Welcome to the Liv Design blog, an eclectic mix of great design and quirky finds

Pantone's products feature regularly on the Liv Design blog . There's just something really clever, simple and useful about the way that they apply their brand to products. The designs from Pantone Universe range somehow seem to appear well-thought out and are aimed perfectly at the right market (usually anyone into design and designer products). They have an irritatingly good way of making their products look so good with minimal efforts. We recently discovered the range of covers for Apple products from a Monaco based company called Case Scenario who 'create mobile accessories with functionality, design and style in mind'. Sounds like a perfect partnership. We'll definitely be trying out a lovely case for our new iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S range comes in the following colours: Pantone 711 (Red), Pantone 7462 (Blue), Pantone Yellow, Pantone 226 (Pink), Pantone 354 (Green), Pantone Cool Grey 5, Pantone 418 (Grey) and Pantone Black. The i...

Now this is a thing of beauty. This is the new 'restricted' edition (not limited) Porsche Design P'9981 Blackberry  Smartphone. But is it enough to rival Apple's iPhone 4S in terms of design and desirability? It looks great, forged in stainless steel with a leather back. Inside it's essentially Blackberry's Bold 9900 that's been given the Porsche treatment. It comes with a QWERTY keyboard, 1.25GHz processor, 8GB memory, 5MP camera and 720 HD video recording. If standing out in the board room meeting is your thing, then this will look great on the table. But exclusivity comes at a price. The current unlocked Blackberry Bold 9900 is around £475, but the new P'9981 in the US will cost around $2,000! UK prices are to be announced. But it is a thing of beauty, and sure to robust and tactile. Well thought out, well crafted design doesn't some cheap, but then why should it? You pay for what you get. How happy would you be using it?...

Imagine if we had to shop like this in the real world!... Funny video from Google.

Could this be the way forward for photography? The new Lytro camera is a really clever piece of technology that may revolutionise the way we take photographs. It works by capturing the entire light field rather than using light from just one plane. This ability to capture light in every direction and from every point allows you to focus and re-focus at any point on the image – AFTER you've taken it! So no need to make sure you get a shot spot on first time. With no shutter delay and no focussing this should provide a sharper, more instant shot. For more more details visit  Lytro . The gallery of images shows how you can click on different parts of an image to refocus them. Amazing...

Tragically at the Malaysian MotoGP race at the Sepang circuit, San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli was killed in a terrible racing accident. He was just 24. There are not many occasions where I feel the need to add something like this on our blog or our website but as a motorcycle rider and race fan it is only right to express our shock and sadness at the loss of such a talent. Every racer at the top level of their sport knows how dangerous racing is. All racers ride at the absolute limit – there is no margin for error. They do it because they love it, and they do it because we all love to watch it. Marco Simoncelli was a real racer. His style of hard riding mixed with flamboyant looks gained him many fans and critics alike but on track he was as focused, passionate and talented as many of the greats he raced with. He was only in MotoGP for his second season but he'd become a force to be reckoned with. At the previous round at Phillip Island, Australia, he came 2...