Their playing with illusions is rather a means to investigate new forms than a goal in itself. According to the artists the return to material objects is becoming necessary in this highly virtual contemporary world. I adore the Marisa Diomè (left). The foam Aphrodite was not cut from soft foam, but is made of marble too. Exhibition untill July 30th at Galleria Rubin, Milan. Artists Affiliati Peducci-Savini. Photos Martino Gerosa. Via (one of my favorite sites) Yatzer.com

Click here for a free portrait by Melbourne-based illustrator Benjamin Hammond Via Cool Hunting

Click here for Old Spice man Mustafa answering 180 Twitter and Facebook questions within 24 hours.

Sometimes design comes close to art. Design You work for them

I love Fiat’s most innovative 2-cylinder turbo motor. The 900 cc TwinAir is as green as a car could be. With a 85 hp motor it still drives 173 km/h and it does 0-100 in just 11 seconds on 4 l/100 km. In Holland the government supports this car by dropping all taxes and just adding 14% per year for company cars. In Italy the 500 TwinAir Pop sells for € 13,250, the open roof version starts at 16,750 euros. Available in Europe from September…in strong turquoise!

Mini released this concept car called Spiritual in 1997. The outside looks much like the Fiat 500…the inside, with a 60 hp, 800 cc 3-cylinder engine also comes near. Did Mini try to design a retro 500 or does Fiat acknowledge Mini’s brilliant thinking?

From Landor: ‘A brand is an experience, that is why a FedEx envelope gets opened before anything with a postage stamp.’ Landor Australia did an excellent job on cookie brand YummyTummy Koalas.

By using the French medieval process of boiled leather Tortie Hoare won the New Designer of the Year Award 2010 in the UK. I specifically like the idea of finding a process that makes every piece of someone’s work unique. This could be interesting for the car industry also. Via Dezeen

Click here and here for two fantastic ads made for the old fashioned brand Old Spice with actor Isaiah Mustafa. Advertising Wieden + Kennedy, Portland. Award Grand Prix 2010, Cannes

After a stroke my father’s leg sometimes refuses to do what it should do: walking. But my father refuses to use his motorized Spartamet. I fully understand since I bumped into the cool Motobecane. I think this design should replace all wheeled walkers and Saxonettes. Design Miguel Ángel Iranzo Sanchez