The Prisoner, retro ball chair, web and uniform designs
Friday, August 1, 2008
Ever seen The Prisoner TV series? A friend recommended it, so I’ve started watching the episodes. I think some YouTube clip called it the “most discussed and controversial cult TV series ever made.” Well, perhaps not, but it is certainly interesting. The set designs are very 1960s, with lava lamps everywhere and mod furniture inspired by Pop Art and space travel (and penny-farthing bicycles, for some reason). The Prisoner series only lasted 17 episodes, from 1967-68. The concept is that secret agent Patrick McGoohan, having just resigned, is abducted and taken to a bizarre prison that’s been made up to look like an idyllic village. Watch the intro.
Also, while watching such entertainment from the 1960s, these retro ball chairs (which are customizable reproductions of Eero Aarnio‘s famous Ball Chair) would be the perfect place to lounge. If only I could justify the purchase of a $2,000 retro chair. The Inmod.com site has a nice iBall Chair Color Selector Flash application.
Speaking of balls, how about this 6-inch orb-shaped computer: Tiny E-Ball touted as PC of the future. The smallest PC ever made? I like the first comment of the article:
Maybe it’s an aesthetic/coolness thing, but why a ball and not a brick? Will my computer roll over to me when I whistle for it? “Come here ‘HAL’ I need to imdb a famous robot name.”
Upon further review, the E-Ball is Apostol Tnokovski’s entry in the Next-Gen PC Design Competition. Pretty cool.
Returning to well-designed furniture for a moment, I’m fond of a couple of Herman Miller pieces: teardrop-shaped Q Tables (see Google Image Search) and Aeron Chairs.
I’ve been meaning to mention this for awhile: Nando Costa, a Portland-based graphic artist, creates some amazing work. He also runs a design and animation studio called Nervo. A very cool design company, Sapien, located in Brazil, sometimes does Flash work with them. I enjoy their stuff.
This killed me: Art Fail. It’s almost as funny as Understanding English Fail, an all-time favorite. I love the looks on their faces. It’s priceless. OK, here are two lolanimal favorites from last winter that I don’t think I ever linked to: Hay Sup and Oh. . . uh. . . hai.
Lastly, what will the logo and jerseys of the Oklahoma City NBA team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics look like? You know, once they’ve selected a mascot. ESPN’s Uni Watch reports: Meet the Oklahoma City uni finalists.