Russdesigns » Inspiration

Puma + Subaru join forces for the Global Rallycross Championship [vid]

russ — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:48:07 +0000

It really doesn’t take much to get me excited about Rallycross: Fast cars driven at top speed over rough terrain with a good chance of glorious crashes? You had me at “Fast”; not to mention how big of a Subaru nerd I am. So naturally Puma sponsoring Subaru’s 2012 Global Rallycross team got me more than a little interested.

Their team lineup choices are pretty interesting: Dave Mirra: BMX legend, Bucky Lasek: vert skateboard pro and Sverre Isachsen: Rallycross Veteran from Europe. Mirra can hold his own, but I’m glad they reeled in Isachsen because they are up against some stiff competition and need all the experience they can find. The Ford team has Ken Freaking Block on their team, not to mention Tanner Foust from the American Top Gear. Check out the video for some monster Subarus, roaring engines and blatant Puma product placements. And Make sure to check out the Rallycross circuit which starts on May 26th. Probably on ESPN 12 or something, but its better than nothing.

‘Pulp Fiction’ Lego characters take it to another level

russ — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:41:42 +0000

Came across this the other day during some tangential internet search. I mean, come on. This is crazy. The skinny ties and hand-guns are rad, but it’s the freakishly accurate hair for both characters that is blowing my mind. To compare it to the original flick, check out this screenshot here.

Tokyo Slo-mode [vid]

russ — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:03:19 +0000

Seriously sick. This is why after the wedding I’m saving all my money for a Tokyo trip.

Apple busts out the Golden Ratio

russ — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 01:23:56 +0000

Yeah, they went there. The Golden Mean is a mathematical formula that is both complex and simple at the same time. Basically when you compare two objects and the difference between the two is the same ratio as the difference between the two objects combined compared with the larger object. Or a ratio of 1.618, if you are like me and didn’t study math. The Mona Lisa, the front side of Parthenon in Athens (intentional or not), works by Salvador Dalí and more all use close approximations of this equation, and lots of people will argue that it helps make the art more appealing and physically balanced. Well add Apple’s new iCloud logo to that list. Although to be totally honest, I don’t get what all the internet buzz is about (harmonious? Really?? gag). It just looks like someone got a little bevel/ emboss crazy on a couple circles.

Mountain biking with an IMAX point of view [vid]

russ — Tue, 24 May 2011 22:25:21 +0000

I finally dragged my butt of the couch and got my first mountain bike ride of the year in. It always takes the first ride to get the single track fever back and now it’s hit me in full force. Between scouring Google maps for trails and pondering which bike parts I need to upgrade, there’s a whole slew of videos to I need to watch. Framed is a short but gorgeous video showcasing just how awe-inspiring mountain biking can be. Some scenes were filmed with the Red One; one of the highest quality digital video cameras out there.

Stud of the week: Lonnie Johnson

russ — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 22:11:13 +0000

Inventor of the Super Soaker, genius, really nice guy and all-around stud. He holds 91 patents, consulted for NASA on multiple space shuttle projects and lately he’s been spending his time trying to change the face of solar technology; you know, nothing major.

Forget Branson; see space on the cheap

russ — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:23:49 +0000

I’d like to say I’ve grown wiser and more mature in recent years, but lets be honest: I still hate those kids that went to Space Camp. And with Sir Richard Branson taking his sweet time getting the commercial space tourism industry launched, options are dwindling for chumps like me to see the global horizon. That’s why this experiment done by a father and son in Upstate New York seems so awesome. Using little more than a weather balloon, GPS tracker and an HD helmet cam – the so very awesome GoPro HD – they got legit HD quality footage from space. Seriously badass.

Tyler Durden meets Sense & Sensibility

russ — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:47:30 +0000

I am Jack’s inflamed sense of jealousy. Some of my friends put together this short, Jane Austen’s Fight Club for a small local film festival and it won by a landslide. Now over the weekend its become a minor internet phenom. Love it. Official site here.

Honda reinvents the bike that invented them

russ — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:06:43 +0000

There’s definitely a stigma to motorcycle riders being bad boys, but in the 50′s, those were pretty much the ONLY people who rode bikes. Motorbikes were looked down on by the average joe, and Hollywood only reinforced the stereotype with classics like The Wild One and Easy Rider. But Honda didn’t want to sell to the outlaws and thugs. They wanted to make a bike that not only everyone could ride, but would want to ride. They came up with the Super Cub.

Honda looked at everything wrong with bikes at the time and addressed them in the Super Cub. Motorcycles are too big. The Super cub was tiny, even a kid could ride. They’re intimidating. The Cub was cute. No roughneck would ride a bike like that. With a 50cc engine, you weren’t breaking any land speed records, but that didn’t matter.They got 200+ MPG, they were fun, they were affordable, and they were indestructible.

To top it all off, they paired it with an amazing advertising campaign: You meet the nicest people on a Honda. Simple and brilliant. Nice people ride Hondas. Myths dispelled, hearts warmed, and wallets opened. To this day, the Super Cub is the number one bike in the world. Occasionally I’ll see one of these here in L.A., but in China, I’d see hundreds of Super Cubs a day. Thailand could easily have a million. Now, 50 years later, Honda wants to do it again with the E.V. Super Cub, and I have a feeling they can pull it off. If Honda can dispel all the negative thoughts about traditional electric vehicles, they may just have another instant classic on their hands.

Inaug app brings the straight dope to Facebook addicts

russ — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:19:01 +0000

So I check my Facebook profile a lot. I’ll admit it. I also spend a decent amount of time browsing Flickr and updating my Twitter status too. Don’t get me started on Youtube. So when I heard about this Inauguration Report Facebook app being developed that combines them all into one, I was intrigued to say the least.
I’m a big fan of simple and straight-forward, which this app delivers on. It pulls images from Flickr and Twitter updates tagged with Inaug09 all into one module. It also ties in with the Inauguration Report iPhone app, where any pictures taken with it will automatically be uploaded to the player. The icing on the cake is the live audio stream from NPR of the president’s address. It was put together by my peeps at Sapient Interactive, the same design agency that created that kick-ass touchscreen Coke machine at the Olympics and more recently CES.