Paying tribute to vintage characteristics of old Macintosh desktop computers as well as contemporary streamlined Apple designs, this sleek combination features elements of iPhone, iPads and the Apple Air.

Developed by Curved Labs in Germany, the design features the best of all worlds: stylistic elements referencing classic computers but the complete touchscreen functionality and streamlined construction of newer models.

Iconic elements like the vintage floppy disk drive slot are reintroduced with twists, in this case: the opening becomes a port for portable flash drives.

Shown in gray, gold and silver and set face to face with the original sources of inspiration it is easy to see how the concept was derived but also where it departs from its predecessors.

The design is intended, in part, to be a statement about change over time, with an interested in preserving some kind of aesthetic integrity over generations of development.

The post Retro Hybrid: Remixing Classic Mac & Classy Apple Designs first appeared on Gajitz.

The following words and images are sure to make you cry if you’re a lover of old records, so you may want to stop reading here. Hungarian designer Zachary Tipton of Tipton Eyeworks was looking for an interesting new material for his designer frames – and inspiration struck when he happened upon his father’s old collection of records.

After salvaging tons of old records from Budapest flea markets, Tipton and his company explored how to make them into frames. Vinyl is already very durable, but it is susceptible to heat. The team fused the vinyl with biodegradable cellulose-acetate, creating an extremely tough and long-lasting frame material.

The Vinylize collection of frames still has marks of the material’s former life: the vinyl still sports the grooves that once played music. A proprietary process has made the handmade frames into objects of beauty. The company hopes that they will also serve as reminders that with some creative thinking, nearly anything can be recycled or repurposed.

The post See the Music: Recycled Records Make Hip Vinyl Eyewear first appeared on Gajitz.

Aren’t you tired of all of those numbers cluttering up your clock’s face? Then it’s about time you got the Qlocktwo by Biegert & Funk, because it’s got none of that nonsense. It spells out the time in clear, plain English…or German, if you prefer. The sleek acrylic face features lines of letters that spell out the time in five-minute increments, and four dots in the corners let you know exactly what time it is, down to the minute.

At 885 Euro (around $1300 currently), the clock, handmade in Germany, comes with some pretty awesome features like a time-signal receiver so you never have to set it, and automatic daylight saving time adjustments. You can choose between several colors to match the rest of your room. It even senses ambient light and adjusts itself accordingly. The design is very cool and, we must admit, pretty original.

The post Word to Your Wall Clock: Letters Spell Out the Time first appeared on Gajitz.