Now That’s Clever (9 Photos)

Good design earns a second look

A utility box becomes a toaster with just a few painted additions. Elsewhere, the thinking goes into how a bench dries after rain or how a wall is built. These nine ideas reward a closer look at the ordinary things around us.

More: Design Doesn’t Stop Indoors

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🌀 Spiral Wall — By John Bainbridge

John Bainbridge turns the courses of a stone wall into a tight spiral. The small opening at its center makes the whole wall look as though it is curling inward.

More: Street Art You Can’t Ignore When You Walk By

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🍞 Street-Side Toaster — By Tom Bob

Two black slots and a painted cord turn this green utility box into an oversized toaster. New York-based Tom Bob barely changes its shape; the box was already doing most of the work.

More: Tom Bob’s Street Art — Collection 2

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🎵 21 Balançoires — By Daily tous les jours in Montréal, Canada 🇨🇦

The swings in Montréal’s 21 Balançoires play musical notes as people move. Daily tous les jours gives a row of seats a second job: making music with whoever happens to sit next to you.

💡 Music Fact: Swinging higher raises the pitch. Moving in sync with other people unlocks hidden melodies, according to the studio’s project notes.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced facts21 BalançoiresDaily tous les jours · 2011 · Promenade des Artistes, Montréal21 musical swingsFour instrument soundsIxDA Best in Show 20131Each swing plays piano, guitar, harp or vibraphone, and the higher you swing, the higher the note.Daily tous les jours2According to the Quartier des Spectacles, it was meant to be temporary, but public enthusiasm made it a springtime ritual.Quartier des Spectacles, 2014201321 AprSpacing photo, 3rd edition201430 MarFourth year announced201614 AprBack on the promenade20199 AprDaily Hive: returned201919 May9th straight year202211 AprReplaced by “Ville orchestre”Read the full file →

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🌧️ The Rolling Bench — By Sung Woo Park

Sung Woo Park and his team’s Rolling Bench has a simple answer to a wet seat. Turn the handle to rotate the wooden slats and bring the dry underside up where you can sit.

💡 Design Fact: The bench was a 2007 Samsung Design Membership project. Park’s original proposal also suggests turning the handle for the next person, even if you do not need a seat yourself.

More: Creative Benches

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🧩 A Corner Worth Keeping — By Ememem

A chipped corner becomes a narrow strip of yellow, teal and green tiles. Ememem follows the irregular edges of the damage, making the repair the part you want to look at.

💡 Repair Fact: Lyon-based Ememem calls these repairs “flackings”, a play on flaque, the French word for puddle.

More: Ememem’s Mosaic Repairs

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👀 A Face in the Letters — By Kone in Dublin, Ireland 🇮🇪

Kone, an Irish-based writer who mixes letter pieces with characters, fits a face inside the loops and sharp edges of the lettering. The eyes hold the portrait together while the black gaps keep breaking it apart; a puddle below catches the whole puzzle again.

🔗 Follow Kone on Instagram

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🪑 “Double Doily” — By Jennifer Cecere in New York, USA 🇺🇸

Jennifer Cecere’s Double Doily turns an intricate lace pattern into a bench at Whitehall and Water Streets. The photos by NYC ♥ NYC include the useful final check: someone actually sitting on it.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsDouble DoilyJennifer Cecere · 2013 · Whitehall & Water Streets, New YorkDouble-sided doily benchNYC DOT Urban Art Program$1,500 LMCC grant (amNY)1NYC DOT says the intricate pattern was laser cut into the metal to improve the look of the surrounding area.NYC DOT on Flickr2According to amNY, a $1,500 arts grant helped Cecere win city transportation funding for the $10,000 project.amNY20125 SepamNY: slated for December201310 JunInstalled, per NYC DOT201317 JunNYC DOT photo201319 JunNYC DOT photo201311 JulNYC ♥ NYC post20143 JanNYC DOT winter photo20141 JulRemoved, per NYC DOTRead the full file →

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🧵 Thread Across the Sidewalk — By CHEONE

The woman bends over her sewing, but the red thread refuses to stay inside the picture. Italian street artist CHEONE carries it onto the sidewalk, joining the painted scene to the space at your feet.

More: CHEONE’s 3D Murals

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🐟 Croydon Fishpond Mosaic — By Gary Drostle in Croydon, England 🇬🇧

The fish cast dark blue shadows, and the rings seem to spread across the water. Then the little tile edges pull the surface flat again. Gary Drostle makes the same hard material describe the fish, the depth below them and the moving surface above.

💡 Mosaic Fact: The London Borough of Croydon commissioned the two-meter mosaic in 1996 with the brief “Do what you think will be best.” It became the starting point for a much longer series of mosaic fishponds.

More: Gary Drostle’s Mosaic Fishpond and More

🔗 Visit Gary Drostle’s website