Cool Hunting

Muji Chronotebook
My favorite design from last year's Muji awards is the Chronotebook, a simple but effective daily planner. Rather than the standard columns, lines or grids, each page has an analog clock graphic. With time as the central structuring element, this daily planner is more flexible and helps with accomplishing tasks in a timely manner. Beige, minimal, with rounded corners and just small enough to...

Norman Foster Desk Accessories
Although it's been out for a decade, the Foster Series of desk accessories for the German office brand Helit hasn't aged a day. Unless you work for Hearst, or you plan to attend the Summer Olympics in Beijing, your experience of Lord Norman Foster's ingenuity is likely limited to press reviews and the occasional tourist jaunt. Kitting an office desk with these accessories (which,...

Royal Tichelaar Makkum Work Table Lamp
After looking at an abundance of wiry, steel desk lamps that all felt a bit too stale, lifeless and boring, I found the Royal Tichelaar Makkum Work Table Lamp. Made of Oak, glazed white ceramic and using a low wattage halogen bulb, it gives off a certain warmth that others just can't compete with. Industrial tailor Dick van Hoff worked with the four-century-old Dutch...

Li Xi Year of the Rat Gift Envelopes
The year of the rat is steadily approaching and Portland-based design team Design Night are prepared with the latest version of their signature Li Xi envelopes. Inspired by ancient Chinese papercuts the laser cut envelopes feature the 2008 zodiac animal, a sign of leadership, charisma and order. Li Xi envelopes are also a perfect way to dress up a cash gift for weddings, birthdays...

Millimeter/Milligram
For the past eight years Seoul-based design studio Millimeter/Milligram (Mmmg) has been making stationery and accessories that get attention for their fresh color combos and pop art design. Their Capsule Letters were the first of their products to make an appearance on CH and we recently spotted a few other items that are worth a mention too. If you can't find them at your...

Packaging and Choosing and Using Paper
Mark Hampshire Keith Stephenson of the U.K. design firm Absolute Zero° recently published two new books on packaging design and paper. Packaging from DemoGraphics is one in a series of books that examines the way specific designs target audiences. Numerous stunning examples illustrate how packaging homes in on gender, age, socio-economic group, disposable income, profession and shopping habits. Case studies feature interviews with designers...