Japanese Company Purposely Designs Dull, Boring Toys

"You want people to ask themselves, 'Who in the world would buy this?'" | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Joseph Joseph's Designey Water Bottle Lid-Capturing Solution

I never valued carry loops for water bottles, until I started doing regular outdoor work. Try carrying a bottle with both hands already full of tools, and you'll change your preference. Joseph Joseph has an unusual, rather designey take on a water bottle with a carry loop. The lo … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Karim Rashid on Design Losing Ground as a Respected Profession

Yesterday Karim Rashid posted this 8-minute walk-and-talk, where he brings up some topics you rarely hear about: An oversaturation of design schools and designers, a high number of designers willing to work for little or free, and the effect that's having on the overall business … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Mockup To Market with Jimmy DiResta, Episode 2 Takeaways and Video (Subscriber Content)

Tips on tools, shop set ups and prototyping. Watch the video recap here | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Mockup To Market with Jimmy DiResta, Episode 2 Takeaways

Tips on tools, shop set ups and prototyping. Watch the video recap here | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Mockup To Market with Jimmy DiResta, Episode 1 Takeaways and Video

Going the DIY route in product design/development minimizes your risk. The most important advantage of making things yourself is that you don't have to get stuck with minimums, and inventory. You don't have to deal with an MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity), which might be more than yo … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

A Rotomolding Machine with a Spherical Oven

Rotoline's SO 1.60 has no doors, opens like Darth Vader's chamber | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Mockup To Market Episode 2 Takeaways

Tips on tools, shop set ups and prototyping. Watch the video recap here | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Marco Manders' Fantastic Rotomolded Tulip-Inspired Public Seating

Dutch designer Marco Manders used the country's signature flower as inspiration for this outdoor chair: The rotomolded Tulpi-Seat (not a typo, he spells it "Tulpi") folds up to keep dry in the rain. Made from LDPE and 100% recyclable, it can pivot on its | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Art Student's Brilliant "Evidence of Our Idiocy" Vending Machine

FudouKamui, an art student at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Art in Shaanxi, China, created this vending machine that dispenses China: "The student named it ?????????, translated to 'This is the Evidence of our Idiocy,' writes a helpful Chinese-reading soul on Reddit. "According to th … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Reader Submitted: JACK the Bike Rack

JACK is a universal-fit front bicycle rack that securely straps to almost any bike, offering a straightforward solution to carrying your things with you while you ride. A 'Rack of all Trades', JACK fits to your bike with a tool-free strap system, requiring no special bicycle fram … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Driving and Design Impressions of the New 2022 Lexus NX

With a new hybrid, Lexus shows you can have the best of both worlds | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Here's a Massive Opportunity for Design Entrepreneurs

Take advantage of the shipping disaster to cash in for the holidays | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Mockup to Market - Episode 2: Jimmy DiResta's Tips for Prototyping on the Cheap

Our free webinar series on DIY product design and development continues October 6 at 11AM EDT | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Haven Social Tables Support a Friendlier, Future-Forward Office Environment

These charming, customizable tables are designed to create more social and flexible workspaces | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Sign Up: Jimmy DiResta's Tips for Prototyping on the Cheap

Be sure to join us tomorrow for Part 2 of "Mockup to Market," our free webinar series with Jimmy Diresta on DIY product design and development. Last week was "Brainstorming & Inspiration;" for tomorrow's episode, we're covering "Prototyping Tips." Jimmy will cover: - Cheap, effec … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

German Robotics Enthusiast's Solution to a Broken Clock

Hendrik Ohrdes is a software developer and robotics enthusiast who hails from Hanover, Germany. When Ohrdes' cheap wall clock broke, here's how he fixed it: The robot is charmingly named Serworm Michael, and Ohrdes has got instructions for how to build your own Serworm here. | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

The Omnidirectional Citroën Skate: A Modular Transportation Base

Citroën has released images of their Autonomous Mobility Vision project, which is based around a "universal mobility platform" called the Citroën Skate. This is an electric-powered, autonomous "skateboard deck" like we've seen before, but this one has spherical wheels, enabling o … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Cool Intermodal Transportation System from France, Circa 1844

The "diligence" passenger cabin could be switched from horses to trains | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Volvo Changes Logo, Finally Joins the Flat Movement

It was way back in 2013 that Apple first unveiled their "flat" aesthetic for graphics. It took seven years, but automakers finally caught up, beginning with the Germans. First BMW, then Volkswagen, changed their logos early last year: Old New Old New Later in the year the Japanes … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Furniture Designer Develops Tool-Free Joint for Flatpack Furniture

Furniture designer Ben Fletcher calls himself a "wood- and joint-obsessed cabinet maker." The London-based Fletcher has spent years trying to develop a fastener-free wood joint that's strong enough to last, yet can be attached and detached using nothing but hand pressure, no tool … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Crowdfunding Smash: The Yves-Béhar-Designed Unagi Model Eleven Scooter

Electric scooter manufacturer Unagi has had a hit on their hands with their Model One, which they claim has sold "tens of thousands around the world." They've tapped Yves Béhar to design their follow-up Model Eleven (I guess Two through Ten were development models?) and have put … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Portable Powerbank Doubles as Viewing Stand

I recently flew cross-country, and United has a new-to-me feature where they can beam movies to your phone using Wi-Fi. One problem was that I didn't have much battery life left, and the bank of seats I was in had dead power outlets. The second problem was that there's no | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Industrial Design Student Work: DIY Thermoses, From Household Vessels with 3D-Printed Connections

Here's a clever project from May Meyerson, done when she was an Industrial Design student at Israel's Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. "From a basket of jars that I collected in my house I assembled different kinds of thermoses, their design took reference from gestures that w … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

A Furniture Line Designed With Otherwise Useless Fire-Damaged Cork

Forest fires have brought such destruction to so many around the world, it's strange to think there's a furniture designer out there who was able to create new things from the environmental wreckage. In Portugal, cork harvested from the country's abundant cork oak trees is big bu … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Design Entrepreneurs, Take Note: Smart, Low-Cost 3D-Printed Objects to Make Camping Easier

Here's a great example of a design entrepreneur with a 3D printer, and how they were able to parlay some good design ideas based on their hobbies into a successful Etsy shop. The aptly-named TreeHugger Systems came up with this simple, 3D-printed $12 hook and bungie system ($12) … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Florida Man Uses Recycling Bin as Alligator Capture Device

Florida resident Eugene Bozzi is officially the bravest man in the world. When his Orange County lakeside community received an unwanted visit from an alligator, the quick-thinking Bozzi realized a nearby recycling bin would be a good way to capture it: I'm stunned at how well it … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

How the Bark to Make Cork is Harvested from Cork Oak Trees

Nearly every task you can perform on a tree, whether it's cutting it down, de-limbing it or stripping the bark, can be done by a machine. Indeed they often require one. However, one tree-borne task for a specific type of tree resists automation and can still only be performed by | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Amazon's Astro, a Household Robot for Home Monitoring, Has Zero Combat Effectiveness

It's like a Roomba that doesn't vacuum, just spies on you | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

GM's BrightDrop Rolls Out New Electric Delivery Van in Record Time

In January GM said they'd start producing newly-designed electric delivery vans. We know how long these things take to develop. So we're kind of shocked that just nine months later, amidst a global supply chain in chaos, these vans are already rolling off of the assembly line. Br … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Would You Consider Freezing Your Jeans Instead of Washing Them?

It's well-known that the manufacturing process of clothing isn't exactly environmentally friendly. But few consider how just owning and maintaining clothes continues to drain resources. "Repeated washing and drying cause the lion's share of a garment's environmental impact," reve … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Seeing How a COVID Rapid Test Works, Shows You Why They're Difficult to Design

Here are the steps required to operate the Accula PCR test | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

ID Firm Designs USPS Mailbox Sensor

Something I've spotted many times out here in the country: A small, one-story house or trailer home with a long aluminum wheelchair ramp permanently installed in the front. And the mailbox for the house is on the other side of the street. It's difficult enough to be confined to a … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Incredibly, Mini's Countryman has Stock Turn Signals That Point the Wrong Way

I don't see many Minis out where I am, so was surprised when Jalopnik's Jason Torchinsky highlighted this Tweet of one: So as it turns out, Mini's Countryman model has the Union Jack graphically integrated with the two rear taillights. And when you activate the turn signals, | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

A Telescoping Travel Mouse

South Korean ID firm BKID designed this telescoping Pocket Mouse for Samsung: The optical mouse connects via Bluetooth, and it does appear that it went into production several years ago; however, Samsung has since bailed out of the mouse space. It's too bad; I'd have liked | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Free Webinar Tomorrow: Jimmy DiResta on DIY Product Design & Development

If you're a design entrepreneur that wants to design your own product, there's a few different routes you can take. You can come up with the concept, then farm the development out to somebody else. Or you can do both of those things and let someone take care of the | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Secretlab's Magnus Metal Desk with Magnetic Ecosystem

I don't doubt that having a desk with a built-in cable tray, plus cable anchors that you can stick anywhere on the desk, would be convenient. But I do think making the entire desk magnetic is a long way to go for the convenience. Then again, Secretlab's | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

"Mockup to Market" with Jimmy DiResta Kicks Off In Just 2 Days! Register Now

A five-part series on DIY product design, development and launch | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Can You Guess What These Leather, Steel and Sheepskin Objects are For?

If you said "specialty hook," we'd need you to be more specific | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

The Pandemic's Silver Lining? A Diagnostic Revolution 

Missouri-based Young Innovations manufactures COVID-19 test swabs. They're sterilized and come wrapped in medical-grade pouches. They have a 6" polypropylene handle with a molded-in breaking point; after swabbing, the user snaps the bulk of the handle off and drops the swab end i … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Connor Holland's Inflated Mirror

We're big fans of UK-based product designer Connor Holland's experimental approaches to metal forming. And while the forms he produces are typically elegant and shiny, as with his new Artemis & Apollo Tables… …Holland also received a recent commission that called for his signatur … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

A Sort of Two-Wheeled Truck: The Roxon 2x2

Roxon is a New-Hampshire-based company that's been around since 1958. They manufacture an unusual sort of vehicle: An all-wheel-drive motorcycle with fat tires, a 14" ground clearance and a 35 mph top speed. It's got a tiny four-stroke single-cylinder engine—just 208cc—that puts … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Will "Zoom Booths" in Offices Become a Thing?

It's a weird time for designers of office furniture systems, because it's not yet clear what the post-COVID office looks like, nor if people will even return en masse. In the near future we'll likely see companies taking a stab at new types of office furniture, and not all of | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

More Comfortable Handlebars Made from Shock-Absorbing Bamboo

New-Zealand-based cycling enthusiast Mike Baddeley noticed some common issues among his fellow riders: "Handlebar palsy." Hours of riding on rocky trails sends a lot of vibration into the arms, resulting in numbness and tingling in the joints and tendons. Baddeley couldn't help n … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

A Minimal Exoskeleton for Helping Workers Carry Heavy Loads

Japanese company Atoun is dedicated to assisting human mobility with robot technology. Their Model Y, which has nothing to do with Tesla, is a partial exoskeleton whose shape tells you where the name came from: The unit does not supply any power to the wearer's arms. Instead it b … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Piaggio's Cute, Cargo-Carrying Robot Follows You Around Like an Italian R2-D2

The GitaMini grocery-getter is like a backpack that you don't wear | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Facebook Announces Forthcoming Portal Go

Yet another screen with a camera for you to put in your house | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Clever Hinge Design on Microsoft's Surface Laptop Studio, for Better Laptop/Tablet Switching

Microsoft's new Surface Laptop Studio features an innovative mid-screen hinge that helps it bridge the gap between laptop and tablet. When the user doesn't require keyboard-driven laptop functionality, the 14.4" screen can be pulled forward in an orientation that not only obscure … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago