The LUPE may look like another touchscreen camera but this concept is designed for ease of use and simplicity even tho technically it’s quite complex.

This morning I came across a really fascinating article covering the debate over inexpensive online logo & "branding" companies by Doug Bartow (id29) via the Under Consideration design discussion blog Speak Up.

It highlights the ongoing debate of accessibility of design for all (income brackets) versus "...the devaluation of the design process altogether, particularly in brand development and identity design, which many consider the pinnacle of our field." – by cheapening the proverbial playing field.

In his field study of this issue, Doug commissions 4 different online companies to come up with logo options for a fictitious project and then analyzes and critiques the results. It is a good exploration of what you really get from these types of logo chop shops.

The Challenge: Hire four online logo design companies, give them the same visual identity problem to solve, then critique the results.

Take a look here.

Looks like the much talked-about new Facebook interface has launched. Check it out here.

On first glance, it seems pretty great. Much cleaner in general, especially with a streamlined top navigation (and no more annoyingly cluttered left nav). And I really love the new profile view, so that I can actually see a person's information without having to scroll through a million Bumper Sticker or Scrabulous boxes first. Very nice!

OMG I love robots. Seriously. (About as much as I love David Bowie.)

That's why I have to go check out Wakamuru who is "interning" at the NYC Uniqlo flagship store. I found this all out through his blog. Man, even robots have blogs these days. Check it out here. Apparently he also has a Facebook page. And a twitter page is in the works. So social-networky those robots are. So cute!

Wakamaru is "The robot designed to live with humans." "(the) design concept was to create "an object that can approach its user." "Wakamaru" is designed in the shape of a human being so that it is not considered simply a "machine" or a "terminal," but rather an "independent personality." Its cute expression and form make it appear friendly to everyone from children to elderly people, and suggest a possibility of human growth and development. "

Among his technological accomplishments, he can recognize faces (up to 100 people), respond when spoken to, meet a person's gaze, and offer up subjects of conversation. As "wakamaru" freely moves about an area he can decide for himself when to recharge – requiring no human assistance. He can also check your email, read you the news (from various feeds), schedule things for you, and take pictures and video for you that you can check remotely.

Read more about Wakamuru here.

Canon launches the new DSLR with full HD Video. The camera stands to re-define an industry that seems to be ever-developing at a break neck pace. I can't wait to test drive this one!

Read the full article in Gizmodo »»

After the news leaked over the weekend, Walmart confirmed that it will roll out a new de-hyphenated logo.

While most companies flog their make-overs, Walmart's overly restrained release seems intended to tamp down any speculation that the company is struggling to find a new sweet spot, as competitors get increasingly efficient and Target's model continues to pick up steam.

Here's the parse.

Walmart: Walmart U.S. Refreshes Stores' Logo

Translation: We're not changing our logo. We're refreshing it.

Walmart: For the past two years, a customer focused transformation has been taking place in Walmart's U.S. business.

Translation: We've pushed the price-as-the-only-differentiator model as far as it can go.

Read more

Jacqui Cheng over at Ars Technica writes...

"How many times have you stumbled home after a long night out with
friends, only to plop down in front of the computer and start sending
e-mails that you would wake up regretting the next day? ..."

"Called "Mail Goggles," the Gmail add-on makes sending e-mail from Gmail
more difficult during certain times that you can set manually (while
sober, that is). How does it do this? If you have Mail Goggles
installed—which you can do by going to the "Labs" tab under your Gmail
settings and turning them on—it will force you to answer a series of
math questions before sending out any new messages..."

Read the full article here.

The designs for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing have been revealed, called "Fuwa" (below). It's being reported in the WSJ that even the mascots' designer doesn't want to take responsibility if these don't go down in history as iconic Olympic mascots.

Not that the Fuwa have been the only controversial mascots; since its inception at the Munich games in 1972, the Olympic mascot has always been a source of debate (more mascots below after the jump). The article goes on to state how the Fuwa may be the result of "Too Many Chefs" syndrome and a bureaucratic backlog, a challenge in trying to create an iconic image representing 1.3 billion people and their history - the five Fuwa were pared down from over 1,000 sketches submitted by the artist.

Not sure what I think about them...any thoughts?

Continue reading to see some other mascots from past Olympics...

The first Olympic mascot - Waldi (Munich 1972)

Cobi (Barcelona 1992)

Izzy (Atlanta 1996)

Syd, Ollie, and Millie (Sydney 2000)

Athena and Phevos (Athens 2004)

Filip Noterdaeme, founder of the subversive Homeless Museum recently distributed hundreds of fliers for a discounted "sale" at the Louis Vuitton Store, a fully-functional handbag store inside the Murakami exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Noterdaeme's mission statement explains "Juggling irreverence and sincerity, HoMu seeks to subvert the increasingly impersonal, market-driven art world and expose the sellout of cultural institutions to commerce, cronyism, real estate, and star architects."

"I am only suggesting visitors ask for a special discount... My goal with this action is to confer to museum visitors the absurdity of a bluntly commercial enterprise infiltrating an art museum." – Filip Noterdaeme

Too bad he didn't do this sooner, when the exhibit first opened (it closes on July 13th) – amidst throngs of museum goers, as the project probably would have had a bit more significance.

However, in some ways I think Noterdaeme is rather missing the entire point of Murakami's art which is addressing some of the same issues as he is, by playing upon the notion that distinct lines between art and consumerism cannot be drawn in the sand anymore. In today's society, popular culture and the commercial world already have their hands deep into the pockets of the modern art world. By partnering with Louis Vuitton and actually placing a store within his exhibition, he is already actively commenting on that inseparable consumerism by placing it directly in front of everyone's face.

What remains to be argued however, is that they are really two sides of the same coin – Noterdaeme is actively trying to fight consumerism in the art world (at face value), while Murakami instead tries a more subtle approach by embracing the consumer juggernaut and manipulating it for his own means.

...when it's good, it's good. But when it's bad, well...not so great, according to the NYT.

Some examples:

A Chevrolet billboard that used real pennies lasted only 30 minutes as people picked it clean.

In London, Right Guard sent a team of people onto subway trains with tiny video screens in the armpits of their shirts.

Either way, we're still talking about it...so maybe the point is getting across anyway?

The 50 States Project has brought together 50 photographers from across the USA.

Each photographer lives in one of the 50 States and during the year long project each photographer will represent the State where they live. Every two months each photographer will be sent an assignment by e-mail, they then have two months to produce one image in response. The images must represent both their style and the State in which they live.

The first assignment, ("People"), was sent on 2nd January 2009. The second, ("Habitat"), was sent on 1st March 2009. The remaining 4 assignments will be announced on 1st May, 1st July, 1st September and 1st November 2009 respectively.

By the end of the project there will be 300 images which hopefully represent the talent of the photographers involved and have something to say about the USA today. Check out the photos from the first assignment ("People"), here.

In honor of its 75th anniversary this year, Esquire magazine will be publishing a cover incorporating flashing text designed by MA-based company E Ink (whose technology is also applied in Amazon.com's reading device, Kindle). The text, which reads "the 21st Century Begins Now," will lose juice and stop blinking after 90 days.

“I hope it will be in the Smithsonian,” said David Granger, Esquire’s editor in chief,..."The possibilities of print have just begun. In two years, I hope this looks like cellphones did in 1982, or car phones.”

Read more about it in the New York Times here.

Oh happy day for interactive developers and designers. Apparently Google has been developing a new algorithm for indexing textual Flash content and making it searchable in its browsers! This means more visibility and less jumping through hoops for those who want to use flash in their web applications.

Read the article here.