News Bulletin
27.09.13
In this week’s news bulletin we are talking about the new industrial revolution and revolutionary ways to read the news: there’s also a couple of stories about design, of course!
COGS OF INDUSTRY
As well as the rise in availability of 3D printing, the “make-it-yourself” movement is definitely on the up: seeing more and more independent designers turning their craft into micro-businesses (with minimal overheads), outsourcing the physical creation of designs to businesses much bigger than their own. Companies such as TechShop, Fab Labs and Ponoko can fabricate products from digital designs and ship them back for the designer to sell on. Mark Hatch, chief executive of TechShop, predicts that this “new industrial revolution” of digital manufacturing will have a bigger effect on our world than “the Internet ever had”.

COMMENTARY CORNER
This week JKR’s Design Gazette is celebrating Google as a ‘Champion of Design’, stating that although Google didn’t pioneer the search engine, it has “come to dominate it by design”. Read how JKR attribute the brands success to its magnetism, constant reinvention and brutal simplicity here.

PRETTY PACKAGING
Kallo rice cakes will soon be hitting our shelves with a fresher look inspired by folklore and fairytales. The redesign – from Big Fish – hopes to move the brand on in consumers’ minds from very functional to more emotionally engaging. The packs now feature more evocative imagery than the old, imbuing more warmth than the product visuals did previously, which the design team believes will inspire consumers to celebrate enjoying food.

AND FINALLY
Graduates from London’s Central Saint Martins have been working with News UK to explore the future of news: researching and developing user insights to inform designs of how people could, or will, consume news in the future. Ideas include edible news (in pill form), personalised news stories on the back of receipts, or through responsive billboards, amongst many more. The ideas are on show in a pop-up shop on Percy Street, W1T but are also available to view online.

NAME THAT BRAND
Here’s the answer to last week’s Name That Brand. Why not send us a Tweet and tell us if you know the answer to this week’s:
Then play the full game right here.