Lumen Eclipse

by Jacob Resneck

Giant screens loom over Harvard Square (below), a pedestrian thoroughfare that's an integral part of the Boston metropolitan area, displaying avant-garde works of video art by established and up-and-coming artists from around the world. Updated monthly and cleverly named Lumen Eclipse, it's no insular clique. In fact, Lumen is actively seeking submissions from artists on its website, even going as far as offering a $2,000 a-month stipend for chosen works.

It's no surprise that the creators chose Harvard Square as the location. Since its founding nearly 400 years ago, it has remained an epicenter of counter-cultural ideas and events ranging from colonial revolutionaries in the 1700s to the coffee-house folk scene in the early 1960s. An integral part of the Boston metro area, it's a destination in its own right and with its close proximity to Harvard University and MIT it is one of the foremost intellectual centers in North America.

Oliver Larich (top left) and Hiraki Sawa (top right) are just two of the eight artist that will be exhibited during the November showcase. For those outside of Boston, the Lumen Eclipse project boasts a rich online archive of works from its past and upcoming featured artists.

Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar

by Jonah Samson

For her latest project called "An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar," photographer Taryn Simon takes on the dual role of modern undercover spy and old-time collector of curiosities.

After years of extensive research and struggling to overcome government restrictions, Simon has created a collection of photographs that documents the inaccessible places that exist below the surface of American identity. It took her as long as a year to gain permission to photograph some of the high-security zones on view in this work, like government-regulated quarantine sites, nuclear waste storage facilities, prison death rows and C.I.A. offices.

Because her approach tends to be very direct and unsentimental, some images like the albino tiger look like they could be museum displays, which only makes these mysterious spaces even more curious and seductive. Through her work, the strangeness of American culture shines.

This show is currently on view at The Photographers' Gallery in London through 11 November and the Museum fur Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt through 20 January 2008. An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar was recently published by Steidl. You can purchase it from Powell's or Amazon.

See more images and background info on each photograph below.

Packaging and Choosing and Using Paper

by Letizia Rossi

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 and brand owners to explain why specific choices were made, why they worked and how the designs evolved from a prototypes or concept to form successful, user-centered designs. The book also features a useful tools for designers including a palette of ideas, materials, and inspirations with which to design their own targeted packaging.

Choosing and Using Paper for Great Graphic Design is a comprehensive sourcebook for paper-focused design that gathers all the information needed for planning and executing a project in paper from fold styles and paper sizes to binding techniques to packaging. Featuring many examples of amazing graphic design projects from art, fashion and product design grouped by type, technique and theme, it also includes a swatch envelope with examples of 18 varieties of paper ranging from 115sm matte paper to various glossy, recycled and wood-free options to 36gsm bible paper, a great resource for designers.

Both books highlight several products that had already caught Cool Hunting's eye including: Kidrobot's Gorillaz figurines , the USB Cell Rechargeable Battery Readymade's How to Make {Almost} Everything book, products by Knock Knock's, Howies and Thom Yorke: The Eraser. The books also featured many products that we are eager to check out. Expect a series of hand-on reviews of products from the books soon.

Also on CH: Communicating with Pattern: Circles and Dots

Veuve Clicquot Vertical Limit Giveaway: Interview with Roland Heiler of Porsche Design Studio

by Tim Yu

Champagne house Veuve Clicquot today launched Vertical Limit by Porsche Design Studio, a stainless steel cellar tower of superb design (at right, click on image for enlarged view). Measuring over six feet tall, it holds 12 magnums of Clicquot's most prized vintages and only 15 were made worldwide. In celebration of this special release Cool Hunting is giving away your choice of two potential prizes. What do you want? A pair of rare vintage Veuve Clicquot champagnes (1988 and a 1985 Rosé) encased in the Pablo Reinoso Cellar Box (below left) OR Veuve Clicquot's limited edition La Grande Dame 1996 vintage with special Emilio Pucci casing (below right). La Grande Dame is Veuve Clicquot's Haute Couture Vintage Champagne.

Each Vertical Limit is fully handmade and each of the 12 vintages are housed in its own compartment with the temperature set at a constant 12 degrees celsius—ideal for tasting and the same climate as the Veuve Clicquot cellars in Reims, France. Of the 15 produced worldwide only two will make it stateside and they will be showcased at the Porsche Design Stores in New York and Los Angeles during the month of November. Each cellar containing the 12 vintages is approximately $70,000.

Porsche Design Studio designed and fabricated all 15 Vertical Limits. Roland Heiler, Managing Director of Porsche Design, sat down with us to talk about the design of the cellar tower and about the design world in general. A gracious, smart and witty design mastermind, he's seen the past and can predict the future.

Conceptually, how did the thought process begin in designing Vertical Limit? Was it a collaborative effort with Veuve Clicquot?
Veuve Cliquot approached us with the idea of creating a product that would refrigerate select vintage champagne magnums in a stylish and luxurious way. They showed a tremendous amount of trust and faith in us by giving us creative freedom even though it was our first time working together. This is a designers dream.

We approached this project the same as we approach each and every design project. We aim to fuse form and function and follow our philosophy of trying to create timeless design. Take the Porsche 911 for example, designed by Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, the grandson of the original founder of the Porsche company, it's arguably the most timeless car ever made. We try to mirror this effect with every project. This type of authenticity and quality must always flow into the design of a product for it to be timeless and successful.

What was the primary goal in designing the Vertical Limit for Veuve Clicquot? How did you translate the brand into the product?
We wanted to create a product to match the ultra high-end superiority of the Veuve Clicquot brand, so we tried to emphasize the importance of each bottle. We thought that each bottle should have its own stage essentially. This is why we gave each bottle its own door coupled with the classic Veuve Clicquot yellow as a light. We did this so each bottle received the attention it deserves, rather than opening one door to a collection of bottles. In making a superior looking product we also decided to make the Vertical Limit a tall object. A tall tower seems to command authority and I think it serves to this effect well.

They are all made by hand correct? Every bit? How long does it take?
Yes, every bit is made by hand but it didn't take much longer to design than our other products. It is actually quite a normal design process. It helps that we have stainless steel specialists and we don't have to take manufacturing methods into account. Oftentimes these limited edition pieces, can be easier to make in some respects because of this. Only 15 were made.

Obviously not everyone can afford the Vertical Limit and the fact that only 15 were made makes it something of even more value. Who did you have in mind as the target buyer? Did you picture it in museums, people's homes...?
I have to admit this was more on the Veuve Clicquot side of things as far as their marketing aspect and target criteria. On the other hand we are known for creating luxurious products here so that was an obvious aim for Veuve Clicquot. We take our time in the design process and use high quality materials, so naturally a lot of our products cost a bit more money.

There has been a boom of increased awareness and emphasis on design lately. As a design studio that has decades of experience, what are your thoughts on the state of design today?
I agree, design is definitely more of an important factor in consumer culture these days. I think this is quite natural. We welcome this and we've always wished for it to be more like that. However, these things also bring with them other effects. In my opinion design as a word and phrase has undergone a certain inflation. There are a lot of things called design that I don't necessarily agree to be actual design or well designed for that matter.

When thinking about design. it's necessary to consider all of a products functions and aesthetics. We aren't a styling or engineering firm, it is essential to bring these two together as equal partners. Here at Porsche Design we don't even like the phrase "form follows function," it doesn't. They are equal and on the same level of importance. That's been a very strong element for Porsche design. Typically our products have a certain amount of engineered character and many have kinematics. I think this stems from our heritage as a car company and this is where we benefit.

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