Startup Small Wonder seeks to shake up the packaging and delivery methods of haircare products, making them more sustainable. To realize their goals, they turned to Scott Wilson's Chicago-based ID firm Minimal. Tiny Footprint, Lasting ImpactSmall Wonder is a company on a mission … | Continue reading
European company Buildner organizes design competitions, typically for architects. This one, however, veers more into ID territory. And despite the contest's name, you needn't be an architect to enter. "Introducing the Architect's Chair Competition, an exciting opportunity for ar … | Continue reading
While sheetrock is the incumbent wall and ceiling material, there's a lot of reasons not to like it. It's heavy, difficult to transport and fragile in transit. Cutting it is messy. Installing it is a multistep process consisting of screwing, spackling the screw heads, taping and … | Continue reading
Most furniture restoration shops contain a fireproof cabinet and a lidded metal pail. That's where they store all the nasty chemicals required for stripping finishes off of furniture pieces, and the oily rags such work generates. But perhaps in time, those items will all be repla … | Continue reading
About a decade ago, someone at the Corendon Hotel group got the goofy idea to put an airplane inside of a hotel room. Some unpromising renderings were commissioned: Then they actually chopped up a decommissioned 737, and craned it up to the seventh floor of the Corendon Amsterdam … | Continue reading
Manufacturing machinery company KraussMaffei has designed a new twist on multi-component injection molding. Their ColorForm system cuts out a time-consuming step in the production of injection molded parts that are painted, like automotive bumpers and fascia. Instead of molding … | Continue reading
British design collective Ma3t designed this amusing Pinch Hold Mug. It very purposefully lacks a handle, as it's targeted at rock climbers. "With a Pinch Hold Mug, even when your relaxing with a cuppa, you'll be getting a little bit stronger." "These first editions are not grade … | Continue reading
It's a matter of time before humanoid robots enter the workforce. In this recently-released video, Boston Dynamics shows their Atlas 'bot autonomously moving parts from one storage unit to another. "There are no prescribed or teleoperated movements; all motions are generated auto … | Continue reading
"Our heritage takes us back to a time when men cared about their appearance and understood that there was no substitute for quality," writes Ball and Buck, who describe themselves as "an outfitter tailored for the sporting gentleman." They've teamed up with Negrini, an Italian ma … | Continue reading
This startling-looking EV minivan concept is by Toyota. It's named Kayoibako, in reference to a type of configurable inter-facility shipping container used in Japan. In that spirit, the idea behind the concept is that it's a box "with an 'ultra-expandable' design that allows tail … | Continue reading
Industrial designer and RISD professor Justin Sirotin founded Route Werks, a company that designs bicycle accessories. Their Handlebar Bag, which we covered here, is a popular offering. After getting feedback from customers, the Rhode-Island-based company learned that a larger ve … | Continue reading
As we saw here, medical exoskeletons can be used to rehabilitate those with leg injuries. But the conventional approach has been to design something that caregivers must "install" the user within. Now researchers at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology) have fl … | Continue reading
This week Apple unveiled their new Mac mini, which they've somehow shrunk down to just 5" square. The company says the tiny size was enabled both by the design of a power-efficient chip, and via "innovative thermal architecture, which guides air to different levels of the system, … | Continue reading
The Krapp Strap, below, is an innovative design that makes it easier to poop outdoors. You just have to dig a hole in the right spot to bury your business afterwards. However, Industrial Design student Kunrui Peng points out that burying human feces is no longer harmless to the e … | Continue reading
Someone pushing a wheelbarrow dreads the same things as someone pushing a stroller: Inclines and declines. Battery-operated power assists have existed for wheelbarrows for some time, and because babies are decidedly more precious than bags of concrete, now Polish manufacturer Eas … | Continue reading
A China-based Etsy shop offers this unusual take on the MagSafe charging stand: They offer a variety of designs, which mostly appear to be in Black Walnut:Eventually you spot that the grain direction on adjacent faces makes no sense… …or you wonder how these shapes could possibl … | Continue reading
In North Vancouver, Canada, a black bear regularly wanders through the neighborhood at night. Residents are tolerant, but one point of frustration for Curt Scheewe is that the bear frequently breaks through his fence while searching for food. And this has been going on for years. … | Continue reading
Typically, selling limited editions of products allow manufacturers to charge more by introducing artificial scarcity. In a nice twist, Timex is releasing a limited edition watch and selling it for just $1. Their Waterbury watch, meant to commemorate their 170th anniversary, will … | Continue reading
Producing world-class transportation designers, Pasadena, California has ArtCenter. Turin, Italy has the Istituto d'Arte Applicata e Design (IAAD), where about 90% of grads find jobs. At the IAAD's Master's program in Transportation Design, students study vehicle architecture, ca … | Continue reading
When Colombian furniture company MUMA sought to produce a new office chair, they turned to ID consultancy Curve ID. MUMA's brief was both wide open and challenging: 'Design a task chair to bolster market share in South America, whilst considering international expansion'. Our res … | Continue reading
Here's what we looked at this week:Wireless charging, now in linen and leather. Is this the right direction, for what will undoubtedly be a short-lived object? Toyota's shipping-container-inspired Kayoibako, a reconfigurable minivan EV concept.AI + animals = a silent fan blad … | Continue reading
Research assistants at ETH Zurich's Laboratory for Movement Biomechanics have identified a problem common to users of manual wheelchairs. Reto Togni and Stefan Villiger learned that wheelchair users have to constantly correct course, putting undue strain on their shoulders and oc … | Continue reading
In order to design a quieter fan blade, German auto supplier Mahle analyzed parts of the animal kingdom with AI. "We learn from nature: It inspires us in many areas!" says Dr. Uli Christian Blessing, Head of Development Thermal Management at MAHLE. "With the help of AI, we analyz … | Continue reading
When I was in design school, a professor told us that technology would reduce the amount of objects in our lives. To some extent, that has happened; the smartphone took the place of cell phones, media players, cameras and daily planners. But the smartphone then spawned additional … | Continue reading
A startup called Clone Robotics has taken a biomimetic approach to designing humanoid robots. Their ultra-creepy android torso, which looks straight out of Westworld, is mounted to a pelvis and features an artificial ribcage and hydraulics-powered muscles."The first bimanual Tors … | Continue reading
Here's what we looked at this week:This low-tech urban communication device is a warning bell for runners. What functional benefit does this Tmice X Modular Keyboard confer?Simple, useful product design for tradespeople: The Pitch Hopper.Ross Lovegrove's stunning 3D-printed d … | Continue reading
Based on MIT research, a company called Bright developed Beacon40, a light technology that "could significantly reduce toxic beta-amyloid levels in the brain, a major factor in cognitive decline." To turn this into a product aimed at those struggling with Alzheimer's, Bright turn … | Continue reading
On a trip to Bali in 2018, Industrial Design student Jared Seifert and Interior Design student Lauren Copping witnessed locals attempting to repurpose waste plastic. When the duo returned to their studies at Ferris State University's Kendall College of Art and Design, they decide … | Continue reading
This incredibly thorough Pedestrian project is by Jonas Krämer and Ayla Warncke, Industrial Design students at Germany's Hochschule Hannover.Pedestrian3 in 1 Assistance System Pedestrian is a walking aid aimed at people with a medium-term walking disability and anyone who needs a … | Continue reading
This MN Series eFoil is a personal electric hydrofoil, produced by Australian company Flite and designed by Marc Newson. The rider controls it using a wireless hand controller, also designed by Newson.Driven by the necessary technical constraints of eFoil technology, Marc's desig … | Continue reading
This Mira Select Flex Mixer Shower is designed for those with accessibility issues and the visually impaired. The design uses both high-contrast visuals and purposeful shapes to improve the UX. The controls have been separated into three easy-to-manipulate controls. The loop hand … | Continue reading
Here's an impressive piece of design and engineering. Dutch company Expandable's Touchdown Trailer can be transported to site by a tractor-trailer. Once onsite, built-in legs extend downwards to take the weight of the trailer, allowing the tractor-trailer to take off. The axles t … | Continue reading
It's ironic that wind turbines, which provide us with green energy, have parts that are themselves unrecyclable. Once they reach the end of their service life, their gigantic components present a disposal problem for the utilities that own them.In this regard, Swedish utility Vat … | Continue reading
This GM-sponsored project is by Matthew Quejada, done while pursuing his Masters of Industrial Design at Pratt Institute.Prompt"Design the garage of the future."General Motors provided the brief to design a new garage technology using their Ultium platform, a branding umbrella fo … | Continue reading
For guitarists it's the Guitar Pick Pocket, for smokers, the Zippo Pocket. The rest of us colloquially refer to the fifth pocket in a pair of jeans as the coin pocket, and in an age of declining cash transactions, the pocket no longer has much of a use.Candy company Werther's Ori … | Continue reading
GE Appliances sells this Access Kit, which contains over 450 transparent stickers featuring Braille and raised symbols. The idea is to make it easier to retrofit existing appliances for households with blind or low-vision members. "Designed to represent the 80 most common setting … | Continue reading
Pro photographers can attach what's known as a "digital back" to their film cameras. As the name implies, a digital back attaches to the back of the camera and contains a digital imaging sensor, allowing photographers to create digital images using film-based cameras.Chinese manu … | Continue reading
Here's a simple, clever, useful and versatile product design. The Pitch Hopper was designed to make life easier for roofers. It's essentially just a standalone step, trapezoidal in cross-section, that can be used to provide a level stepping or kneeling surface on various roof pit … | Continue reading
This month Axiom Space, the private aerospace company partnered with NASA, revealed their Prada-designed next generation spacesuit. Though a disguised version of the suit was shown last year, now they've unveiled the real deal, fittingly at an event in Milan. It's officially call … | Continue reading
At the end of last summer, Ross Lovegrove and Portugese brand JNF Architectural Hardware announced they would collaborate on "disruptive collections" of objects. Now they've released teaser images of the first, a line of 3D-printed doorknobs with Lovegrovian spirit:"Recognising t … | Continue reading
Here's an interesting and low-tech communication device for runners: A finger-worn warning bell. Oregon-based inventor Kevin John Nadolny reckons it's more effective (and perhaps less rude) than simply screaming "On your left," particularly since pedestrians around the world are … | Continue reading
This object's use cases seem pretty contrived to me, but it's an example of the "deskscape" category of products currently storming the market. The idea behind the Tmice X Modular Keyboard is that you can snap magnetic attachments to your keyboard to increase its functionality. I … | Continue reading
A company called Analogue has combined technology with nostalgia to produce a handsome piece of industrial design. They've created a new, physical version of the Nintendo 64 gaming platform, using FPGA (field-programmable gate arrays) hardware; in other words this isn't an emulat … | Continue reading
To correct a skeletal disorder in teenagers, medical device manufacturer R&D Surgical Ltd asked industrial design firm PDR to design this special brace. Two, actually: One for males and one for females.Male BraceA next-generation brace for the treatment of Pectus Carinatum (often … | Continue reading
Here's what we looked at this week:Form follows function: A clever Norwegian design feature for barns. The effect of videoconferencing on office furniture design, as seen in Steelcase's Ocular line of tables.The Vaaka coffee and tea scale makes me wonder: Is designing people' … | Continue reading
Moving from a spirit level to a laser level brings vastly better UX, as you now have both hands free. But laser levels do introduce their own UX issues in that they need to be tripod-mounted. Depending on your jobsite, the tripod can get in the way, and you yourself can block the … | Continue reading
While hammering nails isn't difficult for those of us with average dexterity, it can be tricky for others. And junky though these nail-holding pliers look, they actually hew to form-follows-function admirably.The two cylinders on the butt end of the handle, along with the flat ba … | Continue reading
As an architecture student, Marcio Sequeira wanted to better understand structural behavior. Seeking a more hands-on way than equations and diagrams can provide, Sequeira began building structural models using elements connected by magnetics. He started off with wooden dowels, an … | Continue reading