Just when you think you've seen every design of drinking vessel under the sun. Apparently back in 2009, creative agency Wieden+Kennedy designed a novel cup for ESPN and NASCAR. The track giveaway item is shaped in such a way that you don't have to take your eyes off the track | Continue reading
A brief design history of the plastic coffee cup lid | Continue reading
In terms of concepts, Syd Mead might be the most prolific industrial designer who ever lived. Sadly, he passed away earlier this week at the age of 86. Over the course of his long career, Mead worked for industrial giants like Ford, Philips, Sony, Chrysler and U.S. Steel. And his … | Continue reading
From the carpenter to the barmaid, from the librarian to the tourist, everyone will admire our Alice. After all, a chair is much more than a chair. Without fear of the passage of time, Alice is an iconic chair, light and elegant. With architectural inspiration, it is oriented ver … | Continue reading
The Resilient Organism is a speculative project researching & creating alternative life based on the genes of cockroaches. | Continue reading
With virtual and mixed reality products becoming evermore popular, a key challenge lies in creating enough high quality 3D content to populate such virtual worlds. Enter The Lightfield One. The Lightfield One is a volumetric camera that enables its users to easily capture and rec … | Continue reading
Things that made us laugh this year: | Continue reading
What would this world be without creative weirdos? Here are their contributions that jumped out at us this year: Gargantuan Backpacks from Japan Image credit: DudeThatsAGG A Playable "Six-Sided" Vinyl Record With Overlapping Tracks A Series of Creative Shoelace-Tying Methods Goes … | Continue reading
(Part 1 is here.) If you've ever gotten stitches, you know it's time-consuming process that must be done in-hospital. Now there's an alternative: ZipStitch is a brilliant, self-appliable non-invasive substitute for stitches--based on zip-ties. In "Every Bottle Pump Should be Desi … | Continue reading
While tech bros try to dream up "disruptive" apps, we're much more interested in the designers, tinkerers and DIY'ers who re-think existing physical objects to improve them. Here are the best examples of this that we saw this year. Lots of folks fly in hoodies for comfort, and ma … | Continue reading
Wind energy is may be one of the great blessings of this time, so why aren't we designing it right? Prototype 2030 wants to show how design can play a vital role in the fight against climate change. | Continue reading
Sometimes I wish Core77 was a bar populated by the readers and the staff. We could all throw back some drinks, shoot dice in the back, bounce trolls and get into some loose-tongued design debates. Here are some of the things we'd get into, besides beer: What are some things | Continue reading
Camp Aerial is a transforming Portaledge that is fast to set up, functional on both flat grounds and rock walls, and provides protection from fierce weather conditions. Big Wall Climbs are an increasingly popular sport with more people attempting bigger challenges, and leading at … | Continue reading
From Week #14: What I want to say to the designer of this motorized lift for the disabled: "Yeah, looks real cool. Where the fuck is the rest of it?" From Week #15: "Over time, using these chairs may put some wear on the steel edges. If that | Continue reading
There are plenty of lessons and inspiration in here for the working industrial designer | Continue reading
Combined with Part 1, these are some of the more interesting things I learned this year. I found out what the top ten product categories with the most fake reviews on Amazon are. (#1: Wireless earbuds.) This fantastic data visualization revealed that America's voters are not divi … | Continue reading
This lunchbox was created to make eating on the go as easy as possible no matter where you are or what diet plan you're on. Through an unique design, it fully unfolds into an eating mat. | Continue reading
Also: Who knew Boba Fett's ship was inspired by L.A. streetlamps? | Continue reading
One Day I was listening to the Modern Maker Podcast and they cut out a challenge. To make something out of bent wood. I though about it for a bit and came up with my version of a wood Low Rider Bike. I have always been fascinated with the Low | Continue reading
When seeking a faster, easier or better way to do things, a capitalist-programmed industrial designer may try to create a new product that solves the problem. But as our world becomes cluttered with more junk, I've come to appreciate those whose solutions rely on cleverness and i … | Continue reading
Writing for Core77 gives me plenty of opportunity to learn new facts, some of them quite surprising. Here's ten that jumped out at me this year: In the 1950s, Charles and Ray Eames introduced their iconic Lounge chair to America on an NBC TV show.Image by Pekka Tahkola | Continue reading
You'll find no laser levels and internet-connected "smart" tools here. This section is purely about those who have manipulated metal, plastic and other materials into useful, non-techy hand tools and hardware. This dental industry tool for getting the last drop of product out of … | Continue reading
I think this is what urban planners do when they've got oversized budgets | Continue reading
"Its main benefit is to the employers, not the employees." | Continue reading
Did one of the boss' kids sneak this into the catalog? | Continue reading
This year we launched the Weekly Design Roast which, happily, has been a success and has not yet resulted in the death threats we anticipated. Here we'll pick our faves from each week. Get 'em now before we get cease-and-desisted out of operation. From Week #1: "The client needed … | Continue reading
After looking at new low-tech objects that caught our eye this year, we'd be remiss not to cover the new hi-tech-laden objects that continue to define our modern world. Within these, it's not difficult to spot current trends in the behavior of both consumers and businesses. First … | Continue reading
When I'm trying to explain what industrial design is to someone who's never heard of it, I usually begin with the example of car design. For some reason laypeople can grasp that someone had to first draw the Corvette, more easily than they can grasp that staplers, medical devices … | Continue reading
UT Austin launches the first and only program of this type | Continue reading
Which do you prefer, and/or how would you have designed it differently? | Continue reading
Now that the term "product design" has been hijacked to refer to those who create "digital experiences," we wanted to remember that plenty of folks still equate it with physical, low-tech objects. Here's some of the standouts that we spotted this year. Japanese manufacturer Balmu … | Continue reading
I spend so much time beating up on furniture designs in the Weekly Design Roast, I almost forget there are still plenty of people out there doing good work. Here are some of my faves from this year. (Note that I'm getting sick of the same ol' Salone, so this | Continue reading
For more than 160 years the Orvis name has stood for a passion for the outdoors and customer satisfaction. We are seeking a Designer for Technical Outdoor Apparel to join our team and ensure flawless execution of product and design vision from concept through completion by creati … | Continue reading
Also: Who knew he drew the strip with Rapidograph pens? | Continue reading
By now many of you have seen that weird split door design that opens like this: The original is called the EvolutionDoor, which we wrote about here. It was invented by Austrian artist Klemens Torggler, and we rarely see it credited to him. People have made variants of | Continue reading
Four speakers will discuss trends impacting near-future designs of vehicles, systems and cities | Continue reading
Turning garbage into plastic, banana leaves into packaging, wood into cars and more | Continue reading
Supervillain lairs, cat climbing structures, vintage logos, videogame typography and more | Continue reading
These winners will be taking home a brand new Sonos speaker! | Continue reading
It definitely makes things easier for cyclists, maybe not for city workers. Is it the best solution, or just the most do-able? | Continue reading
Here's a small package design detail revealing that the designer thought things through: These are from Austrian drill bit manufacturer Alpen Drills. Image credit: xelu The hole in the hang tab has been offset to compensate for the weight of the bits, so it will hang perfectly pl … | Continue reading
The firm predicts a higher consumer demand for responsible companies, consumer-centric healthcare solutions and more | Continue reading
Join the team as an Industrial Designer at Catch Co. in Chicago, IL | Continue reading
In the US, it is difficult to think of a product that has impacted the past, present, and even the future of our nation more so than the automobile. Unfortunately, climate change looms large in that future. Where as the US has made some progress in switching to fossil-fuel altern … | Continue reading