Ford Airstream

They would have to do something this bold in order to regain significance from a design perspective. But do they have what it takes to follow through on something this ambitious? I seriously doubt it. They are too busy chasing the shadow of the old Taurus and Mustang.

Marcus

Nice to see that big Marcus Stroud is at camp. As far as I am concerned he is the key on defense. If he gets fired up we have a real chance of achieving more than mediocrity this year.

Castiglioni Chronograph

Chopin

Chopin potato vodka (shown here with the Chiller cover) seems to pack a little bit of an extra punch but it is still smooth and even a little creamy. It is not inexpensive but I think it is worth the extra cash...maybe it is just because that subtle potato vodka flavor reminds me of being in the night clubs in Krakow.

Aperion Audio

The Bravus by Aperion, it is simple and clean but it makes me wish I needed a subbie. It also makes me wonder why everyone makes such a fuss over the dramatically inferior Bose line.

Volt

Concept vs. reality on the $41,000 Chevy Volt

Lifted

Check out the short "lifted". It is on itunes. Although it is not as good as "Presto" it is still enjoyable. Would have been better if they would have stayed with the contrasty/graphic direction shown here.

2011 M56

Villaware

The old logo wasn't all that great either but this seems like and odd and weak attempt at referencing the iconic standing ribs on the classic waffler. An admirable attempt at a refresh but you can tell they just don't use the brand.

Provia

Not the best GPS but the button detail on the left side is pretty nice and more functional than it looks.

river

The boys enjoying the super cold river.

Presto

If you have a chance check out the short animation called Presto. It is available on itunes for $1.99. It has a great combination of old and new animation techniques.

chum chum

Lots of cool images already coming out of Comicon. I think that it just started today.

Kee Bird special on Nova

The Kee Bird was an United States Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress of the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron, that became marooned after making an emergency landing in northwest Greenland during a secret Cold War spying mission on 21 February 1947. Although the entire crew was safely evacuated, after spending three days in the isolated Arctic tundra, the aircraft itself was left at the landing site. It lay there undisturbed until 1994, when a privately-funded mission was launched to repair and return it. The attempted recovery resulted in the effective destruction and loss of the airframe. The documentary about the recovery effort on Nova is worth a look.

vanquish

c clamp

Cool form for an antique clamp. J, this is an example of what I was talking about when I said that aesthetics were rarely ignored even in categories that people think they were. There is no way to explain this form as a purely functional exploit.

Apache

This is the logo for the Apache Corporation. They are the global oil and gas company that just purchased assets from BP. ($7 billion worth. ) Strange and vague logo type for such a large company...although it does have an oddly international feel.

DiTullo - d'elegance

Mike's pictures from the 2010 presidio Concours d'elegance. He has about 100 more on Linkedin and maybe on his website too.

Rockport

It has the kind of seascapes that make a person want to stop everything and just paint the light, boats and water. If the traffic had been less oppressive we might have gone to Gloucester which is supposed to be even more inspiring.

Yankee Clipper Inn

This was the loacation of the Bryce-English wedding this weekend. Near downtown Rockport, the area has an amazing history from native American settlement, to timber source, then large block granite source, amazing fishing ground, lobster center, artist community and now a thriving (and annoying) tourist destination. An incredibly interesting place and the history is palpable.

Porsche Hybrid

Gail's branding

Clever twist. Nice font. Their storefront is simple and refined too.

Fondant

Great presentation, excellent photography, seems like the branch would get in the way.

Soccer City

It was hard to see the stadium on TV and even the pictures on the web do not seem to do the design justice. The mix of decoration and structure along with the scale of the details make it pretty distinctive and special. This picture of it from last year while it was still under construction is the best I have seen. It is also obvious that it was designed to be viewed from many angles (unlike Cowboys stadium). It might have been nice to go with a slightly brighter hue.

box

This box on a stand look is certainly better than the Oakley-esque overly articulated forms from a few years ago. Perhaps a little static but at least it is more comfortable in its intended environment. However, this furniture-like constructed look is a little heavy handed and the proportions seem to be out of whack.

Edison's house

iTunes

iTunes has some good features and it is easy to use but the library of movies and shows available is really pretty lame. I know that they are adding to it all the time but it is still pretty thin.

finishes

This matte black looks much better than the standard bright annodized finish and it is more distinctive. Too bad the price is insane. I think it is $325 on hivemodern.

BP

Now that someone I know and trust is down in NOLA actually working on the clean-up it is nice to confirm my suspicion/hope which was that BP is actually making a tremendous effort to clean things up. Why it is more fun to report otherwise is annoying.

carabiner

It seems like there are probably better ways to tether a camera to your backpack, beltloop or whatever, but aside from the ham-fisted logo-type this seems pretty nice at $18.99. I am sure that the resolution is wanting but maybe it is marketed towards kids? The version I saw on vacation was a premium branded with a mountaineering clubs logo. It is interesting to see how quickly this detailing language has become dated and commoditized.

GT

Seems a little too much like the Porsche green to me but it is eye-catching.

Modernica

Unicahome

These skull shaped bars of soap are available on Unicahome. Along with being poorly sculpted and lacking a clear aesthetic position they are also over priced. Unica should be more focused in their definition of good design.

The boys on vacation 2

Edison can do a great Loon call.

The boys on vacation 1

Not only is the cabin on its own little peninsula but it comes with a cool old lighthouse