The Controller Project is a volunteer initiative that develops modifications for game controllers that allow the physically disabled to use them. Participants can donate money, design skills or 3D printing skills to the cause, which allows them to distribute free 3D-printed game … | Continue reading
Prior to moving to the countryside I'd never touched, let alone had to reload, a string trimmer. With the bump-feed style I've got, you can either wastefully buy replaceable cartridges (supporting single-use plastic), or reload the head manually. Both approaches require disassemb … | Continue reading
Engo Eyewear's designers managed to fit it astride the nosebridge | Continue reading
California-based industrial designer Pushan Panda has come up with an interesting concept for recyclable containers for drinks. Called Bruk, it's meant to replace the packaging for beverages that come in mixed plastic/paper containers, like juice boxes and the cartons that resemb … | Continue reading
"As a domestic source of electricity in times of digitalization, [power outlets] are an important asset that allows most people to work at home in different places," writes Marie Radke, a Masters candidate in Product Design at the Berlin University of the Arts. Yet despite their … | Continue reading
If there's a consensus for how robots should locomote, it's that they either move over the ground on wheels or legs (or combinations of such), or they float and fly. Researchers at CalTech, however, decided to create this jaunty little hybrid called LEO: The LEO robot stands just … | Continue reading
PROWL Studio Founder & 2021 Core77 Design Awards Sustainability Prize Jury Captain shares how designers can prioritize sustainability | Continue reading
Hilariously, they don't know the difference between nuts and bolts | Continue reading
This crazy-looking contraption is how the U.S. Army researchers measured head sizes for helmets, circa 1973: All of these images are from the archives of the Natick Soldier Systems Center Photographic Collection (Natick, Massachusetts is where a prominent Army R&D division is bas … | Continue reading
The MAWC is what paratroopers use to jump with an assault rifle | Continue reading
As a constant reminder of our society's addiction to single-use plastic, I see this "life hack" all the time at the local Walmart: Image: Highlife2tall It's particularly striking when you see two parents together, each with their own carts with the sidewalls completely lined with … | Continue reading
This is the cleverest design for a roof rack I've ever seen. If you've ever pulled something heavy off of a roof rack, particularly one that's a bit too tall for you, there's always that oh shit moment during the weight transition. But this design from Norwegian company Dropracks … | Continue reading
Engo Eyewear's designers managed to fit it astride the nosebridge | Continue reading
In the U.S., the pandemic was great for certain categories of products. Toilet paper shortages led to wild sales increases for retrofittable toilet seat bidet manufacturers; roughly a year ago, American Standard reported monthly sales increased by a factor of 3 to 5, depending on … | Continue reading
I'm skeptical of this, but find the concept interesting: RainStick is a showerhead replacement (sort of) that promises to blast you with 3 gallons per minute, while using 80% less water than a standard 1.8 – 2.2 GPM shower. How is that possible? Because the product is not just a | Continue reading
DeWalt's Storage Step Stool is a toolbox with folding aluminum legs hidden in the lid. Pop the top off, unfold the legs, and you've now got an additional 18 inches of height. The company says it will hold 300 pounds of weight, | Continue reading
To showcase the latest design trends and materials, each year the National Association of Home Builders coordinates with the International Builders Show to construct a prototypical "New American Home" in the host city. This year's, the 2022 New American Home, is in Orange County, … | Continue reading
They didn't design these right, so the burden is on the car owner | Continue reading
Keymacs is a small, family-run company that makes small-batch handmade keyboard kits. They released this five-minute video of how they make their double-shot polyurethane keycaps. It's fun to watch because with the exception of the small CNC mill, everything they do here looks li … | Continue reading
I'm always as interested to learn of the assignments given to ID students these days, as I am to see their work. Here's a recent brief fielded by Lorcan Looney, a Product Design student at Ireland's National College of Art and Design: "Having been implicated in the massive enviro … | Continue reading
Inventions like these always tickle me. These ZaVarge Bedding Clips were designed to keep the corners of a comforter aligned inside the corners of a duvet cover. Installing them is a bit of an involved process: I'm not sure I'd want to pierce a | Continue reading
For cyclists who want to fix tubeless tires on-the-go, but don't want to carry a pump, there's this Tubeless CO2 Blaster. Developed by cycling accessories manufacturer Lezyne—whose motto is "Engineered Design"—the $50 Blaster can be strapped to your bike, takes up less space than … | Continue reading
Experimentation in design is a tricky thing. Proponents of experimentation may argue it is required in order for designs to evolve. Critics may argue that experimentation is often wielded in the name of fashion rather than function. Experimentation in architecture can be particul … | Continue reading
In 1982, nuclear engineer Lonnie Johnson was working for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. During the day, he was figuring out how to power the Galileo spacecraft; at night he was working on a hobby project, developing an environmentally-friendly, Freon-free heat pump. For the he … | Continue reading
I'm really impressed at the depth of research and thinking we've seen lately with ID student projects. Today we came across another great example, this one from France and called Fourche à pain. "This project raises a current issue that concerns us all: the lifespan of our everyd … | Continue reading
Ivo Tedbury is a London-based architect who's focused on how robotics will intersect with his field. To that end, he's designed this Sembler Walking Construction Robot with "a full step-over bipedal gait": I assume this video is stop-motion, but it would be pretty rad | Continue reading
Remove, reduce and recycle to help make products more sustainable | Continue reading
Something I'd like to see in person at the Vitra Design Museum, where this is in the permanent collection: The Aluminum Gradient Chair, by Joris Laarman Lab. "It was designed and directly laser sintered in aluminum," they write. "Using generative design tools and new | Continue reading
I guess this is a space-saving measure? A now-defunct company called Modern Maid once produced the KBT-100, a hideaway toaster meant to be mounted and hardwired inside a wall: I did find a video of it… …but the guy giving | Continue reading
Dzus (pronounced "zoose") fasteners are a cleverly-designed type of fastener invented in the 1930s by engineer William Dzus. They're designed to engage or disengage with just a quarter turn, making them ideal for affixing panels that frequently need to be removed, like an inspect … | Continue reading
Benjamin Unterluggauer and John Hayden are both Industrial Design students pursuing their Master's at Germany's Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design. Unterluggaeuer invented this object below, and refined it in collaboration with Hayden: That's the Mokit, a 3D-printed con … | Continue reading
Marcelo Aguiar is Chief Automotive Designer at UNITI Sweden, an electric car startup. Though cars are his bread and butter, Aguiar designed this non-automotive Polestar Duo concept for the Polestar Design Competition: It's essentially a shipping container lifted by a gigantic dro … | Continue reading
Pennsylvania-based Trevor Malloy describes himself as a "professional stripper…of paint and rust." The company he works for, 3S Chemicals, takes rusted car bodies and dips them in a series of gigantic baths, then power-washes them. All paint and rust are thoroughly removed, previ … | Continue reading
One problem billionaire yacht owners have: Even the largest yachts do not have enough open space to conduct Squid-Game-like activities with the poor people they've lured onboard. To solve this, yacht designer Timur Bozca was hired by an unknown kajillionaire to turn a semi-submer … | Continue reading
On Feb. 4th, 1922, exactly 100 years ago today, Henry Ford cut a check for $8 million to purchase the Lincoln Motor Car Company. Ford now had a luxury brand that would go toe-to-toe with Cadillac, General Motors' upmarket marque. Henry handed control of the company to his son, Ed … | Continue reading
Here's a fascinating furniture concept that bears some spiritual commonality with two projects we recently looked at: The Stackabl system for making furniture from factory off-cuts, and the Kimochi no Katachi system of using one industry's off-cuts to make something out of a seco … | Continue reading
Whether or not worker shortages persists, we'll certainly see more robotic restaurant servers in future; there's enough demand among spooked restaurant owners to support Servi, the server 'bot currently STEALING HUMAN JOBS filling unfilled positions at restaurants in L.A. Servi S … | Continue reading
A startup called Rendyr has developed the Optic, a clever design for a portable, space-saving 15W laser cutter with integrated filtration: Although the footprint is relatively small, it actually has a comparable work area (12" x 18"), with its cutting mat in place, to the much la … | Continue reading
The Digi POS system is being trialed in Tokyo 7-11s | Continue reading
Our upcoming webinar, hosted by serial Kickstart-ee Craighton Berman, will provide practical tips | Continue reading
Once folded, conventionally-designed folding chairs cannot stand on their own, so must be leaned against a wall, or stacked horizontally, or placed into a rack for storage. For spaces where this is undesirable or not possible, Finnish furniture manufacturer Vivero offers this unu … | Continue reading
For years some luxury automakers, like Mercedes-Benz, have offered a ridiculous power door closing feature. You swing the door shut, it reaches an initial detent position, then for some reason an electric motor is made to pull it for the last few millimeters. I guess the idea is … | Continue reading
During the torch relays that kick off each Olympics, the flame is normally transferred from runner to runner like this: But for the 1992 Summer Olympics, host city Barcelona added a twist. The torch relay was concluded in spectacular fashion: Rather than the final runner stepping … | Continue reading
Check out the latest industry-leading projects designed with Autodesk Fusion 360 | Continue reading
This $30 Breathing Mobile Washer is essentially a plunger with a strainer-like insert to allow water to pass through it. Designed to allow one to wash clothes in a five-gallon bucket where there's no electricity, it's a human-powered agitator. As for why it's got "Breathing" | Continue reading
High-end sushi chefs in Japan prefer to use rubber, rather than wood, cutting boards. They don't require constant oiling, are said to be gentler on knife edges than wood, and still pass the all-important hygiene standards. Additionally, the rubber surface means the fish doesn't s … | Continue reading