Blábot

Recently I came across an amazing website that I just have to share with you. It's called Blábot (which can be loosely translated into English as babble) and its mission is quite simple - generating a Czech language equivalent of the infamous Lorem ipsum text. Blábot was created keeping Czech designers in mind. If you're designing a website or a print template without specific content, you know how useful it is to have the Lorem ipsum filler text at hand. But as a Czech designer you may actually be missing the diacritical marks of the Czech language, both visually, as well as for practical reasons.

This is where Blábot comes into the picture. The website will generate a random text, which is comprised of Czech words with all their complexities (including diacritical marks). While Lorem ipsum was created from a jumble of words from Cicero's "De finibus bonorum et malorum" (On the Ends of Goods and Evils), Blábot compiled its original text from Karel Čapek's "Povídky z jedné a druhé kapsy" (Tales from Two Pockets). The website lets you copy the text directly but also allows you to generate a personalized text. You can select the form of Czech language to be used (Čapek's Czech, modern Czech or legal Czech), as well as other parameters such as the number of paragraphs and whether to include numbered lists.

I chose to test Čapek's Czech and below is the result:

Túře mstivě zamkl pohnutím pořád přibližně ne kartářka tmě za se ráz muži! Mou nim eh slovům jízdu alev? Náš trpké té čtou a posílil ó padnout. Zub komtesou jenž 11 zkusit 30 vinna východu výklad. Au uf vše čí mrak dostala ponechán. Ó laciným jen ošetřovatelka kroutě 77 bavil ať o ministerstvo povstala jaterní si bok můj řeč kruh šlo čí nač její světlá. 

Oko vy pravým hůrky i klec ba smrtelné. Šéf stole vůči jezdila. Master pozdrav doslova. Spí rád honí po povede obviněný dojat vy svědkyně čtenářů mé rado. Lovu, ní mařkou, jo vzácnou utřela, jest záhy první začnu pekaři ba dvaceti protestoval – močí žitné! Ční au četli jeho mně stopu řičí. Hry prožít ano jaký, v díků těla mě náš nejisté ó jsi zabil zářila.

If you speak Czech, you may actually find the text somewhat poetic. But even if you don't understand a word of Czech, you may find it amusing to use this strange mix of words instead of the traditional Lorem ipsum.  

Whoop De Doo

On a slightly different note this time, yet just as playful and quality design focused, today's post will introduce you to the company Whoop De Doo. If you haven't heard of them already, you are in for a surprise. Whoop De Doo was founded by the young Czech designer Anna Marešová and its product portfolio is quite straightforward: she sex toys. Yes, you heard us. Anna Marešová designed a collection of sleek and modern sex toys as part of her M.A. project at UJEP University in Ústí nad Labem. Soon her fame spread through the media, as she won the main prize at the 20th Annual National Student Design Awards back in 2011. Her motivation for designing such a collection of intimate products was to break away from the tradition of confining the products to pornography or something forbidden and instead present them as hygienic, clean and playful. If you look at the final design of the products, as well as the packaging, I think you'll agree that she succeeded in her goal.     

Photo courtesy of Whoop De Doo

In about a week's time, Whoop De Doo will be launching the sale of its products online. You can now go to the website and register to receive up-to-date news about the launch and future product introductions.  

Public Transport Museum, Prague

We love chairs and we also love competitions. Imagine a combination of the two...Well, the Museum of Public Transport in Prague is currently holding a competition, in the form of a survey that allows the public to vote for the most comfortable public transport seat. There are altogether 8 prototypes to choose from, including ones that you may recognize from your local bus or tram. The Prague Public Transit Company has also introduced 4 new designs. The competition will run till November 17th and you can take part by either visiting the museum personally or voting online. By taking part, you will automatically be included in a prize draw and can win books and other small items. Unfortunately, the online voting form is only available in Czech, so it may be better for you to visit the museum yourself. And let's be frank here, how do you expect to vote for the most comfortable seat, without actually trying it?

    Photo courtesy of The Prague Public Transit Company

Papelote, Prague

The Czech manufacturer of environmentally friendly paper products - Papelote opened a store in Prague this year. You will find them at the address Vojtěšská 9 in Prague 1. Now you can roam through their funky produts in a modern designer setting.

The architects behind the newly opened store are Lenka Křemenová and David Maštálka from A1Architects, the studio that's also behind the Botas concept store - 66 Gallery.

Photos courtesy of Papelote.

Angelato, Prague

Angelato has become a symbol for not only the best Italian ice cream in Prague, but also great service and original marketing - as you can see from their web design.

Picture courtesy of Angelato

Rubikon, the Pinhole Rebel

Out of the era of digital photography comes the pinhole camera Rubikon, the Pinhole Rebel - designed by Jaroslav Juřica.

The camera is free to download in pdf format from the author's website.

 

As the designer of the camera himself explains, the camera obscura is user-friendly and easy to build. The Rubikon is a classic paper cut-out, so all you need to get started is scissors and glue.