Can you guess how this bowl, by Niigata-based woodworker Takurou Seino, was made?Same way this one was. The technique seems obvious in hindsight, but Seino used a miter saw and patience: Here he shows you his set-up: Surely a safety troll will chime in, but I should point out: Th … | Continue reading
Here's a great example of adapting furniture design to local manufacturing techniques. Let's say you've got no access to foam and upholstery materials, but live in a bamboo-rich region populated by artisans who know how to work with it. Taiwan-based industrial designer Brian Chan … | Continue reading
This Bauhaus-esque object……is actually a single-shot foam dart gun:Retailer Out of Darts says it "Fires short darts and full-length darts up to 120 FPS!"Created by toy designer Shanye, it is a redesign (apparently unsanctioned) of Nerf's Pocketstrike, a coveted, discontinued mode … | Continue reading
Japanese manufacturer Toyo Steel originally designed this M-8 for factory use. The steel box is for storing screws and other small parts. It's manufactured by drawing, with a purposeful draft angle on the sidewalls: "The M-8 has its tapered shape in order to make it easier to sco … | Continue reading
The cartons used to package yogurt in Scandinavia are convenient for manufacturers and retailers, but not so much for the end user. Swedish inventor Jan Åkerlind reckons 5-10% of the contents are thrown away with the packaging, as gravity keeps them in the bottom of the carton. T … | Continue reading
The future isn't always as exciting as you'd think it'd be. Laser cannons, as depicted in the Star Wars universe, look like this:This week the UK's Ministry of Defence declassified this video of their previously under-wraps DragonFire laser, which looks like this:It looks a littl … | Continue reading
For those in the market for a tough-as-nails rolling carry-on, Pelican is the market leader, in terms of both reputation and brand awareness. If I needed one and had the money, I'd pony up for their 1535 Air Carry-on Case without thinking twice. There are, however, alternatives. … | Continue reading
Incredibly, this Yellow Moon Gyroid sculpture……is made out of freaking plywood. And this Corollaria Branch sculpture below was created from sheet metal. Both were created by Nervous System, an experimental design lab that has been playing with generative design for nearly two d … | Continue reading
When can we say that a product category has lost the plot, versus "evolving?"The EDC movement has long fascinated me. Not because I'm a proponent—I only carry a single thing that could be called a multitool, and I rarely use it outside of my house—but because of the sheer size of … | Continue reading
Last week we looked at some stunning lighting designs by Laurids Gallée, an Austrian designer based in the Netherlands. This week we're looking at his Metropolis-inspired polymer resin furniture pieces (which I'm guessing are made of frosted acrylic; the showroom listing his piec … | Continue reading
If you think the state of American healthcare is bad now, well, you're right. But things could be worse. Back in the 1800s, doctors were smoking in your face, recommending heroin, putting leeches on you, and upholstery was something rich people sat on at home. So in the doctor's … | Continue reading
"I see myself somewhere between a designer, sculptor and puppeteer," says lighting designer Simon Schmitz. The self-description explains his Y3 lamp…..or more specifically, its adjustment method:"Three spring-loaded strings [hold] the lamp's pole in place whilst creating a choreo … | Continue reading
Here's the ET9, an EV made by Chinese brand NIO, shaking snow off of itself:It's not clear if the gimmick is an actual production feature; in the video notes the company boasts of their SkyRide active suspension, which offers 6 degrees of travel for each wheel, all independently … | Continue reading
Design researcher Sasha McKinlay, of MIT's Self-Assembly Lab, has developed a revolutionary clothes production method. McKinlay's 4D Knit Dress is produced, to a generic size, on an industrial knitting machine, using an active yarn she's developed. The idea is that the wearer has … | Continue reading
Rivian has announced two new models, the R2 and R3, that feature pleasingly modernist, nearly bland designs. I mean that as a compliment. Unlike their competitors, Rivian's design team has opted to focus on form over sheet metal tricks, simplicity over chaos, and the results spea … | Continue reading
Here's what we looked at this week:This fun Grain Weevil robot is like an RC Car with augers for wheels. It frees farmers from having to do dangerous work inside grain silos. SiloStay: Ex-grain-silo living quarters in New Zealand, designed by architecture firm F3 Design.The H … | Continue reading
Astronauts who spend long stretches in zero-G lose both weight and bone density. Seeking to counter this, a NASA engineer developed a Differential Air Pressure (DAP) technology; this was a pressurized air chamber that simulated gravitational load, and the idea was that astronauts … | Continue reading
This easy-on-the-eyes Photographer's Tool is by Spinn Design, a German camera accessories company. The winged shape is to provide maximum torque with "minimum finger force." The drivers are a 5/32" / 4mm Allen key and a 0.4" / 10mm flathead, which the company says covers the mos … | Continue reading
The carabiner seems like a piece of hardware that will endlessly be experimented with. This Heroclip, by outdoor equipment manufacturer Gear Aid, is a carabiner with a little extra: A swing-out hook, mounted to a pivot point. A rubber foot on the business end of the hook allows i … | Continue reading
This aluminum Vision 20/20 SW is a wall-mounted bedside lamp designed specifically for readers. The bulb is a warm 2700K, and a large knurled dial allows you to adjust the intensity. ("0" is off; "100" is a max of 143 lumens.)The Vision Omni SW is similar, but does double duty wi … | Continue reading
As drone piloting team the Dutch Drone Gods well know, the fastest FPV drone tops out around 180 km/h (112 mph). But over a year ago, Red Bull asked them if they could design, build and pilot a drone that could film a complete overhead lap of a Formula 1 car going full-tilt.The r … | Continue reading
This year Qin Li leads both the Core77 Design Awards Consumer Technology category featuring consumer products that are screen-based, tech-enabled, or Internet-connected, and the Core77 Design Awards A/V & Photography Equipment category which features consumer hardware or software … | Continue reading
UAE-based Thuraya is a satellite telecommunications company. Their newest product, the Skyphone, is an Android smartphone—with a chunky pull-out antenna. If you can't get a GSM signal on a local carrier, pull out the antenna, and you can now communicate using Thuraya's own satell … | Continue reading
Samsung has rolled out a dizzying array of morphing screen concepts at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. There doesn't seem to be much design intent behind the concepts, which are instead ruled by raw experimentation; it's like they're throwing a number of "solution … | Continue reading
Among the many areas in which my knowledge is deficient: Gargoyle plumbing. I've never seen inside a gargoyle, have never seen a building wall from which a gargoyle was removed, and I've certainly never seen a building awaiting a gargoyle installation. So I have no idea how they' … | Continue reading
It's hard to make luggage sexy, but Rimowa's Pilot Case fits the bill."The top opening provides easy access to your belongings, and the padded laptop pouch can be removed to transform the business case into a versatile toolbox. Multiple pockets of different sizes keep essentials … | Continue reading
Braun has released a new limited-edition wristwatch, the BN0279. Created in collaboration with watch brand Hodinkee, it features a 40mm stainless steel case and a rubber strap. (Frankly, with an asking price of $950 I'd have expected leather.) They've also made a version with a s … | Continue reading
A great irony of our age is that, as we alter our planet, probably irreversibly, we're rethinking what we mean by "life". On the one hand, we're witnessing the consequences of climate change and our impact on the planet's ecosystems. On the other hand, technologies that blur the … | Continue reading
"I've dreamed of the fastest [bike] helmet ever," says industrial designer Ash Lewin. Lewin recently got to achieve that dream: He works for San-Francisco-based Giro Sport Design, which unveiled their new Aerohead II helmet at this week's time trials for the Tirreno-Adriatico cyc … | Continue reading
These Kumiki Trestles are by Perron et Freres, a Paris-based design/build firm. Knocking them together (or apart) requires a mallet. They're locked in place with simple wedges. These are available in Oak, Ash, Walnut or Plane, and run €600-€800 (USD $652-$869) depending on the … | Continue reading
These eye-catching lighting designs are by Laurids Gallée. The Austrian designer and Eindhoven grad runs his own design studio in Rotterdam.Pool Light 01 is made of polymer resin, aluminum and LEDs:Pool Light 02 is a floorstanding version: For some reason, of the three only this … | Continue reading
This is quite the self-description for a new company: "Vaarnii is a furniture company that makes brutal and sophisticated objects," they write, "from a single natural raw material; Finnish pine, by local craftspeople and factories in Finland.""Our first collection is made entirel … | Continue reading
We've seen propellor-style LED displays like these before:The designers of this Haloasis device, however, have switched up the orientation of the LED bar. This has it rotating in a cylindrical orientation:The overall effect is somewhat interesting, but mostly solution-in-search-o … | Continue reading
French fashion designer Emma Bruschi, who is "inspired to create…by the rural and agricultural environment," created these unusual earrings:"The straw part is made from rye grown on the family farm in Savoy, then hand-worked and braided on old spinning wheels in our workshop in H … | Continue reading
A new product frontier has emerged for power tool companies: Exoskeletons. Hilti has been in this game since 2020, and their current offering is the EXO-S, created in collaboration with German exoskeleton manufacturer Ottobock (we looked at Ottobock's work here). The $1,450 EXO-S … | Continue reading
Kevin Williams is the Jury Captain for the 2024 Core77 Design Awards Toys & Play category. This category features consumer products designed for children or adults for the purpose of activating play and creative exploration. Examples include: children's toys, board games, sports … | Continue reading
Speaking of silos, here's a series of short-term-stay rental units built out of them. New Zealand architecture firm F3 Design was hired to design the SiloStay Complex, which transformed nine decommissioned silos into living spaces on the Banks Peninsula. Eight are two-storey unit … | Continue reading
Few of us ever think about grain silos. But if you've eaten bread, corn, rice, soybeans or the animals that eat those as feed, you've benefited from one.The design of grain silos is time-tested and simple. They're made tall rather than wide, both to minimize their footprint on th … | Continue reading
Here's what we looked at this week:These carved wooden cars with their high beams on are by artist Kiko Miyares.This Memo X gizmo lets you make your own sticky notes out of any paper.A master of CNC inlay, Nik of Broinwood makes these incredibly detailed endgrain cutting boards.T … | Continue reading
When authentication technology company LodeStar Works wanted to create a biometric handgun, they turned to industrial design consultancy SGW Designworks. SGW would handle concept evaluation, IoT device development, firearm engineering, product prototyping, product testing, and UI … | Continue reading
This unusual Bolt Chair is by Niceworkshop, a design studio based in Seoul:The Bolt Lounge Chair version features more horizontal armrests:The previous two designs are made out of stainless steel. The Bolt Lounge Chair 2.0 swaps that out for aluminum, to reduce weight. And if yo … | Continue reading
As we saw previously, French industrial designer Robin Bourgeois created his SAI 39 bench out of industrial waste. Said waste consisted of bent plywood stamping tools routinely discarded by a cardboard box manufacturer. In other words, the bent plywood is free raw material, waiti … | Continue reading
Turns out, you can make a nifty bench out of just a single slab of aluminum…and two discarded Mac Pro towers.The Mac Pro Bench, by the subversive creative collective Caliper, was created for a pop-up in Manhattan for clothing brand Hidden. It is, obviously, a one- or two-off. If … | Continue reading
The 2024 Core77 Design Awards Design for Social Impact Category, led by Sabiha Basrai, Co-Owner Design Action Collective, features projects designed to directly benefit social, humanitarian, community or environments. Examples of social impact work include community or environmen … | Continue reading
I hate that I wasn't raised with the metric system, and have a shop full of tools sized for Imperial dimensions only. With calipers I've been exhaustively measuring a broken antique piece of furniture in hopes of reproducing it. Yes, by now I know that 0.3125" = 5/16", .375" = 3/ … | Continue reading
In 1961, Spanish industrial designer Rafael Marquina designed this no-drip oil cruet. In so doing, he solved a humble problem that had probably plagued users of oil since oil was invented.The removable spout's base is ground to a frosted finish, providing the friction to hold it … | Continue reading
This peculiar-looking Tamaragua object is by Madrid-based ID firm Disolventes. It might be mistaken for kitchenware.Alas, its purpose is sobering:"Manufactured by Precious Plastic Gran Canaria, the piece combines a shovel and rake to remove and excavate the sand, and a sieve to s … | Continue reading
How small can you make a portable shaver? Panasonic's Palm Travel model is a 5-blade unit that doesn't look much larger than an AirPods case; it looks a bit like you squashed a Braun SM 3.Despite its diminutive size, the company says the powerful motor "cuts even dense hair clean … | Continue reading