ON AND OFF...

...the radar?

Recently, we had a house fire that was very scary and very real. I am posting this because I would love it if you would make sure you have a working smoke alarm (with extra batteries on hand), and a non-expired fire extinguisher.

Soapbox finished, on to design.

I found this lovely piece of safety design over at Playmedesign. Although currently a concept by Sigrun Vik, a masters candidate at Oslo School of Architecture and Design, this design is simply genius. A good looking fire extinguisher that can be kept in (plain enough) sight may be the piece of design that saves your home. (Our fire extinguisher saved our home + stuff!)


"But though it could be about life and death, the extinguisher is not a pretty object and we tend to stuff it away, instead of placing it in visible parts of our homes."

lights up in case of fire

I've been interested in the utilitarian element of safety design for some time, I have a book filled with vintage and new airline safety cards. There's something so base and lovely about public arena design, such as the London Underground maps. Still, there's so much room for improvement, especially civic design pieces for public transport. (Bay Area residents, see BART in-train ads, how Photoshop 2.0!)

The MOMA exhibit SAFE: Design Takes On Risk (check out their 2005 Flash-y website here) was an interesting collection of pieces designed for safety. Though slightly outdated, the thought behind these everyday improvements are so big, and so needed.