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Former Apple UI designer joins Facebook to lead product design team
It remains to be seen exactly what he'll be involved with, but Facebook's new Product Design Manager brings quite a background with him to the job. Until just a few months ago, Chris Weeldreyer was a UI Design Manager at Apple (a role held for over eight years) where, as The Next Web reports, he was responsible for the company's iWeb and Numbers software, and has been named in a number of Apple's patent applications. Before that, he worked in both hardware and software product development, having held positions at Frog Design, Pentagram and Cooper. No word from either company on the move, but Weeldreyer himself made the move official on his LinkedIn page -- and, of course, his Facebook profile.
ADzero Bamboo cellphone's aiming for the giant Panda market (video)
This is the ADzero, a smartphone with a four-year old, organically grown bamboo unibody shell. It was designed by British student Kieron-Scott Woodhouse, a final-year product design student at Middlesex University. After his concept designs were spotted online, the 23 year old was approached to help design a real device. The Android-powered phone is built with an eye on sustainability, but isn't scrimping on the technical: its packing a camera with a reportedly unique ring-flash that encircles the lens. It'll be released in China and the UK shortly, with a focus on getting it into the hands of design-focused consumers. After the break we've got a clip of Mr. Woodhouse as he looks to carry on the tradition of world-class British designers.
Alex Dodge's 'Generative' depicts the wearable sci-fi tech of your dreams, literally
In an upcoming gallery show dubbed Generative, artist Alex Dodge (in collaboration with tech start-up called... Generative) will be sucking you into an awesome near-future where shoes generate electricity, the "Sleep Talker" cap lets you transmit your dreams into other's, and a shirt becomes a touch-sensitive input device. As the show's press release puts it, "Dodge's objects fetishize the technological imperative, or the inevitable hybridization of man and machine, as something worthy of appreciation in itself." The works will be shown off at the Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery in Brooklyn next week, but you can get a peek at tech just out of reach right now by perusing the accompanying catalog for the show and browsing the handful of images below.
Ive wins National Design Award
It seems like Apple's Johnathan Ive does two things: design great products, and win awards for designing said products. So today's Ive news is of the second order-- at the National Design Awards in Washington on Wednesday, Ive picked up the product design award. According to the Washington Post, Ive was recognized for his work on the iMac, the iBook, and the iPod, but we can't help but think having the iPhone now under his belt didn't hurt either.Awards also went to Adobe for creating Photoshop, the "gold standard" of photo manipulation software, and a few other architects and designers from various places around the country. The awards were handed out by First Lady Laura Bush, who said Ive's work "...has made it more fun to go back in time and play oldies on our iPods." She's still listening to oldies? Someone show this woman the podcast page on iTunes!
