Earth Hour 2011

Edinburgh Castle during Earth Hour last year

At 8.30pm on Saturday 26th March 2011, lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour. Richard Simmonds, contributor to Lighting magazine, asks if it’s a futile gesture.

Greenhouse by Joost pops up in Sydney

Greenhouse by Joost, Sydney

Greenhouse by Joost is a pop-up cafe-bar which has just opened at The Rocks, Sydney, and is built entirely of reused and recyclable materials. Furniture is made of shipping containers, packing crates and even irrigation pipes.

Why Not Together? Marimekko launch new design competition

Scandinavian design brand Marimekko, in collaboration with the Aalto University's School of Art & Design, have launched a new design competition in honour of the company's 60th anniversary year. Marimekko have invited students from leading international design schools to participate, including the Design Academy Eindhoven, the Royal College of Art, Parsons New School of Design and Tama Art University.

The titular theme is a tribute to the intent of Marimekko founder Armi Ratia, who proposed in 1969: "I only want to bring people together so they can get to know each other and gain something from one another."

The competition will include three categories: products for everyday living; actions, events and encounters generated by aesthetic thinking; and service. More can be found here.

Geneva Motor Show

Acrobats perform to cover a Porsche with their bodies prior to the 81st International Motor show in Geneva, Switzerland

Car lovers are probably having an amazing time this week: the 81st edition of the International Motor Show in Geneva is opening the doors tomorrow! There's already a commotion and buzz around it, since the press had the privilege to check the latest novelties in the past couple of the days.

The image of acrobats enveloping a Porsche (above) was all around newspapers and websites today, and it just goes to show how anticipated this motor show is.

HBL Analysis: Expiry dates in design

Preserved Exp. 25/1/2111 by Boris Mogilevsky

Israeli designer Boris Mogilevsky's latest project uses compacted table salt to encase meat, in a new take on a traditional preservation method.

Vent, by Jessica Hoad

Artist Jessica Hoad is the creator of ‘Vent’, an experiential installation in which a continuous cycle of air is exchanged between sculptural object and audience.

A large rubber balloon hangs from the ceiling which is connected to a large industrial vent that’s installed onto the gallery wall. As the fan starts air is sucked from the shared gallery space gradually filling the balloon until it inflates to a 7ft voluminous sphere. As the balloon expands the viewer is forced to negotiate the space around them. Eventually the vent expels air and the balloon gradually deflates. This repetition of emptying and refilling tests the strength of the material as it moves towards a whole.

HBL Blog of the Week: Zap Design

Zap Design

French video blog Zap Design was founded by Maison et Objet's former head of PR, Véronique Thouvenin, and Pascal Nottoli. New videos are regularly posted, always relating to design, with only a few lines of text each so that the emphasis is kept very much on the content.

WGSN loves: the considered choices - with unusual, inspiring and often poetic videos uploaded.

A Day Made of Glass, by Corning

Speciality glass brand Corning have released a video which presents us with a future radically altered by digital technology, demonstrated by a day in the life of a fictional family. Email can be accessed through mirrors, the morning news program broadcasts from the kitchen table and refrigerators feature digital photo frames which allow images to be customised and edited at will. Watch more videos from Corning on their Youtube channel.

HBL News: Category winners announced for Brit Insurance Designs of the Year 2011

Homemade is Best cookbook by Forsman & Bodenfors for Ikea: winner of the Graphics category

The winners across the seven product categories have been announced for the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year 2011, currently on show at the Design Museum in London.

HBL Pattern & Colour Inspiration: Sally Angharad

MA graduate Sally Angharad has launched a new collection of bespoke paper designs that take inspiration from the weathered finishes, aged surfaces and colours of Venice.

These unique tactile wall hangings are created from sourced papers which are then printed with delicate patterns. Sally uniquely manipulates and distresses them by hand and arranges them into layers, simulating peeling paint and billboard posters. The layers of paper are sensitively arranged, creating an inspiring palette that plays with combinations of pattern and proportions of colour.

Info@sallyangharad.com

HBL Product Launch: Crown paint, Originals Range

Crown Paint, Originals Range

Crown Paint has launched a range of matt emulsions that draw inspiration from the classic shades from Crown’s past. The range is exclusive to B&Q and is available in 14 colourways.

Fashion designers at Design Indaba 2011

Mohair sweater by Laduma Ngxokolo - nominated for the prize of Most Beautiful Object at Design Indaba 2011 - Photo by Astrid Arndt

The Design Indaba conference spans all forms of design and some of the most beautiful imagery and print and pattern we saw at the conference came from emerging fashion design talents who are saving traditional indigenous design work from extinction.

Rising star Laduma Ngxokolo is a Port Elizabeth-based knitwear designer. His colourful collection is inspired by traditional African Xhosa beadwork.The collections has already earned him first prize from the International Society of Dyers and Colourists, and now a nomination for Most Beautiful Object at Design Inaba 2011.