Useful things of beauty: 15 amazing gifts to give or get this holiday season. You could live without them, but why?Look around your house, your office, the places you spend the most time. Certain things we fuss about endlessly: the right fabric for a couch, the right shade of paint in a room. Others seem needlessly ignored. Who made telephones black (or white) and square? Why are personal computers so much like office furniture--beige, drab and uniform--that we now leave them behind for laptops at home? Why do most new cars seem to be roughly the same: four doors of boredom at best? Some people stress over the little things, like how a kitchen tool looks, rather than what it actually does. They are called designers, and we appealed to a handful of Latin American design experts for some pointers on which of the products we buy now are the best. Not necessarily technically, nor on price, but just on how they look and feel. They might also be well made, but that's beside the point. Looking good is better than feeling good, as the joke goes. So here are some of their picks, ranging from sandals and wristwatches to sports cars and huge televisions, with some of their thoughts (and ours) on why. Happy shopping. LATIN TRADE Latin Trade is a monthly magazine covering global business in Latin America and the Caribbean. Similar to Forbes and Fortune Magazine in coverage, the magazine was founded in 1993 and now publishes 87,000 copies 1 each month in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Design 2005 Panel: We sought the opinions of designers from across the Americas for our first-ever design feature. They were asked to consider only mass-produced items that can be purchased today, and to place design first, although utility and quality could play a supporting role supporting role n → second rôle m supporting role n → ruolo non protagonista in their choices. No limits were placed on price or country of origin. Gerrit Rietveld Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (Utrecht, June 24 1888 – Utrecht, June 26 1964), was a Dutch designer, architect and cabinet maker. In 1911, Rietveld started his own furniture factory, while studying architecture. Red Blue Chair Soon to turn 100, the chair looks just 15 years old in design terms. A huge influence on architecture as well. US$699 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thomaz R. Bondioli (Brazil) is a product designer educated at Fundacao Armando Alvares Penteado in industrial design. His work has been honored in domestic and international design contests. Honda Shadow The Honda Shadow refers to a family of motorcyles made by Honda since 1983. The Honda Shadow is a cruiser-type motorcycle, meaning it has an upright riding position and wide handle bars. Comfortable, yet marvelously designed. US$6,599 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Apple iPod Demonstrates once again how less is more. Clean, simple, small. Available in several models, very easy to use. The indispensable tool of the young designer. US$299 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dell XPS The Dell XPS is a high-end line of gaming computers sold by Dell. The "Xtreme Performance System", or XPS, dates back to 1993. Development In early 1993 it was agreed by Dell's staff that it needed to create products to serve the rapidly growing consumer PC market. Gen 5 Very clean, geometric form and the function commands (power on, for example) are well placed. US$2,179 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Gonzalo Castillo (Chile) is a partner in Proyectos Corporativos as well as a design professor at the Universidad Catolica de Chile, where he is director of the division of branding and visual communication. Levi's 501 Jeans An old favorite with an amazing pedigree. US$32 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Havaianas Proof that a good idea with a good design can withstand the test of time. US$10 to $20 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Apple PowerBook Pretty but plenty of impact. Great design and a nice touch in the home or on a well-designed desk. US$2,699 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nokia 7270 Already a great brand, Nokia unites in its cellular phones optimal design with optimal useability. US$300 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cristiano Basso Gallina (Brazil) is the B founder of design.comDESENHO in Bento A data structure used to store embedded documents in an OpenDoc compound document. Bento, which stands for lunch box in Japanese, provides a "container" to hold the data and a format for defining its contents. Goncalves. He holds six industrial patents for objects as diverse as utensils, furniture and packing materials. Audi A3 Modern, futuristic and sporty sport·y adj. sport·i·er, sport·i·est 1. Appropriate for sport or participation in sports. 2. Exhibiting sportsmanship; sporting. 3. Flashy; jazzy. , a dream car and symbol of good design and status. US$25,460 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Allan Szacher (Brazil) is the founder of ZupiDesign, where he works on corporate identity, Web sites and art expositions. He has done work for clients such as Motorola, Multishow, GNT GNT Good News Translation (Bible) GNT Generation Nouvelles Technologies (Paris, France) GNT Greek New Testament GNT Grand National Teams (ACBL Bridge competition) , Istoe, Livraria Cultura, Mizuno and Bandicoot bandicoot, small marsupial mammal native to Australia and nearby islands. There are 19 species in eight genera. Bandicoots have long, pointed, shrewlike faces; gray or brown fur; and long, bushy, ratlike tails. . Nike athletic shoes Each new design is crazier than the last. No longer simply a shoe but something alive and simultaneously synthetic. US$80 to $150 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sony Grand Wega A liquid crystal rear projection television system using a patented "optical engine" made by Sony to provide a large image in a very compact chassis. Screen sizes in inches as of 2004 can range anywhere for 42" to 65"; with exceptional sharpness, composed of approximately 2 million plus pixels. Now this is a television. Flat-screen, compact design and a quality product. US$3,999 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Marcos Leao (Brazil) in 1989 founded Goiania a Das Haus Editora de Moveis, an architecture and design firm responsible for 700 items such as furniture and objects and 80 architectural projects. Swiss Memory The newest version of the Swiss army knife has a pen drive with up to 128 megabytes of memory. A classic can and should evolve. US$197 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Timex Model 18581 Simple, easy to read. Modern with nice lines. Black and white contrast is friendly, while red and green pointers provide poetic counterpoint. US$25 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Absolut vodka Beyond merely beautiful, the bottle doubles as a decorative item on your bar at home. US$48 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Volkswagen Beetle This article is about the original Volkswagen Beetle. For the one introduced in 1997, see Volkswagen New Beetle. The Volkswagen Type 1, more commonly known as the Beetle Proportional and harmonious form, a good example, especially of industrial design. Well-defined lines, synthesis and formal coherence. Accessible to the eyes. US$16,750 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GREG BROWN Greg Brown may refer to:
Miami (mīăm`ē, –ə). 1 City (1990 pop. 358,548), seat of Dade co., SE Fla., on Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River; inc. 1896. |
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