another good thread!
the banana packages are awsome!

^ that's something the designers should know!
thanks for the input.

http://www.segura-inc.com

sorry about the bad links, folks.

Always Snap-on Chris

This image doesn't do it justice, but it's about the sexiest bottle ever! It's the European, aluminum one not the ugly plastic wrapped American version.

Rubber finger probes sense of touch

What is it about a cat's fur that makes us want to stroke it, and how do you create a rubbery grip that you just can't resist squeezing? An artificial finger that can gauge a raft of tactile characteristics for materials should help to find out.

Cathy Barnes and colleagues at the University of Leeds, UK, are building the life-size silicone rubber finger. To get the measure of how rough or smooth a material is, they place a sample on a pressure-sensitive platform and allow an attached motor to "stroke" the finger across it. Software then compares the sideways pressure that the platform feels with the sideways force applied to the finger. This gives a reading for friction or roughness.

At the same time, the software gauges how much downwards force the material absorbs by comparing the force applied by the finger with the force felt by the platform. Softer materials absorb more force. Meanwhile, a sensor at the finger's tip measures temperature.

The researchers plan to get volunteers to touch different materials and supply descriptions of what they feel to match the artificial finger's data on the same materials. They hope to gather all the smoothness, softness and temperature measurements associated with a range of tactile sensations.

The team plans to use these to design packaging materials. "Industry knows a lot about the importance of the visual design of packaging but there's a lack of understanding about the feel appeal," says Barnes, who is also a manager at the Faraday Packaging Partnership in Leeds. "Imagine a carton of fruit juice that's as soft as peach skin."

From issue 2615 of New Scientist magazine, 06 August 2007, page 23

much more at www.precursorstudio.com

c&g partners

loads from the chocolate factory

Nice stuff there Chris. Keep 'em coming

i thought this was quite a nice concept - LEDs embedded in the corks of bottles.

I want my whiskey to glow!!!
(627 am Drunk!)

linkage

I hate Reeboks, but i'd wear the box

spreads from Graphis Design 2008

absolut disco

croatia, apparently they won a european design award with them, too. (clicky da image)

nikka, japanese whiskey bottle designed by michael young.

kshocolat

TNTea

I love these!
very *sexy* designs.