Showing posts with label Around. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Around. Show all posts

Saturday, February 7, 2015

15 Funtastic Playgrounds You Wish Were Around When You Were A Kid

Do you remember when you were young and loved to hang from monkey bars, played around with sand and took daring leaps from swings? Playgrounds are amazing places where a kid (or big kid) can get dirty and experience the joys of being young and free.


Here, I’ve put together a selection of 15 creatively designed playgrounds from all over the world. Featuring illuminated ring-swings and playgrounds with educational themes, these structures are meant to cultivate a sense of creativity whilst having fun. So take a look at these cool playgrounds and let your inner child out.



Children’s play area for Boadilla del Monte


This playground based in Spain was created by architects, Eduardo Navadijos and Csaba Tarsoly. The design is meant to incorporate parts of the original playground and it is done so here in a stunning and modern way that promotes the outdoors and also provides sufficient protection.



Blaxland Riverside Park by JMD Design


The Blaxland Riverside Park by JMD Design is an innovative and sleek playground for children in Sydney, Australia. The idea is to make it enjoyable not only for children, but also for the entire family. This particular playground is 300 metres in size and boasts tunnels, a climbing net, a waterplay area and of course, swings amongst various other features.



Playgrounds by Monstrum


Danish studio, Monstrum, makes creative playgrounds for kids that reflect the importance of having a creative environment. These gorgeous and imaginative sculptures below are all made of wood.



Free Play Playground


Free Play is a company that focuses on creating abstract playgrounds for kids. Wanting to create something that wasn’t very standardized, they came up with something that would provide a more sensory experience.



Playground Made Of Reused Rotor Blades


We live in a world that’s placing more importance on helping the environment. So what better way to make a statement about up-cycling then by creating a playground made from the re-used rotar blades of giant windmills? This is what was done at a children’s activity centre in Rotterdam.



Vintage Mosaic Playgrounds


These cool retro-style mosaic playgrounds can be found in Singapore. This unique material makes the experience of playing here a bit of a trip back into the past.



Off-Ground Installation


The only thing better than a playground is one that you can customize. The best thing is that it was built with adults in mind. It’s a great place for rest and relaxation accompanied with lovely water views that was set up in Spring 2013.



Play Work Build


David Rockwell is best known as a renowned architect but he has also done various Imagination Playgrounds installed around the glove. This ‘Play Work Build’ exhibition was featured at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. and encourages visitors to play with blue blocks of different shapes and sizes.



Swing Time


Swing Time is a psychedelic swing set including 20 illuminated ring-shaped swings in South Boston. The best time to try them out is at dusk when the rings emit a cool white glow.



Playground in Belleville Park


The Belleville Playground project was made in 2003. It’s a multi-level wooden structure that is part treehouse, part pirate ship, and part medieval fortress. Definitely a place where you can let your imagination soar.



Instant Playground


This instant orange playground was made to bring people together. The best thing about this awesome playground game is that it fits in a suitcase and can be built in less than an hour giving more time for actual play.



Zabeel Technology Park Dubai


Dubai’s Zabeel Technology Park is one of the first playgrounds in the world with a technology theme. It has 3 zones that comprises of interactive displays and really embraces the whole feel of educating while playing.



Vail Nests


The Vail Nest by tres birds workshop in The Town of Vail, Colorado is part of a series of comissioned artworks for the park. These bird habitat inspired structures are made of non-toxic materials and are not only fun to play in but also elegantly designed.



Crocheted Playground


Created by Toshiko Horiuchi-McAdam, this color-infused installation gives its visitors a sensory experience that embraces the spirit of childhood. Using vivid colors, her work aims to merge aesthetics with function.



Geopark, Stavanger Norway


The Geopark is full of activities for youngsters. It was designed through recirculation of technology, know-how, and objects from the oil industry.




15 Funtastic Playgrounds You Wish Were Around When You Were A Kid

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Amazing Cinemagraphs from Around the Web

Cinemagraphs are an especially mesmerizing form of art (usually in GIF form). In this post, we’ll take a look at 28 gorgeous cinemagraphs and discuss how to implement them effectively in an online marketing strategy.


What Are Cinemagraphs?


Cinemagraphs are actually still photos in which minor, repeated movement occurs. You can usually find them in GIF format, which sometimes creates the illusion of watching a video.


cinemagraphs


As a rule, they are produced by taking a series of photographs or a video recording. Then, the artist composites the photographs or the video into a seamless loop of sequential frames. The major aim of photo or video manipulation is to create a repetitive or continuous motion in part of the subject between exposures (for example, water rippling) to contrast with the stillness of the rest of the image.


The history of the term “cinemagraph” dates back to the time when U.S. photographers Kevin Burg and Jamie Beck started to use the technique to animate their fashion and news photographs in 2011. However, the relevant technique existed prior to that. It was already used for the advertisement of the game “Mirror’s Edge” back in 2008.


Using Cinemagraphs in Online Marketing


GIFs are re-entering the mainstream of Internet content. This happens mainly because people have realized that they shouldn’t necessarily be low-resolution, low quality and cheesy. The cinemagraph is an artistic interpretation of a GIF, keeping the majority of the frame frozen and displaying some selected motion in one small area. So, there is no surprise that some smart marketing engineers leverage this medium in online marketing efforts in the most creative of ways.


Cinemagraphs work as little extra “linger” factors that keep people on your page. They can be very useful both for direct marketing and even the occasional blog post. It makes the users happy when they see very subtle animations that add to the experience of what they are reading. You can think about it as very subliminal advertising if you are direct marketing, or, in the case of a blog post, the concept of adding that perfect accent piece to your “living area”. The visitors usually wait to watch the image loop a few times if they notice a cinemagraph. They also tend to over analyze other images to see if they too contain motion. It’s unbelievable, but a stay on a site can sometimes be extended 5-15% with something so simple.


Cinemagraphs are becoming more readily available as well. Some sites, for example Annstreetstudio, create cinemagraphs for their own projects, while others, as TemplateMonster, are offering pretty nice free cinemagraphs for their audience.


Cinemagraphs


Enough talk, let’s see some of these things in action. Here are 28 of our favorite cinemagraphs from around the web.


B.Balenciaga


cinemagraphs


Businessman’s Break


cinemagraphs


Coffee Machine


cinemagraphs


Dirk Janson


cinemagraphs


Autumn Days


cinemagraphs


Awaiting Dusk


cinemagraphs


Designer’s Table


cinemagraphs


Nature Studies


cinemagraphs


Rainy Days


cinemagraphs


Aman’s


cinemagraphs


Charlotte Olympia


cinemagraphs


Taking It All In


cinemagraphs


Trench Coat


cinemagraphs


Busy day in Manhattan…


cinemagraphs


The Smell of Hot Dogs


cinemagraphs


Falling Leaves


cinemagraphs


Rain Drops


cinemagraphs


Tierra Patagonia Hotel


cinemagraphs


Seeing New York


cinemagraphs


Meet Me at the Bar


cinemagraphs


Tomatoes


cinemagraphs


Caught in the fashion jungle


cinemagraphs


Clouds in the cup


cinemagraphs


It’s time to hit the town…


cinemagraphs


Coco Rocha


cinemagraphs


What Do You Think?


Did you like the cinemagraphs included in this collection? Which one is your favorite? Do you have more creative examples of cinemagraphs that should be in our list?



Helga Moreno is one of the devoted members of friendly copywriters’ society. She has very curious nature and a long list of topics waiting to be highlighted. She lays herself out in order not to miss a thing happening in the world of web design and development. Visit her Google+ account, she will be happy to add you to her circles.

Header image created using Set of 13 Cinema, Movie icons.
Amazing Cinemagraphs from Around the Web