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A monthly review of Web design and resources.
By Ken Coupland
March 2002
The Fat Channel <www.fat.co.uk>
This Anglocentric showcase for "fashion, architecture, taste"
posts a highly selective database of design projects. The Fat Channel leans
toward work--presented, mysteriously, without attributions--that's futuristic
and quirky. How quirky? A proposed Princess Diana Memorial Bridge across
the Thames River sports a slice of parkland suitable for floral tributes,
transported entire from the site of Diana's final resting place. Other
projects are just plain mindless fun, for example, a downloadable do-it-yourself,
cut-and-paste fallout shelter.
All Look Same <www.alllooksame.com>
Let's face it: if you're not Asian yourself, you probably have trouble distinguishing
Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese from each other. Well, guess what? Apparently
some Asians do too. New York City-based media designer Dyske Suematsu
confesses that he's frequently confused himself. "In the U.S., publicly
admitting that you cannot tell Asians apart comes across sounding racist
or prejudiced," he writes. "But deep down, most people feel that."
Suematsu has addressed the issue by hosting a smartly designed, tightly
engineered online questionnaire that gauges your ability to identify the
various nationalities according to a gallery of photos. Expect to be embarrassed
by your score.
Design Addict <www.designaddict.com>
Oh no, you say, not another design portal. But Belgians Alix and Patrick
Everaert have crafted a smartly targeted quickie introduction to twentieth-
and twenty-first-century furniture, lighting, dinnerware, accessories,
glass, ceramic, plastic, wood, and metalware. The site features a large
but far from exhaustive directory of leading designers and producers. Entries
include a capsule bio and plentiful links to relevant books and products,
a gallery of virtual exhibitions, interviews with the talent, collector
forums, news, and an events calendar. Links point you to online design magazines
and museums, along with a huge list of dealers.
Futurism and Futurists <www.futurism.org.uk>
Satisfy your appetite for information about the quixotic climate of ideas
that flourished briefly in Europe prior to the First World War
at this low-key but authoritative archive and database. Brit Bob Osborn
hosts a guide to the key players and their works that sports bios and photos
of nearly 200 artists, as well as such Web-friendly features as electronic
postcards, MP3 downloads of readings of their works by the Futurists themselves,
and an online shop hawking logo-emblazoned T-shirts, caps, mugs, and tote
bags.
John Hersey <www.hersey.com>
A lot of illustrators develop an identifiable style only to run it
into the ground. Hersey, however, consistently manages to wring new graphic
potential from the medium while retaining his own unmistakable signature.
Self-described as "one guy's advanced primate experiment," the
artist's diverting online showcase deploys visual wit and self-deprecating
humor to present what appears to be an ongoing meditation on human cognition.
Hersey updates his portfolio regularly, so you'll need to check back often.
When we looked, he was posting "Flurnknard," a ditzy, claymation-inspired
animated QuickTime ballet. If Saul Steinberg had dropped acid and mastered
3-D rendering tools, his work might look something like this.
Ken Coupland can be reached at
screenspace@metropolismag.com.
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