Pondicherry shows the way
Some years ago I took this photo in the city of Pondicherry, India. Amazingly low-tech this hand-painted and sculptural road sign shows the way, also by its expressive and truly functional shape. Love it!
Quality banking
Interior concept for the 74 branches of the Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat, a national institution in Luxembourg – designed by Teisen-Giesler Architectes & integratedPlace.
We elaborated a scheme conveying the notion of safety, tradition, quality and long established values. By emphasising solid build elements made from cast terrazzo and oak we underlined the trustworthy image of the bank. Timeless shapes and high quality materials should also underline the fact that the bank, with it’s long history, is here to stay.
Design proposal elaborated following an closed competition initiated by the BCEE. No winners announced as yet…
For more information: www.integratedplace.com
Like this:
Bring back the craftsmanship – Embossing leather
Embossing leather is another one of these crafts that are very difficult to still find but have a great creative potential. This very old, worn and grotty leather embossed folder almost blends in with the wooden desk and is getting more beautiful by the day.
Beautifully crafted natural materials have this quality of ageing well and are able to take the wear and tear of life. Something that many more contemporary materials and finishes simply can’t take.
Bring back the craftsmanship – Art & Craft
Photo by Richard-Max Tremblay
Another fine example of upholstery craft – by the artist Yannick Pouliot in his work Régence: monomaniaque.
Bring back the craftsmanship – upholstery
Good craftsmanship is key to produce fine quality objects. Unfortunately, outside the luxury industry, they are hard to find. With labour costs going constantly up are we loosing all the fine techniques that made objects special? It seems a shame, but it motivates me even more to collaborate with skilled craftsmen on the next projects!
Like this:
Grey is also a colour
Wick Lane / A12 Underpass, East London
Whoever wrote this is right to say that to many places are boring & dull – although a bit of paint, mixed with road dirt, would make this wall look a lot worse then it is now. But it is worthwile thinking about what else would work better…
Nice packaging
A piece of streetfurniture, still partially wrapped after installation. Textured surfaces could be really nice in the public space!
Here’s one I did earlier
While clearing my cellar I stumbled over the box of furniture models from my diploma project dating back to 1998. Although this is a scarily long time ago I still like the design.
Above model of an office desk made from plywood & industrial rubber.
Seaside beauty
I am again and again fascinated by the beauty of engineering projects. This mold / matrix to cast a sea defence wall is one of these examples where the beauty of making these structures is almost more interesting then the final result. It also makes you wonder why not more adventures structures are being cast.
Beads & buttons fun
I saw this ingenious way of displaying buttons in a Madrid shop. The big wheely device looks more like something from a fun fair and turns at will in order to best view all the buttons on display.
This principle could also be used in many other contexts like interpretative devices in museums …etc. And of course as a way of visually displaying information on the i-phone…
paperJam TV set design
Luxembourg based media group ‘Maison Moderne’ has commissioned me to design a TV set for its new venture, paperJam TV.
The design concept is based on an intricate curtain wall featuring numerous cut-outs based on the pattern of the existing paperJam logo. The idea was to create a notion of visual depth and shadows that ‘texture’ the background in an otherwise extremely confined space (4,5m X 3,5m). The pattern also helps to blur the scale and make the space appear larger then it really is.
Additionally we installed RGB LED’s to graze up the walls behind the hanging ‘curtains’. These LED’s are individually addressable, enabling the background to be animated by gently pulsating and changing colour schemes.
Photo: © Olivier Minaire / Maison Moderne (TM)
paperJam TV: www.paperJam.TV
3D tiles
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Outdoor ceramic tiles in the public realm always fascinated me, especially if they are in relief. They seem to be such a good solution for buildings, street furniture and walls. There is an almost endless scope of design options; texture, pattern, light reflection, colour ..etc. The slide show shows examples from Belgium (Ostend), Portugal (Cascais) & France (Le Tréport).
If any reader knows of other fine examples, please let me know. I would like to collect more images and hopefully I can post a more comprehensive collection of examples in the near future.
Vacation-land
I found this 1952 tourism brochure at a car boot sale in Belgium. Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg – vacation-land is a great slogan, the land of leisure and pleasure! I also like the wood carving style font and the friendliness that transpires through the illustrations. Although the message is very simple I think it still works today!
Please check-out the post below with the map on the opposite side of this page.
Vacation-land 2
This is the map on the reverse of the 1952 brochure. Great wood carving style graphics, great colours, great graphic treatment of our neighbouring countries!
The tourist attractions in the 50′s seem overwhelmingly to centre around outdoor activities like walking, kayaking and hunting… all of that surrounded by deep woods and medieval castles. I can’t help thinking that this is still our most valued tourist capital (minus hunting), certainly in terms of branding & positioning. Whilst promoting the country as a shopping or contemporary arts destination still has some way to go we should cherish, cultivate and promote the real gems that are unique to Luxembourg.
Graphic designer: Pe’l Schlechter
leave a comment