The first piece of wooden "furniture" was undoubtedly a fallen tree trunk, with some Homo Erectus using it to take a load off. Ergonomically speaking, it wouldn't have been a bad choice, as Dutch industrial designer Ruud-Jan Kokke learned. While speaking with orthopedic surgeon P … | Continue reading
Chinese EV automaker BYD has an upscale brand called Yangwang ("looking up"). They've unveiled this Yangwang U8, a luxury SUV available as a plug-in hybrid or pure electric:I'm surprised by how rational, ordered, and clean the design is. While the company doesn't have the track r … | Continue reading
My PC's mouse quit on me in the middle of a project, and I had to run out for a replacement. The only mouse available at my local Walmart (made by a company I've heard of, anyway) was this guy:I hate clamshell packaging, and was about to grab tinsnips when I spotted these arrows … | Continue reading
"Wheels and legs each have their advantages, so why not combine both?" writes the Electrical & Computer Engineering department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. That's where associate professor Joohyung Kim developed this Ringbot, a robot with a bizarre form factor: … | Continue reading
Here's what we looked at this week:Alternative form factors: Non-wrist-based watches by the Dakota Watch Company. Zippsafe: A Swiss design for a space-saving locker room, using textile "lockers" rather than metal.The Hydra, by industrial design firm Diwiz, is a modern, three- … | Continue reading
Here's the craziest industrial designer bio I've ever come across.At age 16, Josef Hurka was forced to work in a Nazi coal mine. It's 1941, and Germany has invaded Hurka's native Czechoslovakia. Hurka smuggles dynamite out of the mine for the Czech resistance.After the war ends, … | Continue reading
Yo-Kai Express is a "food tech" startup that develops meal vending machines. "This innovative platform dishes out fresh, gourmet food with over 30 options, 24 hours a day, and all without human contact," writes industrial design consultancy Spanner, who was hired to revamp YKE's … | Continue reading
Here's an interesting alternative to an established manufacturing solution.CNC mills use spinning bits to remove material. This material comes off in the form of tiny chips. These chips must be evacuated, to avoid clogging the worksurface and potentially jamming or overheating th … | Continue reading
Shop owner Aaron Cohen runs Gracie's Ice Cream, located in Somerville, Massachusetts. Cohen recently posted this photo to the shop's Instagram with the following query:"Imagine you own an ice cream shop and the thermostat on your dipping cabinet, which is the freezer ice cream is … | Continue reading
This simple pine wall rack was used to hang coats in a French ski resort in the 1960s. Not just any ski resort: The Les Arcs resort in Savoie, famously designed by Charlotte Perriand leading a team of fellow architects.Perriand was known for her minimalist style, and I'm smitten … | Continue reading
With degrees in both business administration and software engineering, Julian Secomb is an unlikely cabinetmaker. Yet he's spent over a decade earning his living by building furniture.One of Secomb's gigs was building cabinetry into private jets for Bombardier. That acquainted hi … | Continue reading
Two years ago, British inventor Tristan Thompson (not the Cleveland Cavaliers player) created an Invisibility Shield, Kickstarting it with £446,676 in pledges. (That's about USD $565,000.) Now Thompson says he's improved the design, making it larger and more comfortable to carry, … | Continue reading
After a long pause during the pandemic, SVA Made in Yame returns with its unique opportunity to study traditional craft in Japan and present product ideas to the MoMA Design Store for production. Open to students and design professionals, the program covers a dozen crafts and imm … | Continue reading
An industrial designer can't be expected to imagine every offline consideration of what they design, right?Think of those ultra-thin, presumably titanium eyeglasses that you picture Swiss architects wearing. Now imagine one of them puts it down on a patterned tablecloth or bedspr … | Continue reading
I think this project illustrates the difficulties of trying to reconcile industrial design with social issues. Called Urin*alle, it was done by Leonie Roth and Luisa Tschumi while studying Industrial Design at Switzerland's Basel Academy of Art and Design."Urin*alle is a waterles … | Continue reading
People who love gadgets, love magnets and connecting things. Here's two magnetic connection systems that easily blew past $100,000 on Kickstarter.The first is this Swift-Lock camera carrying mount, targeting photographers. Its intelligent design places the straps at the base of y … | Continue reading
This week Genesis unveiled their Neolun concept, an EV in the form of a full-size SUV. The surfacing is startlingly clean:"The Neolun Concept's exterior revolves around the principle of 'reductive design,'" the company says, "characterized by clean, refined lines that deliberatel … | Continue reading
This simple and surprising Radice chair and stool is by Industrial Facility, a/k/a Sam Hecht and Kim Colin.RADICE finds its underlying beauty and simplicity in its structure. It is the bringing together of what appears the front-half of a traditional 4-legged stool, with a single … | Continue reading
When humans become building blocks, possibilities for fun are endless. Connections for all ages from 3 to 101 can be fostered by building a human cloud, breaking it, fidgeting with it, spinning it, and sparking the imagination.Souper Connect is a modular human-shaped block that c … | Continue reading
Michigan-based Brian Oltrogge is that rarest of architects: One who is deeply immersed in actual hands-on fabrication. On his Instagram and YouTube channels, he covers projects pursued out of personal interest, covering casting, metalworking, welding, woodworking, CNC milling, 3D … | Continue reading
This Hydra Drinking Fountain was designed by Diwiz, an industrial design consultancy based in Portugal. Made of steel, it maximizes its utility by providing three outlets: One at wheelchair height, which can also be used by non-wheelchair-users; a water bottle refilling station u … | Continue reading
The Core77 Design Awards Health & Wellness category features consumer products or services designed to aid users in matters of health or in achieving an enhanced sense of well-being.Industrial Designer Paul Danial's body of work might be considered work of the body. Paul brings a … | Continue reading
For those that don't have enough storage space in their kitchen, here's an add-on countertop drawer with an additional pull-out surface. Conveniently, the drawer and the pull-out surface can be vertically swapped to suit your set-up.With an interior height of 9cm (3.5") the drawe … | Continue reading
Last June we showed you this Migo Ascender, a stair-climbing robot vacuum:That's an animation, of course. But now developer Migo Robotics has finally produced the real deal, with both vacuuming and mopping functionality.On floors it behaves like an ordinary robot vacuum. When it … | Continue reading
A Swiss company called Zippsafe has designed a new type of locker room. Intended to cut down on space needs by businesses, Zippsafe's design consists of narrow textile "lockers"—really, a sort of side-access garment bag, containing a plastic valet—that take up far less space than … | Continue reading
Designed for "people who live or work in environments where they don't want something on their wrist [but] still want immediate access to the time," these Clip Watches are by the Ohio-based Dakota Watch Company.They might not appeal to office dwellers, but for someone working in … | Continue reading
Here's what we looked at this week:The Yasuhiro TV craftsman makes workshop jigs with beautiful forms. This week MSCHF released these 2x4 work boots, which are all outsole.Max Lamb's deceiving-looking 005 Lounge Chair looks both uncomfortable and comfortable.Cheng Chang, an I … | Continue reading
"Solving two problems at once in a single, hybrid product," writes Atlanta-based industrial design consultancy Thrive, "means challenging the status quo at every point—from performance expectations to manufacturing to marketing." Here we'll look at how this philosophy was applied … | Continue reading
You've perhaps seen Dyson's Solarcycle lamp, which is adjustable in a Cartesian fashion to provide light exactly where you want it.It was probably inspired by this early-20th-century design for an industrial task lamp, produced by the Faries Manufacturing Co. of Decatur, Illinois … | Continue reading
The Core77 Design Awards Interaction category includes interactive content and user interface design for websites, mobile devices and experiential installations. Examples include: software, mobile apps, interactive projections, products with embedded user interface, animations, s … | Continue reading
Parisian architecture firm Laurent Deroo Architecte designs a lot of interiors and fixtures for French fashion brand A.P.C.'s stores. These fixtures can be seen by anyone who walks into the store. But unseen by the public is this cool hideaway shelving system, also designed by LD … | Continue reading
Here's a wonderful project by ID student Supreetha Krishnan, done while pursuing her Master's at the RCA in London. The project was done as part of their Object Mediated Interactions course.While I'm not sure if social media has a net-positive influence on society, I can't deny t … | Continue reading
If something goes wrong on a launchpad, you want to get people away from the danger as quickly as possible. SpaceX is testing out these new emergency escape chutes, meant to get you away from the rocket and on the ground as quickly as possible: Assuming multiple evacuees, I … | Continue reading
Speaking of the Naguri pattern, check out these wild-looking hatchets, machetes, hammers and sandwich makers by Japan-based 0/0 Neru Design Works:Here's the design philosophy of company founder Tsuyoshi "Neru" Shigehiro:"Give shape to what you want.""Items have the most value whe … | Continue reading
The American layperson might not recognize this object, but in Sweden, it's an icon. This collapsible Fold-A-Cup was designed in 1979 by Wildo, a Swedish outdoor products brand:"This small cup is ideal for saving space in your pack. With 250ml capacity, 25g weight and a folded he … | Continue reading
These lantern hangers perfectly embody form-follows-function, with a bit of material flair added. Sold by camping products company Life Over Ground (designer unknown, sadly), the curly end goes around a pole; gravity, plus friction from the leather wrap, hold it in place. The str … | Continue reading
British artist Stuart Semple's work is inspired by several recurring themes: "Anxiety, society, cultural history, technology, connection, community and freedom," his bio reads. We've covered his work here before, where you can see those themes on full display. After artist Anish … | Continue reading
For Americans, the barbecue grill is the indisputed king of appliances for outdoor cooking. We also have the pickup trucks and SUVs required to transport them. But in Japan, where car camping is growing in popularity, vehicles are relatively tiny. Japanese outdoor goods brand Bab … | Continue reading
As we drive around in our cars, it is largely our perception that determines the driving experience: The road manners of the car, the sound of the engine, the texture of the touchpoints, the functioning of the controls, the way the interior looks are all different from vehicle to … | Continue reading
The Augmented Limb for Zero-Gravity Movement Control is a project by industrial design student Cheng Chang. Chang is in the Design Products program at the RCA, and this project was undertaken for the Design Futures course."In the plausible future, there is going to be a whole gen … | Continue reading
Some quick history: You probably know the name Airstream, but not the name Bowlus. The iconic shiny trailer we think of when we hear Airstream, was actually based on the Bowlus Road Chief, designed in 1934 by aerospace engineer Hawley Bowlus. In 1936 Airstream owner Wally Byam, w … | Continue reading
This Canvas lamp is designed specifically to illuminate your worksurface as you sketch or render, while holding your smartphone in the lamp's dedicated cradle to record your work."Canvas is meant to replace $5,000+ in gear - but also to reclaim coveted real estate in your workspa … | Continue reading
This Unu "cat tree system" is by industrial designers and ArtCenter grads George Weng, Quanyi Wang and Yanhui Ban. It's made from a number of modular components, meant to be easy for the owner to configure and swap parts out of. ("Adaptive to the ever-changing needs of our cats," … | Continue reading
The Core77 Design Awards Visual Communications category includes all visual and graphic design, branding and identity projects for print, digital or physical environments. Examples include logos and identity systems, environmental graphics, signage, typefaces, infographics, motio … | Continue reading
If you need to carry more cargo than your car can hold, you can use a trailer. This is more economical and logistically simpler than, say, adding a second vehicle and driver.Fascinatingly, this concept may soon be applied to cargo planes, thanks to a Texas-based startup called Ae … | Continue reading
What a difference an angle makes: From some, this 005 Lounge Chair looks supremely uncomfortable, from others, practically inviting.Designed by British furniture designer Max Lamb, it's made in Finland, and of Finnish Pine. "The Lounge Chair by Max Lamb is a tough piece of furnit … | Continue reading
Tomorrow creative collective MSCHF releases these unusual work boots, which look like Timberlands hallucinated by an AI. Called the 2x4s, they're "all sole," the group writes. "The boot tread has been extruded up through the body of the boot, and the upper is made of gum rubber … | Continue reading
The Core77 Design Awards Gaming Accessories category features Consumer hardware or software products designed for the interactive entertainment/video game industry. Examples include: video games, video game accessories (game systems, game controllers), gaming furniture, and gamin … | Continue reading