You've spent hours or days working on your model, and now it's time to present to the client. Your rendered object has to be shown to best effect. The key to this, as with real product photography, is to absolutely nail your lighting set-ups in Keyshot. What about | Continue reading
Beach cleanups are a trendy thing for plastic-producing companies to sponsor. Everyone loves looking at a clean beach, so problem solved! Hey, don't go near the water, and certainly don't look in the water. Pay attention to this newly-cleaned beach!Film producer Colin West learne … | Continue reading
Reportedly in production, the Ultra Bike 2x2 is a very unusual vehicle concept. It's a utilitarian off-road electric bike, with a 1KW motor in each wheel powered by a 48V battery in the lower center of the frame. The unusual part is that the wheel rims are actually fuel tanks mea … | Continue reading
I didn't know you could order off-the-shelf circular LCD screens. I also didn't realize that in sci-fi videogames, it's not uncommon to see computers with circular screens. (I'm not a gamer and have no idea what games these screenshots are from.)In any case, Berlin-based engineer … | Continue reading
Remember that rollable TV screen that LG rolled out last year? The designers were uncredited, and after stumbling upon this, I'm wondering if this is the design concept on which it was based:Called Totem, it was done by Studio Booboon, a design consultancy formed by ex-Nendo indu … | Continue reading
Every NYC apartment I lived in had a stove, but none had range hoods. Industrial designer Maxime Augay found the same conditions in Europe. So Augay, while pursuing his Masters in Product Design at Switzerland's ECAL, designed this Portable Kitchen Hood for his graduation project … | Continue reading
Architect Doris Sung (we previously covered her here) invented InVert, a brilliant self-shading window system. Over a decade ago, Sung began experimenting with thermobimetals, which are made up of two different metal composites that have been layered into a sheet. Because the sel … | Continue reading
YouTube is awash in 20-minute videos answering questions we never asked: Can I use tool X to make object Y, I'll cut this thing in half to show you what's inside, what happens if I crush this with a hydraulic press, etc. This is one actually might be of interest to anyone who doe … | Continue reading
Almost every material has a grain, which is the pattern of fibers seen on the material's surface. Grain is found in all materials, and aligning it has an impact on a finished design's core properties, including its strength level. Grain is especially important in wood components, … | Continue reading
Bananas used to be super rare in South Korea, which just doesn't have the climate to grow them. It wasn't until shipping links were set up with a Dole plantation in the appropriately hot Philippines that the fruit started to show up in Korean supermarkets.Being previously exotic, … | Continue reading
Inspired by organic shapes, Poland-based industrial designer Mateusz Sipiora began designing and 3D-printing models for a lightweight scooter.He subsequently realized the design, using a minimum of material. The structure is made up of precisely bent aluminum strips: "The Superso … | Continue reading
I want to say this quirky task lamp could be sold today:That's the KILA, designed by Harry Allen for Ikea in 2001. Reportedly inspired by Allen's love of rollerskating, the KILA sits on three rollerblade wheels, positioned to easily rotate the lamp in place (as opposed to moving … | Continue reading
For years, if you wanted to acquire a new vehicle you had two choices: Buy or lease. Some people will only ever buy, if for example their priority is to build equity with each payment. Some will only ever lease, if for example they want a new vehicle every three years or so. Both … | Continue reading
These objects I'm about to show you almost seem like design school exercises, but they're all actually on the market. First, let's back up a sec to the classic wastebasket, the key part of that word being "basket." Prior to the invention of plastic films and garbage bags, this wa … | Continue reading
Remember that table that folds into a wall cabinet, built by Izzy Swan?Sweden-based industrial designer Oskar Lillo had a similar-but-different idea back in 2013, when he was a student at Chalmers University. Lillo, who today holds degrees in both Mechanical Engineering and ID, w … | Continue reading
Digital levels were once exotic and out-of-reach for your average contractor, but these days the prices have come down and even big box stores sell them. Still, they require batteries and some babying, so there's still market demand for analog slant levels, also called inclinomet … | Continue reading
I liked elements of industrial designer Ye-Eun Son's Turney upside-down power strip, but it's just a concept. And I found Shinola's Power Supply handsome, but that's with nothing plugged into it. (It's also aimed at the luxury consumer and thus out of my price range, at nearly $2 … | Continue reading
Four years ago we wrote about the Grappler Bumper, a deployable device that can be added to the front of a police car and used to safely end car chases. It was created by inventor Leonard Stock after he watched news footage of a police chase that injured an innocent bystander.It … | Continue reading
At ID school, as we learned about interfaces one of my professors explained that aspirin pills are mostly powder; the active ingredient is too small to handle, and the bulk of the pill exists simply so you can pick it up.I don't know whether or not he got the same lesson, but Tia … | Continue reading
I couldn't tell what this object does just by looking at it:It's a Staple-less Stapler, made by Japanese manufacturer Harinacs, and it can fasten up to 10 sheets of paper. I guessed it worked by crimping, but I was wrong. Instead, when you pull the trigger two things happen. The … | Continue reading
Way back in 2004, Marc Newson and Nike collaborated on the Zvezdochka, a revolutionary sneaker made from four interchangeable parts:The outer cage, the outsole, the innersleeve and the insole were all user-swappable.The swappability was done mostly for style, but now Nike's ISPA … | Continue reading
Well-to-do parents generally want the best for their children that money can buy. This can be problematic, from a waste perspective, when that object will shortly be made obsolete as the child outgrows it."On average, children need a stroller for the age of two to four years," wr … | Continue reading
In a recent post on a large exoskeleton that mimics the movements of a "pilot" inside, I questioned whether it made sense to have humanoid-shaped, human-piloted robots do construction. I've just learned the question is being answered: Turns out that in Japan, they are testing a g … | Continue reading
With the EPA mum, this month environmental activist organizations Beyond Plastics and The Last Beach Cleanup released a disturbing report called "The Real Truth About the U.S. Plastic Recycling Rate: 2021 U.S. Facts and Figures." Culling data from the National Academies of Scienc … | Continue reading
In recent years I've been astonished by Hyundai's design turnaround. Recent models have been fresh, daring and original, a far cry from the muddled, derivative, not-sure-what-we're-going-for look of the brand's earlier years. However, I'm a bit less wowed by the latest concept re … | Continue reading
Designed for couples who want to shower together, this kooky Tandem Shower contraption splits the water flow between two showerheads opposite each other, and is suspended between the walls in the manner of a shower rod. The height of the far showerhead can be adjusted to have a h … | Continue reading
I was speaking with an automotive journalist who swears by minivans as his daily driver (he has four kids). I asked him what the most crucial design feature was for him, and his answer, which wasn't specific to minvans, surprised me: A DVD player. Forget streaming and having to p … | Continue reading
If you have a deep passion for being surveilled, you probably dream of living in a city in the UK or China, festooned as they are with security cameras and face-rec. But what if you want to be spied on in a rural environment? It's not feasible to install cameras on every tree in … | Continue reading
Creative craftsman Seth of Robinson Foundry makes things out of metal that would be difficult or impossible to machine the traditional way. As an example, these bolts with zigzag threads:He then struck upon the idea of creating a rather unique maze, or a sort of three-dimensional … | Continue reading
Berlin- and Munich-based industrial designer Pascal Hien created this striking Migo chair from American red oak: If it's not obvious, the chair can be sat upon facing in either direction, with the uppermost elements either serving as a backrest or elbow rest. It can also be used … | Continue reading
Some might say it's sacrilege to try to improve upon an iconic design, like the MoMA-worthy Kikkoman Soy Sauce bottle designed by Kenji Ekuan in 1961. But industrial designer Matthew Clark, of California-based consultancy Odachi Design, saw room for improvement in the cap."Soy sa … | Continue reading
This MagSafe-compatible Tripod Mount, by photography accessories company Moment, is a minimal, handsome and intelligently-designed piece of kit. It's simply a magnet array on a stalk with 1/4"-20 threading on the bottom, allowing you to hold your MagSafe-equipped iPhone securely … | Continue reading
For some years I taught classes at a martial arts center. With students of all shapes and sizes, you get really good at sizing up other people's bodies through their motions, and I prided myself on being able to deduce who had had knee surgery, who had tight hips, who carried the … | Continue reading
From Sweden comes this interesting invention: Runlock, a polyester rope that is actually two ropes side-by-side, interwoven together periodically along their lengths to form a series of loops.Why? While it's no substitute for learning to tie knots, the company reckons it's faster … | Continue reading
The Superbikero is essentially a pair of gigantic slap-bracelets, one of which has a flip-up mirror on it. They're meant for cyclists to wear, with the mirror providing rear visibility and both bracelets serving as turn signals that can be seen when you extend your arms.I know wr … | Continue reading
Here on the farm, a large portion of my outdoor work is picking stuff up off the ground, sorting it and placing it in a vessel or vehicle. For that reason I'm fascinated by tools designed to make these tasks easier. Earlier we looked at the Multi Headed Nut Wizard, designed to ha … | Continue reading
It's every manufacturer's dream to have additional and profitable products made out of their off-cuts. We've seen industrial felt waste go into furniture, veneer scraps being made into tables, automotive industry sheet metal waste turned into planters, marble quarry waste going i … | Continue reading
You've spent hours or days working on your model, and now it's time to present to the client. Your rendered object has to be shown to best effect. The key to this, as with real product photography, is to absolutely nail your lighting set-ups in Keyshot.What about that kick-ass re … | Continue reading
After completing a traditional carpenter's apprenticeship, Hanover, Germany-based Theresa von Bodelschwingh worked as a journeyman carpenter for years before eventually pursuing a degree in design. Now she runs her own product design studio, where her grasp of both how to design … | Continue reading
This Kami furniture piece is by María Ruiz Cozcolluela, done as her Industrial Design Masters thesis at Switzerland's University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The concept is intended to start out as children's furniture, but to offer new utility and thus remain relevant as the ch … | Continue reading
Shinola's handsome Power Supply units are a damn sight better than the cheapier power strip you've likely got hidden behind your desk. Rather than plastic, the enclosures are die-cast metal (with a variety of color options) sitting on a rubber base.The anti-kink, braided 8-foot c … | Continue reading
If that horrifically ugly modernist La-Z-Boy chair is still burned into your brain, have a look at the Stressless Sam and Scott chairs instead. Designed by Norwegian industrial design firm Permafrost, the Sam and Scott combines clean Scandinavian looks with motorized reclining, h … | Continue reading
The OO stool, by Rotterdam-based industrial designer S Mate Olah, is a flatpack, user-assembled stool made from bamboo plywood. Olah designed the cutting pattern to minimize the waste.This image below……is admittedly a little deceptive, because it doesn't depict the waste from the … | Continue reading
Steelcase, Herman Miller, Humanscale et al. employ armies of designers to perfect seating for office workers. Who designs seating for folks who work on shop floors, rolling across concrete rather than carpet? What's the Aeron for a guy or gal who works on cars for a living, and n … | Continue reading
The most impressive gaming tables we ever saw were by Geek Chic:That was back in 2014, and sadly the company's since gone belly-up. In that time, gaming surfaces have evolved as well. Netherlands-based CraftyKobolds, a Star Seller on Etsy, now makes and sells digital game boards … | Continue reading
Drink coasters are a crowded market, populated by people trying to get rid of off-cuts or new designers desperately trying to make a thing they can sell. You rarely see anything clever. But British homeware company Mustard has come up with a decent idea for one that should sell l … | Continue reading
The 2022 WantedDesign Schools Workshop (the program started in 2012) will take place once again at Industry City, Brooklyn, in the beautiful Camp David co-working studio space, from May 10 to May 14 during NYCxDESIGN.PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS are:Appalachian State University (USA) Ar … | Continue reading
Stratasys has announced their new, rubber-like Agilus30 Colors resins for 3D-printing. The new flavors--Agilus30™ Cyan, Agilus30 Magenta and Agilus30 Yellow—allow the user to create 3D prints of virtually any color, with an extremely flexible finished consistency: "With using the … | Continue reading