NOTCOT is a visual filtration of ideas + aesthetics + amusements. NOTCOT's two sites have become the daily sources of inspiration for creatives everywhere, fighting the good fight against "creative block" since 2005 with visually stunning imagery, the latest in international trends, and a passion for all things well designed.
NOTCOT.ORG is a community of creatives, design lovers, and trendsetters — where .org serves as the studio bulletin board gone digital — each image and caption brings you to a place worth visiting. It's about sharing what inspires you. Bookmarks, del.icio.us, digg, blogrolls, etc. make you read, search and think. This is the PICTUREBOOK to their novel. NOTCOT.COM is the editorial face of NOTCOT, offering in-depth features on products, artists, technology, innovation, and up-and-coming trends.
NOTCOT is featured in Web Design Index 7, by Pepin Press
- Netdiver featured NOTCOT in their
Best of the Year 2006, as well as one of their
Powagirrrls ("women who rock the design scene").
- On Dave Jeffrey's List of
Top 10 Creativity Boosters, NOTCOT took #2, ahead of Sleep.
- NOTCOT was
featured in American Way magazine alongside apt therapy, design*sponge, and treehugger.
Submitted by NOTCOT on December 29th, 2008
I usually go for the special treat gift instead of a practical gift.  It’s fun to give people something they didn’t even know they wanted.  There’s nothing wrong with a good sensible gift if that would truly make the recipient happy. However, the danger is in going beyond practical into mundane chore land. Give someone a vacuum cleaner, trash can or electric flosser and they will think of you whenever they clean the floor, take out the garbage or floss their teeth.
Even worse than giving someone a chore as a present is giving them an insulting hint. (Hey, your house is messy. Why don’t you vacuum? Don’t you even know about trash cans? Oh, and there’s something in your teeth.)
…… by Marcia Simmons, for NOTCOT
Submitted by NOTCOT on December 19th, 2008
Small children love repetition. If their toy beeps, giggles, sings,squeaks or gongs then you can be guaranteed they will make it do so as many times as possible. And if they can hit something and produce a loud noise? That is like kid nirvana.
Giving children a full drum set or a certain ticklish doll who shall remain nameless will no doubt make them light up with joy … and make their parents curse the day you were born. The same goes for encouraging someone else’s child’s budding musical talents by giving them a kazoo, mini-accordion or sing-along CD by [insert name of fictional musical teenagers or brightly colored puppet here].  Of course, sometimes we give these kinds of gifts on purpose. Whether it’s as a joke on a friend, revenge on a formerly obnoxious younger sibling or a passive-aggressive payback ~ there are endless ways to drive a parent crazy. We know, it’s wrong. But damn if it isn’t funny.
Submitted by NOTCOT on December 18th, 2008
Flowers are a no-brainer gift, right? Well, like most gifts, they can get a little complicated. In Europe, it is considered bad luck to get an even number of flowers as a gift. White flowers symbolize death in Japan, and white chrysanthemums are mainly used for funerals in Belgium, Spain, China and France. In the states, we think of yellow as the color of friendship. However, yellow flowers symbolize death in Mexico and infidelity in France. Flowers have traditional meanings associated with them in U.S. culture as well. Each flower has a meaning. Most of them are positive, but there are some surprise negative meanings. Marigolds symbolize cruelty and jealousy. Snapdragons symbolize deceit. Hydrangeas are “heartless,” and foxglove is “insincere.”  Of course, not all flower meanings are negative. For instance, the gardenia means “secret love.” Probably not the message you want to send to your boss, mother-in-law or accountant.
Submitted by NOTCOT on December 10th, 2008
An *insert high quality brand here* super awesome multitool is something everyone needs, and would theoretically make a really sweet gift, especially engraved and personalized … except when it’s not. Japanese, Latin American, Chinese and Muslim people are diverse in customs and culture. But one thing they have in common is the belief that knives (or anything with a sharp edge) are offensive gifts representing the severing of a relationship. Aside from the cultural symbolism, many people could perceive a knife as an aggressive or threatening object to receive on a happy, gift-giving day!
Submitted by NOTCOT on December 4th, 2008
There are so many beautiful and crazy clocks out there ~ alarm clocks that trigger LED lights to help plants grow, exposed-gear timepieces, a Rubik’s Cube clock … However, in Chinese culture, it is considered bad luck to get a clock or a watch as a gift. Getting a clock as a gift is interpreted as the gift giver counting down to the recipient’s death. Also, the spoken word for “clock” in Chinese sounds similar to a phrases relating to death and funerals. If you didn’t know this cultural taboo and have accidentally offended a Chinese person with a bad luck gift, there is an out. You just have to allow the person to give you a small amount of money so that the item is no longer considered a gift.
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