Pouring a concrete foundation requires setting up board forms. Typically one drives in stakes behind the boards, or braces them at an angle, to support the walls and keep them plumb and level with one another:This can be a fiddly process and, as general contractor Aaron George pu … | Continue reading
From a design perspective, what is the difference between an office desk and a gaming desk? Obviously the aesthetics are different: Office desks try to project professionalism or minimalism, whereas gamers seem to prefer dark colors with splashes of neon. But beyond the looks, wh … | Continue reading
For those living in northern climes, scraping ice and snow off of one's windshield in the mornings can be a weekly or even daily routine. A company called Urban Transit has designed a prophylactic measure that allows you to avoid this ritual. Their $30 FrostGuard Plus, which come … | Continue reading
Engineer Inc., the tool company that invented those Neijisaurus pliers for removing stripped screws, has developed these precision crimping pliers:Here's how they work:In this video below you get a close-up of the crimping action (warning, turn your speakers down):I don't crimp e … | Continue reading
Wheelchair-using kids often have a tougher time getting in on Halloween fun. For over a decade, nonprofit organization Magic Wheelchair has been making it easier by assembling volunteer teams of fabricators to design and build elaborate wheelchair-friendly Halloween costumes.The … | Continue reading
Black and Decker has announced their new Reviva line, a series of recyclable power tools made partially from recycled plastic bottles. Aimed at casual-use DIY'ers, the tools bear a soft, designey aesthetic presumably meant to appeal to your average homeowner looking to do some ar … | Continue reading
We all know the iconic chairs of the world—who could forget the unmistakeable silhouette of the Eames Lounger or Breuer's Wassily Chair—but can you name many chair designs from the past decade you would deem as a classic? When Founder of Whipsaw Dan Harden started contemplating a … | Continue reading
Of all the benefits of working at home an employee might list, concentration is one that even the most ardent in-office advocate must concede as true. Offices are notorious for their distractions and, as we've seen, designers have labored to address them for years, exploring solu … | Continue reading
A Core77 reader submitted project —Experience design agency LAYER and founder Benjamin Hubert have designed Ampi for Vitra, a super-compact desk accessory that dramatically increases access to power for charging various devices. It provides induction charging on the top surface, … | Continue reading
Photography studios use what they call "seamless" paper for backdrops. They're just 9-foot wide rolls of paper, 50 feet long, suspended from a high crossbar, and you typically pull out 20 feet at a time (10 feet for vertical, 10 for horizontal). During my time running a photo stu … | Continue reading
Nebo, the Texas-based lighting company whose innovative stuff we looked at here and here, designed this interesting Slyde King 2K flashlight:The 2,000-lumen light slides open to reveal a 500-lumen work light. Coupled with the magnetic base, you've got a handy way to cast light pe … | Continue reading
This naturesms Instagram channel shows a lot of tourist activities unsuitable for people with acrophobia. As someone in that category, I can't imagine doing any of these things (warning, turn your speakers off):d I think the main point of the channel is to demonstrate that Ch … | Continue reading
Now that you've bought your kid a smartphone, a Denmark-based startup called Udu is hoping you'll buy their separate $120 game controller to pair with it. The Udu Console is a handheld wand that controls gameplay on the phone, serving, for instance, as the handle of a sword, a ba … | Continue reading
"Useful, durable, beautiful" is how startup vehicle manufacturer Bandit9 describes their Nano scooter. With a sculpted, flowing body made from 904L stainless steel—the durable stuff that Rolex makes their watches out of—it practically makes Vespas look dowdy.An electric motor on … | Continue reading
Now that manufacturers are getting a handle on how to roll or fold screens, Samsung's designers have figured out how to make one stretch. At least visually, that is. This experimental screen was demonstrated by Samsung Display CEO Dr. J.S. Choi to the audience of the keynote spee … | Continue reading
Mastering the Elevator Pitch: Telling Your Story in Eight Seconds Wednesday, October 19th at 2PM EDTA job interview is one of the most personal and important sales pitches you'll ever make. It can also be very stressful, which sometimes makes it hard to succinctly describe what y … | Continue reading
It's crazy to think that modern cars still have the same wheel layout as the wagons used by the ancient Romans. That configuration, of course, shapes and constrains the design of automobiles.That may change, radically, if tire manufacturer Hankook's WheelBot concept becomes reali … | Continue reading
This seems insane to me. A company called KEYi Tech says that "by combining Artificial Intelligence and product design in the most volatile [yes, that's the word they used] forms, KEYi wants to encourage more people to participate in the process of imagining and creating robotic … | Continue reading
Like its host country, the engineers at Google Japan have a strange sense of humor. The company has announced the GBoard, a single-row linear keyboard.Admittedly it is a little long:Before you scoff, think of the use cases they cite: Cats are less likely to step on it, two people … | Continue reading
In every factory, machines and worksurfaces ought be dead-level for the best performance. But factory floors can be uneven, and some are slightly slanted for drainage. Your average articulating leveling foot, with its exposed threads, isn't appropriate for food and beverage proce … | Continue reading
Design studio Bouillon, based in Japan's Aichi prefecture, created this semi-private Hikarino wall for a hair boutique, using an unexpected material:"The rattan basket weave sheet, which is often used for the back and seat upholstery of furniture, is a material that is light, dur … | Continue reading
Italian bicycle manufacturer Pinarello has produced the Bolide F HR 3D, which they're billing as "the first and fastest high performance 3D-printed bike ever built." The frame and fork were printed using Scalmalloy, a blend of Scandium, Aluminum and Magnesium that yields high str … | Continue reading
Incredibly, an Australian company called ResApp Health Limited has developed a smartphone app that can detect COVID. The company, a spinoff from research conducted at the University of Queensland, says their app "records a patient's cough on a smartphone and analyses sounds and s … | Continue reading
This is a fascinating look at the amount of ingenuity, specialty machines and labor required to make a traditional rice cooker out of stone. South-Korea-based manufactory Stone Lee starts with boulders at the quarry, then reveals every step required to produce these impossibly-re … | Continue reading
This week McDonald's began selling limited-edition Happy Meals for adults.Created in collaboration with streetwear fashion brand Cactus Plant Flea Market, the boxed meals include a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets along with a "toy," which is one of four collectible figurine … | Continue reading
Citroën's new EV concept vehicle, Oli, is an extremely forward-thinking design that looks to redesign the family car in a responsible, sustainable way. When the company looks at modern family vehicles, or those of the past, they see bloat; Oli was designed as a counterpoint."Citr … | Continue reading
This post is presented by the K-Show, the world's No.1 trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry. Visionary developments and groundbreaking innovations will again lead the industry into new dimensions at K 2022 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Chris Lefteri: Let's start with a simpl … | Continue reading
When it comes to crashes, cars have grown ever safer—provided you're inside the vehicle. In the event of a collision, passengers are swaddled in a comprehensive cocoon of airbags that would've been impossible to imagine 30 years ago.However, things have grown no safer for those o … | Continue reading
This peculiar portable light source is called the DarkMaster. It looks like something that would've come out of the Bauhaus, if they had the technology back then. The object itself is not only rectilinear, but it's been designed to cast a rectilinear beam:There's an odd, flappabl … | Continue reading
At least one of Elon Musk's newly unveiled robots can't walk yet. But Agility Robotics, a spin-off company from Oregon State University's College of Engineering, has made a robot that can run. The trade-off is that it doesn't have a torso or arms.To create some publicity buzz, Ag … | Continue reading
To the surprise of many, fanny packs have made a comeback, with brands like Patagonia, Lulu Lemon and of course Jansport all offering them.Backpack brand Hex's stylish streetwear-style line is less likely to be hauling heart medication for boomers, and more likely to be carrying … | Continue reading
Paris-based industrial designer Hiroyuki Morita designed this Sheep hamper using a minimum of materials. I especially like the simple, elegant clamping mechanism for the bag: I'm dying to see a close-up shot of how the legs are attached to the retaining ring. Alas, it's not revea … | Continue reading
Every year, MIT holds REX week (residence exploration week) whereby the various residence halls host activities to entice first-year students to join their dorms. For this year's REX activity, residents from East Campus' ten dorms—all engineering students, it seems—decided to bui … | Continue reading
"The inspiration for this project came from the observation of a swing* inside a city park in Milan," writes product designer Andrea Barbazza, of his amusing Swing piggy bank concept.*(Note: In Italian, both a swing or a see-saw are described with the same word, le altalena.)Barb … | Continue reading
I've never slept in a sofa bed that was comfortable, and I don't expect this one to be, either. But it certainly looks easy to transform. That's the Up-Lift sofa bed, by Croatian design consultancy Neisako, produced by Croatian furniture brand Prostoria. And it probably doesn't o … | Continue reading
These Core77 Awards entries caught our attention for their optimistic approaches to the future.If there's one political issue most people can agree on, it's that cities and towns need better infrastructure. The vast majority of America is unwalkable, hospitals are depressing, and … | Continue reading
"There are some problems with folding furniture," observed mechanical engineer Chi-Hao Chiang, who left his native Taiwan to pursue a Masters in Industrial Design at Pratt Institute. "Folding chairs can be folded flat and the seat height is proper, but it's too long for people to … | Continue reading
So you splashed out on a $6,000 Toto toilet, and now the rest of your bathroom, in comparison, looks like…crap. There's only one thing for it: You're going to have to buy a designey toilet paper tower, like this $78 steel and wood 8-roll model from homewares brand Yamazaki.If you … | Continue reading
"Every employee here has had a bike stolen," writes Elevation Lab, a Portland-based industrial design firm turned accessories brand. They're not alone: Each year in the U.S., an estimated 190,000 to 2 million bikes are stolen.For that reason, Elevation Lab designed this Tagvault: … | Continue reading
Learning to sharpen chisels, plane irons, kitchen knives, scissors and even chainsaw chains is not terribly difficult. With some practice, it can be accomplished freehand, using an assortment of simple files or whetstones.However, a segment of the population takes sharpening very … | Continue reading
Volkswagen has unveiled their GEN.TRAVEL vehicle, a concept that slots into a future where autonomous cars replace short-haul flights. The design of the car—particularly the interior—was driven by the fact that the car would not be privately owned, but for-hire:"The GEN.TRAVEL ha … | Continue reading
Optical giant Leica has expanded into high-end watches, with their new L1 and L2 models.Their product design team has endeavored to carry over camera-based design elements, from "the domed watch glass reminiscent of a camera lens" to "The patented, 'red-dot' push-crown inspired b … | Continue reading
If only we could see Marcel Breuer's reaction to this. The Chairman, by Shizuoka-based industrial designer Kouichi Okamato, is an extreme take on the suspension-based chair that recalls a distant descendant of the Wassily:Through the magic of tensegrity, the chair supports itself … | Continue reading
Storage totes are useful, and I own a ton of them. But let's look at their UX hassles:1. Typically opaque, so you cannot see what's inside without opening the lid.2. The only opening is a top lid, so you cannot access the contents of a unit stacked beneath another unit.3. The sid … | Continue reading
I just read this medical study that contained the phrase "stool transfer." It gets better:"In this study, we introduce and validate a novel, wipe-based approach to fecal sample collection and stabilization for metagenomics analysis."So basically, microbiome health is important, a … | Continue reading
"In the daily practice of professional bartenders there are some actions that are carried out very often," says Francesco, a bartender in Milan. "Specifically, we use knives to peel and cut fruits, the pestle for cocktails, the measuring cup for dosing liquids and the shaker."Aft … | Continue reading
Dutch product designer and Eindhoven grad Maud van Deursen created this CARAF Château D'eau, "a design object for the table." It's essentially a tabletop water tower that provides an unusual way to fill your drinking glass (provided it's the right height):It works like this:From … | Continue reading
This post is presented by the K-Show, the world's No.1 trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry. Visionary developments and groundbreaking innovations will again lead the industry into new dimensions at K 2022 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Chris Lefteri: Hello Falza. Thanks for … | Continue reading