Posts tagged with Japanese design
October 30, 2009 | New Design | by Gerry Mak |
Check out these images from the recent Castle on the Ocean papercraft festival in Tokyo. The creator of this impressive paper city is a university student by the name of Wataru Itou.
September 5, 2008 | New Eco | by Derrick Stembridge |
The Puyo is an environmentally friendly concept car designed by Honda. The vehicle is ultra-efficient, powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology, and has a unique aesthetic to boot. Literally. The sensual nature of this hydrogen fuel cell car also comes with a sense of transparency from its panoramic windows and intuitive operation. One of the coolest features of the Honda Puyo, however, is that the cabin rotates 360-degrees, so the car doesn’t have to go in reverse.
July 10, 2008 | New Design | by Ari Stein |
We used to depend on sundials back in the day, but now there are multiple ways to tell the time. And Tokyo Flash has just invented another one. Based on LED technology, these watches are not only stylish but futuristic and wildly innovative. They even have a watch from minimalist designer Naoto Fukasawa that is more than just your basic timepiece. The Tokyo Flash site says that their watches are supposed to ‘resemble the various moods of a human’, and they’re definitely an attention grabber. These are watches to take us right through to the 22nd century.
May 12, 2008 | New Products | by Gerry Mak |
Man, going green is so hip these days, even Hello Kitty is getting in on the action. Read more
May 5, 2008 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |
The young architect Junya Ishigami is pushing the boundaries of the weightless aesthetic stream of architecture. Here, for the Kanagawa Institute of Technology, he has designed a glass and steel pavilion with a roof that floats on a sparse forest of thin steel columns or ‘flats’. Read more
February 15, 2008 | New Design | by Gerry Mak |
Sitting on a grass lawn may be pleasant, but it isn’t always elegant when you’re wearing nice clothes or you have back problems. The people at Japanese design firm Mindscape have taken the Chia Pet model and applied it to some pretty rad lawn furniture. Now you can have the best of both worlds — the soothing, chlorophyll-filled softness of grass and the ergonomic comfort of well-designed seats.
December 22, 2007 | New Fashion | by Zolton |
The My Town In My Home collection of hand-knitted fashion by Yoshikazu Yamagata and Mafuyu was exhibited at this year’s Amhem Mode Biennale in Amsterdam. Sure gives a new twist to the saying, ‘wherever I lay my hat …’ [see also the Brain Bag by Jun Takahashi]
November 28, 2007 | New & Cool Architecture | by Snell |
Too beautiful to simply pass by, this is the Ring House by young Japanese architectural firm, TNA. Read more
Good thing Kris Kuksi channelled the trauma of growing up with an alcoholic stepfather, his disdain for ‘the typical American life and pop culture’, and his fascination with the macabre into obsessive, baroque assemblages, paintings, and drawings. Read more
Architect Jean Nouvel is on a roll. His projects are popping up everywhere, but this may be the grandest. In choosing Nouvel’s design, the competition judges stressed that this ‘is the most important act of architecture since the Eiffel Tower’. Read more
Australian jewellery label Peas, Corn and Tomato Sauce produces a range of one-of-a-kind jewellery made from items including busted vinyl, burnt and dismembered plastic dolls, chess pieces, and toys including army men, monsters and cowboys and Indians. Each piece is unique, hand-made and comes with a guarantee to start conversations wherever you go. Come over to the Lost At E Minor store and grab one now for $33. Read more
We checked in recently with one of our favorite illustrators — and Lost At E Minor contributor — Yuko Shimizu: How has 2008 started for you? ‘I was just in the French Riviera with eighteen other illustrators and designers. It was our annual New Year’s retreat. People from all over Europe and North America meet up and spend a week together, exchange information, go see things together, or just have fun. It was fantastic, although we didn’t have the best weather’. Read more
In the wake of America’s historic presidential election, nearly two years of divisive campaigning, and eight years of a controversial administration, the nation is in desperate need of healing. Beloved Internet personality Ze Frank started From 58 to 42 with Love where contributors use their webcams to post messages reaching out to the side of the country that didn’t vote for their guy. It’s saccharine at times, and there are one or two borderline nasty posts from people that don’t seem completely onboard with the project’s objective. But overall, it’s pretty effective and moving. I’ll admit I needed a couple tissues while reading it.
Australian group Pivot have recently signed with the mighty Warp label and — even better (well, for us anyway) — have written a fun Secret Playlist for us. You can see where the many disparate influences have seeped into their latest recording, the beautiful and colourful, O Soundtrack My Heart.
Originally hailing from Kendal, Cumbria and now based in Leeds, the Wild Beasts foursome are the next hopefuls for Domino Records, who sent the group out to Sweden to record their first album, Limbo, Panto, released on June the 16th. The new single — The Devil’s Crayon — shimmers in wide-screen around a sense of location, melody and wonder at the scale of things. Indeed, it sounds like the theme song to a new kind of very English road movie.
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST

With the recession still biting, it may be time to whip out the glue and the cardboard and make your next pair of cool kicks. Don’t know how they’d manage in the rain though? Read more

Charlie Immer’s pastel-pallete sometimes obfuscates the gory violence in his surreal images. At other times, it heightens the gut-wrenching and visceral effect of his work. Read more

Wheeeeee! This game is so freaking fun! You move your cursor over each dot to make them split into four smaller dots ad infinitum.

Trip out with Sparrow Vs Sparrow’s retro illustrations, I love their aesthetic, color use and sense of humor. Read more

Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
Junior Massive is a newly launched Australian boutique t shirt label making limited edition tees using only Australia cotton. It’s street meets indie; design meets durability; edgy fashion meets edgy fashion. We have them for sale in the Lost At E Minor online store. Read more
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