IDEO design process

It's all about the process.

TR

2011 [ak]457 Down Jacket

A preview of the Japanese AK457 2L Down Jacket; The 2L Down is even lighter than the global LZ Down(!) We were able to shave more weight by using tighter and lighter fabrics throughout, as well as even higher loft premium down.

A waterproof breathable down jacket goes a bit against conventional wisdom.. everybody knows down loses much of it's insulative value when it gets wet (and being in the coast mountains, I was skeptical), however when combined with a seam sealed breathable Gore shell it performs incredibly well.

TR

DIETER RAMS

1. Good design is innovative.

2. Good design makes a product useful.

3. Good design is aesthetic.

4. Good design makes a product understandable.

5. Good design is unobtrusive.

6. Good design is honest.

7. Good design is long-lasting.

8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail.

9. Good design is environmentally friendly.

10. Good design is as little design as possible.

Before Apple there was Braun.

Before Jonathan there was Dieter.

TR

1980 Rothmans Porsche 953 replica

Check out the latest post on BaT! Built as a tribute to the works 953 Paris to Dakar rally cars... of which only three were built. Only one 953 is in private hands, and it would be unbelievably expensive -if- you could even buy it. This is about as close as you could get to the real thing. This is one of the coolest cars ever posted on BaT. I can't imagine how fun this would be on dirt...

Currently for sale on eBay

Photo by Jeremy Cliff

TR

Danger

These guys are crazy. Over the weekend, they were doing maintenance work on the high tension power lines above the studio. Buddy was replacing the spacers that keep the lines from touching each other.. and the best way to get to them is by helicopter.

Helicopters = dangerous

Hanging outside a helicopter = more dangerous

Helicopters flying near power lines = even more dangerous

Handling live high-tension power lines = no thanks.

Hanging outside a helicopter hovering next to live power lines so you can work on them = exponentially more dangerous then any of the above.

Was really scary to watch. The heli is getting buffeted by wind and moving around with the rotors just a few feet from the lines. Buddy wrenching on the lines with 10 quadrillion volts in his lap... Wow.

I have no idea how you calculate the danger pay for these guys ?!

Whatever it is; it isn't enough.

TR

Pantone Coffee Cups

Pantone is the color company - they have thousands of them (and charge thousands for them). You build your color strategy by sifting through, and selecting color chips that you then send out to the textile company that is dying your goods. Somehow even with thousands to choose from it still seems limited...

Now you can take that dilemma to your morning coffee cup selection...

Build your own color strategy with Pantone.

TR

Go Skate Day - Vancouver

Just picked up this vid from Hypebeast..

TR

FYi Mobile Headquarters

FYi has recently gone mobile with the Airstream 23D International. This is American retro-iconic design at it's best. An 80 year old company, that still hand-builds each Airstream in a small town in Ohio. There really is nothing else like it..

Interior design by CCD

We picked up our coach at Airstream of Spokane, and then ventured back through the North Cascades on our way back to B.C.

Back in Pemby, we docked for the long weekend to moto and work on the site of studio 2.0

Mount Currie sunday night alpenglow.

TR

SR-71

The fastest plane in the world was designed with a drafting table and a slide rule.. The Lockheed SR-71; Designed and engineered by Lockheed Martin's 'Skunkworks' Advanced Development Program.

One of the most innovative aircraft ever built. This plane flies over 2000mph (that's New York to London in less than 2 hours), at up to 85,000 ft. You can't shoot it down - it's faster than bullets and missiles. It's also one of the only machines ever built that uses -less- fuel the more power it makes (more on the engines below).

On a recent visit to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in Oregon, we got to check out a Blackbird on display..

As luck would have it, there was actually a group of pilots and crew members that made a rare appearance to speak about their experiences with the Blackbird. What an amazing program to be part of.. One interesting fact of note; At 85,000 ft, you can see over 3 -trillion- times more stars than you can from the ground!

The engines in the SR-71 are a hybrid of a traditional jet engine, that converts to a ram-jet above super-sonic speeds. The air coming into the engine was already going faster than the jet engine could push it, so they incorporated a air-bypass to go around the jet engine so it becomes a ram-jet. The ram-jet just keeps making more power the faster it goes. One pilot described approaching mach 3 with the throttle pulled all the way back to the stops - and still accelerating... which he called the plane 'getting away from you'. ummmm, houston, we have a problem..

Below is an excellent documentary on the plane itself, as well as it's design and construction. It's well worth watching if you have the time.

If -this- is what was being designed in the late 50's, you gotta wonder what top secret gear is being built today?!

TR

U2 (the airplane)

James May gets to go for a boot in the Lockheed U2 spyplane. A fantastic documentary by the BBC - it's worth taking the time to watch(!) The sound quality isn't great on the first clip (the other two are good). Check it out..

For Your inspiration.

TR

The Highest Armchair in the World

Anything worth doing is worth doing right.

TR

Project One-77

Part of what I like most about over-the-top supercars like the One-77 is that they represent one of the purest forms of human achievement. I find it amazing that projects like this even get to happen. It doesn't really make business sense at all - it's more about emotion and passion for the craft of automobile engineering and design. It's engineering, design and performance synchronized as a form of art.

TR

Pemberton Skateboard Society

The Pemberton Skateboard Society is raising funds for the new skateboard park being built this summer... visit Facebook for more info.

Bring it!

TR

TR backcountry kit

Everything you need and -nothing- that you don't..

TR

Flavor of the day..

Monday morning sproh. Running El Machete at the moment...

Got sproh?

TR

Jeremy Mcgrath

Jeremy Mcgrath at 39, ...showing how it's done.

Zamboni smooth.

TR

PerformX DH

Todd Schumlick has been deemed dangerous.

TR

FYi Studio 2.0

Progression continues on the site of the next generation design studio for FYi. The site is over 30 acres.. which makes the clearing and landscaping industrial in scale. So far we have harvested over 20 truck loads of huge cottonwood trees, and there are still many more to go.

Will be posting updates as we go. It's a huge project, and it will be fun to look back on the progression as it develops.

It should be looking -really- good by this time next year!

TR