The first GE WattStation was designed for public sidewalks, now the residential version for your home is here.  Charging electrical vehicles in your garages means no more trips to the gas stations, something that surely no one will miss! more...

One more week to catch TECHNOcraft at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.  Our first curatorial show will be closing Sunday, October 3rd.  Come experience how the boundaries between the role of the designer and the consumer are disappearing...hurry before time runs out!

Our Issey Miyake VUE watch is close to launch (soon...soon),  but we couldn’t wait to share details about the packaging! To build on VUE’s spirit of discovery, the packaging hides and protects the watch within the layers of a note pad.  Rather than the typical jewelry style watch box, our solution is to conceal the watch in a stack of recycled paper: write a special note when gifting VUE, or just re-use the entire note-pad/cum packaging for your poetry or grocery list...

Why design a vibrator?  A second one? Well...if there is more magic to bring to life, why not?

Meet the second installment of our "Pleasure to the People" partnership with Jimmyjane, designed in collaboration with founder Ethan Imboden.  FORM 3 adds a whole new dimension to human touch, putting the vibration literally at your fingertips.  Press your finger through the soft silicone membrane and focus the sensation exactly where you want it.  By amplifying your own digit, you bring the "magic touch" to those magic moments...more

For anyone who would enjoy detailed instructions, check out the video.

FORM 3 launches September 16, 2010 worldwide.  Get yours at www.jimmyjane.com/form3

For 36 years Creative Growth Art Center's mission has been to foster artists with developmental disabilities.  The exemplary program has given safe harbor to artists and helped build their careers through exhibitions worldwide in galleries and major museums.  Now you can wear that incredible art and enjoy PACT's environmental and organic commitment, while contributing to the amazing work of the folks at Creative Growth.  And why wouldn't you?

PACT’s Creative Growth collection is now at www.wearPACT.com and through select retailers such as Convert in Berkeley, CA, Kuhlman in Seattle, WA, and Local 35 in Portland, OR.

Imagine this: You never have to go to the gas station again...and instead you’re charging your electric car at work, at home, or at the park while the kids are playing.  This is exactly what GE+fuseproject are presenting today - an electric vehicle charging station called the GE WattStation.

The WattStation integrates in to the urban landscape more like greenery than a machine: lower profile, smooth and rounded in form with a welcoming interface angled-up towards the user, it is resistant to the tough weather and streets, while still looking and feeling friendly.  

Did we mention it charges your EV in 4-8 hours versus the usual 12-18?  And with an LED light-ring indicating its availability from afar, parking has never been this friendly.  more...

Bored with mass-production? Scared of cultural globalization? Emotionally disconnected from your consumption?  Designers around the world are using technology to fight back and create a new economy based on craft, individualization and your participation in the process of creation.

After 12 months of work, our first curatorial project opens today at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts till October 3rd.  We are showing more than 800 pieces by over 40 artists: selected works span the spectrum from intentionally collaborative (such as “platforms” and “crowd-sourcing” where individuals collaborate and customize), to outsider “hacks” where manufactured products are adapted or modified by you.   Do come experience how the boundaries between the role of the designer and the consumer are disappearing...we’ll be there ready to play and make together!

We have never blogged about awards, but this time it’s big, as one of the fusers said: "it’s like winning the World Cup of design!”.  With 15 awards from the IDSA and Fast Company, fuseproject finds itself in the #1 spot of global design firms.

Ok...we hear the music starting, but a shout out to our talented and hardworking designers, the fuse team, our visionary clients, to Mom, Dad, IDSA, Fast Company and the Academy!

http://www.fastcodesign.com/idea-2010

Today is the historical launch of the Green Products Innovation Institute, a non-profit organization founded on the Cradle to Cradle principles and certification program defined by architect William McDonough and chemist Dr. Michael Braungart.  We are eager to participate in this ground-breaking institution backed by Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, and bring our experience and passion to GPII.  “Cradle to Cradle reconciles the notion of business growth WITH the health of the world and it’s people. It is simply THE future opportunity for change on a scale never achieved by the design profession, and the only reason big business, governments and consumers will be moved to a new way of making and consuming.” Yves Behar, founding member of GPII.

The Green Products Innovation Institute, based in California, focuses on transforming the making and consumption of things into a regenerative force for the planet. Rather than focusing on how industry can become “less bad,” the Institute is set up to be a resource for those who aspire to achieve new levels of environmental and human health and safety for all products sold in California. The Institute will engage key stakeholders worldwide, resulting in a transparent, independently verified framework that can be trusted and looked to for innovation and guidance as we move toward a Cradle to Cradle economy.

To find out more information, and how you can get involved, visit the Green Products Innovation Institute at http://gpinnovation.org/

P.S. We designed the GPII identity...

"See Better to Learn Better" is a free eyeglasses program in partnership with the Mexican government, and our latest design effort in both education and design for good.

11% of kids in Mexico don't learn because they can't see, and the problem is compounded by the stigma of glasses as a handicap.

To solve both problems, the design of the frames provides kids with numerous colors and shape configurations.  5 different frame options in 7 different colors, that means a lot of unique new smiling faces!

The frames are made from an advanced plastic, Grilamid, that is almost unbreakable, and the two-part design allows for lenses to be easily inserted in the field when new prescriptions are filled.

This new program plans to give away 300,000 glasses every year. More...