<img src="http://www.remain-silent.com/cm/YR-Inverse01.jpg" alt="Inverse by Yar Rassadin" />

<strong>in·verse
   /adj., n. ɪnˈvɜrs, ˈɪnvɜrs; v. ɪnˈvɜrs/
    adjective, noun, verb,-versed, -vers·ing. </strong>

<font size="1">
–adjective
1. reversed in position, order, direction, or tendency.
2. inverted; turned upside down.

–noun
3. an inverted state or condition.
4. something that is inverse; the direct opposite.

–verb (used with object)
5. to invert.

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No doubt we have heard and used the word 'inverse' many times in our life, but what does the visible representation of such a word look like?  Leave it to <a href="http://rassadin.com/yaroslav/main.html">Yar Rassadin</a> to come up <a href="http://rassadin.com/yaroslav/inverse.html">with a design</a> that answer that question in a practical and aesthetically pleasing way. Yar is a 30 year old designer hailing from Russia, who describes his role as creating<em> "smart design for people who love to wonder and discover new meanings in ordinary objects."</em>

<img src="http://www.remain-silent.com/cm/YR-Inverse03.jpg" alt="Inverse by Yar Rassadin Draft" />

Unfortunately still only in concept status, can 'Inverse' have a practical and real application in the real world and if so why? I think it more than does. A knife dedicated to a particular chopping board is very useful - granted at times you want to use a variety of knifes for a variety of foods; but I know personally there are certain things that always require a certain type of chop and I for one gravitate to the same knife to perform that task over and over again.

Also, with the indentation for the knife, you can't really lose your knife that easily..and if you do..well, you are on your own!

<img src="http://www.remain-silent.com/cm/YR-Inverse02.jpg" alt="Yar Rassadin- inverse" />

Then there is the fact that it is made of Maple - a great material for use as a <a href="http://www.mapleblock.com/">chopping block</a>. Not to mention its aesthetic properties as some maples have a <a href="http://www.thelowend.net/gallery/images/levywoods/wood%209-25/quilt%20maple%20%5BZ%5D%205%20inch%20wide%20per%200001,0002.jpg">highly decorative</a> wood grain.

Moving on to more 'vain' reasons why this board works. The sleek minimal and carefully placed lines of this piece makes it just plain nice to look at. The thought of clicking the knife into its pre-determined space is like a game of '<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Plan-Toy-Geometric-Peg-Board/dp/B000FZND9U/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&amp;s=toys-and-games&amp;qid=1273008230&amp;sr=1-8">square peg square hole</a>' for grown ups. And after all, do we ever <em>really </em>grow up? Exactly...therefore I for one would love to play this game on a daily basis.

Would this idea ever go from 'status: concept' to final product? I honestly don't know. I would love to see it do so. I can imagine it being sold by one of the 'purveyors of style' such as <a href="http://www.mossonline.com/">Moss</a> or <a href="http://www.articdesign.it/">Artic design</a>, (though Yar is Russian not Scandinavian). In the meantime, as a concept it is certainly something to enjoy the idea of and to appreciate the fact that there are designers out there who strive to make the ordinary, extraordinary.

<i>all images <a href="http://rassadin.com/yaroslav/inverse.html">yar rassadin</a></i>