By Core Jr - Apr 19

Sponsored Post: Taking Your Business Seriously Without Taking Yourself Too Seriously 

Punk Rock Creative Director Steph Hoff explains what it's like to successfully do your own thing with both personal and corporate projects

From corporate to freelance to side hustle to small, energetic company, Steph Hoff has experienced just about every type of workplace culture through her career. Her innate sense of style and a savvy awareness of street culture give her a unique lens that she uses to filter and focus corporate

By Flo Peters - Apr 04

Access+Ability Exhibition Features Products Developed by and with People with Disabilities

The Cooper Hewitt is using their platform to educate the public on the growing movement toward accessibility and inclusive design

Access+Ability is an exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum on view now through Sept. 3, 2018. It features products, projects and services developed by and with people with disabilities—physical, cognitive and sensory—in an effort to improve their ability to lead independent lives and engage with the world.

By Robert Grace - Mar 06

Sponsored Post: Eastman Goes Silky Soft with a 'New' Fiber from Its Long-Established Cellulosics Portfolio

"Everything old is new again," or so goes the idiom. The folks at Eastman Chemical Co. apparently agree, as they have dipped back into the firm's 80-year-old portfolio of cellulose ester materials technology to come up with a "new" fiber that's now finding use in a range of intimate apparel and other trendy clothing.

By Emily Engle - Feb 23

A Heated Jacket That Understands Your Temperature Preferences Better Than You Do

Live the ultimate cozy lifestyle

As a mid-winter beacon of hope for city commuters and outdoor enthusiasts, Ministry of Supply recently launched the Mercury Intelligent Heated Jacket. There are a few other battery-powered thermal jackets on the market, but Mercury's machine learning capabilities make it kind of like wrapping yourself in a chic heated blanket

By Rain Noe - Feb 23

Explaining Why the U.S. Speedskating Team's Outfits were Designed That Way

More than a few viewers have been puzzled by Team U.S.A.'s speedskating outfits. They seem to be designed purely to draw one's eye towards their junk: The uniforms were designed by Under Armour, and InStyle asked them about the crotch bling. Here's UA's statement: "The contrasting material in

By Rain Noe - Feb 19

Japanese Company Illustrates How Much Breasts Weigh by Strapping Animals to Men and Having Them Play Sports

Most of we men have no idea what it feels like to live with the persistent weight of breasts on the front of our torsos. And I couldn't imagine having to play tennis with, say, a fanny pack strapped across my chest. To illustrate what this weight is like, Japanese

By Rain Noe - Feb 12

How Team USA's Self-Heating Olympic Jackets Work, and a List of the Design Firms That Helped to Create Them

It's so cold in PyeongChang that Italy reportedly advised their Olympic team "to skip the entertainment portion of the ceremony" due to the subzero temperatures. It would not be like the Italians to take their fashion cues from us Americans, but perhaps in this case they ought have; Team USA

By Rain Noe - Dec 12, 2017

Hilariously Risqué Holiday Party Costumes by YourSassyGrandma

"Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny...."

Etsy seller YourSassyGrandma seems pretty sassy indeed: Their store sells a line of "Ugly Christmas sweaters and more," where the "more" pertains to holiday costumes that integrate parts of human anatomy. I have to say it doesn't work as well for the guys, although the reindeer at least gets some

By Rain Noe - Dec 11, 2017

Viral Video: Creative Kids Hilariously Spoof Victoria's Secret Runway Show--in the Jungle

The provenance of this is unclear, but this Vietnamese Facebook account has posted this video of some very creative kids spoofing a Victoria's Secret catwalk event. The creativity is pretty astonishing: Talk about using local materials! I've scrolled through the comments hoping to find the creators' names, but most

By Rain Noe - Dec 06, 2017

Want a Han Solo Parka? Columbia is Selling "Empire Strikes Back" Outerwear

These should be Hoth-selling items

Clothing brand Columbia has licensed the rights to fashion designs from "The Empire Strikes Back" and, starting on Friday, will be selling the following items: The officially-licensed, limited-edition Luke Skywalker™ Echo Base Jacket will keep you warmer than a tauntaun while you take on the Empire. This durable cotton-blend, water-resistant

By Emily Engle - Nov 21, 2017

Levi's Head of Design Jonathan Cheung on Productive Procrastination and Foolproofing Product Ideas

The seasoned designer offers up useful advice for designers at all levels

After hearing Levi's current Head of Design, Jonathan Cheung, give an insightful speech on the future of branding and retail at WGSN's Futures conference, we were inspired to speak with him more about his role at the 164 year old denim company.

By Robert Grace - Nov 16, 2017

Sponsored Post: Not Your Father's Polyester

Eastman Avra™ is creating next-generation comfort in performance apparel

Jeff Edwards was thrilled when his Golden State Warriors won the NBA title this past summer. But the Fox Racing executive seems almost as excited by something seemingly more mundane—a new polyester fabric. That's important to Edwards since, in his role as global director of hard goods for the

By Allison Fonder - Oct 02, 2017

Levi's x Google Jacquard's Jacket with Conductive Yarn Is Finally Available

This is perhaps the first wearable to come out you'll actually want to wear

Over two years ago, Google's Advanced Technology And Projects group began developing Project Jacquard, an effort to transmit the idea of futuristic wearables from tech to the textile world. Head of the Jacquard project Ivan Poupyrev (who spoke at our 2015 Designing Here Now conference about it) along with his

By Rain Noe - Sep 22, 2017

Convincingly Futuristic Designs: How FBFX Tackles Spacesuits for Hollywood

From "The Martian" to "Alien: Covenant," here are the details that you missed on-screen

Of all the things you could pursue with a degree in industrial design, working for a place like FBFX has got to be one of the most interesting. This UK-based design and fabrication house, which has access to toys like a 7-axis robotic milling machine, a plastics manufacturing shop and

By Rain Noe - Sep 06, 2017

Twistron Yarn Allows Fabric to Generate Electricity

No batteries required

We've heard of electrically-conductive thread before. But a team of materials scientists have done that invention one better, by developing yarn that can generate electricity. The research team, which comes from a collaboration between the University of Texas at Dallas and South Korea's Hanyang University, calls their invention Twistron. It's

By Steven Johnson - Aug 23, 2017

Steven M. Johnson's Bizarre Invention #150: Rethinking the Necktie

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 - Aug 23, 2017

Elon Musk Reveals SpaceX's New, Functioning Spacesuit

…and it's pretty darn stylish

When you think of spacesuits, you probably picture the Michelin-man-style bulky numbers that astronauts wear on spacewalks. But both Boeing and now SpaceX have designed slimmer spacesuits meant to be worn inside of spacecraft. These don't have the ballistic protection (required for meteorite particles) that spacewalk-capable suits possess, but they

By Steven Johnson - Aug 16, 2017

Steven M. Johnson's Bizarre Invention #169: Bomb Blast Benches

Take a load off

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 - Aug 15, 2017

The Sewbot, a Fully Automated Sewing Machine, is Cool. It's Also Bad News for Garment Workers

CNC finally comes to a sector that it previously couldn't

This is one of those things that's technologically impressive and socially terrifying. CNC technology has spread into most areas of manufacture. One large component with CNC operations is "hold-down," or affixing the material firmly in place so that the business end of the tool can work it precisely. Hold-down has

By Rain Noe - Aug 15, 2017

After "Game of Thrones" Capes Revealed to Be Ikea Rugs, Ikea Releases How-To Instructions

Here's a 10-second clip of "Game of Thrones" costume designer Michele Clapton revealing where the capes of the Night's Watch come from: Apparently folks were titillated that Ikea rugs were the source material. So too was someone at Ikea, who then had whomever's in charge of producing Ikea's

By Shannon Rogers - Aug 03, 2017

Hand Tool School #41: The Perfect Shop Apron for Me

Retiring a useful friend for a younger, hotter model

I started using a shop apron about 5 years ago. I'm not sure what prompted me to first put one on, but I very quickly came to rely on it. I stopped losing pencils and my little 6" ruler, and my dust collector remote control was always within reach. Over

By Rain Noe - Jul 24, 2017

The Unlikely Tools Used to Manufacture Jeans: A Dremel, Sandpaper, Rocks, Shotgun Pellets

Increasing labor costs to help destroy the product seems ridiculous

We modern-day consumers have inconsistent aesthetic choices that affect certain factory lines in odd ways. For instance, we want our cars, smartphones and appliances to look brand new, but a subset of us want our jeans and furniture to look old and beat-up. This latter preference has resulted in some

By Emily Engle - Jul 12, 2017

BuzziPleat Ruffs Merge Acoustics and Lighting

They're also the identical twin of Queen Elizabeth I's neck piece

There's been a lot of "buzz" around BuzziSpace and 13&9's award-winning BuzziPleat, aka giant ruffs that can be used as sound dampeners, lighting, and/or decoration. They look just like this... but are way more functional. Although pretty much anything would be—unless anyone can convince me otherwise, those neck things do not seem to serve a purpose.

By Emily Engle - Jul 12, 2017

Nike Brings Flyknit Technology to Clothing with the FE/NOM Flyknit Sports Bra

This one's for the ladies

Ask any woman—no matter what their size or shape may be—what their main challenges are during a workout. I guarantee the conversation will start with sports bras nine times out of ten. Often times, sports bras lack support, and the materials used are not as sweat-friendly as promised. This leads

By Rain Noe - Jul 05, 2017

Breaking Down the Design of the Amazonian Armor in "Wonder Woman"

Influences, materials and battle function

As the Costume Designer for "Wonder Woman," Lindy Hemming had her work cut out for her. The titular character's costume had already been designed, by Michael Wilkinson, for her appearance in the earlier "Batman v. Superman," and now it fell to Hemming to reverse-engineer how that costume might have evolved

By Emily Engle - Jul 03, 2017

MOO Announces Business Cards Made from Cotton T-Shirts

An old manufacturing technique, revived

Business printing company MOO recently announced their latest project—printing business cards using paper made from recycled cotton t-shirts. Cotton paper is nothing new: As MOO Head of Product Design Toby Hextall describes, "cotton rag paper is one of the older forms of paper manufacturing, but it fell out of fashion

By Rain Noe - Jun 22, 2017

Watch This Making of an Equus Alligator Watch Strap Video

A clean, quiet, soothing process

Most of you reading this blog, and most of us writing it, know what it is to make things. And we've all seen tons of videos of other people making things. This one here, of an expert saddler/sellier crafting an alligator watch strap for Equus, stands out for being the

By Rain Noe - Jun 09, 2017

Stantt's Data-Driven Sizing of Men's Shirts for a Perfect Fit

The company offers a staggering 75 different sizes, based on just three measurements

Most button-down men's shirts come in XS, S, M, L, XL. Just five sizes. As industrial designers we understand that manufacturers must limit their production variations in order to maintain profit, but clothing manufacturer Stantt reckons that those five sizes truly fit just 15% of men. That's why Stantt

By Kat Bauman - Jun 06, 2017

Did IKEA Diss Balenciaga In This Bag Ad? 

Design beef even tastier than their meatballs

I enjoy IKEA hacking as much as the next guy, but Balenciaga's $2.1k "homage" to the classic blue bag felt a bit hackneyed. While the accessible furniture and home goods company has stated publicly that the high fashion rip off is "flattering" this new ad might suggest otherwise. It's

By Rain Noe - Apr 04, 2017

Affordable Desktop CNC Machines Expand Into Textiles

Kniterate brings DIY digital fabrication to fashion designers

Within the hierarchy of designers, graphic designers were the first to gain affordable digital tools with the advent of the Mac. Then industrial designers, with the arrival of desktop 3D printers and CNC mills. Now fashion designers will be joining the affordable digital fabrication party, thanks to designer and inventor

By Core Jr - Apr 04, 2017

Studio Swine Dreams Up a "Multi-Sensory Experience" for COS 

The exhibition made for Salone 2017 in Milan features material-repelling smoke bubbles

For the sixth year in a row, fashion brand COS joins in on the Milan Design Week fun with an encapsulating exhibition created by Studio Swine, the design duo behind a number of beautiful process-related design films over the past few years (and whose films we presented at our 2016