The mid to late twentieth century has seen numerous advances in both science and technology which provided us with a wide range of modern furniture.

Noteable designers of this period used modern design as a vehicle for social change. Consequently, the furniture designs bore a strong emphasis on durable, functional furniture which could be readily mass produced. New materials, like fiberglass, plastic and chrome, were being used to create a unique line of tables, chairs and sofas. Many of these classic furniture designs are still being produced today.

Yet, these advances would not have been possible without the efforts of forward-thinking architects and designers.

Innovative individuals, such as Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobeson, Le Corbusier, Eileen Gray and Eero Saarinen are now considered being the top chair designers of all time.

Charles and Ray Eames

Charles Eames, Jr. (1907-78) and Bernice “Ray” Eames (née Kaiser) (1912-88) were an American husband and wife design team whose artistic styling represented America’s defining social movements from the economy’s shift from manufacturing goods to producing information, and the globalization of American culture.

Early in their careers, the Eameses’ recognized the American demand for affordable, high-quality furniture.

As a result, their design conveyed an ethos of functionality and affordability.

One of their most memorable creations was the two-piece Eames lounge chair with separate panels for the back and seat, which was unveiled to the public in the mid-1940s. Variations of this design are still being produced in factories around the world for stadiums, airports and schools. They would later go on to pioneer technologies, such as plastic resin chairs, fibreglass and wire mesh chairs designed for Herman Miller. ;

Arne Jacobsen

Arne Jacobsen (1902-71) was a Danish architect and designer who was best known for making prototypes for textiles, furniture, wallpaper, etc. Jacobsen’s work has been described as being an invaluable contribution to both modernism and to the specific place the Scandinavian countries had in the modern movement. Jacobsen was known for his numerous contributions towards architectural functionalism, which was reflected in both his buildings and his furniture designs.

Many of Jacobsen’s designs are noted for their sense of proportion which conveyed its own sense of symmetry paired with delicate simplicity. The most notable examples of his work are the ant chair (1952), egg chair (1958), and the Series 7 chairs.

Le Corbusier

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (1887-1965) also known as Le Corbusier, was a Swiss designer, urbanist and architect. Le Corbusier began to experiment with furniture design in the late 1920s, after inviting fellow architect, Charlotte Perriand, to join his studio. The duo then began designing furniture according to the principles Le Corbusier had outlined in his book ;L’Art Décoratif d’aujourd’hui ;. Their designs reflected three types of furniture types: type-needs, type-furniture, and human-limb objects.

The initial products of their collaboration produced tubular chrome-plated chairs, and a line of furniture which later became the Salon d’Automne installation. The most well-known of these chairs are the LC-1, LC-2, LC-3 and LC-4.

Eileen Gray

Kathleen Eileen Moray Gray (1878-1976) was an Irish architect and furniture designer. Gray was born into an aristocratic family and was encouraged to pursue her artistic interests from an early age. She began working with lacquer after having discovered a repair shop in London. Shortly afterward, she began to make lacquered folding screens which were displayed at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs. The screens received critical acclaim and brought Gray numerous commissions. The most prominent of these commissions was to redecorate a flat in the rue de Lota belonging to Madame Mathieu Lévy.

Gray’s style was strongly influenced by contemporary architecture. As a result, she subsequently began to design minimalistic, functional furniture. Gray designed a majority of the apartment’s carpets, lamps and furniture, including her famous Bidenbum Chair. The Bindenum Chair gained Gray much recognition because of its elegant interpretation of modern aesthetic.

Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen (1910-61) was a Finnish American architect and designer who became famous for his ability to change his design style according to the needs of the project. Saarinen first received recognition for his furniture design when he received first prize for a chair he created with Charles Eames for the 1940 “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition. Saarinen would later go on to design the Tulip chair which was made to match a complementary dining table.

The Tulip chair was considered revolutionary at the time for its futuristic appearance. Many considered the Tulip chair to be “space age” for its use of artificial materials and use of curves. The Tulip chair was also featured on the original ;Star Trek ;(1966-69) television series.

Jonathan is a fan of great design and has written extensively about all modern classics from Eames lounge chairs to Barcelona chairs

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BIKINI LINES is a proposed massive mixed media installation inspired by the lack of standardized nuclear disaster reporting, in particular the panic that set in over Tokyo following the March 2011 Earthquake, Tsunami and subsequent Fukushima meltdown.

And it started, the Bikini Lines funding campaign  go and share fund to this most awaited project!

The Bikini Lines team which is made up of members from around the world is setting out to create the world’s largest painting using the Runit Island Cactus Dome as their canvas.   The Cactus Dome is a 107m wide (350foot) dome built over a blast crater in the Marshall Islands which encases the radioactive debris from Bikini and the surrounding Atolls.  The surface area of the dome is roughly 96,600 square feet and once completed will beat the current world record holder of 86,000 square feet.

Constructed by the American military between 1977-1980 it is largely forgotten but still stands as a constant reminder from a time when nuclear testing was more the norm than the exception.  While declared safe long ago the island has been off-limits until now.  Both the Marshallese government and the Enewetak elders have both recently given their blessing to go ahead with this project and are opening up the Island for their arrival in late 2012.

In Lieu of corporate sponsorship and the hiring of famous designers, the team has opted for a more do it yourself grassroots approach and in doing so, and is keeping this project by the people and for the people.   They are both financing this project and taking artists submissions via IndiGoGo (a crowd-financing platform.)  With that comes great opportunity for the public as they are not only looking for people to submit the winning design that will go on top of the dome but  are seeking a director to join them and help create the accompanying  documentary.  Submissions will also be accepted for their official on-site photographer  & writer.   Not wanting to leave anyone out, the team has also added a wild card spot for the adventurous types that don’t have an artistic bone in their body but would still love an opportunity to take part in a project of this magnitude.

The entire paint job which will take between 3 and 4 weeks to complete will be documented in film & writing, with the finished product being released as a CC licensed product and 100% of the intake going to the benefit of the Fukushima Orphans.

Project creator and executive producer Christian Forestell had this to say, “We really want this project to benefit everybody involved.  The artists, designer, videographer, photographer and writer who earn the chance to join us will hopefully achieve instant recognition from their work and benefit from greater career options afterwards.  The Marshall Islands will gain more recognition from international media and hopefully see a boost in tourism.  Most importantly, though, Fukushima orphans will benefit from media sales.  100% of the sales of our documentary will be donated to the Ashinaga Foundation, which helps orphaned children achieve their education.”

The campaign to create the world’s largest painting on the historically significant Cactus Dome will launch via IndiGoGo on February 1st 2012 and run until July 31st 2012, leaving plenty of time and opportunity for people to come up with designs, and submit their work for the chance to join the team as they embark on the Marshall Islands for an anything but ordinary world changing adventure.

Curious about what you will get in return for your pledges?  Here is their full list of incentives for helping get this project off the ground

INDIEGOGO FUNDRAISING GOAL: $200,000 USD+

IndieGoGo is a great platform for this type of project, as it allows us to give you rewards for helping us out. Below is a list of incentives and rewards. You can always change your pledge amount before the deadline if you wish to give more or less.

REWARDS & INCENTIVES

$10

a copy of the digital download package, which includes our finished movie, behind the scenes photos, out takes, and lots of sweet, sweet extras such as an invitation to join the wild card pool for a chance to join us at The Dome. A perfect way to lend a hand and get something awesome in return.

Estimated Delivery: February 2013

$25

Are you an artist or designer craving fame & fortune? Want your design painted on the dome for all the world to see? It’s only $25 to submit your proposal! Includes digital download package.

Estimated Delivery: January 2012

$25

Are you a filmmaker with Cannes Ambitions? Want to direct our documentary? It’s only $25 to submit your proposal! Includes digital download package.

Estimated Delivery: January 2012

$25

Are you a photographer who craves adventure? Want to be our official on-site photog? It’s only $25 to submit your proposal! Includes digital download package.

Estimated Delivery: January 2012

$25

Are you a writer with a love of Robinson Crusoe? Want to be our official on-site writer & blogger? It’s only $25 to submit your proposal! Includes digital download package.

Estimated Delivery: January 2012

$55

Want a DVD instead of a downloadable media package? Well, here’s your chance! We’ll send you a DVD autographed by the core production team *and* the director! This edition will be limited to $50 sponsors… so… collectible!? Yep!

Estimated Delivery: March 2013

$77

gets you a handsome, high-quality, A2-sized giclée print of the final design. Edition hand-numbered, signed by artist and limited to $75 sponsors. Very collect-able! Hang ‘em between your Norman Rockwell’s & boxed Chewbacca’s! Includes the digital download package and one submission (if you want it).

Estimated Delivery: September 2012

$255

(Awesome!) The Contributor’s package: gets you an official adventure log-book curated by our on-site photographer & blogger. Edition hand-numbered, signed, and limited to $250 sponsors. You’ll also get the giclée print, the digital download package, one submission… and… your name in the film credits as “contributor”!

Estimated Delivery: March 2013 & various

$505

gets you a tasty artifact from the site. The Cactus Dome is composed of 358 concrete slabs and each one will be painted individually as part of the whole. We’ll give you 1 of the 358 working drawing used on-site, signed by the member who painted it, accompanied with a unique photograph. It will likely be pretty dirty. Limit of 358. Includes the digital download package.

Estimated Delivery: February 2013, others as per above

$1001

Gets you an “Associate Producer” credit + a seat on the committee that votes on the shortlisted proposals. Limit of 10. Includes the digital download package as well as the adventure log book and giclée print. Get your name in the IMDB!

Estimated Delivery: August 2012 & various, as per above

$2501

Join Us! Pay your way to Majuro (via Hawaii with Continental is the easiest route) and we’ll take you the rest of the way on our chartered boat & plane, feed you, give you some camera time – providing you want to help us paint, that is! You also get everything above (minus the associate producer credit), including one submission. Limit of 10.

FREE! Get an A-list celebrity to tweet this IndieGoGo proposal and we’ll give you a Digital Media Consultant credit on the finished film. Or, if this describes you and you want to help out, ask your people to contact our people, which is us

FREE! Elementary schools, middle schools and high schools are encouraged to leave a message for us in the digital archive. Teachers only, please! Submissions can be uploaded here.

Estimated Delivery: now!

If you would like to know how you can get involved, go to http://www.bikinilines.net/ or send all enquiries to:

Christian Forestell : Executive Producer and Creator  cactusdome@gmail.com

Chad Parrish: Executive Producer and On-Site /Camp Coordinator Chad.cactusdome@gmail.com

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People worldwide are honoring one of the most creative minds of our generation. Yes, of course I’m referring to Steve Jobs. The genius who had the drive to bring us the iPod, revolutionized cell phones with the iPhone, and made us realize how easy life can be if we just had an iPad. Even grandmothers and people hesitant to embrace technology find his products so amazingly user friendly.  His reach has affected so many in a variety of ways. Thus it’s no surprise we’re seeing tons of tributes to such an amazing man. We’ve all seen tributes before, but with the loss of a passionate and inventive individual comes symbolic memorials and displays to honor a technology hero.    Here are some of the best so far.

Leslie Handmaker has a passion for online marketing and anything to do with entrepreneurship. She conducts link building campaigns perfect work for businesses of all size. In her spare time, she enjoys reading a suspenseful novel, playing card games, and anything that involves spending time with family and friends.

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Geniux Photo EFX is a Photoshop plugin that allows to make professional depth of field, vintage effects, black and white, artistic filters.

In Photoshop plugin mode, GeniuX Photo EFX load the image based on the color profile in Photoshop. The Plugin is “.8bf” format.

Actually, all the plugin part does is sending and retrieving the images. The whole processing is done within the main application.Geniux Photo EFX works well with Adobe Photoshop CS, CC2, CS3, CS4 32bit, CS5 32 bit under Windows XP, Vista and 7 platform.

The main features are:

- Full 32 bit color graphic engine
The 32 bit colors graphic engine ensures precise and delicate gradients in each situation even if you load a 24 bit color image (the standard digital camera JPG). The graphic engine adds data increasing up to 32-bit colors to ensure the highest standard image elaboration.

Artistic Filters
You can brush Filters and Effects where you want. You can use different art techniques in the same photo to create a unique piece of Art. Combine up to 90 different media in the same image. The mathematical and parametric filters cleverly analyze the image, creating different effects each time.

- Geniux Photo EFX includes:
Pro depth of field, Pro noise remover, Pro soft focus, pro black and white engine, pro vintage effects, digital makeup and over 90 artistic filters with over 300 custom settings.

- Inside the main software you have:
calendar maker, thumb maker, camera explorer, watermak Pro tool and giant poster maker.

- Web resources:

Demo download:
http://www.xprosoftware.biz/ita/download/GeniuXEFX.exe

Some comparison test at:
http://www.xprosoftware.com/eng/geniuxefx/comparazioni.html

Free video lessons:
http://www.xprosoftware.com/eng/geniuxefx/filmati.html

- GeniuX Photo EFX price for Adobe users: 59.00 USD

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BigStockPhoto was founded in Davis, California, in the fall of 2004 and quickly grew into one of the Web’s leading royalty-free stock image communities. In 2009 BigStockPhoto was acquired by Shutterstock, the biggest subscription-based image library in the world. BigStockPhoto adopted a fresh new look and a shorter name, Bigstock, in 2010.

Bigstock is your fast, easy-to-use marketplace for quality stock images. We offer over 8 million royalty-free photographs and illustrations from talented photographers and artists around the globe, available for almost any purpose.

If you are looking for quality stock image marketplace which is not so complicated and easy-to-use, Bigstock is your best choice.

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SpringPublisher is a professional and easy to use desktop publishing software. With its included various templates and online template store, powerful multi-layer editor, detailed help-files, SpringPublisher enables you to design and print Business Card, Flyer, Postcard, Letterhead and other artworks within a few minutes.

Design and print business cards, flyers, postcards, and letterheads with SpringPublisher desktop publishing software

SpringPublisher Team has released SpringPublisher v. 2.1. SpringPublisher is a professional and easy to use desktop publishing software application that makes it easy for business people and home computer users to design and print cards, flyers, postcards, and announcements.

SpringPublisher is freeware, allowing you to design, print, and save artwork as JPG files, at no cost.

SpringPublisher includes a nice library of templates as well as an online template store. The software features a powerful multi-layer editor, detailed help files. Without being an artist, you can design and print business cards, flyers, postcards, letterheads and other artwork in just a few minutes.

Main Features:

1. Enables you to add images, texts, vector shapes, logos and arrange them as you like.
2. Provides stunning image effect including shadows, opacity, rotation, and more.
3. Allows you to download professionally-designed, high quality templates from the template store.
4. Makes it easy for you to print your artwork either with your own printer or in professional print shops.
5. Generates high resolution artwork with a maximum output of 350dpi.

SpringPublisher runs under Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7.

You can download the SpringPublisher Free version directly from http://www.springpublisher.com/sp_setup.msi

The professional version, with Template Store credits and high-quality output available, costs $23.95(US)

For more information, visit http://www.springpublisher.com/ or write to Support@SpringPublisher.com

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Santa Monica based ResourceWebs has experienced tremendous success thus far.  The company boasts a network of 17 featured properties (http://resourcewebs.com/properties.html) which in total receive over 3 million unique visits monthly.  Much of this traffic success has been due to the companies focus on both high quality content along with simplicity for users.

Over the past 6 months, ResourceWebs has redesigned its sites to ensure a more simple experience for the user.  Instead of promoting tons of content on a given sites homepage, all of the content was categorized into 4 or 5 categories.  This allows the user to drill down deeper into a given site to enjoy the type of content they are looking for.  This categorization process also helps the company focus on future content as each piece of content is not only targeted to as specific site but also to a particular category within that site.

ResourceWebs has focused on very niche topics to grow.  Areas such as railroads, symbols, sympathy letters, labradors, and spooky things.  By focusing on these sectors, ResourceWebs can make an impact in an area of the web which has less noise and competition.

The strategy is paying off for ResourceWebs, as the company has over 3 million uinique visitors monthly engaging with and enjoying its content.  Moving forward, the company plans to continue to improve the design and organization of its websites while continuing to add high quality and resourceful unique content.

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These days every website has a twitter acount or facebook fanpage. Thats why i use urlf.ly!

With urlf.ly you can shorten your links and earn money. First of all you will need to make an account. Once you have made your account all you do is shorten the link you want to send your fans to. Then when a visitor goes on that link you get paid. Its as simple as that!

What is URLF.LY?

urlf.ly is a free URL shortening service with a spin.. you get paid to share your links on the Internet! Just register for a free account and start shrinking. You get paid for every person that visits your URLs. Example URL for Google: http://urlf.ly/4 Place your shortend urls on Facebook, Twitter, forums, personal websites and any social networking sites.

Why choose URLF.LY?

The minimum pay out is just $5 and you can be paid with paypal. There is also another side to urlf.ly, if you want to advertise your site you can get 10,000 visitors for just $4! These visitors are real human traffic. Using urlf.ly is a great way to increase your websites earnings at a low cost and its great for websites to earn money by sharing links.

Click Here To Join URLF.LY Now!

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CAGE, an online collaboration tool that allows agencies, design teams and freelancers to share and present their work for creative review, will launch public beta today. CAGE was first released as an invite-only private beta during SXSWi in March. While in private beta, CAGE attracted a number of designers from companies including: Weber Shandwick, Ralph Lauren, Electric Pulp, Art Center College of Design, Ogilvy, nclud and Moleskine.

Try CAGE now: http://www.cageapp.com/

“Clients should be wowed when they receive design mockups, but a lot of that is lost in mundane collaboration processes,” CAGE co-founder Sandip Patel said. “Emails get messy. Feedback is out of context. Meetings run long. These things put strain on client relationships.

“CAGE eliminates the need for email threads, marathon client meetings and folders full of mockups and revisions. It’s as simple as uploading your work and sharing a unique URL. From there, you can add notes and comments directly onto the work so that the conversation stays focused on project.”

Stefan Hartwig, Partner at Electric Pulp said: “We needed a simple way of presenting mockups and tracking feedback in relation to the interface. Cage scratches that itch and more.”

CAGE features include:

- Centralized location to present and receive client feedback
- Team functionality
- Threaded design notes
- Group collaboration and notes
- Project presentation/slideshow
- Unique URLs to share via email or IM
- Works with browser-friendly image types
- Project statistics
- Privacy controls

CAGE is a product of BitConfused, a small startup based in Oklahoma City. BitConfused handcrafts web-based products that solve common problems for businesses in a simple, useful way. Learn more about BitConfused at http://www.bitconfused.com

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There are a lot of ways to earn money online with your blog or website, but sometimes you have to consider the visual outcome when adding ads unit. That is why it’s always been a favorite opting out to have a banner/image ad in my blog, not only it’s the easiest but more over it will add a visual impact to the whole design of your blog.

And here is a new network that provides the above.

Puxee is a new up-and-coming advertising network that is hoping to fulfill all the needs of advertisers and publishers.

Launched in January 2011, Puxee hopes to become the advertising network of choice for publishers looking to monetize the traffic to their sites. We hope to achieve this by marketing the publishers available ad space directly to advertisers in their niche. This allows advertisers to buy highly targeted advertising on niche websites to increase sales, leads and conversions.

We aim to work closely with publishers and advertisers to ensure that we are always working in the best interest of both parties. This allows us to build a strong relationship with our users and to develop trust in the service that we offer.

Selling Your Ad Space…Has Never Been So Easy!

The easiest way to sell advertising on your website, earn more by selling directly to advertisers.

• Get paid instantly into your PayPal account
• Keep control of your ad space
• Gain exposure to our network of advertisers
• You keep 75% of your total sales revenue

Generate More Leads…Through Niche Website Advertising!

Buy advertising directly on websites in your niche to drive traffic and conversions through your website.

• Fixed 30 day costs
• Real-time stats tracking
• Target specific sites and niches
• Stay in control of your advertising budget

So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and join Puxee now.

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