The plastic bottle bottle is dead...or soon will be.  Making your sparkling water or sodas at home is so much more personal, practical, and the right sustainability choice in the 21st century.  In becoming partners with Sodastream, fuseproject set out on a journey to "reduce and refine" the entire sparking water and soda user experience and make it more magical.

No electricity is required to make the soda. How do we do this: through world-class mechanical ingenuity and refined design. A watch battery powers the LED backlights to indicate different levels of carbonation, so no electric outlet is required. The entire top surface responds to touch, and there is now no need to screw in the bottle as a single-handed push simply locks it in place.

A single monolithic form for the machine creates a new visual signature for the brand. The design, packaging, graphics and web design of Source makes a refined statement for the kitchen. The video, created as part of SodaStream’s Source bar in Milan’s Salone del Mobile, was created by fuseproject, with music by Connor Moore. More...

The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area is a new exhibition that just opened at the SFMoMA. The One Laptop Per Child program, a pioneering effort to bring education and technology to children around the world, is featured in the exhibit as an example of the utopian impulse that drove Fuller. With 2.5 million laptops distributed in 42 countries today, OLPC has delivered on what, in Fuller’s time, may have been considered lofty idealism, but is now a very real experience for children such as Abel from Peru. See the short clip from “Life in a Day” on YouTube.

See The Utopian Impulse beginning March 31st – July 29th. More...

When PayPal approached fuseproject with the goal to facilitate real world payments, the prospect of creating a physical product and new brand for the e-commerce pioneer was a tantalizing design challenge.  PayPal and fuseproject’s brand and design team partnered on the expression of this new experience through all interaction points.

Functional considerations such as a large card stripe reader dictated the wide base of the arrow, and layered surfaces indicate where the card goes.  Additionally the front part of the reader rotates down providing the stability to reliably swipe a credit card. The arrow is an ancient symbol that shows something being done in the here and now, and became the inspiration for the shape of the of the product, logo, web, graphics, naming and application sound design.

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fuseproject has been honored with a 30 min feature on CNN this weekend.  The program “The Next List”, is hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta and airs this Sunday, February 26th at 11am PT/2pm ET.

The show will map the course of fuseproject’s work history, through the challenges and ideas that have driven us for the past 12 years.  It also highlights our partnerships with Herman Miller, Jawbone, Sabi, Mint, One Laptop Per Child and See Better to Learn Better amongst many others.

We don’t normally like to toot our own horn, but we had so much fun working with the CNN team, and thought you would enjoy seeing the final cut.

Please note that the full program will only be available via broadcast and will not be available online, so watch it before the Oscars.

More information here: http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/24/technology/yves_behar_next_list/index.htm

Higher resolution video here: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2012/02/23/tnl-yves-behar-designer.cnn.

SABI is a new brand that goes where no other has been: health and wellness for the old and the young alike.  The first Sabi line is functionally focused on medicine storage and organization. The needs of many users, in multiple situations, are holistically addressed by universal ergonomic solutions.  SABI is for the everyday, for everyone, and is designed to come along on our life’s journey.  More...

The One Laptop Per Child is in the hands of 2.4 million children.  We are now very excited to present the OLPC XO-3 in a tablet format.  Ultra-simplicity, affordability and robustness are still the key functional ingredients.  The emotive iconography, the tactile rubber grips, the flexible cover and solar charging battery, are the parts that make our hearts beat faster, and the kid’s too.  It’s time for the XO-3 to say hello to the children, and for the grown-ups to make a difference. More...

At fuseproject we’re all about Holiday Spirit. The partying kind – and the giving kind. This year, we already did plenty of partying. And now, on your behalf, we’re doing some giving too.

These three programs have involved and inspired us: Architecture for Humanity, charity: water, and See Better to Learn Better. Each addresses a critical need in our world, and we’re proud to support them – in spirit and in cash.

To you. From us. With love.

To learn more or donate yourself, click below:

• Architecture for Humanity/PACT
• charity: water/JAMBOX
• See well to Learn/Tipping Point

The much anticipated launch of UP by Jawbone is here.  UP is designed as functional wrist-wear for the 21st century. It is also an ecosystem of virtual and physical experiences that tracks your sleep, activity and eating habits. The monitoring UP band is comfortable, malleable, and beautiful on the wrist. The Iphone app displays the information with clear graphics and diagrams, while also connecting with friends and teams to compete and collaborate on health challenges.

So get UP and go by downloading the free iPhone app here and find the Jawbone UP band here.

See you on the UP and UP! More...

LOCAL is just that: the perfect neighborhood bike. Visit friends down the street; ride to shops in the vicinity such as our favorite hardware store, drop-off the kids at the school nearby, grab a picnic and take the whole family (including surfboards) to the beach. We integrated some key elements in the bike: locking, lighting, bags and even music with our wireless JAMBOX speaker! 

Over the years, as our lives have become more complicated and full of stuff our traditional bicycles became less practical.  So we designed the LOCAL to address the needs of our daily lives...and to bring back the fun of riding around the neighborhood.

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We are honored to receive the INDEX:Award for See Better to Learn Better today. Since the launch of the program, 358,000 kids have received a free pair of eyeglasses in Mexico. By choosing their own color combinations, shapes and sizes, the kids are co-designing their future. The INDEX cash prize will allow fuseproject to continue to support our partners, non-profit Verbien and champion manufacturer Augen of Mexico, as well as take the program to new places: from San Francisco to remote islands in Indonesia.

INDEX gave us love 4 years ago when the One Laptop Per Child was awarded the prestigious prize, and 3 million children have used the laptop since. As the first team to receive the award twice, we say thank you thank you.

INDEX Verbien Award

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