By Emily Engle - Jul 02

Swarovski's Designers of the Future Winners Use Crystal to Investigate 'Smart Living' Solutions

The three diverse projects find ways to incorporate the unexpected, yet familiar material into the world of smart home devices

The winners of this year's Swarovski Designers of the Future competition recently unveiled what they've been up to at Design Miami/Basel. On display as a complete exhibition, the commissioned projects each used Swarovski crystal innovations to explore the theme 'Smart Living'. Crystal definitely isn't the first material that comes to

By Robert Grace - Jul 02

Sponsored Post: Materials Offer a Key to Innovative Applications for Home-Health Trends

Consumers are increasingly being expected to have a greater role in "healing thyself." Shorter hospital stays, fewer instances of clinician-administered medication, and more do-it-yourself cases of in-home care drive the need for innovative home-healthcare devices. The implications are many – not only for sis, dad and grandma – but also for healthcare brand owners, pharmaceutical packaging producers, medical device designers and related materials suppliers.

By Rain Noe - Jul 02

FixIts: User-Moldable Plastic for DIY Repair, Developed by Chris Lefteri

Comes in stick form, dries harder than Sugru

Chris Lefteri, the materials designer who literally wrote the book on the subject, has cooked up a new plastics-based concoction meant to be used for DIY repairs. Called FixIts, Lefteri's blend of polymer-based herbs and spices comes in stick form and is user-moldable: "FixIts are incredibly tough and made

By Emily Engle - Jun 27

Yuma Kano Discusses the Magical Process of "Rust Harvesting" 

The Japanese designer developed a method of transferring rust from metal surfaces to acrylic

When we think of rust, the first thing that comes to mind is "old," as the natural process is an indicator of age for most products and even modes of transportation like motorcycles and boats. Through his experimental materials project Rust Harvest, designer Yuma Kano aims to transform our notion

By Core Jr - Jun 26

FixIts is a new household emergency fixer

Takes advantage of material's properties to help people repair broken items

FixIts™ is the first product to come out of Chris Lefteri Design and marks an extension from the studio's history as a materials design consultancy by bringing to life one of its founders first material discoveries. FixIts™ is the world's first compostable, hand-moldable plastic stick that softens in 60C water

By Emily Engle - Jun 22

Central Saint Martins MA Materials Future Grad Projects Explore the Future of Food, Tech & Waste Management

Lovely and occasionally dystopian materials inspiration

Following their intimate exhibition on the ground level of Ventura Futures during Milan Design Week, Central Saint Martins' 2018 MA Materials Future graduate products are now publicly on display at their Degree Show until June 24. Many of the projects on display at Ventura Futures weren't completed yet, so it's

By Victor Lazzaro - Jun 11

Finding the Right Materials in an Ocean of Options

Picking the perfect materials is tricky, but when you get it just right, almost nothing compares

As a designer, you can probably picture a finished product in your mind long before the specs are finalized. But even if that mental image is crystal clear, significant questions linger regarding how it will all come together—not the least of which being what materials you should use. In my

By Rain Noe - Jun 07

Autonomous Shared Cars Will Require Different Interior Materials Because People are Slobs

I'm a member of ZipCar, which I love for the convenience. But one thing that always reminds you that you're in a shared car is the state of the interiors. I've experienced the following in a ZipCar: Sticky steering wheels, candy wrappers and potato chip bags shoved into various orifices,

By Rain Noe - Jun 04

A Second Designer Experiments with Using Plastic Bottles as Heat-Shrink Joinery

First Charlène Guillaume, now Micaella Pedros

A couple of years ago we looked at the work of Charlène Guillaume. While studying at France's ENSCI-Les Atelier (the National School for Industrial Design), Guillaume experimentally used discarded PET bottles as heat-shrink wrap to join wood: Bottle It from charlene guillaume on Vimeo.While not aesthetically attractive, we thought

By Emily Engle - May 30

Our Favorite Skateboard Designs from frog's DECKxDESIGN Challenge

NYC-based design studios were tasked with rethinking the traditional skateboard

For this year's NYCxDesign, frog partnered with Art Start for the second year in a row to help bring creativity to NYC's homeless and at-risk youth through their DECKxDESIGN challenge. Following a successful inaugural year focused on dart boards, this year pivoted focus towards a different type of board—the skateboard.

By Rain Noe - May 29

Visual Guide: What the Actual Trees of 52 Different Wood Species Look Like

From Acacia to Zebrawood

If you've seen our excellent series on different species of wood, by looking at boards you can identify the ones most commonly used in furniture and homebuilding. But do you know what an actual Poplar, Walnut or Zebrawood tree looks like? Could you actually draw one if you were playing

By Michael DiTullo - May 14

Yo! C77 Sketch: Tips for Rendering Chrome

In this episode of Yo! C77 Sketch, Michael DiTullo shows us how to properly render chrome without overdoing it

Chrome can be a tricky thing to draw. The temptation is always to over do it. In this video I'll show you a light and easy chrome technique that shows off the reflective, metallic nature of it without overdoing it. As always, if you have any questions or comments

By Rain Noe - May 08

What If Lids Could Do More Than Just Seal a Container?

Nendo re-thinks closures for vessels with their "Air Lids"

A fluoroelastomer is a variant of synthetic rubber. Chemical- and stain-resistant, it's used to make seals in air conditioners and automobiles. Nendo, however, imagined more domestic applications for the stuff, and partnered with air conditioner manufacturer Daikin, a company well-versed in fluoroelastomers, to make a new series of kitchen objects.

By Rain Noe - Apr 27

Design/Build Competition: Make Something Out of One Bag of Quikrete

First prize is $2,500, and based on last year's winner, you've got a good shot at this

For the third year in a row Quikrete is running their One Bag Wonder Competition, where entrants design and build something using one bag of their product. First prize is $2,500. Second prize is $1,500. Third prize is $500. Fourth prize is a big bag of nothing. Here's

By Rain Noe - Apr 27

Making Time for Bio-Plastics: Mondaine Experiments with a Castor-Oil-Based Watch

The Essence collection is the first step in what will hopefully become a movement

From bans on plastic straws and bags to concerns about the ever-growing Pacific Garbage Patch (which is now three times the size of France), there is a movement towards plastic reduction that we all need to support. Obviously this can't happen overnight, but can be viable if thousands of companies

By Rain Noe - Apr 26

Chinese Scientists Develop Wood Composite Made with the Help of Crabs and Shrimp

Are you chitin me

I know this is a weird one, so bear with me. Facts: Populous China has a high demand for wood-based materials. The demand far exceeds China's forestry resources. China has a ready supply of wood waste (sawdust, chips, offcuts) from its factories. So it would be ideal if they could

By Rain Noe - Apr 24

Advanced Bondo Tips for Designers and Modelmakers

How to make extrusions, flexible parts and do the Bondo "squeeze"

Now that you've watched Part 1 and Part 2 of the Bondo tips series, here's Part 3, which industrial designer Eric Strebel has saved some seriously cool tricks for. Strebel shows you how to extrude it, how to make it both flexible and sandable, and how to use it to

By Rain Noe - Apr 19

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

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 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 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 Robert Grace - Apr 10

Sponsored Post: Material Implications for the Future of Mobility

The following is a sponsored post, courtesy of Covestro. It used to be that the lines between various key industry sectors, such as automotive, electrical/electronics, appliances and healthcare were relatively clear and distinct. No more. Current trends – as underscored by various pronouncements and product introductions at the

By Rain Noe - Apr 10

Resin Casting Tips & Tricks, Part 2

Eight ways to get better results with less mess and less errors

If you work with resin, you undoubtedly found industrial designer Eric Strebel's 7 Resin Casting Tips & Tricks useful. Now Strebel's back with another eight tips, covering how to eliminate air bubbles, tips for keeping the worksurface clean, how to think an excessively thick resin, how to put leftover or