British design, branding, and architecture firm SSH has given a number of McDonald’s London locations a contemporary facelift in an effort to redefine the brand and keep McDonald’s hip in the ever growing sea of trendier, healthier eateries throughout the world and London alike. The upgrade includes an all-new image that will undoubtedly leave the restaurant’s wide variety of patrons unsure that they’re really at a McDonald’s.

The fast-food giant’s new look blends an array of bright and flashy colors (yellow) with deeper tones of red to retain the classic feel of McDonald’s while at the same time giving the chain a much needed leap into the future.

Of course, the new look isn’t entirely as new as it seems. McDonald’s has been collaborating with design firms worldwide to upgrade its image for years. In fact, many of the stores featured here were first dreamt up by SSH as early as 2004.

Since their inception, SSH’s design-oriented McDonald’s stores have won a number of awards - inspiring a wealth of similarly design-based adaptations around the world. Several of the company’s US stores have followed suit with hipper interiors, newer technologies, and plusher furniture in hopes of keeping the brand consistent with the daily barrage of new and unique fast-casual food chains. And, in terms of appearance, the new look has made McDonald’s one of the most attractive fast-food chains on the planet - even despite its less-than-healthy menu. It’s not likely to win over both health and design conscious consumers, but it may very well keep the current ones coming.

(Via Design De Interiores)

Sometimes, the greatest things in the world of design are those that may not ever exist. The Solar Tree, for example, is stunning. Dubbed “Photon Synthese” (French for Photosynthesis), the concept integrates an expandable structure of plugs and miniature solar panels to construct a tree that provides enough power for virtually any consumer device that fits in your pocket.

Though not entirely practical, the concept is unquestionably intriguing. By linking smaller solar panels into a virtually unlimited configuration, a structure that’s powerful enough to drive even energy-hungry devices becomes both stylish and effective. Of course, you could probably pull in more power by simply using a single solar panel, but any number of reasons can rule out the placement of a solar panel somewhere inside of your home.

This interesting take on the world of solar is a perfect illustration of the growing symbiotic relationship between both design and the environment. Concepts like The Solar Tree are what the world needs to look at alternative energy from a new dimension and to see it as something that is, truly, new. While solar power has been around for decades, its feasibility as a power option is only just now rising to the surface of the minds of designers and consumers alike. What will you think of next?

(Via MULLER Design)

Swedish energy design company Home Energy recently announced a new prototype that could potentially change the way the world looks at wind in the years to come. Using a unique, proprietary design, the Energy Ball utilizes the Venturi Effect in combination with a design that allows air to flow inside of the device itself, as opposed to simply going through it, to improve the look, efficiency, and simplicity of a tool that will be instrumental in the world’s shift to more sustainable and renewable forms of energy.

The Energy Ball’s design integrates a power generator within the structure itself - allowing wind to generate power on both sides of the spherical object and, hopefully, improve the device’s power output.

Home Energy claims that even its smallest Energy Ball can provide enough energy to contribute 15% of the average [Swedish] household’s energy usage - making it a worthwhile addition for those in search of solutions to their energy woes. As prices rise and usage remains essentially the same, people are far more open to the idea of putting an “Energy Ball” in their front yard tomorrow than ever before.

(Via Below The Clouds)

Cowon’s new S9 Curve Personal Media Player brings just about everything you could ever want or need to the palm of your hand - with the exception of a phone, that is. By design, it’s actually a great new take on the iPhone’s now virtually ambiguous touchscreen design. Its curves, lines, lights, and features put it in touch with many of the things that have made the world fall so deeply in love with Apple’s pride and joy. Still, the comparison between the Curve and the iPhone ends at first glance; a glance, after all, is the only thread that ties the two together.

The S9 Curve, while disconnected from the massive network that connects all people, places, things, and objects, is in itself a great device. Packing a 500Mhz on-board processor, a digital TV tuner, Bluetooth, and a 3.3″ AMOLED screen, the Curve is a concentrated personal media player that’s designed to simply excel at what it does. Cowon’s new toy is, quite clearly, a distinct departure from the realm of go-anywhere do-anything gadgets and, while a large number of people will be disappointed that the device doesn’t offer a phone, it does offer quite a few features that are notably absent from the phone-based media players of our day.

As of now, Cowon hasn’t announced when it plans to release its S9 Curve nor has it hinted at any details regarding the media player’s price. But, if you happen to like the look of what is sure to be one of the hottest digital media devices in the next year, keep an eye out and your wallet loaded. Given the style, the features, and the technology, the Curve isn’t bound to be cheap.

(Via FlyLyf)

Philips is a company that isn’t traditionally thought of as an organization that is built around design. Its products, while high-quality, aren’t usually the sort of devices that one would expect to see from Bang & Olufsen. Its new Holedar Earphones concept, however, could be on its way to changing the way the world looks at Philips forever.

In terms of functionality, the Holedar doesn’t incorporate much in terms of sound quality. Its other features, luckily, make up for the void by introducing a number of ideas that are easily the first in their class.

Aside from its intuitive design, the Holedar can reduce surface bacterial growth by up to 700 times the levels found on most modern headphones available today. Plus, their shape allows them to easily be turned into a necklace for quick storage or while on the go.

Of course, though Holedar is purely conceptual, it represents the possibility of a new direction for the company that’s best known for its balance between price and quality. As design becomes more important in both the eyes of the world and in the eyes of consumers, it’s great to see that more and more companies are ditching the drawings of old and getting more creative than ever before.

(Via Core77)

Before you rush out to Whole Foods to grab a bottle of the surprisingly well-designed Peared, you should probably know that it doesn’t actually exist - yet. Peared is an experiment in packaging-design pioneered by a designer by the name of Conor Hagan. Its slick bottles come in two different sizes - each with their own, intuitive emphasis on design.

Beyond the bottle, Peared boasts 100% pear juice in combination with 100% of other juices ranging from strawberry to kiwi and more. Even though his concept isn’t real, I can easily imagine people clamoring to buy their own bottles of Peared - if not for health-benefits then simply for its awe-inspiring design alone.

Despite its distance from reality, Peared could soon be available in high-end grocery stores near you. Of course, it probably won’t be called Peared and its bottle probably won’t be quite the same, but the package should still deliver a nice balance of design and health benefits without compromising the ever-important factor of taste itself.

(Via The Die Line)

Trendy frozen yogurt shops are nothing new. In fact, there are already more than half a dozen different concepts revolving around the silky world of frozen yogurt - each of which has a story to tell. Yagööt, oddly enough, has been around for quite some time now; by quite some time, I’m thinking of something like a little more than thirty years.

Of course, at birth, Yagööt was anything but the stylish, progressive, brand it is today. It began as just another bakery item, albeit a healthy one. Today, it’s a well talked-about, tasty, and still healthy treat that draws customers from miles around to its lines that frequently approach the outside of the building. Unlike many similar concepts, the menu is a little bigger than you might expect: two flavors of frozen yogurt, an endless bar of fruits, grains, and flavors, yogurt shakes, and a small supplemental side menu of muffins and “salads.” That’s not big by any means, but it does add several layers to the single-item shelves of the now-famous Pinkberry.

For the time being, Yagööt is a treat that’s limited to Cincinnati. It’s tart taste, smooth texture, and growing myriad of topping combinations aren’t for everybody, but there’s a good chance that they’re for you. Plus, at only 120 calories per serving with less than 1% fat and all the fruit you can handle, your body’s sure to thank you later.

If you’re outside of Cincinnati, but still in need of a frozen yogurt fix, be on the lookout for similar concepts like Pinkberry and TangySweet.

I spent the night browsing through entries and winners in 2008’s IDEA competition in search of a few green ideas from some of the brightest minds of our time. Here’s a look at three ideas that could change the way we look at the three R’s that have been engrained in our brains (and yet, so rarely used) since elementary school.

The Barcode Trashcan utilizes a scanner mounted within its lid to detect items that can be recycled - separating them from average trash to allow its users to easily practice the art of recycling without the hassle of necessarily pre-sorting items beforehand. While the system doesn’t appear to sort everything that passes through its lid, it seems to restrict the items inserted to only those that match a certain set of barcodes. The idea, of course is simply to make sorting recyclables an easier task to take on but, with a little tweaking, the idea could easily evolve into a system that automatically sorts, bags, and lights up when full - automating much of the process and allowing public service officials to deliver the items to their appropriate locations.

On the home front, Woongjin Coway’s Natural Cycle (Food Waste Treatment System) puts the less-than-friendly idea of a compost heap inside a much friendlier and more attractive box that works to convert food waste into new fruits, vegetables, plants, and more. By crushing and drying its contents, Natural Cycle produces a highly potent fertilizer that can efficiently be used to grow new, healthy, and tasty foods within the confines of your very own kitchen. Even scent is taken into consideration, prompting the inclusion of an odor filter that supposedly filters out the smell of composting food and the resulting fertilizer almost entirely. One the system has enough fertilizer, it is dropped into a small container full of seeds and moved to a nearby, sunny location with new food delivered right to your fingertips in a matter of weeks.

Of course, while you can recycle things that you already have, it’s good to keep in mind the impact of bringing new things to your home to begin with. By now, I’m sure you’re well aware of the horror stories of plastic bags. In fact, many of you may even have a small army of reusable shopping bags nestled within the trunks of your cars. Still, despite the positive impact generated by reducing plastic bag consumption, these reusable cotton, plastic, and non-woven bags aren’t exactly suited for all situations and all products. Heavier and larger items usually fall just outside the realm of the relatively small reusable bags available from most retailers (unless you’re at IKEA) - often sending you back to the stoneage of the bag world in acceptance of a dreaded plastic bag. REUSE Sustainable Shopping Bags have a number of different concepts that have presented a variety of solutions to this very problem by introducing a few easily-recyclable or reusable options. The first imagines a compostable bag that can simply be returned to a central location in an effort to develop potent fertilizer (and, possibly, allowing grocers to grow certain fruits and vegetables in a fresher setting on-site). REUSE also showcased a design the integrated recycled rubber to create a bag that is durable, stylish, and reusable for extended periods of time - building on the existing prevalence of fabric bags with a material that is stronger and, ultimately, more usable. The group’s final design highlighted small portable storage containers filled with a number of nylon bags. Though less exotic than the first two, their third idea is perhaps the most feasible and most likely to see the light of day in the near future.

Keep on the look out for leaps ahead in the world of recycling and feel free to give me a shout if you find something that’s cool, stylish, or unique. Have a great Thursday!

The spork has long been an item to be laughed at. Think for a second; how many people do you know that have kitchen drawers full of sporks? Light My Fire’s significantly more stylish take on the double-headed eating utensil, however, could be just what it takes to get at least one spork into kitchen drawers around the world.

By design, the original spork wasn’t exactly the prettiest thing to look at. Its function served as more of a utilitarian device void of any real intrinsic design quality. The spork was cheap, laughable, and something that nobody really wanted to use.

Spork 2.0, however, is a lot sleeker, curvier, and more colorful than its nerdy younger brother. Designed to be used as an outdoor-adventure tool, the spork’s upgraded version is far more durable and won’t melt even when exposed to boiling water.

In addition to its availability in nearly every color of the rainbow, Spork 2.0 retains the basic form factor of the original spork while adding a few well-overdue design upgrades. In addition to serving as both a spoon and a fork, Light My Fire has integrated a tiny knife into the side of the fork.

While sporks still aren’t suited for fancy dinners, special occasions, or a number of certain foods, they’re great for your everyday dish of chicken and rice.

Wine has always been a more sophisticated take on alcohol than its liquor and beer-based counterparts; perhaps that’s why it’s been so resistant to the convenience of the can - long a staple of the beer and soft drink world - in favor of the cumbersome, heavy, and expensive bottle that wine drinkers worldwide have grown to love so dearly. Thanks to the work of two Swedish designers, however, the world of wine could one day make the leap to a smaller, cheaper, and more convenient form that’s just as good for its users as it is for the environment.

Jens Andersson and Jonas Forsman’s conceptual Wine Can solves the sophistication dilemma by altering the way the can looks, feels, and functions. Given the emphasis on taste that is presented by the world of wine, the can also presumably integrates a system that ensures the optimal taste for its buyers.

The duo’s design has already garnered quite a bit of positive attention, winning the pair 2006’s Swedish Packaging Design Award along with the attention of vineyards looking to branch out into the ever-growing on-the-go market. Though canned wine isn’t yet a reality, here’s to hoping that one day soon we’ll be able to trade in our corks for cans and get a little greener in the process. Personally, I don’t see the trend catching on in the high-end anytime soon, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see lower to medium priced wines like YellowTail giving the design a try at some point in the near future.

(Via The Die Line)

What if your table reacted to objects as you set them down? What if your floor lit up your feet following each step, leaving a trail of fading light behind you as you walked away? Say hello to Sensacell.

Sensacell utilizes a proprietary LED panel system that can be attached to a wall, placed on top of a surface (such as a table), or used in place of traditional flooring. When the system receives tactile input, it responds by lighting the area and slowly fading the light once the input is removed.

With its technology already in place at the posh Touch nightclub in New York in the form of a motion sensitive bar, Sensacell’s breathtaking design is slowly beginning to pop up all over the globe. In fact, the company’s technology was recently implemented into the show floor of this year’s Expo Zaragoza in Spain - spicing up the journey from wall to wall for show goers and corporate attendees alike.

Though the above image can give you a good idea of what Sensacell’s technology looks like in real-time, the company has a number of videos on its website that showcase its products in action. They’re worth taking a peek at if you’re interested.

(Via Gizmodo)

If you’ve ever kept track of your finances, you’ve probably noticed that keeping an eye on your wallet often has an effect on what you buy. Sure, it might not always stop you from buying stuff that you don’t really need, but it makes you think a little more before making your purchase. EnergyHub’s new energy tracking panel applies the very same concept to household energy usage in an attempt to reduce home energy usage by as much as 20%.

People act differently when they can visualize abstract things like energy usage or web site visits in the form of a colorful pie graph or a simplistic table. With EnergyHub, anyone can visualize his or her home’s energy consumption in real-time and even in comparison to the past.

To put things in perspective, let’s say that you’ve been setting your thermostat to a cool 74° this month. With EnergyHub, you can see the spike in energy usage (and cost) that’s presented by your one degree drop from 75° and, most likely, opt to revert to your more energy efficient and cheaper setting from the month before.

This concept can also be applied to any number of other common household energy dilemmas including leaving the lights on and spending too much of your morning in the shower. With EnergyHub, the difference between ten and twenty minutes in the shower is no longer a thing of abstraction but a yellow, red, and blue graph that’s much easier to understand.

Though the device isn’t yet readily available, it has already garnered quite a bit of attention thanks to its recent success as a semi-finalist in MIT’s Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Competition. With the potential to dramatically impact the nation’s household energy usage (assuming its adoption, of course), EnergyHub is well worth watching in the coming years.

(Via Inhabitat)

While much of the alternative energy community is hard at work concentrating their efforts at solutions for consumer and corporate use, a small subset of that same community is stashed away cooking up green ideas for the kids in our lives.

While browsing Inhabitots yesterday, I noticed their feature on the world’s tiniest solar car. At just 33×22x14mm, the Mini Solar Racer is entirely solar powered and can even utilize light emitted artificially indoors - provided its bright enough. Though the scalability of the design isn’t the most apparent from its existing state, the car does provide an interesting way to instill a sense of sustainability in tomorrow’s future. Perhaps by growing up with solar cars instead of Hotwheels, we’ll keep the green movement growing.

Also of note is a tiny adaptation of Hydrogen technology (”It’s the technology of the future - and it always will be.”) to a children’s toy to create an entirely self-sufficient vehicle for the little ones to play with. The Smart Hydrogen Car puts cutting-edge technology at the fingertips of today’s youth at a price that is surprisingly low (despite being rather high for a children’s toy). At roughly $120, the mini hydrogen car isn’t exactly going to take over the market but, for a small few, it could be the best thing to happen to toys since the Easy Bake Oven and GI-JOE.

Look for part two in our series on sustainable toys sometime in the near future.

I’m sure you’ve seen Dyson’s array of brightly-colored and unexpectedly stylish vacuum cleaners by now, but you (probably) haven’t seen their newest take on the world of cleaning - the Airblade. In an effort to design a more hygienic and energy-efficient hand dryer, the engineers at Dyson set to work on their latest work of art, an electric hand-dryer that is infinitely more hygienic and stylish than ever before.

Unlike most hand dryers, the Airblade fuses a touchless on-off system (triggered by an infrared scanner) with a unique Dyson-engineered motor that delivers gusts at up to 400mph - quick enough to dry your hands in a fraction of the time you’d expect from an air-powered hand dryer. Dyson quotes drying times of 10 seconds, which is indeed consistent with my own tests that revealed very similar results.

Beyond the sleek exterior, the Airblade’s innovative Dyson Digital Motor uses cold, filtered air to dry the user’s hands in a matter of seconds; and, with an average energy consumption that’s up to 83% less than its other electric counterparts, the Airblade may indeed become the option of choice in years to come.

If you live in the UK, chances are that you’re no stranger to Dyson’s experimental technologies. The Airblade has been in use in shopping malls, kitchens, and other locales throughout the UK for quite some time now with adoption throughout the rest of the world growing as business owners and customers alike become more and more conscious about both hygiene and energy (the two problems solved by the wonderful world of Dyson).

Like Dyson’s vacuums, the Airblade is no stranger to style. Its slick curves and user-friendly design make it far more appealing than the white push-button dryers of yesteryear; not to mention that the device actually works. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve left the bathroom with wet hands courtesy of the not-so-functional white box.

Look for an Airblade near you sometime in the near future, or, if you’re in the UK, just ask around and I’m sure you can find one. They’re great to look at, fun to use, and functionally perfect. Now if only Dyson would remake the toilets…I can only imagine what they’ll think of next.

View: Dyson Airblade Brochure

Over the past few years, you may have noticed a few little changes popping up at your local Target store. For the most part, these changes have happened where only they really count - in the little things. Gone are the days of simply generic alternatives with drab Target logos; that’s not to say that they’re not still around, but rather supplemented with new alternatives such as Archer Farms and Choxie.

Today’s Target is a very hip store. Designer clothing, candles, chocolate, soap, and even handbags complement the chain’s assortment of name brands to create an atmosphere that is very unorthodox for the big-box store. Even names like Isaac Mizrahi, a designer known best for his upscale fashion catalog, have jumped onto the Target trend with custom lines catered to customers with both dollars and design in mind.

If you’re a Target veteran, these changes have probably caught your eye. If not, however, chances are you haven’t yet seen everything that’s new about Target. The company recently commissioned well-known organic manufacturer Terracycle to create a new line of reusable tote bags - the “Re-tote” - using a mixture of old Target plastic bags.

In addition to introducing its own products, Target has ramped up its collection of other products like IZZE and Method - both recently featured on the blog for their eco-friendly approach to production and innovative takes on both design and function.

One of the newest products the company has introduced to its over 1600 stores nationwide carries the name of itso. Itso’s innovative line of modular storage solutions allow anyone to build virtually whatever they’d like to put their things in. In fact, the line has proved so successful that the company has had a hard time keeping its products in stock throughout the end-of-summer dorm rush. Look for an article featuring itso here on the blog sometime in the near future.