Inspiration and creation of Mac Funamizu
I’m very happy to announce that I’ll be designing the next version of ION Glasses, the first optical and sun smartglasses that interact with your devices! (The photos below are the current version.)
I’ll update the new design here when it’s ready to publish.
ION Glasses Project is receiving funds now until November 16, 2013.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ion-glasses-first-optical-and-sun-smartglasses-that-interact-with-your-devices
I announced the beta launch of CaseMyWay Website the other day. Completely customisable cases. CaseMyWay provides an online platform for mobile phone and tablet users to achieve complete customization of their protective cases by creating or uploading their own, fully wrap-around images, from holiday snaps to original artwork, sporting moments to profile pics. Even Instagram, Flickr or Facebook images can be added.
You must have some beautiful photos on Instagram, Facebook etc. Put them together on CaseMyWay to create one original case for your phone!
The print quality is actually much much better than I expected thanks to the MT3 technology, embedding ink directly into the case itself. It is not a surface sticker and will not peel off or scrapeaway with daily use. And here are some photos of the cases of my design. Believe me, I did no photo-retouching.
CaseMyWay is starting with the most popular brands but eventually will offer personalized cases in different materials for every handheld device in popular use. The good news is after full launch in September, CaseMyWay will be offering fully customisable cases in different materials such as leather, neoprene (soft) and even wood with many more features and products, including MacBook cases!!!
I’m hoping to hold a personal exhibition in NY or somewhere else for my future concept designs I’ve made. Although the mock-ups are just non-working prototypes, it must be a lot of fun for people to see, feel and touch very futuristic devices that we dream of. With some 3D movies and cool animations, I believe lots of people will visit the exhibition.
(Photoshopped just a bit)
These are some of the first rough mock-ups I made last year. I was planning to bring them to Re:publica in Berlin for my speech there. However on the very same day when the first mock-ups arrived to my house on March 11th, the earthquake happened (I was miraculously at home waiting for the delivery), which caused catastrophic damages not only in this country but places all around the globe, and my business was also affected from it. So I had to hold the plan for some time. And now I’m restarting to make the dream come true.
They are the very first mock-ups and pretty roughly made, so it’s not the level to show anyone yet, but I hope you can picture what it will be like to hold it in your hand.
I’m now looking for a sponsor to make this dream come true. Contact me if you’re interested.
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/12309496 w=400&h=265]
As I tweeted, I worked on a lot of concept designs for the movies of AGC (Asahi Glass Company) and TOYOTA for Tokyo Motor Show 2011.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/33200196]
Concept Car
Dashboard UI
Smart House
UI for Glass Fridge / Energy Management Pane
Roll-up Newspaper / Newspaper Graphic
Robot
Car Dashboard Mockup Panel Screens
It was my first time ever to design a car and a robot, but I had lots of fun making them.
Asahi Glass now introduces their great technologies in a booth for “Smart Mobility City 2011” in Tokyo Motor Show.
http://www.agc-smc2011.com/en/
(I’ll post the movie when it’s officially uploaded on YouTube. This is the old version.)
One of my mobile phone concepts “Glassy Glass” was again picked up and used in the movie.
I want an iPhone dock that can change its forms reflecting various kinds of notifications needing attention as well as some simple controls for applications. The feelings you can get with that kind of tangible output & input are what touchscreen lacks.
Koriko is a simple iPhone stand with speakers and a flexible long arm (tail?).
Notifications are represented with the tail forming simple shapes.
When a song is played, it works as music control buttons you can push directly.
It not only changes forms, but also makes certain movements for some time. It waves good-bye when you turn it off.
There are so many possible other applications that would work with Koriko. It would be really fun to see it working.
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Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Von is a mobile phone that is sensitive to sound, especially the knocking sound when it’s hit. It looks like a piece of xylophone. It’s almost as tall as an iPhone, but it’s narrower.
Knock it to check if you have unread emails or new phone messages. If you do, Von knocks back. The knocking sound varies according to the kind of the message (email or phone).
Shake it to see if you have unread RSS feeds or Tweets. The more unread items there are, the more it rattles. Remember when you were a kid, you shook a box of candy to see how many were left. I wanted to bring back that small happy moment with this device.
Keep tapping it on the rhythm of your favorite song. After a few seconds, it detects what song you’re tapping. Then it starts playing the song along the tap.
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Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
I wish there were an iPhone dock that instantly prints out the photo you take.
If you upload the photo to a website, you can add an QR code for the url on the back. For a geo-tagged photo, you can also include the map to show where the photo was taken.
Yes, I’m one of those people who still relish the feel (and smell) of photos.
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Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
This post is to tell all of you that I’m OK.
After the tragic magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit Japan on March 11th, I’ve received many many messages from around the globe asking how I was or even if I was alive. As I tweeted about my situation, I’m doing fine. I truly appreciate all your considerations not only for me but for those who have been badly affected by the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear power plant issues. I’ll keep tweeting how I’m doing on my Twitter.
Also I wanted to tell you that Japan will get back to its feet for sure. Currently I’m going through many inconveniences that I have never experienced in my life (lack of water, gasoline, vegetables, power etc. etc.), so I’ll be able to think of ideas to overcome those difficulties. But for now, let me show you sketches I’ve been making since before the earthquake. It’s a mobile phone concept named Zimmer. (There’s nothing new or innovative here this time.)
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/21422181]
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Lamp, stereo, TV, air conditioner, heater… Just point at it on the transparent screen and select the menu item you want to make a change to (speaker volume, channels, brightness, etc.).
A charging stand with a magnet so the remote can stand on a table.
Of course, you can use it for an internet TV.
Switching channels.
Also visit the other series of this gadget.
User Interface Concept: Air Conditioner
User Interface Concept: Light Switch
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Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
I was really impressed with the WVIL camera shown in CES 2011 and I’m very much inspired by the concept. I was wondering what it would be like if there were a WVIL for amateurs. So I made it smaller and thinner. The lens has a clip on its back so that you can place it on various places. No matter where you clip it, the lens sends the images to the screen wirelessly.
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/19156644]
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Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.