October 16, 2015

The Netherlands seen as a network of light

Filed under: General by Orangemaster @ 3:48 pm

Postzegelvel-verlichting_tcm9-69332

This week Post NL has issued a set of stamps designed by Daan Roosegaarde, depicting the Netherlands as a network of light seen from space, shaped by its cities and roads.

The Netherlands looks like a lit up jellyfish and reminds me of when you fly over the country at night. Roosegaarde says the stamps offer both literal and figurative enlightenment, with each stamp featuring a different part of the Netherlands. Roosegaarde was inspired by aerial photos taken by Dutch astronaut André Kuipers and satellite photos of the Netherlands, after which he incorporated his own interpretation into the images.

I suggest you look at André Kuipers’ Flickr stream if you haven’t yet, some of his pictures are definitely inspiring.

(Link and image: www.postnl.nl)

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May 20, 2015

Phototrope shirt for running at night

Filed under: Design,Sports by Orangemaster @ 12:21 pm

Phototrope

Developed based on her own experience running in Amsterdam, which when it’s dark makes you feel like the frog in the old video game Frogger, Dutch designer Pauline van Dongen has created a phototrope shirt using LEDs and foil, designed to improve safety for runners. It is made from technical jersey embedded with washable strips of the low-energy lights and sections of reflective ‘prismatic’ foil material that curve around the body.

Most runners including myself tend to use flashing bicycle lights or bits of clothing with reflective material, but none of it illuminates anywhere near as well or looks as cool as Van Dongen’s garment. She wanted to create a design that felt more like a garment a runner would wear regardless of the safety aspects, as runners need to be comfortable, and dangling lights or bracelets are not the way to go.

The jersey is still a prototype, but I already want one. Find out more about Van Dongen’s ideas with the use of a cardigan that helps with patient rehabilitation.

(Link and photo: www.dezeen.com)

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August 20, 2011

Dandelion LED lamp wins Summer Expo 2011

Filed under: Art by Branko Collin @ 1:31 pm

Studio Drift has won the audience award of Summer Expo 2011 with its Fragile Future 3.5, a lamp made of many tiny lights covered with dandelion seeds.

According to Ingeborg van Lieshout at Bright.nl, “wide recognition is exactly what Drift are seeking”.

Shown here is a fragment of the Fragile Future III lamp to show you how dandelion-like these lamps really look like.

Last time we mistakenly reported that Summer Expo 2011 is all about paintings. The actual categories in which professional and amateur artists could enter works are 2D, 3D, Photography and Multimedia.

Our choice of highlighting Annemieke Alberts’ painting Be-spiegelingen back then proved a fortunate one though, as the work won second prize. Third prize went to Tilleke Schwarz’ cloth ‘painting’ Purr Chase.

Today is the last day of the exhibition, so hurry over to the Hague if you want to see and the 247 other works of the expo.

(Photo: Studio Drift)

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