Invented by architectural metal fabricator Kevin Craford, the Humbra Firefly is a hitch-mounted vehicle awning that deploys in seconds. It consists of a hitch that plugs into your vehicle's 2-inch receiver, and a large umbrella connected to a shaft that plugs into the hitch. The … | Continue reading
Starting with this CAD visualization……Japanese startup Shimizu began prototyping their Arma, an e-scooter that folds down to the size of a laptop. "Our groundbreaking design condenses high-performance mobility into an A4 paper-sized frame, a revolutionary advancement in the e-sco … | Continue reading
We've seen some innovative product from portable lighting company Nebo, but this design seems firmly in the "gift" category—i.e. you'd buy it for someone else, but never yourself. The Nebo Glow is essentially a handle for a tumbler, with a lantern built into the bottom and a flas … | Continue reading
This Sleek Socket, by Häfele, is an odd compensatory device. It's designed for the situation where you want to get a piece of furniture right up against a wall, but doing so blocks access to a power outlet you need; you could plug in a conventional power strip, but your furniture … | Continue reading
This RagCutter was invented by Jock Mathewson, a New-Zealand-based paint and panel shop owner. Paint businesses go through a lot of rags--Mathewson regularly buys them in 20kg (44 lb) bags—and Mathewson sought to cut down on waste. "[The rags] are expensive and usually too big," … | Continue reading
Just like the title says, it's never too late to get an early start, so start gathering your materials now for your entries in the 2024 Core77 Design Awards. Take a look through our article 5 Steps for Putting Together an Impeccable Core77 Awards Entry in Record Time to get ahead … | Continue reading
Bump Caps provide a tactile way of letting you know if the product they're bottling has spoiled. Designed in collaboration between packaging companies United Caps and Mimica, the caps sprout little bumps on top of them once the contents have started to turn.Originally designed fo … | Continue reading
Bump Caps provide a tactile way of letting you know if the product they're bottling has spoiled. Designed in collaboration between packaging companies United Caps and Mimica, the caps sprout little bumps on top of them once the contents have started to turn.Originally designed fo … | Continue reading
Most of us can live with the lint, dust and pet hair that accumulates in the crevices of our furniture. But for healthcare facilities obligated to disinfect all surfaces thoroughly, furniture crevices present a problem.A company called Lifecare Furniture addresses this market wit … | Continue reading
The plastic clothespins sold at big box stores are disposable junk. You can't expect quality when they're $1.50 for a 20-pack. You're supposed to use them until they break, then throw them out and buy more. An Australian company called Tekpeg offers a more durable product. They'v … | Continue reading
This object is a common site in U.S. supermarkets, at least in regions without plastic bag bans:This shopping bag dispenser has a predecessor that dates back to the 1800s. At the time, America was dotted with general stores or country stores, mom-and-pop shops that played Walmart … | Continue reading
Here's what we looked at this week:Here's a supercut of 20 different space-saving transforming furniture designs.Here's a concept design for an alternative to nightstands, done by industrial designer Chris Pearce for Ikea.From Australia, the Bruder EXP-8, a battery-equipped rugge … | Continue reading
They say New York City is the capital of the world, and while many people outside the tri-state area would challenge that, there is no disputing the outsized role the city plays in the American design world. NYCxDesign is a civic organization that promotes and celebrates the NYC … | Continue reading
This ID case study is by Fluid Design, a consultancy based in Munich.LB 300 Plus Air Humidifier The ChallengeDesigning an air humidifier that seamlessly blends into contemporary home interiors while exuding a sense of high performance.The SolutionBeurer LB 300 Plus air humidifier … | Continue reading
Bad Ideas (lead to better ones) is a card game that develops creativity through play. The game consists of 75 cards with 3 categories: users, goals, and constraints. When the cards are combined together, they create a randomized problem to solve. Then it's up to you and the other … | Continue reading
Australian adventure trailer manufacturer Bruder calls their EXP-8 "the ultimate off-road, off-grid camper trailer, designed and built for all seasons and all environments." The wheels have a crazy 12" of suspension travel, "and it traverses undulating and uneven terrain effortle … | Continue reading
Klippa is a concept project for Ikea, done by industrial designer Chris Pearce. Pearce, who works at IDEO Japan, is based in Tokyo, a city where bedrooms are tiny and space is scarce; thus the concept presents an alternative to the bedside nightstand, seeking instead to provide t … | Continue reading
In the fast-evolving landscape of design and manufacturing, the demand for new ideas and products is accelerating. Autodesk recognizes the increasing pressure on its customers to deliver faster, more sustainable, cost-effective, and higher-quality solutions. In response, Autodesk … | Continue reading
Expand Furniture is a distributor of Italian-made space-saving furniture. We've looked at some of these designs individually before, but in this supercut of 20 transforming pieces, you're bound to spot something new. Here's three minutes of inspiration: While the company does not … | Continue reading
Here's what we looked at this week:An interesting design detail on this EDC tweezer multi-tool. Clothes Hingers: Simone Giertz's brilliant design for folding clothes hangers, allowing you to hang clothes in half the depth.This trippy, undulating DIY kinetic PC case is a one-o … | Continue reading
This case study of a hi-tech medical cart comes from Tactile, a Seattle-based product and UX design firm that also has their own in-house engineering. Seno ImagioEnhanced Imaging Accuracy To reduce unnecessary breast biopsies, Seno Medical Instruments, Inc. developed Opto-Acousti … | Continue reading
Industrial designer Piotr Tluszcz, who's based in Cracow, Poland, co-founded a utility trailer company 11 years ago. More recently, as he watched the conflict unfold in neighboring Ukraine, he realized the terrain there provided a challenge for Ukrainian medics. Tluszcz then desi … | Continue reading
This insanely thin RM UP-01 wristwatch was created in collaboration between Ferrari and Swiss watchmaking brand Richard Mille.FIGHTING FOR THE LAST HUNDREDTHSWith the RM UP-01 Ferrari, Richard Mille is proud to present an ultra-flat watch just 1.75 millimetres thick. This mind-bl … | Continue reading
Tokyo-based startup HW Electro has unveiled Puzzle, their concept for an electric Kei van. The tiny, rectilinear vehicle is just over 11' long and just under 5' wide. Intended for both mobile vending and disaster relief, it features sockets, USB ports, a WiFi transmitter and a f … | Continue reading
These Camsquares Fresh Pro food storage vessels were designed for commercial kitchens. Though they appear to be simple, stackable plastic cubes, a fair amount of design has gone into these. Let's look at the details.Design 101: Easily-legible gradations, and color-coded lids, so … | Continue reading
The established system of attaching a trailer to your truck is, you back the truck up to the trailer, getting the tow ball as close to the hitch as possible. Old hands do this with rearview mirrors and experience; newer trucks have backup cameras. But in the future, backing up to … | Continue reading
It isn't uncommon for the creative muse to call out from virgin territory, drawing artists across mediums and into new forms of expression. Let's take a look at two recent news items where artistic impulse found fruition in furniture design ...Photo by Ye Ren MokArchitectual Dige … | Continue reading
Combining function with designey-ness, last year manufacturer CyberPower unveiled this PC case with automated cooling vents:This Kinetic Series concept never made production. But it did have an impact on a guy named Robert, the inventor behind Ideal Idea Creations, who was inspir … | Continue reading
With $500 billion in funding, Saudi Arabia's Neom, an urban development in the northwest of the country, can build whatever they want. In addition to their line-shaped city, they've recently announced this wild-looking Epicon complex of skyscrapers to be built near the Gulf of Aq … | Continue reading
EDC product design is a combination of innovation, overkill, theoretical applications, paranoia, occasionally fun forms, and typically high-quality manufacturing. I find it such a fascinating and unique category.Here's the latest in the category to catch my eye. While most multit … | Continue reading
Inventor Simone Giertz is back at it, this time tackling a space problem. The bedroom in Giertz's apartment is too small for a wardrobe or clothing rack, so she invented a way to hang clothes in half the depth: Giertz reveals it took 124 prototypes to get the design right, and sh … | Continue reading
Core77 is always happy to receive news of projects that realign a particular category or product to sustainable values, so we pass this along to you: "Above Agency is proud to announce its latest collaboration with the pioneers at Fairphone. Building on the legacy of ethical and … | Continue reading
Here's what we looked at this week:Zip-Tites are cable ties with improved UX: No nippers required.This DX-1 robot picker uses giant chopsticks to handle packages. (Video at the link.)The Eco Six Pack Ring, made from fiber, is biodegradable and compostable.Here's a primitive desig … | Continue reading
Los-Angeles-based Pulse Design Group did the latest redesign of this hybrid electric/gas oven and range.The BlueStar Dual Fuel Series Range is a hybrid electric and gas range top & commercial oven for your home. Pulse was given the opportunity to collaborate with BlueStar on thei … | Continue reading
This is an incredible student project executed by Industrial Design students Savannah Black, Ken Kirtland and Chermia Mathis, along with Engineering students Erin O'Hanlon and Seth Thurmond, done at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Both the work and the documentation are top- … | Continue reading
With the help of imaginative design, EV technology should allow established form factors to evolve. Take the motorcycle, which since its inception has been built around the motor. But this P2 electric motorcycle, with batteries at the bottom of the frame and an electric motor wit … | Continue reading
When your means of personal transportation is compact and relatively light, parking becomes a multi-part equation you solve and re-solve every time you move. Co-founders and designers John Abrahams and Ben Smith try to make that a bit easier with their company Hiplock. Below is a … | Continue reading
Mark you calendars everyone - the The Core77 Design Awards 2024 will open for entries beginning on Wednesday, January 4, 2024! With almost two dozen categories, including newcomers Gaming Accessories, Robotics and Emerging Technology, there is something for everyone. Take a look … | Continue reading
Core77 has a bit of experience in putting together conferences for creative-types so we particularly appreciate the challenges of engaging UX connoisseurs. OTHR Agency recently produced Dropbox's Craft Class of 2023 in Austin, TX — "two carefully curated days of art, inspiration, … | Continue reading
"I watched Loki," writes 3D modeler Jack Wang, "and I really liked [how the production design] combines retro and futuristic in the show, so I rendered a detailed enhanced version of a multifunctional computer." Loosely based on what you might see on a desk at the show's TVA, her … | Continue reading
I found "Loki" to be a must-watch show for the production design. Largely set within a bureaucratic complex known as the TVA, the sets are mostly practical and contain an amazing mish-mash of everything you'd see in a History of 20th Century Design class. As the characters move f … | Continue reading
If you look at most concept cars designed a quarter-century ago, they look dated, a product of their times. One exception is the Ford 021C, designed in 1999 by Marc Newson. Auto reseller L'art de L'automobile spotted it on display at this year's Pebble Beach 17 Mile event: It loo … | Continue reading
Catamarans consist of two hulls, and no deck between them. Instead, the two hulls are connected by netting known as a catamaran trampoline. Trampolines are used for four reasons: They save weight; they cannot take on water; they're strong enough to stand on; and they're comfortab … | Continue reading
Having been invented in the 1970s, the UX of the Atari 2600 videogame console wasn't great. Games were loaded via cartridge, and in order to switch games, you had to turn the machine off, pull the cartridge, blow out the new cartridge, insert it, then turn the machine back on. It … | Continue reading
If you paid attention in your History of Industrial Design class, you'll remember that the iconic Genie telephone was designed by Henry Dreyfuss Associates in the 1970s. Designed for the American Telecommunications Corporation, it was meant to resemble a genie's lamp. The device … | Continue reading
For safety reasons, hot air balloons are only allowed 400-500 hours of total flight time. After that the balloon, which may begin to leak, is decommissioned; the basket must be attached to a freshly-made balloon.Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash That leaves a helluva lot of fabr … | Continue reading
EV startup Canoo has revealed their American Bulldog, the company's second pickup truck concept. It's more utilitarian than their first pickup concept, perhaps because this one is derived from a military version they've been testing with the U.S. Army.Details from the press relea … | Continue reading
Natto, a traditional Japanese dish, consists of fermented soybeans suspended in a snot-like paste. The smell and texture grosses most Westerners out, but I love the stuff.This Natto Bee bowl was designed specifically for it. The interior of the bowl is ringed with small grooves. … | Continue reading