I found this amazing image of a K4 Kithaus on the Herman Miller Lifework blog the other day. The K4 is a customizable prefabricated small structure, which can be adapted to most sites and uses. Pictured here is a couple’s backyard writer’s retreat in Brentwood, California.

Makr Carry Goods is one of my favorite contemporary brands and is the true embodiment of quality American made products. This video was made by Grain and Gram artfully capturing the lifestyle and process of Jason Gregory owner and lead designer of Makr.

This Forest Stair in Stokke, Norway offers an amazing view and a raised perspective to see the rest of the Sti For Øye sculpture park. The design for the stair was whittled down from an original set of 20 ideas, Saunders Architecture refers to this process as ‘form of Darwinism’. Only the most fit concepts survive.

(via ArchDaily »)

Yasuaki Onishi’s new installation at Rice Gallery in Houston, Texas is this mammoth mountainous form seemingly hanging in space.

UPDATE: I also just noticed Tina posted an awesome little video of the installation over on swissmiss.

(via Beautiful/Decay »)

The name sums it all up. House to Catch the Mountain designed by Japanese Tezuka Architects was completed this February.

(via Spoon & Tomago »)

I have admired and followed the Austin based collaborative creative group Public School for a few years now. They are a wildly talented and varied group working as individuals and coming together when the project calls for it. Leo Burnett, a partner at PS made this short video of Jay B Sauceda talking about their studio and it’s members.

General Architecture did a fantastic job on the renovation work of this summer house in Arboga, Sweden. I am really intrigued by the classic nature of the design and the local northern European vernacular that the building fits into.

A shelf with built in adjustable bookend is such a simple idea. This design was originally a contest submission by Colleen Whiteley to Dwell’s Live Work Design Contest.

(via swissmiss »)

Jon Contino is one of those rare designers that is constantly able to surprise me. When a particular designer gets good at a specific thing it easy to become a specialist and only do work in that vein. These designs were created for Louis C.K.’s semi-autobiographical sitcom Louie, which is entering it’s second season. Jon also has a knack for channeling the gritty visceral feeling that is a uniquely New York sort of vibe. The type obscuring but also simultaneously defining buildings, storefronts, taxicabs and pizza slices is brilliant.

I was perusing Site Inspire yesterday, and saw what at first glance looked like another mildly interesting full bleed photo site. I was really pleased to find under further inspection Swellca.st features a super original user interface and a really nice data visualization for staying up to date on the surf conditions. It is the creation of Australian web shop Finely Sliced. The name is also really great, and probably the best use of a (dot)country extension I have seen to date.

I just played Type Connection, the world’s first typographic dating game. This type dating game was created by Aura Seltzer for her senior thesis project at MICA, and helps players learn to pair and apply typefaces.

Nike commissioned illustrators Berto Martinez and Chidy Wayne to help with designing a streetwear line based on the iconic F.C. Barcelona. Instead of jumping right into designing the clothing based on their preconceptions, Martinez and Wayne took their sketchbooks to the field and observed game play. Their sketches extracted the personality and characteristic elements of each player, which they used to develop the clothing designs around.

(via Look my backpack »)

Don Draper’s apartment in the current season of Mad Men is looking glass into what mid-century modern was like to live in. David A. Keeps wrote a great article for La Times which details a lot of the furniture and textiles used or at least referenced in Apartment 17-B.

(via Quipsologies »)

Trail mix packaging does need a little injection of the trail in it’s look, feel and functionality. This student project by Mike L. Perry does a nice job of giving trail mix a vintage mountain climber, logger sort of vibe. I particularly like the industrial grommet on it so you could easily hook it to your pack or belt.

(via Lovely Package »)

Haus Fohren in Austria was designed by Architekt Di Bernardo Bader. A single volume divided into spaces suitable for specific uses features wood surfaces as the main material both inside and out. The simple structure is excentuated by the high level of craft in all of the carpentry and construction.

(via SUBTILITAS »)

Sky Deck is a nice piece of design to make enjoying a drink or a snack on your balcony. Designed by Japanese architects Torafu is a great way to transform otherwise difficult to use outdoor space.

(via NOTCOT »)

Designed by Martin Steininger the award winning Concrete Kitchen is utilitarian and super unique. The use of concrete for most of the key surfaces is a little futuristic, but at the same time extremely functional. I am particularly drawn to the seamless integration of all the fixtures and appliances into the hand polished concrete surfaces.

(via Minimalissimo »)

Hub Concierge is a service allowing guests at small boutique hotels to access relevant information about the city including restaurant recommendations, shops and more. The branding iden­city, icon design and visual design for the app and website was done by Toronto-based Michael Mavian.

(via Design Work Life »)

A simple house wooden house like this in an idyllic setting in a forest seems perfect. Japanese architects Koji Tsutsui designed this cabin as an escape to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

(via ArchDaily »)

These “layer drawings” by Japanese artist Nobuhiro Nakanishi are completely captivating. The way they occupy space is really amazing and the content of the drawings is enhanced by the presentation and the addition of the elements of 3-D light and space. Nakanishi’s installations have been commissioned by fashion retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue and 3.1 Phillip Lim.

(via Spoon & Tomago »)