When you know the germs are out to get you, inspired product and packaging design can make feverish hand-washing a joy.

I’ll admit it: I’m a germaphobe.

I squirm when in the presence of germs and even talking about bacteria can cause a spat of feverish hand washing. So, you can imagine my love/hate relationship with soap. I have a hard enough time touching faucets or door handles in public restrooms, so slimy soap dishes and stained, gooey pump dispensers are so…<insert heebie jeebie shiver here>… disgusting.

Enter Method Home to save me from this plight.

I was in love the first moment I saw the bowling-pin shaped soap bottle Method design with the help of Karim Rashid. The bold shape and color made the product stand out in a category plagued by sameness, but it was more fun and easier to use with its bottom dispensing system. Later I discovered their refillable foaming hand wash dispensers with their clear, smooth, subtly curved conical shape. I was inspired and since then they’ve been my constant companions, sitting next to my sinks and home and at work.

I love how Method products push boundaries with provocative designs. Their containers always seemed more like sex toys than consumer goods to me. No other consumer product in recent memory became a common topic of conversations around water coolers and in the kitchen at parties when they first arrived on the scene a number of years ago.

Far more than just lollipop plastic soap dispensers, the whole Method line of products excites me. Their philosophy of creating products and packaging that don’t harm the environment make them all the more appealing to me. And their use of mild, natural scents that don’t make you gag is another example of the thought and care put into the design of their products. Their approach to balancing form and function set them apart—almost like objects d’art with their carefully chosen colors, sexy shapes and smart, recyclable materials. Even the minimal use of copy contributes to the simplicity inherent in each of their designs. Like beautiful glass bottles that I can’t bring to myself to throw away and end up in my kitchen, I find myself refilling my Method dispensers with various candy-colored liquid soap. Why recycle bottles when you never throw them out? Brilliant.

Method’s industrial design team, led by Creative Director Josh Handy, has repeatedly incorporated creative thinking into their product designs and each iteration or extension seems as innovative and intelligent as the last. Method is one of those companies that is making design important again—without making it intrusive or pretentious. By employing good design and focussing on products that not only work, but stand out from the crowd, they’ve managed to infiltrate millions of homes—all without the aid of major advertising campaigns mind you. Why should they bother really? When you’re standing in the soap aisle at the market, their beautifully designed products stand out in sharp contrast to their numerous competitors. They’ve managed to make products that make their own demand and deserve the dominant position they’ve earned in the consumer home goods market.

Method Home’s products won’t cure me of my germaphobia, but in my home, the roles of form and function meld together in seamless beauty as I gleefully squirt the next palm-full of foamy soap and wash those evil germs and bacteria away. Ew.

An unstructured list of experiences, pet peeves, and advice surrounding interactive design and development.
Let’s make something clear right now: I’m not a trained web developer.
Nor am I any sort of interactive expert in my opinion. But I have been involved in the design and production of websites for clients for many years. So, I was [...]

Just today I was trying to decide whether to bother entering a few of our recent web projects into the W3 Awards and was in a bit of a fence-sitting position about it.
Over the course of a year we are becoming bombarded by more and more award show calls-for-entries. This wasn’t a bad thing when [...]

After leaving my house in Vancouver at 5AM, flying all day to finally check into our hotel in Boston at 6PM, Mark and I were exhausted. Time to check in, take a nap and then find a good meal. Not only did we arrive at a super swank boutique hotel called The Liberty Hotel, but [...]

If I was asked who Stefan Sagmeister was a week ago, I could’ve given a handful of knee-jerk descriptions; he’s a designer, he’s provocative, he’s influential. I could’ve said many things to describe the icon he has become, but I would have failed to mention that he’s human.
“Everybody who is honest is interesting.”
On Friday afternoon, [...]

The drive to improve and succeed has increasingly lead to professionals in all trades to specify down to minute processes in projects. A photoshop artist will focus entirely on fashion retouching, or an interactive designer will draw boxes and arrows all day long. Along with this professional focus, influences and inspiration can also become focused. [...]

As featured on Design Taxi
Macro or Micro?
The new Vancouver International Film Centre seems like the perfect venue for something called VIDFEST, a five day “festival” put on by New Media BC and meant to connect and promote the digital media sector. That said, the location is much smaller than the Granville Island facilities used [...]

London was buzzing for the last two weeks of September. Everywhere you looked, on every street corner there seemed to be something about design. The city was filled with museum exhibits, public art and storefronts with interactive installations. I took in what I could in a week before heading to the south of France for [...]

During the iDesign conference in London I heard Bill Thompson talk about design’s role in the world of technology and he mentioned the locking down of Apple’s newest portable products. I did some reading and found quite a lot under the surface. I was very close to buying an iPod Touch but now I’m reconsidering.
Apple [...]

In the UK, where I’ve been for the past couple of weeks, pay rates for design freelancers are up in many cases, particularly when it comes to digital disciplines, according to DesignWeek’s second annual survey.
Overall, pay increases have been extremely healthy over the last twelve months, with increases of 13% cited, and a further 9% [...]

I was somewhere over Northern California headed south when the fear started to take hold. I remember wondering about what lay ahead thinking something to the effect of ‘what am I doing here?’ As a graphic designer only peripherally interested in animation, 3D rendering, motion capture, or gaming, I was afraid that I might not [...]

This blog was started years ago in part as a repository for our inspirations, yet I think we often drift away from that purpose a bit, so I want to share something that inspired me this weekend: discovering new music.
Obviously music plays a big part in most of our lives. It’s always stated as a [...]

June 4th marked the launch of the new London 2012 Olympic logo and it didn’t take long for the controversy to begin. I’d already fielded a number calls and emails before lunch from friends, designers and even the media. My inbox is filled with emails about the subject from various GDC designers across the country—some [...]

Mark just asked me to take ten minutes and jot down my opinions about what a student (or anyone I guess) should do/include/avoid when putting together and presenting a portfolio. A couple years ago I actually did a post on the topic on this blog.

Since then I have been on the receiving end of hundreds [...]

Well, we did it, again. The Industrial Brand/Legends Memorabilia “PicniCANtics” took top honours in this year’s Canstruction Vancouver for the third, THIRD, year in a row (2005 Award, 2006 Award). For those not in the know, Canstruction is an international design/build competition that benefits local food banks, brings together teams of architects, engineers, graphic artists [...]

Today Rogers Wireless formally announced their iPhone package rates. Set to be available July 11th, this is the newest 3G iPhone 2.0 for $199 for the 8GB or $299 for 16GB. Plans start at $60, and frankly, seem pretty decent all things considered, though I’m not keen on paying more on top of that for caller id functionality.

I wouldn’t consider myself an early adopter exactly. I tend to ride out technology to somewhere mid-life cycle to avoid the glitches and high costs normally associated with being the first kid on the block with the latest and greatest. And in some respects might even be considered a downright Luddite when it comes to really maximizing the features of my three year old Motorola Razr, but you know, it does what it’s supposed to really well.

I also really like the slim, sleek Razr, especially come summer when it slips into my shorts or shirt pocket and I can barely tell it’s there. Yet, I want (read: have to have) an iPhone. Admittedly, I’m a member of the Apple cult. I can’t imaging life without a Mac. We have them here and always buy Apple stuff when it’s time. I still don’t get why my parents have a PC, and it drives me crazy whenever I get asked to help them with it.

So, iPhone, why do I want you so? Well, I don’t like carrying three devices if I can help it, and you can replace my Nano as a music player. You’re also going to integrate seamlessly with my MacBook, iTunes and iPhoto. I like that. Warning: if you see me, I’m going to whip it out and start showing you pictures of my new daughter. So cute. Oh, and you are small, slim and not going to make people wonder if I’m carrying a phone in my pocket or just happy to see them.

Will I use all the features? Max out my data plan? Respond to emails and text messages any more responsively. Probably not. Will I line up at a store for my black 16GB. Not bloody likely. But, Rogers, I am coming your way. Sorry Telus.

UPDATE:
Okay, I actually analyzed what I am paying and getting from TELUS and what it will cost me for the same at Rogers, and admittedly, the pricing is not competitive. So much so that I’m going to wait until there is a better plan. Seems Apple feels the same way, and has not only diverted Canadian supplies of the 3G iPhone to Europe, but is also not going to sell then in Canadian Apple stores this Friday. Speculation is that Apple is pissed off that Rogers is gouging Canadian consumers. Read more here.

Posted by Ben Garfinkel on Friday, June 27th, 2008 1:16 pm | Filed under Technology, We love | RSS 2.0 feed | leave a response | trackback |