The recently-turned-twenty Photoshop often gets a bad rap in photography contests, as purists feel works graced by the program oughtn't be included; their reasoning is clear, as Photoshopped images have truly evolved into their own art form/genre.

Chicago-based graphic designer and illustrator Justin Van Genderen first came to our attention for his humorously minimalist posters advertising planets from Star Wars, like something you'd see in an old travel agency:

But looking deeper into his Photoshop portfolio, we were pleasantly surprised to see some of the most graphically awesome Photoshop work we've seen in a while--stuff that does not merely try to perfect existing images or make them hyper-real, but which pushes them into their own genre, distinct, we feel, from analog painting.

The bloody photo below was inspired by that scene in Kill Bill, while the rest of the images are from JustinVG's own mind.

We're only showing you a small sampling here (and our apologies to the artist for cropping some of the work). For greater variety, check out his galleries or his website.

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The Recycling Design Prize 2010 has just been announced, already the 4th edition of an unusual award which is all about turning ugly waste into beautiful products. This so called "open competition" is open to all creative minded people who don't mind getting their hands dirty.

The jury favors entries with opportunities for (small) series production in order to create not only stuff but also stimulating people's employment. You can see design works of earlier competitions in 2007, 2008 and 2009 - this competition seems to get more exiting every year!

Find all information about the Recycling Design Prize here and write in your agenda: "Closing date for registrations!" on August 31, 2010.

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Another development in the increased role auction houses are beginning to play in promoting the next wave of design talent: Sotheby's is now taking an interest in selling work produced by newly emerging designers. To do so, they have teamed up with—who else—the Design Academy Eindhoven to sell work produced by several of last year's top graduates. (For more on auction houses + new design, read our mini-post on Chicago's Wright Auction House).

The work from Eindhoven will be presented at Sotheby's London between May 14 and 18, 2010 after a stop at the Milan Furniture Fair. Much of the work from the graduating class can be seen in our Dutch Design Week Gallery from October, but detailed descriptions and press images of three favorites follow.

Inflatable Void, Yoeri Treffers (top):

It is difficult to close yourself off from everything and everyone around you. Images, sounds and objects surround us almost everywhere. Because many people, according to Yoeri Treffers, do need to be completely by themselves sometimes, he devised an inflatable cube made of polythene. The cube is inflated within 20 seconds by a fan hanging from the ceiling. The exact shape taken by the cube is dependent on the objects in the environment, so can vary each time. With its dimensions of three cubic metres, it is large enough for an average living room or bedroom.

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[Please note: Above image is stock, not specific products from the company in this entry]

Norway-based aluminum supplier Hydro is a good global citizen; last year they recycled over 200 million pounds of scrap aluminum, some of it post-consumer waste, the rest from industrial waste. By combining the recycled scrap with virgin aluminum, they can produce new billets with over 70% recycled content, resulting in identical strength and performance but with a fresh, green smell.

Hydro is now trying to spread awareness of their products through what we've come to learn is an admirable Scandinavian technique: Education. Hydro's Extrusion Americas unit is holding 20 free-of-charge seminars targeting industrial designers, engineers and manufacturers. The seminars will:

...Provide practical instruction on the use of aluminum extrusion in product development, including the extrusion process itself, profile design and alloy selection. They will also focus on fabrication techniques, including welding, machining and bending. A product showcase will demonstrate innovative aluminum extrusion applications and techniques. Additionally, there will be designated time for attendees to bring in any plans to discuss one-on-one with Hydro engineers.

"Hydro's Extrusion Academies present a unique opportunity for designers and manufacturers to explore how extrusion can solve manufacturing challenges by connecting directly with experts in the field," said Lynn Brown, senior vice president, Extrusion Americas sales & marketing.

We love initiatives like this because they're not hard-selling you anything, just hoping that after learning about their processes you'll have a desire to partner with them--and if you don't, no sweat, at least you walk away with a better understanding of aluminum and extrusions. We just hope that they don't point out that we Americans are spelling it wrong--Hydro spells it, as the Brits who invented our language do, "aluminIum."

Hit the jump for seminar locations and dates, or click here for more info from Hydro.

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Couple months ago we showed you Back Creek Farms' leaf-shaped maple syrup bottle, which was the purtiest I'd then seen:

This morning I was browsing other maple syrup bottles, because I'm craving waffles but don't have any (my urges have strange outlets) and I came across a new fave syrup bottle on Single Serve Coffee, used in a promotional photo for Timothy's Sugar Bush Maple K-Cups:

Look how sexy it is! The ghostly handle gives the rich-looking syrup inside a much more visually interesting shape.

After some searching, I eventually tracked down a company that sells these bottles, but they sure didn't hire a proper shooter to present them:

Really? On-camera flash and shooting from below the product to cast a Dracula-like shadow above? And cripes, at least clean the background next time!

Anyways, during my search I came across this interesting and Pantone-like process for grading maple syrup: They grade them by color, using a craftsy little wooden box with holes in it:

Man now I want waffles even more.

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New York's currently buried under 8 inches of snow, which is not a lot to you Swedes, Canadians and Tibetans, but it's enough to make our sidewalks a mess. This morning I spotted some poor soul slogging through the slush while hauling a laundry sack either to or from the laundromat.

Which reminded me: One of the best purchases I ever made was the washing machine I bought, over ten years ago. In that time it has paid for itself many times over. But it's not the prettiest thing in the world, and I live in a city apartment, not some suburban house with a laundry room, so I can't tuck the thing away--it sits out in the open, next to my kitchen sink.

One trend that I hope trickles down from the luxury to the regular consumer market is the simple design feature on Teka's LSI 1260-S combo washer-dryer: A door. That's it, a simple, clean cabinet door so you don't have to see the console and a window filled with your dirty socks doing acrobatics.

I even thought about covering mine with a door, DIY-style--God knows I've got the hinges for it--but as I stood in front of it with a power drill, I thought "Hmm, you're about to drill holes in something that holds water. What could go wrong?"

So I'll continue having staring contests with my ugly washing machine. And even though it always wins, it's better than hauling my dirties through the snow.

via appliancist

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While a bevy of Italians recently traveled to Vancouver in a quest to retrieve metal--specifically gold, silver or bronze--Paolo Pininfarina, the CEO of the style house behind Ferrari, was there last week to present metal. Stainless steel, to be exact, and not in cars, but in people's kitchens.

"My father used to say that one day Pininfarina could be more famous for its industrial design than for automobiles," said the CEO, and in the ongoing quest to make that a reality, Pininfarina and Italian company Cucina Snaidero have designed the kitchens for Harbour Green Place, a luxury development in Vancouver.

Unfortunately photos of the HGP kitchen (above) are scarce, but as you can see from the examples below, Pininfarina's no stranger to kitchen design: some of these designs date back to the early '90s.

As for the lucky residents of Harbour Green Place, not only do they get to cook in what are essentially Ferrari kitchens: A neat tie-in has given residents access to a communal car--a 2010 Ferrari California!

via the vancouver sun, images via snaidero

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Featured Forum Topic of the Day:
Do engineers really "design" anything?
by thissedb in general design discussion

Do engineers really "design" anything, or do they just take the idea and the sketches that a designer has come up with and make sure that the end product will work? Just wondering since most of the engineering programs out there are followed by design, such as mechanical engineering and design, civil engineering and design, etc.

>> read and reply

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In celebration of Drexel University's new Product Design program, Dutch designer Tejo Remy (of Droog fame) has been invited to lead a hands-on creating-making workshop in Philadelphia from March 29th through April 1st. Participants will explore furniture design using Remy's "impromolding" technique—mixing mold making processes and humble materials—to create original design work.

The cost is entirely reasonable, considering registrants will be spending four days with Remy: $50 for students and $150 for professionals. The whole affair will culminate in a lecture and an exhibition of the results (and hopefully, a publication!).

Email Mike Glaser at mdg56 (at) drexel (dot) edu to sign up.

Liquid/Solid: A Hands-on Creating-Making Workshop with Tejo Remy
March 29-April 1, 9 AM- 5 PM
Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, Nesbitt Hall, 33rd and Market Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19104

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If you've not yet had a chance to enter our 1 Hour Design Challenge: Emergency Shelters, now's the time. We're only two days away from the deadline, so carve one hour from the remaining forty-eight to conceptualize an innovative pop-up shelter for an emergency situation. This challenge was developed in response to the earthquake in Haiti, and Core77 will donate $500 in the name of the winner to Architecture for Humanity's Earthquake Support Program.

To get you thinking, check out 1HDC's recent appearance on CNET and some of the latest submissions below:

From mhsieh08:
I was inspired by Victor Papanek (+ Design for the Real World) to use the form + transportation of helicopter seeds to deliver emergency shelter and goods. The fabric "wings" maintain the shape by the modular metal poles (found in tents) and the "seed" can open up and unfold to form a personal tent for the user. The pod part of the seed carries basic supplies like food, blankets, and soap and the pod can be left out as a water collector/purifier.

From ociopintoresco:
My Proposal is more about using elements that can be found in Haiti to solve the housing Problems. Using Bamboo, Sisal rope and dry palm leaves, they could build this shelters for Haitians. It's Important to remember that the country's temperature is very high and palm leaves are extremely fresh.

From jerry:
The events that have happened in Haiti aren't exclusive to Haiti. As such, I sought to approach the problem from a universal perspective and was guided initially by the 3-line rule for this particular challenge. This first submission addresses the issues of emergency shelter by first having a shelter that is designed for the region and to also take into account that Haiti has almost entirely depleted their natural resources thus would require some outsourced / pre-fabricated / manufactured assistance.

There's no time to waste: ENTER NOW!

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