Finally, a cutting-edge stylus for the iPad that feels so natural, you’d think you are drawing on a real sketchpad! Recently released, the Jot Touch 4 Stylus by Adonit is a professional tool that allows digital artists to create quality work away from the confines of a desk. To provide a more intuitive, seamless experience, the Jot Touch 4 takes full advantage of Bluetooth 4.0 and integrates palm rejection and pressure sensitivity with the Jot’s patented precision tip. How easy-to-use is the Jot Touch 4? Consider this: I (a blogger!) was able to sketch Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye on my iPad. (And it didn’t turn out too shabbily, either.) Click through to read more, and see my jot drawings of the Villa Savoye.

more

By Sabrina Wirth, a candidate for the M.S. Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices degree in Architecture at Columbia University’s GSAPP.

New Yorkers by definition are creative people; they’re also ambitious, and a little bit competitive. First, New York challenged Paris as the Center of the Art World at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Then during the 20th century, it surpassed London as the Center of the Financial World (though the UK capital has since caught up). And for the past decade, the Big Apple has been steadily competing with Silicon Valley for the Center of Innovation. But now New York is staking its claim for a new title: Center of Design. So, if you’re planning on spending a quiet time in the city this month, fuggedaboutit—New York is about to get very busy.

Bookended between the Frieze Art Fair and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, the first annual NYCxDESIGN festival officially kicks off tomorrow (May 10), with hundreds of events celebrating architecture, art, fashion, and design taking place throughout the five boroughs through May 21. (Including the Architizer A+ Awards gala on May 16!) The celebration aims, as Speaker Christine C. Quinn announced last February, to “demonstrate that New York City is the design capital of the world.” The event is organized by the New York City Council along with NYC & Company and a 33-person Steering Committee made up of leaders within the local arts community.

more

So you’re planning your ideal dinner party, and you’ve already exhausted Ina Garten’s extensive list of table-setting tips. Why not take a few table-setting cues from the ideal city? Yes, we are talking about the Italian Renaissance city, which apparently provides great inspiration for tableware if Aldo Rossi’s Cupola espresso maker is a testament to anything. Now Italian designer Alessandro Zambelli is following suit with his ceramic plates, bowls, and other dinner table mainstays modeled after Florentine architecture. More after the break.

more

Jackson Pollock and other modern artists may have re-conceptualized the painting as a three-dimensional object rather than an illusionistic window to another world, but Japanese designers Naoki Ono and Yuuki Yamamoto of YOY (pronounced yo-ee, so we are told by Spoon & Tamago) have taken the concept even further with their screen-printed canvas chairs that function as both art and furniture. More after the jump.

more

The footbridge is underrated. It really doesn’t get enough love, though we can’t figure out why. They’re necessary, functional, and economical, packing a lot of sculptural form in a neat, capsule-sized dose. Call them flyovers, elevated paths, people-movers, or whatever, we love them.

And we really like this new footbridge design by architect Michael Jantzen, who’s known for his eccentric designs (see this Transformer house for proof). This pedestrian bridge is particularly cool because it looks like it’s made out of LEGO. Seen from the roadway, that is, in elevation, the structure appears to be a large mass of the plastic bricks, with a stepped outline that could have been lifted from an 8-bit video game. According to Jantzen, the bridge, which is just a concept for now, can be made out of any material, though he’s thinking pre-cast concrete would be best.

More than that, Jantzen says the design reimagines what a footbridge can be. His version comprises three parallel rows; the outer two are undulating paths that sandwich a smooth, rolling ramp. “Those who want to exercise more vigorously while crossing the bridge, might want to take the stairs. Those on a bike, skateboard, or wheelchair, might choose to use the ramp.”

more

All photos: Homemade Modern

The world is filled with concrete. You’d have a terribly tough time estimating just how much of it spans the earth. You can find it everywhere, in nearly every application, finish, texture — on sidewalks, buildings, subway stations, and, yes, designer furniture. For distinguishing lovers of concrete, nothing would be better than to have a lovely bit of the stuff in your living room. But concrete coffee tables, chairs, and shelves can be quite expensive, leaving many of us to content ourselves with B-productions of modernist furniture from our studio days. (Love you for life, Z-chair!)

There is, of course, another option: make it yourself. Homemade Modern has a great new tutorial that shows you how to make a concrete stool for only $5. Yes, that’s cheaper than the lunch you’ll be having today. Click through for more! 

more

Milan Design Week is in full swing! And among the exhibitions we’re most excited to check out? “Tools for Life,” OMA‘s collection of stacked, adjustable, and motorized furniture designed for the venerable company Knoll.

Knoll, which has commissioned work by architects such as Mies van der Rohe, Eero Saarinen, and Frank Gehry in the past, had approached OMA head Rem Koolhaas about designing a special line to mark the company’s 75 years in the business. The resulting collection includes a counter made of rotating stacked blocks, a coffee table whose translucent top rises and falls with the press of a button, adjustable mod-ish swivel chairs, and more.

“Tools for Life” will be on view throughout Salone del Mobile, at Prada’s Milan exhibition space. Click through to see the photos!

more

The New Aesthetic hits again. This time, we have the QWERTY sofa by Italian design firm ZO_loft, which, as its name suggests, takes the form of a giant keyboard. Each of the letters or “keys” are actually modular cushions, aggregated to resemble the thing we’re tapping on right now. Apparently the height of each of the cushions can be adjusted by remote control, while the sofa itself can be collapsed to make for a guest bed. All you need now is a NES coffee table and a glitch armoire or two, and you’ll be in business. Click through for more photos. 

more

The 2013 Salone Mobile (fine, the Salone Internazionale del Mobile) is kind of a big deal. The annual design-a-thon herds brand reps and nerdy design fans around Milan every April for five or so days for the edifying purpose of showcasing the year’s best in furniture, fixtures, products, and knickknacks. As is typical with these kinds of things, there are always show standouts, whether those be individual pieces, collections, or entire showrooms. (We liked Doshi Levien’s ‘Chandigarh’ set from last year.) Zaha Hadid’s latest design work encompasses all these at the MULTIPLICITIES exhibition, a large catalog of the architect’s dynamic designs—from chairs and sofas to tables, benches, and lamps—from the past year. It’s also the Mobile venue that will draw the most ooo‘s, ahh‘s, and huh‘s. Click through for more. 

more

To celebrate its 15th birthday as a design firm, Turin-based Nucleo wanted to give back to its supporters. For the occasion, the company re-imagined its Histogram Table in 3,193 LEGO bricks, a self-professed “affordable” take on the €2,500 original. And by affordable, Nucleo means free: the design is intended to be built by anyone, so long as they have a couple thousand primary-color LEGOs lying around. Click through for more.

more