Throughout the past 20 years, one key goal has been the focus of our little corner of the internet: sharing the best of design inspiration and knowledge with you, our creative readers. Below we've gathered some of the best design resources of the past year so that you can greet 2016 with a renewed sense of direction and unleash your best DIY potential. We can't wait to see what you come up with!
Strong joinery techniques are a hallmark of good woodworking. If you want to brush up on some joint types you learned about in school or to find some more sophisticated alternatives for your next design, check out this comprehensive visual guide for all of your wood projects: chairs, tables, cabinets, etc.
If you've ever needed to create a custom mechanism for a design with moving parts, look no further than engineer Nguyen Duc Thang's exhaustive collection of easy-to-understand 3D animations. With over 1,700 case studies, you're bound to find a mechanism suitable for your next project. You'll even find out how Clemens Torggler's awesome hinged doors function.
A lot of design research compressed in a handy, go-to reference for seating design. Here you'll find general measurement and proportion guidelines for pretty much any project you have in mind—whether you're working on a chair, sofa, stool, bench, booth or banquette.
Even if you've been using our Seating Dimensions Reference, you might find it useful to get a hands-on feel for how different angles are affecting your design. We show you how to create a basic chair rig—using only plywood and pipes—that will let you play around until you find that sweet spot fit.
If you're ready to take the next step with you work and find a way of getting your handcrafted objects into the hands of consumers, you might be curious about Amazon's Handmade initiative, launched earlier this year. We went over the program and pulled out all the relevant information you need to know before you apply.
By now you've probably checked out our Wood Joint Reference Guide and found at least a few new things you want to try. But this video of Japanese carpenters fitting some of the most complex joints we've ever seen together is, pretty much inarguably, the ultimate in wood joint inspiration. With a mastery of technique and precision, this is pure process porn.
At the end of each week we compile our favorite videos in a one-stop shop of the greatest YouTube maker projects. Check out our archive to date, filled with shop organization and efficiency tips, ideas on how different makers support themselves, and a variety of how-tos focused on specific design-build projects—from basic workbenches to mobile shop carts.
Todd Clippinger of the American Craftsman Workshop reveals his top tips for keeping creative minds at their peak. From getting outside of your studio and exploring outside to seeking out makers who work in different styles to broaden your base—his four main points are timeless nuggets of design wisdom.
This year we enlisted one of our favorite makers, Jimmy DiResta, to create a series of narrated videos in which he walks us through what he's doing, explaining the why and how behind his process. We especially admire his "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" attitude to furniture creation—a mix of technique and improvisation that is nothing short of inspiring.
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• 15 of Your Favorite Posts from 2015
• The Coming Age of Automobility and What It Means for Designers
• 10 Clever, Innovative or Bizarre Design Processes from 2015
• 10 Brilliant and Beautiful Objects from Our 'Designing Women' Series
• 12 Projects to Inspire Future Living
• Design Entrepreneurs Were Killing it in 2015
• The Year in Furniture Designs, Part 1: The Beautiful, the Innovative and the Unusual
• 15 Tools and Tool-Based Projects We Loved in 2015
• 8 New Types of Digital Fabrication Machines
• 17 Random and Amazing Phenomena We Saw This Year
• The Best Product Design GIFs of 2015
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