Do you remember that poem from grade school?
There was a Crooked Man
Who lived in a crooked house,
He had a crooked cat
That caught a crooked mouse.
On the same lines are these architectural wonders that amused me know end. A strong remedy for the blues, I’m sure you will enjoy them as much as I enjoyed putting them up for you.
Plenty more pics after the jump
The thought of a leisurely paddle down the calm stream is so refreshing, however not all of us are fortunate enough to either own a boat or have a car fit enough to tow one down to the pier. Designer John Fenno has a great thing going with his Go portable boat design. The entire boat folds up and can be pulled like a luggage strolly. This recreational boat gives the boater two options as to how he wants to row the boat. He could do it by paddling with his legs or by paddling in a circular motion with his arms. As the designer says, When preparing for a trip to lake or river, the user simply places all necessary items into the boat. Once at the water, the product is easily opened and ready to go.
Designer Ulisses Gardim has stunned us with some pretty amazing designs in the past, and this time around his Sony NW-HD concept simply captivates. This compact Walkman player features all that a self-respecting Sony player should have. HD, MP3, MP4, Pictures, Movies; it packs in all. The steel-finish render gives the player an alluring look. On the face of it we see the main navigation controls, however to the left side of the player the headphone jack and power outlet jack has been embedded. The right side hosts the volume keys and the main power-off button is flushed to the top of the player. Overall a very a sleek design.
Source
The fast-paced hectic lives of people often leave them with little or no time to indulge in hobbies or passions. I, for instance love cooking, but I hardly get time to indulge in proper meals, because of the tough schedules I have to keep up with. I’m sure many of you are nodding in consent, and wish there was an apt solution. Designer João Carneiro has developed the Flama Vitro “Portable Vitroceramic cook top” with the objective of fitting it into the life of young couples or single people, who are always on the go, with little time to spare. This informal style of this setup brings in the tradition of cooking into lives of those forced to eat TV/microwave dinners. 
In sync with today’s needs designer Nuno Teixeira has conceptualized the Peugeot 6006 to be an eco friendly vehicle. Made with recycled and light materials, like aluminum and polymers, the design intends the use of a powerful ceramics motor and that is fueled by hydrogen. Hydrogen seems to be the next big thing on the eco-friendly scene! High speeds and safety norms implement a low center of gravity and its great aerodynamic support ensures that the vehicle will be a pleasure to drive on the long highways. Over all Peugeot 6006 truly fits the description of the automobile for the future, not only for its looks but also for its dynamic features.
Thanks Nuno.
I am currently sitting in my cramped up room, fingers flying on the keyboard, typing pout the text for this article. At the same time, I am drooling over this work desk that promises to be a savior to all bloggers (or people who work from home) that have a space crunch and can’t fit in everything onto their desks. Designer Andrea Sanson has the knack of gauging our discomfort hence has designed this wonderful desk for the Samsung Young Design Contest. Spazio Digital Home Office Desk is a multifaceted desk. It features a virtual keyboard that diapers when the computer is not in use. The desk can be drawn in from the sides, when you don’t want to use the computer. It’s more of a sideboard then.
Sometimes challenges bring out the best in us; take this device feel+, designed by Marco Volpe for instance. This intelligent gadget is used for managing the power consumption of your house, thus ensuring a reasonable electricity bill at the end of the month. The device is also capable of identifying harmful in the environment and notifying you of their presence. feel+ has an intuitive touch screen, it also reminds you about all the appliances left of stand-by (yes they consume extra energy) that need to be turned off and also about the unnecessary lights on. 
Non-renewable resources like coal and fossil fuels are depleting at a very fast rate. So far the only source not fully exploited, and funnily enough it’s free, is the solar power. However, resolving this aspect, a group of designers participating in the Samsung Young Design contest has developed the Solar Prometeo. This is a very intelligent device that can be worn on the body of a person. It features photovoltaic cells on the face of the gadget that trap the solar energy and store it for later use. Via the two USB connections, you can hook up your gadgets and recharge them. The hub also has an indicating lamp that tells you when all the power has been drained. You can then strap it on your arm or wear it around your neck like a fancy piece of jewelry to trap all that solar energy again.
A valuable futuristic teaching aid, the Digi Flower aims to be a powerful aide of a teacher that conforms to the educational standards set by an Education Ministry. This multimedia device is conceptualized for the Samsung Young Design Awards. Digi Flower does not propose to replace the teacher; instead it will act, as a powerful multimedia tool that will assist in better understand of the lessons. Each child will be entrusted with his Digi Flower, which will be used till the end of term, and will be passed on to next batch thereafter. The software and intuitive interface make it easy for the child to understand the lessons uploaded and thus empowering him with better knowledge. The applications include multimedia lessons, with guided support and notes. It also includes programs that allow the pupil to interact with the teacher remotely and clarify doubts. It helps the student to organize his notes and even includes a graphical pen for inputs via the multi-touch screens. 
The biking history has seen many one-off designs that have either been commemorative or simply fantasies that regaled all biking fans. Ferrari too has had its fair share of concepts and commemorations, but this particular flight-of-fantasy seems to be the best of them all. Israeli designer Amir Glinik has created this sleek monster that finds its design based on the theoretical application of the Ferrari Enzo's V12 engine. The mod reduces the cylinders to four and is modified to drive just one wheel in a motorcycle frame. 
We don't live in Utopia; hence have to battle bad weather conditions, pollution and harsh conditions on a daily basis. This naturally takes a toll on our health, mental state and performance on tasks. However there are still some designers who believe that gadgets with special abilities can ease our environmental plights. Taboo is a system designed by Marcello Cannarsa for Samsung Young Design Awards. The device features sensors that read the characteristics of the atmosphere (like pressure, humidity and temperature), plus the quality of the air (oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, levels) and the level of noise pollution, in order to estimate the contamination in the atmosphere. I know many of you are thinking…Honey I could do that on my own, I don't a gadget telling me that! But read on more to know about this concept. 
You're on the beach and taking a long leisurely walk. As you stride further, you decide to take off your shoes and enjoy the sand barefoot. The twist in this tale is that beaches these days are getting so dirty because of the rubbish strewn all over the place by us careless humans. We haven't spared the Himalayas so how can you expect clean roads or beaches? Martina Pagura concept for a trash bin incorporates a fun factor that will not only involve kids in the clean-up process but also inculcate the habit of proper waste disposal. The Selachimorpha is a digitalized bin that sports a screen on the face of it that keeps the scores for the teams. The chute of the bin is fashioned in such a way, that kids (or adults) can score points for every successful basket (as in basketball) dunked with garbage. This ways, the surroundings stay neat and tidy and the fun-factor in waste disposal creeps in. New age basketball that is a necessity! 
Are you worried about your electricity bills? Yes, you should be, considering the high wastage or usage, whichever describes your case. Designer Simone Marian has come up with a unique concept for Samsung, called the E-SPY. Like a spy, it keeps a tab on your electricity consumption by hooking onto your electricity meter using protocol of communication LONGTALK (with technology ECHELON) and giving you a feed back on how to conserve more efficiently. It communicates with your home PC via Bluetooth, and it downloads the data on it for you to ponder over. The concept has been based on the power consumptions of a typical Italian family. Thus it already has a database to compare your consumptions and analyze it. 
Frustration levels run quite high when one is stressed. The biggest relief comes when you punch something hard and release all the tensions. The only repercussion is that your knuckles take a beating and you are sore all over again. As a child I remember owing a punching inflatable joker, which had a funny-squeaky nose. You punched it hard on the nose and it would squeak and dip over to the other side. It bought out peals of laughter amongst my friends and me. Taking a similar stance is the punching light by designers Jun Bum Park and Kim Jin Sook. Based on the mantra Slow is Stress+Low, the bag lights up every time you knock in a blow. A really cool design that could bring about much relief amongst stressed out people. 
The best part about traveling independently and not in group-tours is that you get to explore the city at your own pace. However the biggest bummer in this situation is deciphering of maps and trying to reach your destination intact. Most of us look ridiculous pouring over maps and guidebook, making us gullible targets for pickpockets and thieves. Stampa is a device that reduces your dependency on the map book, and gives you the precise information you need by doing away with the extras. All you need to do is run the device over the portion of the map that you want uploaded and it stores that info. You can even upload the maps or areas of interest from local newspapers and guide books in the privacy of your room, prior to the outing. 
