By Rain Noe - Apr 19 New

Second Company Develops Sustainable Mushroom-Grown Leather, Will Debut it This Saturday

Mylo is tough, supple, eco-friendly, looks and feels like leather, and requires no animals

Remember MycoWorks, the company that developed leather that can be grown from mushroom roots? Now another company, Bolt Threads, has also cracked that biomaterials mystery and is bringing out its own version. Called Mylo, the offering from Bolt--a company that got its start by developing synthetic spider silk--appears to be

By Rain Noe - Apr 19 New

Watch Joseph Herscher's Latest Rube Goldberg Machine, Which Took Three Months to Design

"The cake server" is the most complicated one he's done so far

Joseph Herscher never ceases to amaze with his Rube Goldberg contraptions, and this is without a doubt the most inventive one he's done so far. It involves danger, babies, fluids, open flame, butter…ah, you get the idea, just watch it: How does he come up with this stuff?

By Rain Noe - Apr 19 New

An Introduction to Bondo for Designers and Modelmakers

The many applications for polyester resin and body filler

When it comes to making models, few materials are as diverse (and yes, smell as bad) as Bondo. It sets up quickly, can easily be machined and shaped and sticks to just about anything. Here industrial designer Eric Strebel kicks off his series on Bondo's basics, demonstrating how he mixes,

By Joel Moskowitz - Apr 18 New

Tools & Craft #92: How to Choose the Best Dovetail Saw for Yourself

Today I had the opportunity to chat with a customer about dovetail saws, and he asked me the same question that I get all the time: what makes one saw better than another? Of course, since TFWW makes the Gramercy Dovetail saw, I have a pony in this race. We're

By Steven Johnson - Apr 18 New

Steven M. Johnson's Bizarre Invention #96: The Tunnel Bus

Steven M. Johnson's "Patent Depending" series of inventions range from social commentary to plain ol' bizarre, and they always give us a laugh. So we've contracted him to let us publish one every week.

By Rain Noe - Apr 18

An Interview with Jonathan Ward, Founder of Icon

Design perfectionism on four wheels

Every designer's dream is to create the exact object they envision, unhindered by accountants, marketers and planned obsolescence. Industrial designers among you, think of every project you've worked on where the best engineering and materials were prohibitively expensive; the style needed to be compromised to appeal to a market you

By Emily Engle - Apr 18

Milan Design Week Recap: Days 1 and 2

A few of our favorite discoveries from our first two days on site in Milan

We're two days into Milan Design week, and although we haven't hit the big shows yet, we've discovered plenty of smaller wonders within or near La Brera and Ventura Centrale, ranging from wooden marionettes made from chairs to electric vehicle sketches:

By Rain Noe - Apr 18

Here's Our Idea for How an Omnidirectional Treadmill Would Work

I don't want to say that we're brilliant. So you say it

One of the hurdles that virtual reality designers face, in trying to bring their Ready Player One immersive worlds to fruition, isn't virtual; it's physical. It's to do with the fact that VR headsets currently require a physical tether, and that the wearer cannot stray far from that tether. Even

By Rain Noe - Apr 18

Freak Accident or Design Flaw? Diagram Explains Student's Accidental Death Inside His Parked Minivan

This is an awful story that automotive designers should take note of. Last week, in the parking lot of his Ohio high school, 16-year-old student Kyle Plush went to his minivan to retrieve some tennis gear. He never returned. Around 9pm that night his father, looking for him, located

By Emily Engle - Apr 17

Book Review Pt. 3—Brutally Honest: No Bullshit Business Strategies to Evolve Your Creative Business

This excerpt is all about writing the perfect cover letter. Tomorrow is the last day to get your hands on a copy!

We're publishing a third and final excerpt from Brutally Honest: No Bullshit Business Strategies to Evolve Your Creative Business, the "tell it like it is" career advice book specifically catered to designers. Written by Emily Cohen, the book compiles honest business insights and strategies the seasoned design consultant has been

By Rain Noe - Apr 17

Urban Design Observations, Los Angeles Edition: More from the Hollywood Hills

We're back from the Hollywood Hills, which is a topographically crazy place to build houses. Each one sits on a precious lot that has been carved into a slope. L.A. being a city of cars, parking is obviously at a premium here. These two parking spaces, hemmed in by unattractive

By Rain Noe - Apr 17

BadAbout: A Website Where You Can Complain About Product Designs

No positivity allowed, that's not the point here

BadAbout is the name of a website billing itself as "an online encyclopedia of criticism:" "We allow users to quickly share and discover the drawbacks about something, usually a product or service. We are not a general review site. We collect the bad points to achieve a positive purpose."That's right,

By Emily Engle - Apr 17

Behind the Scenes of COS x Phillip K. Smith III's Reflective 'Open Sky' Installation at Milan Design Week

The mirrored structures will be on view all week at the historic Palazzo Isimbardi

COS has returned to Milan Design Week for a seventh consecutive collaborative installation. Last year, the London-based fashion brand collaborated with Studio Swine to create a multi-sensory experience including a fountain of air-bubbles. This time around, the collaborator is Palm Springs-based designer Phillip K. Smith III , and for the

By Rain Noe - Apr 17

Honda's Two Design Approaches to Help Stroke Victims Walk

From their experimental robot come helpful exoskeleton legs

Most people think of Honda as a car and motorcycle company, but they view themselves as a mobility company. That's why, nearly 20 years ago, an internal team of engineers was formed to help a subset of people who are functionally immobile: Stroke victims. By adapting the technology from their

By Bruce and Stephanie Tharp - Apr 16

Speculative Futures at PRIMER 18

Phil Balagtas and the first US speculative design conference

We had the pleasure of catching up with Phil Balagtas, brainchild behind the first-of-its-kind PRIMER conference and the international Speculative Futures meetup group. He shares insight about starting PRIMER and where it is going.

By Rain Noe - Apr 16

How the Eames Lounge Chair is Made

Eamesy does it

This video is unfortunately peppered with MarketingSpeak--in particular you can skip the first two minutes and 30 seconds--but it does provide a great look at how the Eames Lounge Chair is made. We urge you to ignore the poorly-written narration, as they say things like "the manufacturing process hasn't

By Rain Noe - Apr 16

This "Easy Way to Thread a Needle" Hack Looks Great, But I Can't Get It to Work With Machine Needles

Is it me, or is the trick fugazi?

If you regularly use a sewing machine and have declining eyesight, you know that threading that damn needle is the most frustrating part of the process. There are times when I've continued sewing with the wrong-sized needle just because I subconsciously didn't want to insert and thread a new one.

By Rain Noe - Apr 16

Airbus Designing Bed-Containing Modules to be Placed in Passenger Jet Cargo Compartments

...and basement rec rooms, too

Remember our deep dive into the parts of the airplane you never get to see, the long-haul crew rest areas? In a few years, passengers may also get to experience what it's like to catch some shut-eye in a dedicated airplane bed. Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace, a French supplier of

By Emily Engle - Apr 13

Joey Zeledón Explains Emotional Ergonomics and How You Can Fit Them into Your Design Process

The industrial designer also discusses his new book, Touchy/Feely

It's easy to focus on the big picture—so much so that we often lose track of small details that make a whole world of difference, especially in the design process. Seasoned industrial designer Joey Zeledón has taken a step back from this natural tendency to focus on emotional ergonomics in

By Rain Noe - Apr 13

Urban Design Observations, Los Angeles Edition: High & Low in the Hollywood Hills

On my recent trip to L.A. I crashed with a friend in the Hollywood Hills. It is an incredibly unlikely place to site so many houses. It makes San Francisco look flat. I asked my friend what the story was with this place. She explained that this used to be

By Rain Noe - Apr 13

Design Criticism: Spanish Jewelry Box

Shall we turn this into a regular event, called Nitpick Fridays?

This is one of those objects that I find beautiful in one configuration, yet ugly in another. While beauty is a subjective thing, I wanted to go over the object with you and see if we can come to some agreement about universal aesthetics (if such a thing exists).

By Rain Noe - Apr 13

What Was the Purpose of Saloon Doors?

Let's analyze the design features

The function of a doorway is to allow people to pass through a wall. The function of a door is to seal that aperture, providing visual privacy, protection from the elements and denying access to people who are not supposed to pass through that wall. Given those truths saloon

By Rain Noe - Apr 12

Unusual Transportation Concept: Flying Trains

"It's crazy--but it's so crazy that it just, might, work"

The always-imaginative Russian concept designer Semenov Dahir Kurmanbievich is at it again. This time he's conceived of a mass transit system that combines aspects of an airplane and a train: Obviously the craft is meant to draw power from the monorail. A monorail system, and the idea of getting the

By Rain Noe - Apr 12

A Mechanical Flipdot Tetris Machine

For when the song no longer gets to your roommates

Playing Tetris is a reliable way of blowing off steam for many, with a side benefit being that the music may irritate your roommate. But if your roommate has become inured to the song, you can ratchet up the sonic presence of your game-playing by constructing a Tetris machine using

By Rain Noe - Apr 12

Production Methods: Here's What You Can Make With a Beading Machine

This video produced by Covell Creative Metalworking shows you a tool I wish we'd had in our ID shop at school: A beading machine. By swapping a variety of dies in, you can prep 2D sheet metal for transformation into some truly wondrous and organic 3D forms. In the video,

By Emily Engle - Apr 11

Maude's Line of Sex Essentials Makes Sex a Well-Designed Experience from Drugstore to Bedroom

Trojan who?

Does anyone know a single person that enjoys shopping for sex-related products in drugstores? From hideous packaging to creepy names to the overabundance of available styles—right up to the part where you make uncomfortable eye contact with the cashier—I can't think of a single enjoyable step in the process. Considering

By Steven Johnson - Apr 11

Steven M. Johnson's Bizarre Invention #178: The Viewcab

Steven M. Johnson's "Patent Depending" series of inventions range from social commentary to plain ol' bizarre, and they always give us a laugh. So we've contracted him to let us publish one every week.

By Joel Moskowitz - Apr 11

Tools & Craft #91: The Transmission of Power

The five epochs of power application in woodworking

There have been 5 major upheavals in the development of woodworking tools. Each upheaval changed the way woodworking was done, changed furniture styles, and changed the skill level needed to produce professional work. The dates are approximate. 1. Hand tools mature and become standardized, c. 1750-1850.Aside for the water or

By Rain Noe - Apr 11

Prototyping a New Form Factor for the Desktop PC

Form follows fins

Unless you're a gaming nerd, I'm willing to bet your desktop PC is ugly and hidden away rather than prominently displayed. It is odd that such a crucial object in our work lives receives such little design attention, but I suppose we all need what PCs deliver more than we

By Rain Noe - Apr 11

The Lifestyle Applications of Dyneema

Lightweight, super strong, durable, workable

We live in an exciting time of material developments. Previously if you wanted to build something durable, the go-to materials were rigid substances like metal and concrete; now materials scientists are smart enough to create brilliantly tough fibers that can be woven into flexible fabrics. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber,

By Rain Noe - Apr 11

Urban Design Observations, Los Angeles Edition

In L.A.'s tony neighborhood of Marina Del Ray, here's something you'd never see in New York: