The Social Tattoo Project seemed to be quite a popular link we shared recently. It’s a pretty nutty idea – but has good intentions behind it. Basically, they have a bunch of volunteers who will get the most popular cause tattooed somewhere on their body. Check out the video below for a full explanation. Needless to say it raises a lot of questions…

Next up, a slightly less….extreme story. Diet Coke (or Coke Light as it’s also known – not sure why) packaging was on the receiving end of a make-over by Turner Duckworth. It’s rather beautiful, we think, but is (for now) a limited edition.

IKEA once again make it to our best-of with their Man Land, essentially a play area for bored husbands and boyfriends. With TV, Space Invaders, an Xbox, sofas and other games, I don’t think it should be restricted to the male species…

This video game in a box from Teague Labs was genius. A perfect mix of old and new school, it’d please anyone. Maybe not as portable as an iPhone or even a Gameboy, but still just as fun (OK maybe not but the novelty value makes it just as cool).

If you’re anything like us, you love LEGO (if you call the bricks ‘LEGOs’, close your browser and never come back), and you love Kickstarter. Imagine the two combined. That’s pretty much what Cuusoo is – a platform for LEGO ideas that, with enough votes, will get made. I’m rooting for the DeLorean! Check out the blog for updates.

The Nissan Leaf gives us a brilliantly interactive way to discover the car. Walk around it, sit in it, hear more about what you want to hear about – give it a go. Even non-car people should be impressed!

So that’s it for the next 14 days. We’re off early tomorrow morning, so stay tuned to either Twitter or Facebook to stay up to date with our antics work in Madrid!

Adios!

Now it’s time for some more of our favourite links from around the massive interwebs. Get your tea or coffee, put your feet up, and enjoy a 15 minute break. You deserve it.

First up, the brilliant campaign from Movia for their night bus service. Move your mouse and get to see what you think you look like, and what you really look like, after that one drink too many. Probably should have just gone home….

Although the internet of things is no new area, it’s still great to read about and, well, imagine. This is a nice article about just that; the internet of things. From TVs that mute when the phone rings to sewage overflow warning systems, by inserting a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag we will become more connected to objects and ‘things’ than ever before.

You should definitely sign up for Gimme Bar. Gimme Bar allows you to save anything from the web, and we’re talking photos, videos, text, whole pages, screen dumps – you name it, you can save it. Make it public or private, and filter them in to different categories. You can even share directly on to Twitter through it. It’s awesomeness rolled in gold with a cherry on top. Sign up (I believe that it’s actually open for today, but tonight it’ll close back down so you’ll have to wait a few weeks before you get it, so do it – now!).

New Gimme Bar Demo from Gimme Bar on Vimeo.

Here’s another little video for you to watch and enjoy. The Museum of Obsolete Things is brought to us by Jung von Matt/next, and is, well, a museum for all things obsolete, like analogue radios, cassettes, etc. It’s fun. It’s interesting. It’s cool.

One of our most popular posts on Facebook was a photo from the office. This photo. It’s very cool. It’s also very handy to be able to speak on the phone and type – which yes, you can do using headphones but then you always run the risk of looking a bit mad. Another plus is that it fits well over your ears, you can’t accidentally turn off your phone, and (if you’re like me) it’s nicer to use when you wear glasses. You can buy the Moshi Moshi retro handset here.

There you go. Some videos, some advice, and even something to buy. What more could you want? Except a 3 day working week.

Have a great weekend everyone!

So what has caught our eye this past fortnight? From IKEA to the Copenhagen Philharmonic, we’ve got it all!

First up are Penguin Book’s redesigned classics. Six titles with their covers redesigned by tattoo artists. Beautiful.

IKEA Australia go all Braveheart on us – successfully if you ask us. We wish we could have been there taking part.

The INDEX (what’s with all the capitals!) Awards are coming along soon, so don’t forget to get your vote in for the People’s Choice Award. “The 60 finalists for INDEX: Award 2011 have been carefully selected by the international INDEX: Jury as the best of the best Design to Improve Life. As a whole, the finalist group offers unique proof of the wide reach and huge potential of Design to Improve Life in terms of challenges addressed, solutions created and people affected.”

Ben Stiller, whose foundation, The Stiller Foundation, raises money to help build schools in poverty stricken areas, takes a new approach to getting people to the site. If you liked Zoolander and Envy as much as we did, you’ll like this.

From Danish bank, Jyske Bank, comes The Woodward Report. Dedicated to hunting down knowledge and cool stuff, this great 16 minute report focuses about the mobile industry, smartphones, the battle of Android and Apple, and where it’s all heading.

Another tip we shared this fortnight (OK, the only tip we shared) was for Prey. A free, open-source programme to install on your phone or laptop that tracks it wherever it is. We’ve heard a number of occassions where owners have been able to find their stolen goods through this programme, from phones stolen in bars, to computers stolen in burglaries. It’s free. Just, as they say, do it!

This brilliant article from 2010 discusses skeuomorphic design – things like the shutter sound on our mobile phones, or brass rivets on jeans covering the steel ones beneath – basically anything that retains design from the original that were once necessary or an unavoidable result of mechanisms etc.

One the best 404 pages we’ve seen in a long time came to our attention over the past few days. Danish agency Wasabi made theirs into a bit of an Easter Egg. Space Invaders FTW! Coded by Sune Lundby.

To round things off on a more mature note, here’s a flashmob from Copenhagen Central Station that really gets us going.

If you like what you see, let us know, and maybe we’ll do another one in another fortnight!

By the way  – this photo is taken with the new iPhone 3G

If you’re fed up with your Hummer, Segway, monowheel, fixie, wakeboard or whatever your means of commuting you prefer – switch to BigDog. This beast beats ‘em all. It hit the news this week because of the attention it’s attracting on YouTube. Watch the video and you’ll see why.

The US military has invested millions in creating this robot with characteristics of people, dogs and horses. Although it’s designed to help troops transport heavy loads in tough terrain, the general public is expected to be able to buy it soon.  

Could this be the next trend in commuting? It’ll guarantee you an extraordinary ride to work. And it’s a breakthrough in parking, driving your kids around and getting your shopping bags home. Amazing work from Big Dog’s designers at Boston Dynamics. I think it’s got potential…even if it looks a bit odd!

Watch the video