Mobilized comfort zone

A mesh cover with a baby sound asleep inside – spotted in a farming village in Tamil Nadu. Would you call this a baby net or flying insect net?

Reminder of where you are

phone booth

Have you used a public phone booth with a door for purposes other than using the public phone? It is used as a shelter from a sudden rain, using mobile phones inside, changing clothes, rearranging the bag, or even crying for a while if you must, though being inside a phone booth proper is becoming ...

wysiwy(p)g

Coin-operated automatic shoe shine machine in Tokyo subway. 100 yen for a pair. What-you-see-is-what-you-possibly-get.

displaced/fabricated nature

Living close to the nature is a privilege in many parts of the world. It is more so as cities become increasingly densely populated and expand. I grew up in a very human-constructed environment of South Korea’s former industrial hub, Busan, South Korea. Naturally, facing or getting too intimate with the real nature has always ...

shopping carts and independence

My neighborhood grocery provides two types of trolleys – one with a holder for shopping list (or whatever your reading material is), another with a baby seat. While I haven’t seen anyone making use of these considerate installations so far, the idea is easily understandable. These handcarts by no means are provided as a standard ...

the local wisdom

the heavy snail-shaped door stopper shown in the picture below has an important function in this design office: without it, the door will automatically get shut. mark from experientia explains that it is a typical traditional door design in turin / torino, italy, quite suitable for the cold winter. energy-efficient traditional designs fascinates me. in ...

entry stamps

i sent my passport to chinese embassy to get a visa – knowing that there are only 4 clean pages left, i am trying to push for multiple entry visa. frequent travelers may understand very well the stressful moment when you find out your passport is expiring in less than 6 months or there’re not ...

counter-intuitive, or thought-provoking

my first days in london were hosted by a hotel in a bustling city center. the close-to minimalist interior of the hotel was compensated by the very mixed set of interface designs – mainly door knobs and light switches, which may be seen as annoying at a first glance or confusing, but which i came ...

embedded tool

i came across several people who grew one or two nails very long for a specific purpose – and mostly they were men. its a good contrast to those who grow long fingernails, or extend their fingernails in a way that they are banned for utilitarian purposes. he was a tailor living in dharavi/mumbai/india and ...