Tokyo-born designer Keita Maruyama is best known for his work in the Japanese fashion industry. After graduating in design at the Bunka Fashion College, he commenced his career in 1987 at the Japanese Designer Company. Maruyama, well-known among musicians and actresses for designing remarkable clothes since 1990, presented his very first women’s and men’s collections in 1994 in Tokyo.

He managed to capture the hearts of fashionistas not only in Japan, but as well as Paris, as he presented his debut collection in Paris in 1997. Since then, Keita Maruyama has been a member of the French Federation of Couture, and has not yet failed at creating fascinating collections each season. Spring/Summer in Japan will undoubtedly prompt everyone’s thoughts to the bloom of the cherry blossoms and to the beautiful, happy personalities romancing under such trees! What could epitomize beauty more than when it is captured in a fashion show by Keita Maruyama, recognized for his passion for fairy tales and classic natural beauty delivered mythically as a collection of refined elegant glamour.

It was no surprise to see the exquisite collection commence with a shower of cherry blossom petals covering the runway, giving prominence to shapes, prints and of course, flowers! The radiant colors shone on beaming young women from short daytime dresses to long kimono dresses, all chic and youthful. A mixture of lace and color-shaded draping were seen on the skirts and dresses in hues of ever-appealing blues, grays and elegant whites.

The icing on the cake was the perfectly tailored jackets and coats that blended well with the outfits and complimented each other. Cute flip-flops, big pink bows and flower accessories focused on spring weather, giving the whole collection a fresh breeze…. No doubt that everyone wanted to be a part of this beautiful and graceful woman Maruyama so fantastically portrayed, proving to the world: Beauty sure is Bliss!!

Born in Greece in 1980, illustrator Alexandros Vasmoulakis expressed an interest in the arts at a very young age.  He went on to study painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts, and later attended the VSUP Academy of Arts in Prague.

Today Vasmoulakis’ work is divided into two main categories; indoor and outdoor figurative painting and fragile installations constructed out of objects such as trash, cement, CDs, and grocery carts.  His ability to work with such a wide array of media enables him to communicate, sometimes sardonically, about human troubles, desires, hopes and fears.  Much of Vasmoulakis’ work portrays an international perspective on these issues, strengthened through his time spent in Paris, Los Angeles and now Berlin.

However, this has not prevented Vasmoulakis from always maintaining a strong connection to Greece.  His passion for his hometown, Athens, coupled with his ability to connect to the political and social struggles of his people is represented through numerous character murals on buildings and street installations.

Vasmoulakis has, and continues to successfully represent his personality, experiences and opinion in his work while still leaving room for his audience to form their own interpretations. “Through my work, I want people to interpret whatever they feel, or get whatever they want,” says Vasmoulakis.

Yamaha and fashion house Hermes have joined forces to produce this one-off leather-clad V Max concept bike, which has just been unveiled at the Cologne Show.

Hermes craftsmen were let loose to combine ‘mechanics and leather, to fulfil the dreams of motorcycles’. The idea was, according to Yamaha and Hermes, to “Reinforce the sculptural lines of this unique object and underline its emotional power.”

The result has the £20k machine’s non-mechanical parts dressed in Skipper buffalo leather, the main parts being the tank, seat, mudguards, headlight cover, exhaust silencers and grips.

Finishing touches include brushed aluminium mirrors, meter case and exhaust.

There are no plans to add this version of V-Max to its present or future range of bikes. Yamaha and Hermes worked together on a similar project on a Virago 15 years ago.

Extremis, a Belgian outdoor furniture manufacturer, have presented their latest ‘Hopper’ table and seating at the Interieur 2010 show in Kortrijk, Belgium.

Its designer, Dirk Wynants, immediately thought of adding a suitable awning. To really enter into the spirit of things, visitors who slide into a seat at the ‘Hopper’ can try out the home-brew beer ‘Tremist’. So, it’s a 10-day ‘Hoppy’ hour at the Extremis stand!

Mystic surprised by its beauty and intensity. It was created to live an intense and fleeting moment. Its racy style describes a supernatural world that soars skyward. Its skin has a sculpted unique spiritual experience.

We discover in the palm of our hand soft and aerodynamic forms. Its living surface is shaped by a force mysterious and transparent.

It send us all the energy and excitement of Coca-Cola Its sexy lines and red color give happiness in 3 dimensions.

Both organic shapes intertwine and form a body ambiguous and fascinating. Its loving silhouette, ties into a true popular poetry.

The R Moto superbike for Vectrix was created for the EICMA show in Milan. Designed by Industrial Designer Erik Holmen and owner of ROBRADY design, Rob Brady.

This one-off show model was created by our in house Rapid Prototyping team working 80-90hr weeks to meet this tight deadline. Seventeen show quality 3-wheel electric scooters, a canopy scooter, and rear storage box were also built for the same EICMA show.

Paik nam june media bridge by Seoul-based architectural practice Planning Korea is a mega-structure over the han river that aims to efficiently expand the city fabric on to the water. with a total length of 1080 meters, the bridge connects the dangi-li power plant, which is currently being redeveloped into a public cultural space, and the national assembly building to the south. the design proposal is a largely sculpted form with fluctuating curves and volumes.

In comparison to the thames river in london and the seine in france, the han river is a much larger stretch of water that runs through the center of seoul. currently, there are close to 30 bridges running over the river but a majority of the steel and concrete structures only accommodate for cars and city traffic. ‘Paik nam june media bridge’ aims to accommodate for the walking and cycling portion of the population.
In addition, the structure will host a number of public facilities such as a museum, library, and an IT complex mall.
The bridge will also connect the people down to the water by featuring a series of docks for water taxis, yachts and cruise ships.

To generate a large portion of the energy used for internal programs, the bridge is clad in solar panels. Each floor of the structure introduces a horizontal garden that uses water from the river below, collected rain water and natural sunlight and ventilation. the bridge is named after the korean video and media artist nam june paik, and proposes to use the skin of the bridge as a projected canvas for media and video artists around the world.

We are often “wow-ed” by the racing cars, devastating tornado and the flying superheroes in commercial films.  But what really goes into creating such high quality digital motion and transformation?  Onur Senturk, from Istanbul, Turkey, one of the industry’s most talented motion designer and director, shares his experience with us.

Senturk started his career by studying painting and figure drawing, after which he transitioned into animation.  He is currently working as a freelancer in Turkey, having done work for agencies including FerroConcrete, Dixonbaxi and Prologue films.  Senturk also created an advertisement for design42day that combines design specific quotes and images, thus capturing the company’s philosophy.

He continues to be a leading motion designer, with his ability to integrate modern design into a wide range of projects.  Senturk stays up-to-date with industry news and educates his numerous fans, through his twitter page.  His successful experimentation with image and sound has won him much critical acclaim, including a recent Vimeo award for Best Motion Graphic Piece, in recognition of his short film, Triangle, an impressive showcasing of Robert Knoke’s artwork.

Below is an interview Onur Senturk did with Design42day.

1.) What sparked your interest in becoming a motion designer and how did this interest develop?
It is a long chain reaction story! I started drawing and copying comics (X-men comics Illustrated by Jim lee) when I was thirteen. I then decided to focus my high school education on traditional painting.  I learned so many techniques there, ranging from traditional painting to printmaking and photography. I then pursued a traditional animation education, where I learned how to create moving images. While creating new pieces, my past helps me to solve problems and also gives me inspiration in some key points.  I also have Dvein to thank for highly encouraging me to do motion design (before building Nokta ).

2.) I understand that you have studied traditional painting, figure drawing, and traditional animation.  What other educational (or other) experience do you recommend for someone aspiring to become a motion designer?
Software know-how is always a plus; however, I don’t really think it is crucial.  Observing and finding inspiration is one of hard things. Also, it is a factor in all things that you create.  Monotony is the one great danger of the design business. Your work can become predictable and boring with time. But for those who are just beginning to learn design, my advice is that with the right kind of motivation and mediocre level of technical info, everything is pretty much achievable.

3.) Your film, Nokta, has received much critical acclaim.  Could you tell us a little bit about the film and the message you are hoping it conveys?
I consider myself very lucky because it is really hard to step away from the “majority”.  Nokta means “dot” and “achieved state” in Turkish and I tried to portray both meanings. This film contains abstract sentences about life and death even though some parts have a touch of reality.
I think the best way to portray surrealism to put a little amount of reality in it. When an audience perceives the portrayed world’s state, I manipulate that state and bend the laws of physics to create magic.

I was plan on creating multiple Nokta ‘s. With these films, my aim is to catch a sense of early avant-garde cinema like Hans Richter, Rene Clair, Luis Bunuel, Man ray, Marcel Duchamp and Maya Deren did. Their films are very brave, strong, and make the audience minds turn upside down.

4.) What inspired the design and animation for the design42day commercial?
The Design42day commercial was a lot of fun because I was able to experiment with new techniques while doing it.  I also love to surf on the internet, frequently visiting design portals. I normally prepare an inspiration folder to keep me motivated when beginning something new.
However, there are short films that effected me deeply I want to refer to them too. One of them is created by Brothers Quay titled ‘Rehearsal for Extinct Anatomies.’ I used a similar visual approach along with Marcel Duchamp’ s quote about the creative act.  I also want to thank to Ipek Torun for her amazing job on typography and Mert Kizilay for  his incredible  music and sound.
www.ipektorun.com
www.mertkizilay.com

5.) How has your country and your personal experiences influenced your work?
I think my country and environment strongly affected my perspective. Maybe, if I grew up in another place you would see entirely different things from me. They would probably not be as good as they are now!   An artist can always find prolific points that will inspire him/her here.  If our government doesn’t ban video sharing sites and internet, nothing is really an excuse not to create here (vimeo was banned two weeks ago and youtube has been banned for almost 3 years.)

6.) When you are not working, what do you like to do with your time?
Watch films, travel and walk.  I always carry a notebook with me to begin new projects.

7.) Could you share with us a little bit about your upcoming projects?
I am trying set a balance between commercial projects and  non-commercial projects.  I want to get my hands on the title design business and fashion, which is an endless vortex and definitely needs the help of motion graphics to become a stronger black hole.

8.) What software and other materials do you use for creating and editing your films?I use 3dsmax, Cinema 4D, Realflow, Mudbox, After Effects. Besides these prograns I love using live action shots to enrich the visual quality and experience of work.