Profitable Play!

Creativity and profit-making have always had a turbulent relationship. Creativity typically (though not always) gets sacrificed for the profit motive, and profit makers tend to see creative types as a cloud of annoying gnats blocking their progress toward the clear-cut, melodius sound of “Cha-ching!” One welcome development in the creativity / profit-making equation can be seen on certain commercial websites, where the content reflects an overflow of creative energy and imagination. Visitors to such sites are invited to play for its own sake. FWIS, a design studio with offices in Brooklyn, Portland and Cupertino, offers cleverly designed flat images to cut, fold and tape into manga-like 3-D toys — and they’re free! One character featured on the site — R. Mutt — pays homage to DuChamp’s ready-made urinal. The toys are so beautiful that you’ll want to make them all. Recently, FWIS was commissioned to create a series of free designer pinhole cameras, now available on the Corbis website.