Things: A London Design Festival Special

Date
24 September 2011

You’ll be surprised to discover that Things this week is LDF-themed (pick that jaw up off the floor!) and is consequently sleek, streamlined and effortlessly functional. If you were expecting small hand-printed books or a knitted bear in here then you’ll be very disappointed. Sample words from the titles on display include “brutal”, “extremism”, fizzy" and “wizzy”. A mixed bag indeed.

Extremism Tom Dixon

Tom Dixon is a man fond of pushing boundaries. Never comfortable just doing something well, his design philosophy has always been about doing things bigger, better and faster than anyone else. In Extremism he posits that objects, and indeed design in general, needs to justify its existence by differentiating itself from anything that has gone before, whether technologically, economically or aesthetically. With a monochrome embossed front cover and fluorescent orange end-papers the design of the volume certainly adheres to Dixon’s philosophy, and with a plethora of boundary-pushing design inside, it’s easy to concur that the man has a point.
www.tomdixon.net

L.E.D Lightbulb On/Off Collective

Yes puns! You make us laugh hysterically and disproportionately given your limited comic value. Be you visual or verbal you are greatly appreciated. Thanks to On/Off collective who sent us a fetching LED lightbulb (now you get the pun bit) through the post that literally brightened up our day. More importantly On/Off will be hosting a showcase of their work at 533 Kingsland Rd from September 29. Go support these jokers.
www.onoffcollective.com

Book of Ideas Dezeen

Dezeen’s new Ideas Book features 116 projects that have impressed both the Dezeen team and their cohort of readers. Divided (but not divided) into architecture, interiors and design the three categories are randomly placed throughout the book, in keeping with the random presentation of projects on their blog. My personal favourite is Terunobu Fujimori’s Japanese tea-house (pictured), a single, serene room perched on two tree-trunks that evokes my childhood desire to live high up in a forest canopy.
www.dezeen.com

Brutal Simplicity of Thought M & C Saatchi

16 years ago M&C Saatchi was set up with the intention of revolutionising advertising by communicating simply, based upon the premise that “simple messages enter the brain quicker and stay longer”. This book examines that premise – brutally and simply, focussing on how some of society’s biggest quandry’s were solved with simple genius.
www.randomhouse.co.uk

Fizzy Wizzy Sherbet Dab The Sweet Shoppe

Rob visited the Futurelab Sweet Shoppe on Wednesday and returned to the studio with a traditional striped bag of sherbet dab, sealed and labeled with a small wax emblem. Beautiful. The sweet was supposedly perfectly suited to his personal tastes based on an in-depth character analysis taken from an online profile and his behaviour while there. Unfortunately for Rob, he’ll never know if this was indeed his perfect piece of confectionary as I decided to dip a licked finger into the sherbet after photographing it. Nobody likes second-hand sherbet, even if it is nicely packaged.
www.thefuturelaboratory.com

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About the Author

James Cartwright

James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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