Museum of Knockoffs: Fauxskine notebooks, copycat Koziols, Leatherman knockoffs: just a few of the design ripoffs presented at The Museum Plagiarius in Solingen, Germany. For 30 years, professor and designer Rido Busse has presented ignominious awards for swiped product designs at Ambiente, the big consumer-goods show in Frankfurt; the museum houses more than 300 knockoffs beside the originals they mimic. Says Busse, “The idea is to shame the con men and help the general public realize how widespread the problem is — it’s not just limited to Louis Vuitton bags.” [Hat tip: Justin]
Helvetiku: In honor of the premiere of the documentary Helvetica (screening here May 31), ManageThis hosted a font-themed haiku contest. The winners — including a vaguely naughty reference to ligature “spooning” and some grotesk puns — are in. [Via Kottke.]
Orwell squared: As this Flickr shot shows, Plaza George Orwell in Barcelona is aptly named. The Surveillance Camera Players noticed this irony years before me, performing in front of the police cameras there in 2002.
Things to do when you’re dead:
1.) Have your cremains made into pencils by artist Nadine Jarvis (one body’s worth of ash makes 240 pencils!).
2.) Get snorted by Keith Richards.
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