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Technically, I probably came across most of these links in mid-June as the World Cup was kicking off so some may be familiar, but it seemed fitting to post this today.

World Cup Highlights in Lego

Legofussball has done an incredible job capturing some of the tournament’s greatest moments in Lego.

Nike’s Plastic Bottle Jerseys

Apparently, they were supposed to be more comfortable and breathable than their previous jerseys, but the disappointing performances of the teams wearing them (with the exception of New Zealand) might indicate otherwise. Nonetheless, I applaud the effort.

Each shirt comprises up to eight recycled plastic bottles, a move that reduces energy consumption by up to 30 percent compared with manufacturing virgin polyester. Besides saving raw materials, Nike also diverted nearly 13 million plastic bottles (or nearly 560,000 pounds of polyester waste) from the landfill—enough to cover more than 29 football pitches.

Football Fields Around the Europe

Hans van der Meer has captured a series of stunning images of football fields around the world – a beautiful exploration of the diversity of contexts of play.

ESPN Match Trucks

ESPN takes home the award for the best pop-up concept of the tournament with their match trucks. Two decked out trucks (one in LA, one in NY) toured around the city, showing games and authentic street food inspired by the countries playing in the World Cup. I love the hand-painted graphics.

The Evolution of the World Cup Ball

Who knew that the classic black and white soccer ball design is only 40 years old? See the evolution of the World Cup balls in this New York Times piece. I would love to know how that design came to become the icon for the game.

Better late than never…

Locals and Tourists by Eric Fisher

By comparing the geotag of one’s photos with their profile location, Eric Fisher has created visualizations of many of the world’s cities that show density of photographs taken by locals versus tourists (tourists in red, locals in blue and indeterminate in yellow). Seems like an excellent way to discover local hot spots when traveling.

Some people interpreted the Geotaggers’ World Atlas maps to be maps of tourism. This set is an attempt to figure out if that is really true. Some cities (for example Las Vegas and Venice) do seem to be photographed almost entirely by tourists. Others seem to have many pictures taken in piaces that tourists don’t visit.

Toronto

San Francisco

Warsaw

Boatanic

This concept was designed for cities with canals, but I could see them being an essential component of the revival of the waterfronts in cities like Toronto.

As Damien O’Sullivan, a designer in Rotterdam, walked the waterways in Amsterdam, he noticed that the typical tourist boats would make fantastic greenhouses—they are ideally suited to gathering heat and light with their large glass windows. If tourists were replaced with vegetables, and if the boat was retrofitted with some farming and energy harvesting equipment, these little ships could make excellent, small-sized, mobile urban farms.

This is the backbone of Boatanic, O’Sullivan’s new proposal for a distributed urban farm set to debut in 2011. Boatanic will offer fresh, year-round seasonal produce, sold directly from the quay and by subscription. Bike delivery services will be available to local restaurants buying wholesale. The system also proposes a return to commerce in inner-city canals, which have become less popular as citizens favor roadway transportation.

We Used to Wait

I love the Arcade Fire. I love this track. I am determined to catch them live at some point this summer.

And it seems strange… How we use to wait for letters to arrive, but stranger still… Is how something so small can keep you alive.

Investment in Human Powered Transportation

Good comes through with another pretty infographic showing how the US Department of Transportation has stepped up their investment in projects for pedestrians and cyclists. I am hoping that a proportional increase in trips taken by foot and bicycle will occur, but the cynic in me says that it will take at least generation of education and cultural transformation and that the increase in trips to date are the same people increasing their frequency.

Underwater Base Jumping

This isn’t real, but I wish it was…

La Cabane Perchée

These guys build luxury tree houses all over Europe… You have no idea how badly I would like to invite someone to spend a weekend at my treehouse outside Geneva.

All different, all hidden among the branches, built without driving any nails into the trees, without wounding them, respecting of their shape and integrity, striving for harmony between the tree-house and the host tree.

BetaCup Winner Announced

I love that the winner of the contest was not only not a cup, but also a remarkably simple solution. I think there are two lessons here:

1. Sometimes you need to take a step back from the product and look at the user’s motivations, behaviours and the ecosystem surrounding them.
2. Strive for simplicity. Technology can be a distraction.

Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit

This kit starts charging your phone when you are cycling at 6kn/h or faster and at 12km/h will charge your phone at the same speed as a plug-in adapter. I don’t know what the unit price is on this guy, but I could see them gaining widespread adoption in places like Pignon, where bicycles are pretty common, but outlets to charge cell phones and the energy supply to those outlets are at a premium.

Fontstaches

Something to consider whenever I decide to shave this beard… I wish I could grow a Mr. Jeanne Moderno OT.

desigNYC

desigNYC’s mission is to improve live in NYC by connecting nonprofits, community groups and city agencies serving the public good with passionate, professional pro bono designers. In January, we launched our first 12 pilot projects, and this summer we’re celebrating their progress and impact with an exhibit hosted by Pratt Manhattan Gallery.

Now that I am back at the blog again, I thought I would go back to posting my weekly doses of randomness…

Slate Interview with Ira Glass

I am a firm believer in the power of storytelling and Ira Glass is a master. Whether writing proposals or product scenarios, doing pitches, or conducting workshops, so much of the work I did at Idea Couture revolved around constructing narratives. It is definitely a skill I want to develop further. This is a must read for professional and aspiring storytellers alike.

Evacuated Tube Transport

Yes, this concept is perhaps a little less than credible (the FAQ is good for a laugh at several points), but the future belongs to dreamers and the dream of day trips to Beijing (in 2 hours at 400 mph) has captivated me.

Packing Tape Spider Webs

Viennese/Croatian design collective For Use/Numen creates spider web-like structures that support human weight… All with packing tape. I would pay a ludicrous amount of money to be able to explore one of these in a full Spiderman costume.

Winnner of 2010 Buckminister Fuller Challenge Announced

Operation Hope, a solution combating one of the major causes of climate change has been named the winner of the 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge with an award of $100,000. At its core the winning strategy transforms parched and degraded Zimbabwe grasslands and savannahs into lush pastures with ponds and flowing streams, even during periods of drought. Operation Hope is an initiative of the Africa Center for Holistic Management, which currently operates under the Savory Institute.

Macintosh iPad Stand (via @lucascarlisle)

In every encounter I have had with the iPad, I have been left awkwardly fumbling it as I try to figure out a good way to hold it. The ergonomics just don’t feel right unless your have a surface to place it on (not the case with my KOBO… Just saying). I don’t think this is the solution, but I love it conceptually and aesthetically.

The Visual Repertoire of Obama’s Run for the White House

I think I am going to have to start a separate Obama links blog. The man has generated an endless amount of great links.

“The project is an analysis of the wide range of visuals which accompanied the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama. Obama’s campaign was mounted on numerous platforms and provided and triggered multilayered…”

I really want to get my hands on that journal, but in the meantime, we can settle for the images.

I Lego New York (courtesy of Adam)

I love Lego. I love New York. I love this. Christopher Niemen did a wonderful set of Lego illustrations of New York through the lens of everybody’s favourite interlocking plastic blocks. There’s a few of them below, but be sure to check them all out here.

TED Talks Updates via Twitter

I’ve always been a huge TED fan, but all the updates via Twitter gave me a much richer feel for the experience, cementing attending TED as one of my life goals. @austinhill, @loic and a number of others did a great job keeping the rest of use filled in on what was going on and I am glad that they did.

Check out the first TED Talk of the year below. Bill Gates talks about battling Malaria and improving the education system.

It’s Nice That (courtesy of Eve)

It’s Nice That is a gem of a blog documenting different forms of creativity (like the sweet Cookie Monster cupcake below). It also has a clean, elegant layout.

Better the World Launches

Better the World is a new start-up with a clever business model that allows users to raise money for the cause of their choice by installing a browser sidebar or search tool. 90% of the profit from the ads you view go to the charity of your choice.

Disclosure: Better the World is one of our incubation projects at Idea Couture.

Obama’s coronation er… inauguration had the entire world (and by extension the Interwebs) buzzing and some great links came out of it.

Clouds Comparing Bush’s Inaugural Speech Versus Obama’s

I thought David Wescott did a clever thing punching the two transcripts into Wordle. Have a look below and tell me which one is Obama’s and which one is Bush’s (I desaturated the images. The colours made it too obvious). There a few commonalities, but a couple of the prominent words are dead giveaways.

Collage of Newspaper Front Pages from the Next Day (via @jasonfried)

As Jason said, “Anyone know who this guy’s PR firm is?”
 

CNN’s Photosynth of the Inauguration (via @kevinrose)

Television really didn’t do it justice. They should have done some 360 degree pans. Interestingly enough, when you zoom in from some angles it captures moments when Obama isn’t on the podium. How is that even possible? I assume that 95% of the photos taken would have been while Obama was on stage.
 

Obama Skywalker

This is one incredibly detailed action figure with some awesome accesories (sold separately no doubt). Check out the link for the full photo shoot.

My President is Black – Jay-Z Remix (via @vasta)

I don’t care if the Young Jeezy/Nas version was first. Jay is the man.

1. Auditorium

This game is one of the most pleasurable experiences I have had online in a while. The interface is breathtakingly elegant and remarkably intuitive.

2. Wired Deconstructs a Girl Talk Track

Wired does some brilliant information design to show the 35 samples and their relationship to one another on one of the tracks from Girl Talk’s Feed the Animals.

3. The Independent Explores Torrent Legend aXXo (Thanks @hartleyglobe)

The Independent delves into a subculture that you surprisingly don’t hear much about given the abundance of articles written about piracy in general. This is a must read for torrent fiends.

4. Twit Apps’ Replies

I find I am either in Twitter mode or I am not, but I am always in email mode. Twit Apps‘ Replies forwards any Twitter replies to your email inbox and you don’t even have to give up your Twitter credentials (UX folks check out the registration flow, it is pretty clever, if not a little limited). 

5. The Best iPhone Apps of 2008

Bryan Barletta from AppVee has done a great rundown on some of the top iPhone applications for 2008 for TechCrunch. For anybody looking to pitch or build iPhone applications in 2009, you could do a lot worse than to start by looking at this list.

1. AKQA’s Christmas Card (Thanks B1)

A lot of people are hating on this because it is fake. Who cares? It is awesome.

2. A Charlie Brown Ad Agency

I don’t know who did this, but it is brilliant.

3. The Design Process of the Obama Logo

I love seeing the progression and thought process behind logo designs. Logo Design Love lays it out very nicely here. You can also watch a video of Sol Sender, one of the designer behind it discuss the process below. It is interesting, but be forewarned, he is not the most charismatic guy in the universe.

4. Unlike (Thanks Fred)

This is the next logical step for a company like Lonely Planet, except they didn’t do it… Unlike did instead. I wish I knew about this service (if it was around) two summers ago when I was in Vienna and I will be sure to use it next time I’m in Europe. 

5. Happy Holidays From IDEO Labs

My apologies for all the Christmas content, but that seems to be what is going around. Also, I love Rube Goldberg machines and I think a bicycle-powered music box qualifies.

I think everybody could benefit from considering the first few paragraphs (I was tempted to say stanzas, but it’s not a poem).

Stop doing what is comfortable.

Contrast is good.
When broad, go narrow. When tall, go low.
When wide, go tight. When bright, go dark.
When certain, get lost. When obscure, go clear.
Too much of a good thing is not a good thing.

Always look at the work on your desk from varying distances.
Every distance tells you something different.

Contrast is to architecture as dance is to a dervish.

Always honour the context.
Go first with camouflage.
Then illusion.
Then interpretation.

Always listen.

You can find the rest here.

Coming in later than usual this week, but it has been a crazy week for me, but I am hoping to write a few real posts over the holidays so stay tuned. 

1. BMW Product Navigator

As somebody who has previously worked on automotive kiosk experiences, I would really like to try this out first hand. Also, it is nice to see Microsoft’s Surface technology popping up more regularly.

2. How to be a 21st Century Capitalist

Umair Haque has a nice (albeit slightly abstract) post on the redefining capital and capitalism (something Adbusters and a whole bunch of other folks have been harping on for years). It is nice to see those ideas making it into more mainstream strategy discourse.

3. Woordle

Woordle creates word clouds based on text you provide. Below is what they automatically generated based on the RSS feed of this blog. I would love to see a word cloud of a week’s worth of the words that come out of my mouth. Now imagine that tracked over a year with robust analytics. I could pinpoint exactly when certain words became played out in my mind, compare my social vocabulary to my work vocabulary (I bet there would be a lot more cuss words than I would want to see in both) and do a whole bunch of other awesome stuff. There is definitely a nice business application or at the very least a cool art project here. Somebody please do this.

4. TechCrunch’s Interview With Lord Zuckerberg

It’s always nice to hear a bit about the vision for everybody’s favourite time hole.

5. Let Me Google That For You

Now when somebody asks you a question they could probably just Google themselves, you can really step up your jerk game by using this service to send them custom Google instructions to answer their question.