Phasma: Six-legged Robot by takram design engineering

Phasma is a hexapedal running robot that can run dynamically like a living organism. It is an attempt to depict life purely through its motion rather than its shape, by extracting the physics of running from living things and implementing that to the artifact. Phasma uses compliant components such as stainless steel springs and rubber joints to reproduce smooth and efficient locomotion seen in animals. Another interesting biomimicry applied in Phasma is the alternating tripod gait as seen in insects that provides excellent stability.

Created for ‘bones’ exhibition held at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, Tokyo 2009.
Phasma is based on iSprawl developed at BDML, Stanford University, USA.

Phasma: Six-legged Running Robot, by takram design engineering
Photography by Takashi Mochizuki

Scent Stories by Ah&Oh Studio

Perfume packaging design and the concept of the perfume were always our dream project. So we took men’s fragrance as our challenge. At the begining we were concentrating on the idea of the scent itself. We found inspiration in the great, dark literature and distinctive, strong characters. We tried to describe the dark sides of men’s nature with line of scents named after famous writers. We packed the scents into bottles which resemble both old glass perfume bottles and the classic shape of the inkwell. We made them white, added black strong lettering and heads of characters which loosely recall author’s famous masterpieces.

Scent Stories, by Ah&Oh Studio

The Furniture of Mad Men: Don Draper’s Office

With the upcoming season of Mad Men, the Mid-Century Modernist has turned its eye on spotting some of the furniture that makes part of the set of one of the best dramas on television. The series is set in the 1960s and the designers have made every effort to depict what a Madison Avenue ad agency really looked like, starting with Don Draper’s Office.

We wanted to make sure it wasn’t a textbook study of mid-century modern America — as Matt specifically pointed out, look around your own house, does everything exist from 2007 or do you actually have stuff lying around from the ’80s?
- Dan Bishop, Production Designer

“One of the best references — we just used it this morning for the size of a baby blanket — is the Sears catalogs and the Montgomery Ward catalog,” she says. “They’re so specific, and they have all these items. And then I have every decorating book from the late ’40s through the mid-’60s. So Better Homes & Gardens — you know, all those decorating books that came out every year — I have all of those.”
- Amy Wells, Set Decorator

Spotted: Don Draper’s ES 104 Executive chair
Set Design: AMC’s Mad Men, via The Mid-Century Modernist

False Friends: Blackout from Coarse

The set contains the cloaked noop and a pitch-black paw!, staring into nothingness. The distant duo is lost in black sponge. Hidden in a premium black box, stamped with gold and black foil – handcrafted to perfection.

Blackout, Limited Edition of 300 Pieces, from Coarse

Hand Werk Boxes by Peter Nencini

Edition of 50 Hand Werk boxes, each containing a set of materials and forms, for abstract play. Wood, plastic, ceramic, rubber, fabric. The components, mostly designed and cut to combine with counterparts sourced from school science lab suppliers for example, have a character that sits somewhere between board game bits, measurement tools, ambiguous accessories for clothing, for eating.

Hand Werk Boxes, by Peter Nencini

Outdoor Home Office by Tate + Hindle for OfficePOD

With the rise of remote workers, new design solutions are on offer, including the OfficePOD, which provides a working environment that is separate to home life, and the constant interruptions.

Outdoor Home Office, by Tate + Hindle, for OfficePOD

Typography = Models: Praline & The Model Shop

When Praline teamed up with The Model Shop, we were presented with a cauldron being stirred by an excellent set of designers and equally adept architectural model makers. The results are understandably broad, and include a new typeface, architectural models, a neon sign and most importantly one fantastic concept.

Avec, by Praline, and The Model Shop, for the If You Could Collaborate project
via: It’s Nice That

Happy Hour Chandelier by Marcel Wanders & Nanine Linning

Happy New Year!
Award–winning choreographer Nanine Linning and designer Marcel Wanders present an innovative concept in which a Dancing Angel is hanging upside down for 20 minutes from a Chandelier. The dancer offers little spoons of chocolate mousse and flutes of champagne to the crowd beneath her.

Happy Hour Chandelier, by Marcel Wanders, and Nanine Linning.
Bookings: Happy Hour Chandelier

Year in Review: Most Popular Posts

This year we take a moment to review our top posts on Daily Icon. Certainly it’s not a scientific survey, but our readers seem to prefer drinking 1000 Arcres Vodka while reclining with friends on an Endless Sofa by de Sede in a Marcio Kogan designed home, somewhere in São Paulo, Brazil.

Sounds like a perfect way to end the year!

Globe by Studio Job for Swarovski Crystal Palace

Studio Job has created a 175 cm diameter spinning globe applying 500,000 Swarovski crystals. “Maybe it’s the sense of time and gravity that touches us, maybe it is the earth that keeps turning and turning.”

Globe, by Studio Job, for Swarovski Crystal Palace