Icon: Bugatti Veyron
Build your own Bugatti Veyron, the quickest accelerating production car in the world, able to achieve an staggering top speed of 407 km/h — if you have the open space and are into that sort of thing.
Bugatti Veyron, € 1.1 million, by Bugatti
Icon: Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi, American (1904-1988), was the illegitimate son of Yone Noguchi, a Japanese poet who had gained great acclaim in the United States. More of a sculptor than a designer, the everyday objects he created are best seen as sculptures with a practical value, “things for everyone’s pleasure”. His sculptural style exerted a lasting influence on the whole organic design language of the 1950s. The furniture he designed for Herman Miller Vitra and Knoll are still in production today.
Isamu Noguchi Products: (top to bottom) Herman Miller Table, Knoll Cyclone Dining Table, Radio Nurse Speaker, Akari lamp
Icon: Olympus XA
I have recently retired my Olympus XA — it has served me well for over 15 years, the flash unit was stolen during a mugging in Belgium in the early 1990′s. The quality of the photos are excellent. One of the smallest 35mm rangefinder cameras ever made, with total control over F-stop and manual focus. The original model, the XA, was sold from 1979 to 1985.
Olympus XA, by Yoshihisa Maitani, for Olympus
Icon: Wandstereoanlage by Dieter Rams
“Less. but better”, is his motto, and certainly the work he did for Braun in the ’60′s and ’70′s exemplified this. One of the most influential Industrial designers of the 20th century, Dieter Rams worked with Braun to produce some of the most pared down and beautiful stereo equipment ever produced.
Wandstereoanlage, by Dieter Rams, for Braun
Icon: Rare Table by Carlo Mollino
When moving house, don’t throw away your Carlo Mollino table.
This 1949 design classic fetched a record price at auction. The table, whose presale estimate was $150,000 to $200,000, was part of the collection of Greek art collector Dakis Joannou according to the New York Times — the buyer’s identity was not disclosed.
Table, $3.8 million (sold at auction), by Carlo Mollino, at Christie’s
Icon: Tiffin Lunch Box
A network of Tiffinwallahs has been functioning in a very efficient way for the last 120 years in India, recognised by management gurus as a best case of network management in the world; they will deliver 175,000 lunches (or “tiffin“) each day to offices and schools throughout Mumbai. The tin containers consists of a number of bowls, each containing a separate dish, held together in a frame. There is an error rate of one in every 8 million deliveries — simply amazing.
Editor's Picks
Brionvega Algol TV
1960s Italian design classic, since elevated to cult status; the Brionvega Algol is a small portable TV designed by Richard Sapper and Marco Zanuso. Part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). [more...]
Suggested Reading
The Story of Eames Furniture
Brimming with images and insightful text, this unique book is the benchmark reference on what is arguably the most influential and important furniture brand of our time. [more...]
Buy it here: Amazon
The Guggenheim: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Making of the Modern Museum
First-ever book to explore the process behind one of the greatest modern buildings in America. [more...]
Buy it here: Amazon
MoonFire: The Epic Journey of Apollo 11
A unique tribute to the defining scientific mission of our time, the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. [more...]
Buy it here: Amazon
Cars
Freedom Style Sex Power Motion Colour Everything. This lavish and beautifully designed book is the gift book for all car enthusiasts and design aficionados. [more...]
Buy it here: Amazon
Design Icons
Fjordfiesta Scandia Senior
by Hans Brattrud
A Norwegian furniture design classic from 1957, Scandia Senior is a comfortable high-back easy chair with a leather head cushion, on a satin swivel base. [more...]
Printing Resources
More Books
Case Study Houses
“It’s a huge coffee-table book, which analyses each of the houses in chronological order, with plans, sketches and glorious photographs.” [more...]
Buy it here: Amazon
The Eames Lounge Chair
The book examines the evolution of a design icon and places it in its cultural, historical and social context. [more...]
Buy it here: Amazon
The U.N. Building
Symbol of world humanitarianism, a beacon of unity after the Second World War. More than 50 years on, the 39-story building is regarded as one of the pinnacles of mid-century modernism. [more...]
Buy it here: Amazon
Loblolly House
Including a DVD of the film "A House in the Trees", a real-time documentary of the design, fabrication, and assembly of this amazing house. [more...]
Buy it here: Amazon
Desire
The Shape of Things to Come. An up-to-date comprehensive survey on furniture and object design today, showcasing the crème de la crème of designers. [more...]
Buy it here: Amazon
Marcel Wanders
Behind the Ceiling is the first monograph on one of the most influential, prolific and celebrated international designers today. [more...]
Buy it here: Amazon
How to Wrap Five Eggs
A mid-60s classic of Japanese design. Stunningly laid-out paean to traditional Japanese packaging is rife with sumptuous black and white photos of all manner of boxes, wrappers and containers that appear at once homely and sophisticated, ingeniously utilitarian yet fine and rare. [more...]
Buy it here: Amazon
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Daily Icon features extraordinary Designers, Architecture and Products, with a special focus on furniture, accessories and lighting for the home.
