Welcome to 2015! Here's a little motivation to help make this year even better than last year. Read, share, be inspired! 1. Draw More. A drawing a day keeps the doctor away. Studies have shown that drawing is a form of active meditation---which can help lower blood pressure, anxiety, and stress! So grab a pen or pencil the next time you're talking on the phone or you have time to kill a little. You'll be doing more good than you think! 2. Be Patient Things don't just happen o

It’s an origami umbrella! Yes, you read that correctly. It’s an umbrella that is designed without a structural under-skeleton. Instead, the Sa umbrella uses a dual-canopy structure that utilizes planar tension to move free of the skeleton. The canopies expand and contract in unison allowing the umbrella to open and close. Opening and closing is simple with a mechanism that rotates at the bottom of the handle. Sarah D. I Designer I The DesignBloc #design #creativit

Built in 1978, The Rom Skatepark located in East London, has officially become the first European skatepark to be awarded a protected status. The Department for Culture, Madia and Sport ruled on the advice of English Heritage, that the park is "nationally important and of special interest." This is only the second skatepark in the world to be acknowledged for cultural significance and it now joins the Bro Bowl in Tampa, Florida. A 8,000 s.m. park was designed by Adrian Rolt a

PLAY: The Documentary play (plā/) verb : engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose. All work and no play, is just no fun! People from all over the world are working themselves too hard, and leaving no time to enjoy the little moments in life. However, our friends at The Urban Conga are making a difference to change that. The Urban Conga, is a non-profit community that activates social interaction through the act of "PLAY." Thei

That's right kids... The designs for the Guggenheim Helsinki project have been revealed! Stage One involved submissions from 77 countries. Each submission is presented on the Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition online gallery and allowed just two images and a brief concept summary provided by each competitor. However, don't expect to vote just for your favorite design big wigs. Each design is only listed by its registration number. Bit brief, yes, but the competitors were

The Reigning Belarusian Premier League Champions have a new home. OFIS Arhitekti has just completed a stadium for FC BATE Borisov. Basically, it is a domed shaped structure clad with aluminum panels and then punctured with an assortment of ovoid windows. The rounded shape was engineered to improve the acoustics on the pitch (that's soccer field for Americans) and an orientation north to south to ensure that sunlight is evenly distributed for both teams. No more running into t

By now, you may have already read on the internet that the legendary Banksy was arrested early morning by London's Metropolitan Police and his identity has been revealed! Well take a deep breath. We have some news for you... The DesignBloc is happy to report that this story is a HOAX. Yes, once again, the internet has tricked thousands of people. Shocking right? The article featured on "National Report" goes on to identify Banksy as Paul Horner, and 35-year old male born in L

Designer Benjamin Hubert has designed a carafe that decants your choice of wine through a stainless steel aerator to improve the wine's flavor. Wine poured into the carafe drains through a matrix of holes in the base of a steel insert which is fitted snuggly into the neck of the carafe by a molded silicone collar. As the wine moves through the holes, the liquid is exposed to air which in turn, enhances the flavor. But do not fear, the WW Carafe isn’t just for wine. It can be

The world is being left confused and perplexed as to the recent and mysterious decline in the wild bee populations. The up side? This has opened a new forum for designers to try their hands at tackling the problem. One artist, AnneMarie van Splunter has undertaken this charge with her design of the Buzzbench. A sculptural bee habitat that also doubles as a bench is constructed of digitally cut local bamboo and reed. Currently, it is up to the masses to get this built so if yo

Nike is at it again, this time they are talking to my heart. They have created a basketball court with motion-tracking and reactive LED visualization technology built into the floor for Kobe Bryant and his teaching of players in Shanghai. No, the pictures below aren't snapshots from the "Tron" movie set; This is real life right here. Located in the “House of Mamba,” the court is working with Nike’s RISE campaign that is a competition for young Chinese players to win an opport