I really like these Emission Spectra scarves from Becky Stern. I’ve actually been kicking around an emission spectrum bracelet idea for about six months now, but the picture I have in my head requires metalworking skills and tools I don’t have. Seeing this makes me want to revisit the idea, though, and try to find another means of interpreting it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCmsvXgxdDY

I was also really intrigued by the ideas from Fabian Hemmert’s TEDx talk on ways a mobile device could provide information kinesthetically. I’m not so sure I’d want a “breathing” mobile, but changing the center of mass seems like it could be a really useful way of providing output. (via information aesthetics)

I just discovered Not So Humble Pie, who came up with these fabulous misfortune cookies. She also recently did a couple of awesome science cookie roundups.

N Building, in Tokyo, is a concept building with an interesting augmented reality twist. Instead of putting up signs, the building facade is a QR code; reading it on a mobile device delivers you to a website with a tenant list and other information.The developers also created an iPhone application that allows building occupants to interact with passersby through their phones -- showing what’s behind the windows, overlaying speech bubbles, and the like. (via Rhizome)

I can’t imagine anything like this taking off if every building had its own separate app, but I could definitely envision it integrated into a product like Google Maps.

This has to qualify as one of the most incredible projects I have seen in a long time. Carlos Alberto, a craftsman in Portugal, hand built this gorgeous wooden Vespa.

No, that’s not just veneer covering a stock Vespa body.  His page shows photos from the full sequence of the build, from the initial sketch to the final product zooming down the road, which make it quite clear that the body of this scooter is solid wood.

I love the level of detail here… from the precise matching of the curves to the original, to the inlay on the wheels. How amazing would it be to ride to work on this?

(via Make)

This is one of the more fascinating ideas I have run across recently… A steampunk cellphone created by designer Arthur Schmitt. The basics are all there – earpiece at the top, mouthpiece at the bottom, and two gauges that I can only assume display battery and signal strength.

What about the keypad? Well, he did away with it in favor of a great geeky touch – in order to dial a number, you use one of the little punch cards shown in the second picture. Punch out the phone number, slip the card into the bottom of the phone, and away you go!

I can just imagine using one of these all the time… instead of scrolling through your phone list, you’d be flipping through a wallet of cards – each one could be different, as show in the picture. You could even punch the number out of a photo, or someone’s business card, as long as you got it down to the right size to fit into the phone.

Sure, it’s not really practical… large contact lists would require big rolodexes or the like, for one. But is such a novel, tactile spin on things that it is fun to consider.

Via MAKE, who found it on Unpluggd.