Designing the ideal boarding pass

by Grant Martin on

Underwhelmed by your boarding pass? You’re not the only one. That clustermess of bar codes, letters and numbers has enough discombobulating components to make your head spin, usually in the critical four seconds when you’re putting your belt back on after security and NEED to know where your gate is.

Tyler Thompson over at Squarespace realized this, and in a brief bout of creative design genius proffered a few alternatives to the everyday, sad boarding pass of today’s airlines.

You can check them all out at passfail.squarespace.com, where commenters have taken on the initiative to post a wide spectrum of redesigned passes on their own.

How hard would this be to implement in real life? As Virgin America has shown it’s not too difficult to inject a little bit of punch into your card stock, but Thompson’s designs may be a reach. Color isn’t easy or cost effective to print (for the negative details) and legacy airlines have a hard time making “drastic decisions” like changing their boarding passes.

Still, it’s an effective way to pointing out the lazy, boring design in the current state-of-the-art and the designs are magnificent. Perhaps when Gadling Air takes off we’ll borrow a few.

Up next in airplane design: Donut planes?

by Grant Martin on

Should the airline industry begin designing donut shaped airplanes? It’s a suggestion posed by the folks over at Lonely Planet, who after running an informal survey discovered that over 60% of respondents preferred sitting in the aisle over the window on an airplane.

Problem is, few seats on an aircraft are actually adjacent to a window. And that’s where the crafty design comes in.

In jest, LP put together a few different concepts to engineer more window-room into an aircraft. Their most adventurous? The donut shaped airplane, where a hole in the middle of the body allows passengers on the inside of the cabin to look down (and across) out into the blue sky.

Another option proposed was the glass bottomed aircraft, so that all passengers can see directly below them at all times. Yikes.

Admittedly LPs sampling for their study is probably a bit skewed — anyone reading their guides or site is probably already more adventurous than three quarters of the world (and thus might have a higher probability to stare out the window) but the survey is an interesting study in “what if.” For now, passengers will have to settle with watching the nose and belly cam of their aircraft on the right In Flight Entertainment.

You can check out the designs crafted by LP over at their travel blog.

Montreal Musts, to stay: Downtown digs at Opus Hotel

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The boutique hotels of Old Montreal are an obvious draw. The neighborhood is charming, with cobblestone streets flanked by art galleries and cute eateries. This is the Montreal most tourists seem to want to visit. But, especially if you’ve been there before, it may be worth trading the old world time for the energy in the downtown area. The Opus Hotel, on the corner of la rue Sherbrooke and boulevard Saint-Laurent is centrally located, not far from a metro station and wraps you in style from the lobby to the pillow.

Upon entering the hotel, you find a carefully decorated lobby. It’s clear immediately that design is a priority at Opus Hotel, and the open concept provides a glimpse of a seating area, away from the bustle of the front desk, where guests can relax, peck away at their laptops, drink coffee and sit either together or apart. The columns provide something of a dividing line between check-in and sitting area, but the concept is reinforced by various forms of sculpture … giving you something to enjoy whether you’re waiting for your key or sipping an espresso on the other side.

Remember to have your key handy when you step into the elevator (security measure for the property’s guests); it will save you a few seconds of fishing through your pocket when you want to get to your room and wash the smell of the plane off your body. The ride is short, and before you know it, you’re in your space for the next few nights, a carefully appointed guestroom that offers plenty of elbow room and design that is sufficiently tasteful and edgy to leave me feeling like Opus Hotel made a mistake in letting me stay there.

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The rooms may vary slightly, with those not yet renovated having a separate room for the toilet. I prefer the post-renovation style, which has the entire bathroom in one room (didn’t like the closet concept). Flop onto the bed – fortunately it was firm enough for me without feeling like a sidewalk, so I think it will appeal to almost everybody – and look up. The ceiling has an unfinished cement look, which complements the soft colors used on the walls.

Dine at the hotel’s restaurant, Koko, at least once. I enjoyed the restaurant a little over a year ago and was excited to see that nothing had changed. The menu – which brings together Asian and continental European cuisine, is tasty, carefully presented and attentively served. The cocktail menu will keep you busy (don’t try them all, at least not in one sitting), but skip the usual after-dinner drinks when it’s time for dessert. Instead, opt for a Canadian specialty such as ice wine or ice cider … or both, as I did (it was worth it, and I’d do it again).

Perhaps most important, I noticed that the staff at Opus Hotel didn’t need to wait for a stupid look to cross my face before offering to help with anything … and they entertained my feeble attempts to speak with them in French. Being able to listen to me butcher the local language with a straight face is pretty much the height of customer service, so it’s unsurprising that they nailed everything else.

If you want to feel like a star, this is the hotel to call home on your next trip to Montreal. You’ll be treated like a celebrity – but without the worried looks about how much damage you’ll cause to the room. And, you’ll feel like one in this style-savvy establishment. A stay at Opus is always a smart move.

Disclosure: Tourisme-Montreal picked up the tab for this trip, but my views are my own.

For Helsinki, Design Week 50% longer

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Seven days just won’t work for those crazy Finns. These design-savvy northern Europeans thus had to stretch its design celebration to 10 days. From September 4, 2009 to September 13, 2009, Helsinki will host the Fifth Helsinki Design Week: Do Touch! With workshops, seminars and shopping, you can turn this into a hands-on experience. Don’t worry, the usual exhibitions, fashion shows and studio visits (some spaces normally closed to the public) will be available, too.

The primary exhibition will be at the Cable Factory, featuring designs from the Netherlands. At the same space, The New Draw will introduce nine young Finnish architecture offices that are celebrating a book launch. The Design Market will be home to dozens of vendors selling fashion to furniture on September 5 and 6.

The Open Studios show, on September 9 and 10, sounds most interesting. Creators will open the back doors to their workspaces, offering a rare look at how something goes from idea to product. This is the type of opportunity available only during design week.

While you’re in Helsinki, check out the doughnuts at Snellman’s by the harbor. It’s worth the trip.

Undiscovered New York: Handmade in Brooklyn

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Brooklyn remains one of the more fiercely independent places in all of New York City. Although the Borough was officially incorporated into the greater city in 1898, it has long-rivaled its more popular neighbor Manhattan across the river for the tallest buildings, the most impressive parks and museums and for the ingenuity of its residents.

One of the more visible artifacts of this competitive spirit and creativity is Brooklyn’s love affair with all things handcrafted, artisanal and one-of-a-kind. What is it about Brooklyn that makes it so creative exactly? Call it a symptom of the pride Brooklyn’s residents have for their unique brownstone neighborhoods. Or chalk it up to the high creativity of the area’s many transplants from around the world. But whether it’s made-from-scratch pickles, chocolate or beer, a lovingly crafted musical instrument or quirky piece of jewelry or hooded sweatshirt, the labors of Brooklyn refuse to be homogeneous.

And what about you, dear reader – are you looking for a one-of-a-kind gift or souvenir from your visit to the Big Apple? Does the prospect of some handcrafted beer make you thirsty? Perhaps some custom-made cologne, perfume or clothing is more your style? Grab the next subway out of Manhattan: this week’s edition of Undiscovered New York is handmade, straight from Brooklyn. Click below to read more.
Handmade Gifts
They say smell is the sense most closely associated with memory – Brooklyn scent-makers at D.S. & Durga seem to have taken the idea to heart. The pair of budding smell-smiths have been producing small batch handmade colognes and perfumes since 2007, sourcing plant extracts, resins and oils from around the world. Stop by one of their Brooklyn retail outlets and pick up a custom made bottle for yourself.

While D.S. & Durga are playing around with notes of scent like citrus and ginger, the craftsmen at Sadowsky Guitars have a very different kind of note-making in mind. Though New York has a long history as a center for guitar-making companies, the team at Sadowsky operates out of a small store in Brooklyn. They have produced custom guitars, basses and audio products for such musicians as Adam Clayton from U2 and Lenny Kravitz. If it’s good enough for these accomplished axe-handlers, guitarists everywhere can bet there’s a custom guitar there waiting to built just for you.

Independent Fashion
When it comes to clothing, Brooklyn’s got a style all its own. Men and women alike swear by local clothing chain Brooklyn Industries. They stock a wide range of quirky bags, outerwear, t-shirts and dresses to suit the most discerning fashion-lovers. It’s gotten so popular you can now find retail outlets well beyond the chain’s Brooklyn home in locations as far away as Chicago and Portland.

If customization is your thing, look no further than Brooklyn favorite Neighborhoodies. The clothing chain, which lets customers design one-of-a-kind hooded sweatshirts and t-shirts emblazoned with personal messages and imagery, first got its start in this most creative of Boroughs. This isn’t your boring old iron-on we’re talking about here – the letters can be hand-stitched onto any clothing item and can include graphics like guns, monkeys and thunderbolts.

Free-form Food
As was noted in a recent article by the New York Times, Brooklyn has become ground zero for one of the country’s most interesting and creative artisanal food scenes. Passionate foodies and chefs are making just about every kind of foodstuff imaginable from scratch, including items like chocolate, cheese and pickles.

But it doesn’t stop there – beer lovers should make sure to try out one of the Borough’s several local brews. Local favorites include Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Brewery, where visitors can take a tour and to sample a few of their recent specialities, or the Brooklyn brewers at Sixpoint Craft Ales. Meanwhile, the small-batch pickle makers of Wheelhouse crank out seasonal experimental pickle flavors like Champagne Vinegar Spears as well as standbys including Big Bang Okra and Top Shelf Beets.