been replaced by the single button simple rectangular shape. Even our relationship has change to the object. As teenagers, we would spend hours talking on the phone but now in this day and age, a phone call is almost considered rude and preferably be announced via text, or messaging. To my niece, it’s not a phone if it doesn’t have a touch screen.

Time, Movement and Memory

February 12, 2012

Jim Campbell’s Exploded View, exhibited recently at the Vancouver Art Gallery, draws deeply on the history of photo-based imaging to produce what may be best described as a newly emerging post-photographic practice. With its suspended web of more than 1,100 LEDs, Exploded View expands Campbell’s work from his flat two-dimensional grids of light into extraordinary three-dimensional space.

To get a taste of his installation click here

Best of CES 2012

January 31, 2012

Walking CES this year it was noticeable that the economy was turning a corner by the increase in exhibitors and visitors from previous years. There was a significantly stronger showing from the automotive industry and the home appliance sector. Check out our round up on what caught our eyes at CES 2012. [...]

CES 2012 Trends

At this years Consumer Electronics Show there were several new trends that stood out for us including: the proliferation of ultrabooks, camera technology, waterproofing, apps controlling home appliances and a lot more. See our CES 2012 trends overview [...]

Mapnificent

December 15, 2011

Mapnificent is a great new application that allows you to input multiple requirements and provide you with a visual overlay of your transit options within a time frame. Want to live within a 20min transit ride to your work, Mapnificent will provide you with a visual time frame radius based on the local transit routes.

Hopefully with Mapnificents user friendly based capabilities it will encourage more people to explore public transit solutions.

Co-op Renaissance

July 22, 2011

Here in our part of the world we’ve seen a resurgence in cooperative or sharing based organizations, maybe it’s a reflection of the tight economic times or a disinterest in owning stuff that we use so infrequently.  Like in several cities already Vancouvers  new co-op on the block is The Vancouver Tool Library (VTL).  As the name suggests it’s a library full of tools to take out when you need them, and return when you’re finished.  We’ve seen this type of sharing in cars, toys, studio spaces, boats, etc.  This not so new approach is becoming a social change in how we view ownership and value the idea of less is more but can go down to the community tool shed when we need it.

FitBot Robotic Mannequin

July 11, 2011