LaCie announced the Golden Disk, a newly designed device created by famed industrial designer Ora-Ïto. (more…)

After meeting at the SaloneSatellite in Milan last April, the Japanese Manufacturer Idée has commissioned Marina Bautier to design a collection of furniture, in the same line as the one she presented at the fair (the Bureau, Chaise & Tabouret, Portemanteau and Lamp). (more…)

“Buy 3 for the price of 2″ is a marketing trick that persuades people to buy bigger-sized packs also when we are talking about food. The results of overeating are obvious: over nutrition, eating disorders, obesity, illness, guilt, wasting food, wasting resources, over production, etc. (more…)

SCRIBOman is a paper table, to draw and doodle on, pleasently self-destructive, decomposing itself, down to its ultimate sheet.

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For swimming or for an adventurous walk along the rocks of the seacoast, the shoe, light and compact, allows for a safe climb on the rocks and a fast entry into water.
The duckfins designed with side fins and an ergonomic form eases walking on rocks in the water as well as on land. (more…)

5,084,000,000 people, 5,360 pages, 3,700 years, 243 countries, 7 books, and 1 shelf. For the first time, the world’s most influential religious texts are brought together and presented on the same level, their coexistence acknowledged and celebrated. (more…)

TAU / Milica Jović
A spiral bowl made during Rest Wood Design workshop, intended for use as a fruit bowl or as a stand for floral
arrangements. Material: ash wood off-cuts (leftovers from parquet production), glued using two-component adhesive. The University of Belgrade’s Furniture and Interior

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Bickert:  Is there something in Belgrade or the larger region that you find inspiring or take ideas and motifs from?
Mihailović:  The biggest inspiration for my work comes from the Balkans – the tension in the passionate love-hate relationships at play always make me want to go (all out) for it. Even sources like my grandmother, whose lovely handwork in lace and other materials, play a part in how I see things, what I want to use, incorporate into the look and feel of my production.

Bickert:  Is there an era, or some personalities, styles, designers, or something else that you have in mind, that move you in the process of determining what you want to create and communicate?
Mihailović:  Mostly my thinking and research revolves around a mix between different things, periods, eras, music, art, it’s kind of both focussed and all over the place. My next collection is a mix of Florentine Renaissance, the music and atmosphere of the 80s, and the artist Gina Pane – and the link between all of them is roses.

Bickert:  Where – shop, city, country, region – are you showing, selling, represented?
Mihailović:  My collections are presented in Milan (at showroom Alserio22) and in Paris (showroom romeo) during fashion weeks. I also have designs with several stockists, the most important of which is Maria-Luisa in Paris, and Jeff Mills in Chicago, as well as several shops in Tokyo, New York, and Brussels.

Bickert:  Where do you see the most interest (conceptually, commercially) in your work coming from? And is Belgrade on your “business” map? Why/why not?
Mihailović:  My business map is pretty scattered, following routes from Antwerp to Paris,  from Florence to Milan, and back to Belgrade. Belgrade is very important on my business map, as I here I have my atelier for my prototypes and (all of my detailed) handwork.

Bickert:  When we went together to get all those shoes at that little boutique, there were three, sometimes four women all pulling out stuff enthusiastically, happy to lend them out and have them used; is this a typical attitude or energy in fashion & design circles in Belgrade?
Mihailović:  I’ve been working for many years with the people in that (great) little Belgrade boutique. I love to work over there with them, they’re so easy going, helpful, enthusiastic and professional. In my experience it’s not a problem to organise and get all the things you need to do something – a show, a shoot, whatever – here in Belgrade. People here want to make things happen.

Bickert:  It’s already (insider) urban legend that performer Rosin Murphy has been wearing – flaunting – your designs. Who else would you like to see wearing or using your clothes; and how?
Mihailović:  Rosin Murphy is the one of the most complete personalities I’ve ever met. I love the way she brings amazing energy to everything she puts on. It was a real pleasure to prepare some pieces from my collection for her. I tend to get lots of requests from Belgrade, even from Serbian folk stars, most of which I refuse because I’m not technically in the music business; and style for them is often about saying that I was working for someone (a name) like Roberto Cavalli. But my design-products are totally different, and aren’t made specifically for these types of women. Some personalities like the painter Maria Melesijević or fashion journalist Irena Misović know how to wear my things and I’m glad, gratified, to see them in them.

Author: Jeff Bickert
Photo: Špela Kasal

This autumn – mid-October to mid-December – Ljubljana hosts its first Independent Illustrators Biennale. The event initiator Tretaroka aims to re-define standard forms by applying a fresh and innovative approach to understanding contemporary illustration and its contexts. The Biennale hosts more than 30 selected young artists and presents more than 10 exhibitions, projects, presentations, and live actions dispersed throughout galleries and the city’s public spaces. The first major event, at the opening of the Biennale 25.10 will sees the project ‘Drevo’ (The Tree) by Žiga Aljaž and David Krančan in club K4. Earlier the same evening BiKofe hosts Mina Žabnikar’s exhibition ‘The Bears are Coming’ ( 25.10 – 25.11. 2007). Here a selection of exhibited authors and variations on their exhibited work.
For dates, artists and venues: www.bienaleneodvisnih.com.

Lukatarina (Luka Mancini & Katarina Mrvar) are a young design duo, focusing on expressive typography, illustration and ornaments. Featured here: a composition of various Tipotapete fonts by which a collection of wallpaper designs was constructed for the wallpaper on demand company Berlintapete.
www.lukatarina.com; www.berlintapete.de

ZEK CREW produces random and conceptual visual interventions, mixing illustration, design and urban typography with a playful attitude.
more: www.zek.si

MINA-FINA wakes up everyday with good intentions but ends up eating cakes. She likes drawing mundane objects and writing down silly words. And sometimes she works as  graphic designer Mina Žabnikar.
more: www.skylined.org/mina

Žiga Testen / Work on Display
A casual selection of recent work, leftovers, rejects and random images. Žiga Testen is a graphic designer.
more: www.workondisplay.org

Bernhard Schwarzbauer [Austria]
Paolo Golinelli [Italy]
Matjaž Zorc [Slovenia]

Before we open up the question of identity in your work and design in general, why not introduce yourselves through your recent projects?
BS Presently I work part time at the Design department of “Ic!-Berlin” and on some of my own projects as well. I’m occupied with the further development and commercialization of my Streamer lounge chair at the moment. Streamer was successfully presented at the IMM Cologne 2007. What makes it special is its transformation from a two-dimensional material into a third dimension where the material generates the form by searching for the shortest line. The result of the shape depends on the self-stabilising stress of the material, and is controlled by the position of the fixing points. The form of the seat shell is the result of a series of spring steel streamers. The under-frame is used to fix the streamers and creates the ergonomic factors.
PG Recent projects include a bicycle saddle cover, a lamp and “Old Plast”. The bicycle saddle cover is a plastic shell that can be fixed below the rear part of the saddle to protect the saddle against the rain. The lamp was designed for a competition – to design a glass desk lamp whose light beam should be easily directed to different positions. This implied the presence of jointed elements, an aspect which is inconsistent with the common constructional features of glass. Here the glass base of the lamp is the element on which the illuminating body can rotate. And “Old Plast!” is a product for aging plastic materials and makes them retain their patina. The idea came from a question to myself – why can’t plastic, like wood, iron and other natural materials, afford to grow old and increase in value.
MZ In Slovenia there are few opportunities to work as an industrial designer – which is why I’m happy finding my own way in designing what I like. I’m currently working for an advertising agency, where design needs to have a certain story or a concept behind it – design can be just a part of that story. Even when designing projects for promotional purposes you need to re-think ways of using a certain object and then put it into the story of a particular client. This means you suddenly find your self designing almost everything – bags, boxes, bottles, promotional spaces, points of sale. It’s always the same challenge but a different solution, which for me is very challenging and exciting.

MP What does the term or idea of “identity” mean to you – a framework, or a guide in your work? Does it – explicitly or implicitly – inform your work-process and/or the final result?

MZ It’s a very tricky situation being recognized as different – or being recognized as one that constantly repeats himself. So identity can be both good and bad. If you think differently, open-mindedly, you’ll constantly evolve and make products with some clever twists but not necessarily with any recognizable style. On the other hand, by favouring certain forms or styles a designer can repeat himself more often than he should. I think the best – and most difficult way – is somewhere in between.
PG For me it’s hard to connect my identity with a place. I see the significance of identity in a relationship of exact similarity or coincidence, between the idea behind the project and its material outcome.
BS The term is a very complex one. Identity is connected often with homeland, a sense of belonging and a lot of stereotypes. I think it just happens to you. The world is getting smaller and smaller, you see the same products almost everywhere, the same entertainment and information; so identity becomes something that’s kept alive for tourists, it’s a marketing tool.

What about the initial stage, when working on ideas for a new design – identity as a driving factor in the approach or conceptualization process?
PG It’s very important, again in the context of idea and result.
BS Identity isn’t important for my work. I don’t think anybody likes or dislikes my work just because I’m an Austrian. A typical Austrian design style doesn’t exist. When I’m realizing a product with a local producer – because I think low-wage countries aren’t the solution for everything – it doesn’t just automatically come out a product with some national identity.
MZ When making a certain design for a client or brand, identity depends on certain desires. If a designer has positively recognized some identity or a designer’s name became a brand than that can be used for co-branding, and his “identity” will help sell more. But when a designer’s work is merely done for a company that’s looking to maintain its own identity, the designer needs to work in a way that makes the work recognizable.

In today’s world of internet, (other) mass media and new(er) technologies, where we see borders blurred or disappearing in the face of globalization, how do you see or understand the idea of “identity” – as it relates to how we perceive and interact with the world around us?
MZ Of course identity is blurred with all the desires that market has and expresses. In a way people want to look different but somehow they all end up uniform. Lifestyle is a group of brands. What you buy is what you are.
BS I think traditional identities will be diffused and new kinds of identities will be generated. Identity will be based more on personality, independent of place. At the moment I live in Berlin which generates a lot of identities through all its many locals and immigrants. The constant exchange of people creates a liquid and fluctuating identity.
PG I believe a sense of identity is to be found first of all in ourselves, more than in our ability to confront reality critically, but this is becoming more and more complex.

Kontrast talks about “the creative strength, passion and exotica of southeast Europe”. How do see this part of the world, how would you describe or characterise it?
BS I suppose that for a lot of Europeans the southeast really is a little exotic – due to a lack of information; and the idea is based more on stereotyping and speculation than on facts. I think southeast Europe should take advantage of the creative power of the region. It’s the same situation in Austria – have you have heard of an Austrian design like we hear about Italian design? Design should be used to find and confirm identity.
PG This is a part of the world I know only marginally better than others and which I vaguely try to identify with.
MZ Southeast Europe has an understandably passionate love of nice, well-designed things. I’m not sure that an identity of southeast Europe is something I would hold on to when designing. Red stars don’t cross my mind when making a bottle. But my goal is to make things we used to have – differently! I try to produce objects that are both well-designed and functional.

Bernhard Schwarzbauer
From Linz, Austria. 1986 – 1992 trained as goldsmith and engraver. 1993 – 2004 at “Lumen optics and fashion” – design and prototypes for eyeglasses. 2000 – 2006 studied industrial design in Vienna and Berlin, made design for “Ic! – Berlin” and own projects.

Paolo Golinelli
From Milan, Italy. Studied architecture and design at Politecnico, Milan. Since 2003 professor at Milan Politecnico. Author of research related to design and architecture, with focus on spaces devoted to cultural activities. 1998 won Compasso d’Oro award for young designers; has designed furniture and accessories; work exhibited and published in Italy and abroad.

Matjaž Zorc
Design studies at Academy of Fine Arts (Ljubljana). With colleagues established design group Asobi and received first design award on concourse. 1997 joined Idea Company Agency. From 2000 design-work at Futura (advertising) Agency (Ljubljana), on concepts for fairs, exhibitions, interiors, gifts, packaging; design awards in Slovenia and abroad.

Author: Mattea Panterr
Photos: courtesy Golinelli, Schwarzbauer, Zorc; photo of Golinelli chair by Archive Steel

The recent fast growth of our cities brought us new facets of alienation and anonymity – in sociological terms also known as ‘the lonely crowd’. Urban public spaces such as streets, parks and markets have a special role in the struggle against the dehumanisation of the post-industrial city. They are places of meeting and communication, an assemblage of moving pictures and are true indicators of the identity of a certain city and its inhabitants.
Markets represent one of the oldest venues for the selling of goods and in particular, foodstuffs. Over history they’ve followed the development of socio-economic relations and have continuously – or not – enriched their offer, equipment and selling-styles. Markets grow spontaneously – where none exists a wild market forms and indicates the need to build one. They’re an anthill of different desires and possibilities, places with no fixed prices, with your favourite fresh tomatoes, exchanges of information, genuine relationships between the sellers and buyers, and a place that recognises little or no differentiation between rich and poor. Markets we find indoors and out, in the centre of the city or on the periphery. And there are the green, the eco, the grown and the raised, the old and new.

Central Market of Ljubljana (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
It’s hard to imagine how Ljubljana would look if Jože Plečnik hadn’t given it such a strong stamp of representative buildings and regulations. Nor could we imagine not being able to sit under willows along the Ljubljanica river, nor buy fresh cheese and pastries at the Market with which to make burek. The Market offers a special visual and inner experience where you forget about time, space and supermarkets.
It was built on the spot of the ancient city walls which were superseded by the colonnade by the Ljubljanica. Plečnik’s idea was to create a monumental and connected riverside space which would stretch between the Three Bridges and the Dragon Bridge. The composition begins with the little temple of the flower-shop. This is followed by an open colonnade with a balustrade on the river side and a semicircular balcony which conceals the spiral staircase leading down to the fish market. In order to provide the necessary views of the river the architect interrupted it with two open-columned loggias. The monumental covered Butchers’ Bridge was supposed to have stood in a gap somewhere halfway along the Market but the realisation of the bridge was interrupted by the WWII; the Market was completely renovated in 1994-95.
photo: Simon Plestenjak

Zeleni Venac Market (Belgrade, Serbia)
Zeleni venac (trans: green wreath) is an urban neighbourhood of Belgrade that was build in the area previously part of the trench which surrounded the Kalemegdan fortress in the 18th century. What makes Zeleni Venac known today is the open market of the same name, one of the largest and oldest in Belgrade. It was first mentioned in 1885 when the government of the city decided that Zeleni venac would become one of the 7 cab-stands. In 1918 the first assembly of greengrocers was held on this spot. It was built in 1926 as a project of Viktor Gros. Back then it was one of the most contemporary markets and was called the queen of the markets.
In 2005 city architect Đorđe Bobić started to reconstruct it, with the opening in early 2007. The communal infrastructure has been completely renewed. In spite of (or because of) its freshness and newness the market looks somehow too tidy and too organized for the chaotic spirit of Belgrade.
photo: Lidija Dragišič

Central Market Hall - Nagy Vásárcsarnok (Budapest, Hungary)
Heading south-west from Kálvin tér to Vámház körút, we come across the largest of five market halls opened towards the end of the 19th century – the Central Market Hall.
Entering the market through the main entrance, knowing which way to turn is difficult, for all the colourful booths and tempting meats and produce immediately seduce. Perhaps it’s best to begin in the basement, where you can taste Hungary’s famous pickled vegetables and visit the oriental stores.
This grand structure originally incorporated an indoor canal by which goods were delivered to the market’s traders. The sheer size and grandeur of the hall reflects an era when Budapest was a city with big ideas. After the design competition for a new market hall was announced in 1892, nine entries were submitted. The jury commissioned architect Samu Pecz for the implementation of the project. Several famous industrialists of the time were involved in the construction of the imposing building. The coloured ceramic components were made by the Vilmos Zsolnay ceramic company, which was famous throughout Europe. Renovations were finished in 1994 and the market hall once again became one of the most prestigious buildings of Budapest. In 1999, it won the most prestigious international prize of the architectural world, the FIABCI Prix d’Excellence.
photo: Lidija Dragišič

Author: Nataša Mrkonjič

Celebrity is a table lamp from Austrian studio element design  with unusual use of sunglasses - eyes and light switched their usual sides. (more…)