The 2024 Design Intelligence Award (DIA) ceremony wrapped up the 2024 awards season at the China Academy of Art, Liangzhu Campus. The top honor and grand prize went to the Fourier General-Purpose Humanoid Robot GR-1. The THETA Dental Implant Surgery Robot System, Digital Central Axis: Immersive Interactive Digital Exhibition of Beijing's Central Axis, Pic Copilot, and the Ventete aH-1 Helmet (UK) all earned Gold Awards.This year's entries reflect the global diversity and cross-cultural exchange of the contemporary era, featuring work with cutting-edge applications in artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, virtual reality, new materials, and so much more. The work actively explores augmented reality and human-machine symbiosis within emerging industries - like low-altitude economy, digital cultural tourism, and humanoid robotics - promoting the reconstruction and upgrading of global supply chains, innovation chains, and value chains in Industry 4.0. Founded in 2015, the Design Intelligence Award (DIA) is the first international academy award in the field of industrial design in China. Upholding the core values of humanistic Intellect, life wisdom, industrial think tank, and science-art intelligence, DIA has run successfully for nine seasons. The DIA aims for professionalism, international participation, and perspective, making it China's most influential industrial design competition and an important global platform for discussing intelligent design and innovative wisdom.This year's competition current DIA edition has received over 8,000 entries from 47 countries and regions worldwide, adding seven new participating countries and gathering representation from 76 countries and regions for the first time. Among the entries, 360 works from 21 countries and regions were awarded, with 39 outstanding works reaching the finals. Notably, 58% of the selected works are not yet on the market, and 56% are making their global debut. The Grand Prize project Fourier General-Purpose Humanoid Robot GR-1.DIA 2024 Grand PrizeThe Jury's top prize was awarded to Shanghai Fourier Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. for the Fourier General-Purpose Humanoid Robot GR-1 (China). This is a complete humanoid framework with a robust platform customization, combining bionics with high-performance robotic technology, endowing the machine with a sense of life and immense intelligence potential. The THETA Dental Implant Surgery Robot System Industrial Equipment Gold winner.Industrial Equipment - Gold AwardHangzhou Jianjia Medical Technology Co., Ltd earned a gold in the Industrial Equipment category for their THETA Dental Implant Surgery Robot System. This is a dual-mode, multi-configuration, mobile and easy-to-operate robot for the dental surgery field. The integrated digital design enhances precision and efficiency, showcasing the promising prospects of artificial intelligence in the dental field while promoting equitable access to oral healthcare.The Pic Copilot Digital Economy Gold Winner.Digital Economy - Gold AwardAlibaba International Digital Business Group took the gold in Digital Economy for its Pic Copilot a clever and simple design with highly efficient and practical AI, integrating multicultural experiences and addressing commercial pain points, effectively covering a wide range of user demands for everyday issues. Digital Central Axis: Immersive Interactive Digital Exhibition takes Gold for Cultural Innovation.Cultural Innovation - Gold AwardTencent Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. earned Gold in the Cultural Innovation category for Digital Central Axis: Immersive Interactive Digital Exhibition. The largest hyper-realistic digital twin space of Beijing's Central Axis to date, marking the first global application of gaming technology in world heritage nominations. The integration of historical heritage and modern technology is profoundly significant. The Ventete aH-1 Helmet wins gold in the Life Wisdom category. Life Wisdom - Gold AwardVentete Ltd (UK) took the Gold in the Life Wisdom category for Ventete aH-1 Helmet, an inflatable, mini-foldable bicycle helmet with a patented pneumatic structure system which delivers unprecedented multifunctionality and convenience.Check out all the award-winning projects in the Design Intelligence Awards 2024 program and learn more about DIA for 2025 by visiting the official DIA website.

Here are the prettiest pieces of furniture we saw this year:Panter & Tourron's ANC stool, CNC-machined from an aluminum slab. Max Lamb's deceiving-looking 005 Lounge Chair for Vaarnii. Industrial designer David Raymond's aluminum Rounded Edges Chair. The Peace Outdoor Lounge Chair, Faye Toogood's brutal & sophisticated Finnish-British take on the Adirondack Chair. A series of stunning pieces by Australian furniture designer Brodie Neill. These pieces with wood and stone joinery by Maine-based furniture designer Ethan Stebbins. Austrian designer Laurids Galle's "Metropolis"-inspired resin furniture. German architect Gustav Dsing's Chair23D is an actually good-looking CNC-cut flatpack chair. Belgian designer Peter Donders' Wind Bench, which combines digital fabrication with hand shaping. South Korean sculptor/furniture designer Soo Joo's biophilic Dynamic Mirrors. Studio Toda's Cocoda Chair is Mid-Century-Modern-meets-Japan. This gorgeous walking stick/folding stool, by Danish designer/builder Anker Bak, is what he calls "everyday assistive furniture." Architect Deniz Aktay's handsome Fibonacci-inspired wall mirror. Icelandic industrial designer Hlynur Atlason's rotomolded Limbo Chair. Danish architect/furniture designer Leif Jrgensen's LJ Spider Chair is simple and complicated at the same time. And lastly, a design classic with a muddy history: Kaare Klint's Propellor Stool.

Sure, our food supply has been poisoned by large corporations, and we're hooked on sugary drinks that make us sick. Can design help? Maybeor we can just stay in our lane and design more stuff for you to buy! Shiny shiny! Here are the food, drink and kitchen-related designs that jumped out at us in 2024.Mbino, by Metaform Architects, is a beautiful espresso cup made by combining digital fabrication with handwork. When bad UX is the point: This no-handle coffee mug, by British design collective Ma3t, was designed for rock climbers. NASA's zero-gravity drinking cup was prototyped in space. A fine example of form follows function: These stange glasses for Klsch beer. A vice-friendly design classic: Joe Colombo's Smoke Glasses. Another industrial design classic is Spanish industrial designer Rafael Marquina's no-drip oil cruet. Italian industrial designer Corrado Dotti designed these elegant, double-walled Cilindro oil cruets, which appear to float. This stunning, minimalist glass bottle is by RISD grad Peter Ivy. Old-school package design: Japanese bamboo spice vessels. These Vk serving trays, by industrial designer Dgg Gumundsdttir, were inspired by the Icelandic environment. An eye-catching design detail: The knurled Buster + Punch handles on this Staub cookware. Cloche, by industrial designer Guillaume Bloget, is a low-tech, designey food smoker. Also low-tech and involving flame is this Bola Grill Master, a design for a barbecue grill with height-adjustable cooking surfaces. The Tibetus Technical Bridge-Console, by Italian brand Snaidero, is an overhead rail system for kitchen islands. If you're obsessive about your toast, perhaps Mitsubishi Electric's sealed, insulated $270-$500 single-slice toaster is for you. There are a lot of surprisingly innovative design features in this 1963 GE refrigerator.From Japan, this Mirable Kitchen is faucet can clean dirty dishes without soap, using micro-bubbles. From China, Boelon's hi-tech "luxury" kitchen sink has some crazy features.In the UK, Costa Coffee has rolled out an autonomous, small-footprint 24-hour coffee shop in kiosk form. Back in America, SeaWorld has been selling burgers where the cheese comes in syringes. (Next step is we inject it directly into our bodies.) A collaboration between Serve Robotics and Wing Aviation combines robots with drones for food delivery.UK Supermarket chain Tesco's laser-etched avocados save on packaging waste. Always wanted to disaster prep, don't know where to start? Costco sells these 150-serving emergency meal buckets. Lastly, Unnecessary Design Studio has created this object to harvest burrito waste for taco fillings.

Each year, over 100 million bicycles are produced worldwide, versus 94 million automobiles. The modern buyer includes urban residents seeking environmentally-friendly transport and exercise, as well as those in developing nations seeking a reliable and affordable means of transport. Bike ownership surged during the pandemicsome estimates have it at 25% growth in 2020 aloneand sales will only grow. So it's not surprising that we saw a ton of bike-related designs this year.We'll start off with the precursor to the bicycle: The running machine, a/k/a the Draisine, developed by German inventor Karl Drais in 1816. Drais could never imagined that in 208 years, his invention would yield descendants like these:This low-maintenance, corrosion-proof RCYL Bike. Some 90% of the bike is made out of plastic. Taiwanese manufacturer BESV's stylish PSF1, a folding e-bike. The Owlet, a radicalnew form for the e-bike. Bleeding into motorcycle territory is this electric, off-road 2x2 Ultra Bike by Russia's Robo Systems. As e-bikes proliferate, so too do e-bike accidents. In a drive to increase safety, Dutch police have begun using this roadside e-bike speed testing contraption. E-bikes need to be charged, of course. Industrial Design student Matthew Quejada designed this Ultium Lift, an e-bike charging station for garages. Another type of bike Drais probably couldn't have foreseen is the cargo bike. German company Dynamic Drives has completely re-thought the cargo bike form factor with their Intelectra pedelec. Meanwhile in London, manufacturer Cityshuttle has mashed up the electric cargo bike with a tractor-trailer to create their ePack.For those who don't need a full cargo bike, from Germany comes this Allpacka One, a collapsible cargo box for bikes.Engineer Robert G. Ozarski invented the Kradl, an electricity-free, spring-loaded bike hoist that makes it easier to store.Industrial designer Adrien Rovero designed this cheeky bike rack as a clear statement. Swiss company V-Locker designed these space-efficient, paternoster-like bike storage lockers. Also in Switzerland, industrial design firm Erfindergeist created this transforming train seating for bike storage.Bike helmets, too, are increasingly receiving design attention. The Ventete aH-1 is an inflatable, collapsible design.Industrial designers Masaru Kiyota and Sawyer Hagen designed the Oshel, a lockable bike helmet. Another industrial designer, Ash Lewin, has realized his dream for the fastest bike helmet ever. And finally, for you mountain bikers: The RinseKit Tailgate Showermakes it easy to hose your bike off after a muddy ride.

Everyone's talking about the future, AI, blah blah blah. But this year we saw plenty of cool design solutions from earlier decades and centuries.Early mass production: In ancient China they developed Dragon Kilns, which run up hills. The fires at the bottom send heat throughout the entirety of the structure, enabling mass firings. In Japan, these Inuyarai bamboo slats protect businesses from dog pee and rain splatter. An old-school construction trick, used everywhere from the Swiss Alps to Japan, is using rocks to hold roofing in place. Farmers in Scandinavia have a low-tech way to make it easier for a horse and cart to reach the second story of a barn. Residents of rural Eastern Europe built these Vltoare, a natural washing machine made by tapping into rivers. Here's a 19th-century British design for a multi-tool. Around the same time, the Shakers were building these retractable drying racks for their laundry facilities. Doctors of the era, meanwhile, examined patients on one of these. Hopefully it was padded at some point. Moving into the 20th century, we find this clever design for a no-tools-required-to-install hanging hook. The design persists today. Architect Fabrizio Batoni designed these Art Deco faucets by reaching into manufacturer Mamoli's back catalog, circa 1938. Industrial designer Bruno Munari designed this Cubo, a modernist ashtray, around 1954.Image: Di Albertozanardo - CC BY-SA 4.0 Arne Jacobsen's Cylinda ashtray is another carcinogenic classic, circa late '50s/early '60s. Legendary Italian industrial designer Enzo Mari designed his Formosa and Timor perpetual calendars in the 1960s. They're still in production. Spanish industrial designer Rafael Marquina designed his classic no-drip oil cruet in 1961. It too is still in production.While this might look like an ashtray, it's actually for storing jewelry. It's part of a 1970s line of ceramic objects by Italian industrial designer Robert Grigato. This Wildo Fold-A-Cup, a classic Swedish design, first went into production in 1979. It's still on the market (with a slight materials update). Here's to hoping we encounter more objects in 2025 that have withstood the test of time.

Two pandemic-inspired trends that have lasted through 2024: Somewhat paradoxically, people are spending more time at home, as well as spending a lot of time outdoors. Here are the innovations we saw this year aimed at both of those environments.To meet a German client's needs, Polish architecture firm KWK Promes developed this privacy fencing that appears at the push of a button.In Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, these roller shutters are common. They resemble the rolldown gates urban American stores used to protect their businesses, but here the application is domestic, allowing homeowners to black out a room in seconds. In a village in Canada, residents are used to visiting bears destroying their privacy fences. Some neighborhood kids devised this outside-of-the-box solution.This homeowner hacked a way for his robot dog to help him out with yardwork.Worried about your tissue box blowing away in a strong breeze? Japanese design firm Form Design Studio created this tissue box made out of iron. Canadian firm Bateman Labs has a new take on work-from-home and gaming set-ups. They've devised a new furniture category: Modular armchair-based workstations and gaming stations. Tracing paper patterns onto fabric is time-consuming. This hi-tech Ditto system projects the patterns directly onto your fabric. In an effort to combat clutter, industrial design firm Kritzer came up with this unusual U-shaped power strip. No room for a laundry rack? Singaporean company Good Living offers this hi-tech automatic ceiling-mounted retractable laundry rack. Running out of space in the kitchen? Japanese company Yamazaki offers this add-on kitchen drawer and worksurface. A company called Rinseroo has harnessed the properties of thermoplastic rubber to create this Slip-On Tub Hose. U.S. Gymnastics coped with this year's sweltering Olympic Village by bringing in BedJets, which are in-bed air conditioning systems. Chinese company Xiaomi designed a draft-free air conditioner that exploits cool air's tendency to sink. If you're DIY'ing your house's interior, Trusscore is a user-friendly sheetrock alternative. Moving outside the house, the Bola Grill Master is a low-tech design for a barbecue grill with height-adjustable cooking surfaces. A similar take, with a different execution: The Takibi Stand, a space-saving Japanese alternative to the barbecue grill. Also from Japan comes this Square Kettle, which the manufacturer says boils water faster. Meant to cope with uneven ground, this camping table from Ruck & River only has one leg. For those who prefer four legs, French company Fixmotion's self-stabilizing outdoor tables get rid of wobble on uneven surfaces.Veteran tent designer Jake Lah created this Cot Tent for Helinox. No more sleeping on that cold, hard ground. Gear Aid's Heroclip is a carabiner with a swing-out hook and a pivot. Australian industrial design firm Tricycle re-thinks the design of the overlanding water tank with their G-Series. And finally, Gnara's GoFly zipper design makes it easy for women to pee outdoors.

For every schlocky consumerist invention spammed into our inboxes this year, we did see some true innovations. Objects and systems intended to improve society and businesses, created by clever designers, engineers and inventors. Here's what jumped out at us in 2024:Vertical farm pioneer Plenty says "We can grow an entire soccer field worth of produce in the size of a goal." For pop-up event spaces and exhibitions, this Expandable Touchdown Trailer can move its own wheels out of the way, then lower itself to the ground. Pipe Lighting's inflatable, lightweight LED lights provide better UX for production crews. This CruiseUp, a new type of flying vehicle, uses innovative "CycloRotors" to move the vehicle in all directions. The Aerocart is a goose-inspired towed cargo glider that aims to slash shipping costs. This PlugVan system offers modular, hot-swappable van interiors for camping and work. Maxim de Jong, a pioneer of "soft system space architecture," designed this revolutionary inflatable space station. It's a more economical way to get a space habitat into orbit.Design researcher Sasha McKinlay, of MIT's Self-Assembly Lab, has developed a revolutionary clothes production method using an industrial knitting machine and a heat-blasting robotic arm. UK company RapidRoot has developed a lightweight, concrete-free building foundation system that allows for building in remote locations. Japanese researchers have developed a flying fire hose that can reach through windows. In Washington State, a frustrated DOT official worked out a way to use drones to erase difficult-to-reach graffiti. Bounce Imaging created a throwable panoramic thermal camera and two-way speaker for the military and police. It provides better tactical awareness and aids with hostage negotiations. The Spacetop, now coming to market, is a no-screen laptop. AR glasses provide the screens. Swiss company Zippsafe has designed a space-saving locker room that utilizes textile lockers. This brilliant hardhat design blows an air curtain in front of your face, serving as a safe and less cumbersome alternative to wearing facemasks.These cleverly-designed anti-flooding barriers by AquaFence keep structures safe during hurricanes. The Spider X1S is a large-format laser cutter with a compact form factor.Airback's backpacks and luggage can shrink their contents with a vacuum, allowing you to carry 50% more stuff. Former architect Hoxxoh, now a mural artist, hacks sprinklers to spray paint.

Mercedes-Benz typically makes fast, powerful cars. However, they've just unveiled this one-off EV designed "for the special purpose of slow journeys at public appearances." Introducing the all-new Popemobile, a zero-emissions vehicle based on the G580.The vehicle took about a year to produce, due to the extensive modifications:"In the rear, the bench seat was replaced by a centrally positioned and height-adjustable single seat. This swivelling main seat makes it possible to move around flexibly and address an audience from different angles. Behind the single seat, two single seats have been integrated on the left and right for additional passengers." "The roof was removed at the B-pillar, and the B-pillar itself was harmoniously transitioned into the side wall to create an unmistakable side profile. In case of rain or bad weather conditions, a separate hardtop offers protection for the occupants. The left rear door was removed and rebuilt by the specialists in traditional coachbuilding style from a single piece and seamlessly welded into the bodyshell. On the right-hand side, the hinges of the rear door were relocated to the opposite side." "Like the previous Popemobiles, the vehicle is painted in classic pearl white on the outside."Mercedes has been in the Popemobile business for nearly a century. Notably, the switch to electric was reportedly requested by the key passenger himself: "We are overjoyed to be able to fulfil. the Holy Father's wish for an electric Popemobile," says Mercedes board member Britta Seger, "and are particularly proud to be able to build the vehicle according to his requirements. This cooperation at eye level honours us deeply and is a valuable symbol of sustainable change together."The vehicle will make its debut at the 2025 Jubilee in Rome.

Imagine visiting a factory in China, and you see these things coming off of the line: It looks like they're getting ready for a war, doesn't it? They are, kind of, but a soft-power one. Chinese manufacturer FuninVR has been quietly spreading across the globe, seeding arcades in Asia, South Asia, Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, etc. with their extensive range of VR simulators. These are an interesting category of industrial design, combining furniture, human factors and user interface design with kinetic energy, all in the name of entertainment. Because they are designed for arcade environments, these machines need to be as robust as college dorm furniture. Downtime for the operator means a loss of revenue. Additionally, they need to have as small a footprint as possible, as arcade profits are all about profit-per-square-foot. And, of course, the game designers have to do their jobs too, making the games as engaging as possible in order to draw repeat business. The company's YouTube channel shows off their staggeringly deep catalog, designed to simulate a wide variety of physical experiences. Here's one example, a cockpit that can rotate 360 degrees and seat two (you can charge more for two players):Here's how the company's employees blow off steam:Plenty more to see here.

It is ironic that wind turbine blades, which typically last for 25 years, have decidedly un-green deaths. The fiberglass blades are not recyclable, and when they are decommissioned, they're typically crushed and burned as both fuel and raw material for producing cement. The crushing process alone burns a lot of energy, and burning the crushed parts as fuel creates CO2.Enter Reverlast, a Finnish company that's come up with a unique way to repurpose the blades. Company co-founder Johannes Peace, an engineer and sailor, realized that the fiberglass blades are made the same way as boats. And like boats, wind turbine blades are specifically fabricated to weather a harsh marine environment for decades.What the company does is use the blades for useful waterborne applications. "We repurpose turbine blades to build floating docks and pontoon structures," says company co-founder Ossi Heiskala. "This reduces the need for traditional pontoon materials like concrete and polyethylene plastic, making the solution even more environmentally friendly. Our prototype dock prevents roughly 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and the larger and more numerous the docks we build, the greater the impact."Peace and Heiskala launched Reverlast this year through Finland's Kiuas Accelerator, a startup incubator. For their first project, they're tackling a community sauna at Aalto University:The sauna itself is a traditional wood-heated barrel sauna, assembled from a pre-made kit. But instead of being placed on land, it will be installed on a dock that floats on pontoons made from four wind turbine blades. The pontoons are filled with polystyrene, and each weighs over 300 kilograms. The dock is more stable than a traditional floating pontoon dock and extremely durable. The fibreglass layer in the blade sections used for the pontoons is up to 6 centimetres thickfar more robust than the 1-centimetre layer typical in sailboats. "The pontoon is incredibly strongit won't break, that's for sure. Our job is to design the other parts to ensure they'll last for decades as well," says Heiskala. The dock pontoons were cut from the midsection of the blade. The narrow tip of the blade, in turn, could be used for lighter structures, such as swimming platforms, Heiskala envisions. "We're starting with floating docks because our team has a lot of expertise in that area. However, we already have more ambitious plansthe sturdier sections of the blades could be used for larger structures, like breakwaters," he explains. The sauna should be ready by next spring. And as they grow, Reverlast will have no shortage of raw materials: Ten to 20 turbine blades are decommissioned each year, and that number is scheduled to grow in the next decade. Wind turbine operators, who are responsible for the cost of decommissioning the blades, will be happy to have them taken off of their hands.

As a slang term, "the kitchen sink" essentially means an excessive abundance. Chinese company Boelon, a manufacturer of high-end sinks, apparently takes the term seriously: Their Luxury Kitchen Sink features a regular faucet, two waterfall faucets, a bar-style inverted drinkware washer, a soap dispenser, and a drain basket and cutting board that can be suspended inside the sink basin. The sink's functions are operated by a chunky knurled dial and piano-style keys. It is kitchen sink as theater:These run $700.

This Cardyhedron object is a fascinating solution, to a problem you'd think no one has. (And you'd be wrongat press time, at least 4,272 people had this problem.)The "problem" is that you're trying to play Dungeons & Dragons during an earthquake, or on the International Space Station, or on a rollercoaster; whatever the case is, you're not able to roll dice on a flat, stable surface. The credit-card-sized Cardyhedron takes the place of a full set of gaming diceD4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20using spinning wheels held in place with tiny ball bearings. So you can generate random numbers in any setting. The object is just 5mm thick, by the way.I was going to place this object in the "Who the F buys this S" category, but I forgot we're talking about the tabletop RPG market here. This market is at least as rabid as the EDC market. The Cardyhedron, which had a $4,000 target on Kickstarter, is currently sitting at $185,000 with 19 days left to pledge at press time.

This Lemmo One, by industrial design and mobility firm Springtime, is an "E+bike." It's so named because it's an ordinary bike until you slap the removable battery onto it. "Through a break-through and patented innovation, the bike can be both ridden as an E-bike as well as a conventional bike," writes Springtime. "This is achieved by a removable battery pack (Smartpac) and by adding a clutch to the hub motor, which can completely take away any resistance from the motor (Dual Mode Hub).""The Smartpac can easily be taken off the bike and be used as a power bank for your mobile devices." The bike is up for pre-order at 450 (USD $472), but it appears to be EU-market-only.

Here's what we looked at this week:Modernism vs. nature: Bjarke Ingels Group designs the Softshell, a tent-like structure for glamping. An explosion of VR simulators, by FuninVR.Xreal's AR Glasses are a fraction of the price of Apple's Vision Pro.The all-new electric Popemobile, by Mercedes-Benz.Roof hacks: A leafblower vs. sheets of ice.A floating sauna, made with unrecyclable wind turbine blades.A science-y Yule Log alternative: NASA's Rocket Engine Fireplace.Brilliant furniture design: Simone Giertz's swivel-arm chair valet.Ox Delivers' flatpack EV truck creates prosperity in Africa.Boelon's hi-tech "Luxury" Kitchen Sink.This Ensven Modular Bed Rocker turns beds into rocking beds. An obscure industrial design classic: Angelo Lelii's Polifemo floor lamp, inspired by Greek mythology.The Cardyhedron is an RPG dice set alternative in a credit card form factor. It's killing it on Kickstarter.The Lemmo One, by industrial design firm Springtime, is an "E+Bike."

Swiss company Ensven has developed this Modular Bed Rocker. It's a series of pads, one of them with a motor in it, that can rock beds from side to side. To install it, you simply place your bed's existing legs atop the pads. The company claims the rocking motion can help people, particularly those with insomnia, dementia, cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions, more easily fall asleep. Users can select between different modes like Rock, Shake, Random and Interval.These run $659. The company says their findings are science-backed, and they link to their sources here.

Midcentury Italian lighting designer Angelo Lelii created this Polifemo lamp in 1956. The unusual design features a stem interrupted by a sort of brass eyeball with a plastic diffuser. The eyeball illuminates and can be pivoted. The design is inspired by, and named for Polyphemus, the cyclops from Homer's Odyssey. (The shape of the top of the lamp is meant to reference a wine goblet; in the story, Ulysses got Polyphemus smashed on wine in order to escape from his lair.) The lamp was put into production by Lelii's company, Arredoluce, from the mid-'50s until at least the '60s. Today you can find them on vintage sites, but they're rare, sought-after and pricey.

Tasked with having to clear ice off of a rubber roof, Redditor amish_novelty reached for a leafblower:Reddit being Reddit, one of the commenters channeled his inner Christopher Nolan and ran the video backwards:We think amish_novelty needs to join forces with the last Redditor we saw hacking a leafblower.

How do you create wealth? One answer is by enabling trade. British company Ox Delivers observed that the Global South is hamstrung in this regard; entrepreneurial individuals are hampered by unreliable transportation networks, and without an efficient way to ship goods, prosperity through trade is impossible.The company thus designed their eponymous vehicle, the Ox. This is a truck that they ship to Africa flatpacked, and assemble near their deployment areas to save on costs. The Ox is electric, has a range of 150 km (90 miles), and a payload capacity of 2,000 kg (4,400 lbs). The company reckons they are nearly ten times less expensive to operate than existing delivery methods. Rather than selling the trucks outrightwhich would be prohibitively expensive for their target marketOx Delivers has rolled them out as trucks-as-a-service. Using an app, merchants book space on trucks to ship their goods at an affordable rate, the way you can split a shipping container. They can pay through the app and also, importantly, see where the trucks are with their goods, gaining an accurate sense of delivery times. The positive impact on those using Ox Delivers cannot be understated. Here are some customer stories, where they discuss the night-and-day difference of their before-Ox and after-Ox experiences:Ox Delivers launched in Rwanda in 2021 (initially with a diesel-powered version of the truck; they switched to an electric powertrain in 2022). Today they have over 5,000 customers in Rwanda, and this year signed a $163 million multi-year franchise agreement to expand into East Africa. Ox Delivers will soon be operating in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Burundi.

I keep waiting for the clothes valet to make a comeback; it might be the piece of furniture I've covered the most. The object would be a useful place to toss clothes that are not dirty enough to launder, but not clean enough to go back in the drawer.As Simone Giertz has observed, most folks simply use a chair for this task. She resolved to design something more elegant, and her clever solution features a swiveling portion that can be deployed for clothes duty as needed.Here she walks you through her design processas you'd expect, it took a while to arrive at the final designand shows you how she built it:"I just love the idea of not designing for the perfect day, but for the normal day," says Giertz.Her Instagram video of the chair has gone viral, with over 400,000 likes at press time. Multiple followers have commented that this is furniture design for real life, and unsurprisingly, lots of people want to order the chair. (At press time Giertz hadn't announced any production plans.)

NASA's got a sense of humor. This holiday season, the company is offering up their version of the Yule Log. But rather than burning firewood, the NASA Rocket Engine Fireplace will keep you (visually) toasty with the Artemis I's propulsion source:"Technically, this fireplace packs the heat of FOUR RS-25 rocket engines and a pair of solid rocket boosters just enough to get you to the Moon. (And get through the holidays with your in-laws.)"The oddly soothing video is here.

I'm not crazy about this structure, but the other design blogs love it. Bjarke Ingels Group has designed this Softshell structure for Nokken, a company that manufactures habitats for the hospitality industry. The Softshell has a timber structure and a tent-like canvas skin. Inside is a bed and a woodburning stove, and above is a netted surface. What I dislike about it is that these are meant to be sited out in nature, yet make no effort to work with it nor blend into the landscape. Whereas traditional soft-sided structures like yurts and tipis have circular footprints, the better to handle wind, the form of the Softshell is an aggressively modernist statement meant to symbolize human dominance of the environment. While that concept is not foreignhouses obviously do thatI guess I'm not used to seeing it in an environment that would ostensibly draw the nature lover. Then again, this targets the glamping market, which is not about enjoying nature. It is about being as comfortable as possible, and enjoying "luxury," by subverting nature to your will. I would also like to hear what these things sound like when the wind picks up.

It's pretty ironic that AR glasses, which promise to deliver you to augmented or virtual worlds, themselves require a brick-and-mortar experience in order to sell them. Because you'd have to try them on, to see for yourself how compelling or effective the visual effects really are. Without that experience, you're just looking at press images and guessing at how accurate they are. This month Chinese manufacturer Xreal released their new One and One Pro AR glasses. These feature Sony Micro-OLED screens and a built-in Bose sound system. And in contrast to Apple's Vision Pro, the Xreal offerings resemble an ordinary pair of Ray-Bans, though they do sit off of your face a bit. (They can also accommodate prescription lenses.) They're also a heckuva lot cheaper than Apple's offering, at $499 for the One and $599 for the One Pro, versus the Vision Pro's $3,500 asking price. Here is the company's depiction of what using them is like:As for the difference in the two models, the One Pro has slightly better stats than the One: A wider field of view, better image quality and clarity and enhanced brightness.The One is expected to ship later this month, with the One Pro coming out early next year.

This Kopak Utensil Set, by a startup called Lucaya, is the designey-est spork and knife set I've ever seen. It consists of two aluminum halves that slot into one another, simultaneously shielding the food-contacting surfaces, to form a monolithic object; neodymium magnets keep it together. A hole bored in the butt end of both utensils provides a connection point for a lanyard. These are up on Kickstarter for $40 a pop. At press time they were at less than $2,000 in pledges on a $12,000 goal, but there were still 28 days left to pledge.

This Tibetus Technical Bridge-Console is an overhead rail system for freestanding kitchen islands. It's made of anodized aluminum, and its purpose is twofold: It provides focused lighting close to the counter, and you can hang a variety of accessories from it. Strangely the manufacturer--Italian company Snaidero, they're basically the Pininfarina of kitchen designsdoesn't list what accessories they offer. But in the images we can see a stemware holder, a tablet holder, and an option to use either a strip LED or those tiny miniaturized track lighting units, which appear to be directionally adjustable. I have no idea what utility the racetrack-shaped golden hoop offers; can any of you connoisseurs of high-end kitchens fill us in?

This Tipsy Flipsy Top infant formula quick dose dispenser is by global ID consultancy Shark Design. The design is rather complicated, with the intent of making the parents' job easier: It offers a streamlined and hygienic method to store and dispense your infant's formula efficiently. Here's how it works: Fill the container with up to 800g/28oz of formula, adjust the chamber to match the grams per scoop recommended for your infant's formula, assemble the components, and attach the top securely. When ready, simply remove the cap, TIP the container to dispense formula directly into the bottle hands-free, and FLIP it back uprightit's that simple! Rotate the lever to dispense each scoop as per your infant's feeding instructions, reducing cross-contamination by eliminating the need for traditional hand scoopers found in canned formula containers. The product packaging is designed for both simplicity and effectiveness, featuring sturdy cardboard for durability and an integrated see-through window that enhances functionality and appeal to customers, all while maintaining cost-effectiveness.You can see more of Shark Design's work here.

Here's what we looked at this week:Simple, elegant product design from DJI: Their Mic Mini wireless mic and receiver set. This low-maintenance, corrosion-proof RCYL bike is made out of 90% plastic.Hyundai and Kia's user-friendly upper body exoskeleton, designed with heavy user research.There needs to be a product design version of this Corporate Nonsense Generator.Yea or Nay? Sunglasses with individually adjustable lenses.Xiaomi's alternative take on the air conditioner.With the Type 00 concept, Jaguar unveils their new "Exuberant Modernism" design language.This chunky, funky, rotomolded Limbo Chair is by Icelandic industrial designer Hlynur Atlason.Eye-catching package design: This La Petite Victoire Bottle by Stranger & Stranger, a package design firm with a reputation for tripling sales.At the intersection of camping and the MoMA Store: The Lucaya Kopak, a designey spork and knife set.An app called Brick My World turns photos of real-world objects into Lego plans.The Gnargo Bike Co. makes electric cargo bikes from discarded bike frames.The Tibetus Technical Bridge-Console, by Snaidero, is an overhead rail system for kitchen islands.Industrial Design case study: A baby formula quick dose dispenser, by Shark Design.

Every once in a while, you'll see a brilliant innovator steal the march on a major corporation. Czech entrepreneur Iva Papoukov developed a smartphone app called Brick My World, which uses photogrammetry to generate Lego instructions for any object you photograph. Lego, the company has to be kicking themselves for not thinking of this first; I wouldn't be surprised if they either purchase Papoukov's company or lawyer him out of business. Here's how it works:Brick My World has been handily Kickstarted, with 6 days left to pledge at press time. Sadly the app is, like many digital products these days, subscription-based; it will eventually cost $200 a year, which harried parents or Lego fanatics may see as chump change. On Kickstarter, however, they're offering lifetime access for a one-time $99 charge.

These electric cargo bikes, by Arkansas-based Gnargo Bike Co., are made from discarded steel bike frames. "After an environmentally friendly burn-off of existing finishes and oils, frames are fully sandblasted and brought back into our factory for quality check and modernization to begin." "Using custom jigs, we reshape the frame to create a stable, comfortable cargo platform, optimized for carrying groceries, kids, or gear." "Following fabrication, each bike undergoes powder coating in a wide spectrum of durable colors, ensuring longevity and resilience. Equipped with modern hydraulic disc brakes, OEM motors, lithium batteries, and a Shimano drive train, our cargo bikes promise reliability and performance at a great value powered by our circular economy supply chain."You can choose from different types of platforms:The bikes run from $2,900 to $3,500. The company says that for every bike purchased, "we fund the restoration of 2 bikes at community bike shops, which are then donated back to someone wanting a bike. This multiplier effect fuels our circular supply chain, amplifying our impact and fostering a future we are proud of. Together, we're not just building bikes; we're creating opportunities and momentum for positive change in our communities." Check 'em out here.

This Corporate Nonsense Generator is by Brooklyn-based gift manufacturer Uncommon Originals:There needs to be a design version of this. Suggestions for words:- Sustainably- Seamlessly- Intuitively- Elegantly- Navigated- Curated- Hand-Crafted- Bio-Based- User-Centric- Tactile- Smart- Integrated- Minimalist- Eco-Friendly- EcosystemSuggestions for more, please!

This funky rotomolded Limbo Chair is by Icelandic industrial designer Hlynur Atlason. It's in production by furniture brand Heller, whose CEO, John Edelman, gave Atlason a simple brief: "Design us a comfortable modern lounge chair."The Icelandic designer responded with a statement-making chair that's not only supremely comfortable but also suitable for indoor-outdoor use, and sustainably made. With a swooping, sculptural form that holds the body in a comfortable position, Limbo is a playful chair, "but we were very serious about how it's made," says Hlynur. "It took a lot of thinking, research, and testing to make it look this effortless." To ensure a circular lifecycle, Limbo is fully recyclable and made with a high percentage of recycled post-consumer plastic (the exact percentage varies by color, with black having the highest percentage). Limbo is available in a choice of warm, muted colors that harmonize with the natural environment. These run $940 for a pair.

This captivating, hobnail-textured bottle contains La Petite Victoire, a non-alcoholic sparkling beverage. It's by global package design firm Stranger & Stranger. I wasn't able to find any details about this specific project, though I did learn that Stranger & Stranger is a sort of hit-machine firm for the alcoholic beverages industry. In an interview with industry periodical SevenFiftyDaily, writer Alia Akkam reveals that the firm's packaging rebrands "have tripled sales for some wine and spirits labels."Stranger & Stranger founder Kevin Shaw reveals a little of the company's secret sauce, and notes a particularly effective package design turnaround:Each label Stranger & Stranger makes is a distillation of a brand's distinct narrative. "You dig," Shaw says. "You keep asking questions and probing until you find something ownable, hopefully unique, something enticing and interesting." He points to the reboot of Aberfeldy Scotch as an example. Originally, the label featured a squirrel, an image that confounded Shaw. On learning that the springwater Aberfeldy uses at the distillery contains gold dust, Shaw immediately knew this would become the focus for the new designa gilt-hued label. "A golden dram," he says. "That's something unusual, something that's rooted in truth, something you can build a brand on. Consumers love stories like that. A year's worth of stock sold out in 12 weeks."If you're interested in design business, the full interview is worth a read, and covers the unlikely way that Shaw started the firm in 1994. To date they've done over 5,000 projects.

Now that Jaguar's going all-electric, it's time for a new design direction, the company reckons. At the same time, the brand would be foolish to ignore their heritage; so their aim with this new Type 00 concept, in the words of Jaguar CEO Adrian Mardell, was designed to "create the same sense of awe that surrounded iconic models like the E-type." The two zeros in the name are symbolic: The first zero references emissions, while "the second represents its status as car zero in our new lineage." The form of the vehicle, meanwhile, was inspired by the company's new "Exuberant Modernism" design philosophy. (They're defining "exuberant" as "Vibrant, uninhibited and fearless," and "modernist" as "Future-facing, curious and inspired by the world. Respectful of the past, not dictated by it.") "The confident new face combines upright, flush surfaces with the new Jaguar device mark at its center. A distinctive and precise front light signature emphasizes the corners of the car, giving width and grounding it." "The side profile is dominated by bold proportions, with the Jaguar 'leaper' laser-etched into a hand-finished brass ingot on each side of the car. These ingots theatrically deploy to reveal rear-facing cameras that like the charging ports and front air intakes remain hidden until needed." "The rear continues the bold statement. A glassless tailgate and panoramic body-harmonized glazed roof create a sense of sculpture. The rear elevation is defined by distinctive horizontal Strikethrough graphics, which hide dramatic full-width taillights and emphasise the power and scale of Type 00." The typography, too, has received attention:"Device mark: Jaguar's signature. A celebration of modernism geometric form, symmetry and simplicity. Inspired by Malcolm Sayer, Jaguar's designer of the C, D and E-type who uniquely blended science and art to produce timeless shapes in these cars. The geometric letter forms are rotated to create perfect visual symmetry and balance. It creates a modernist form that spells out the distinguished Jaguar name." Professor Gerry McGovern OBE, Chief Creative Officer, JLR, said: "Type 00 is a pure expression of Jaguar brand's new creative philosophy. It has an unmistakeable presence. This is the result of brave, unconstrained creative thinking, and unwavering determination. It is our first physical manifestation and the foundation stone for a new family of Jaguars that will look unlike anything you've ever seen. A vision which strives for the highest level of artistic endeavour." On that latter note, the Type 00 was unveiled at Miami Art Week. We're a long ways from the days of the big auto shows, aren't we?

Neutral density (ND) filters are used by photographers to stop down the amount of light entering the camera lens. The filter is actually two layers that are polarized; rotate the outermost one, and the admitted light is reduced or increased.A startup called Lombell figured it would be a good idea to put this arrangement into a pair of sunglasses:While I can appreciate that this must've sounded like a cool idea, wouldn't the UX suffer, since each lens needs to be adjusted independently? I've never tried these, but unless your eye can easily detect between F-stops, I'd guess you have to take the glasses off as you dialed them to ensure symmetry. If this is you, these are $90.

Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has branched out from making smartphones into home appliances and even EVs. The company clearly has no problem thinking outside of the box. Which explains this Top Air Vent Pro, their alternative take on the air conditioner:The first thing that will be strange to Western consumers is that, unlike a window air conditioner or a mini-split, it does not draw air from outside the dwelling. It actually sucks it in from the bottom. It's intended to be mounted near the ceiling, and blows cool air along it. Because cold air sinks, the thinking is that this cools the entire room off effectively, without the inhabitants feeling a draft. (Cultural note: In China, it's popularly believed that drafts, particularly on one's neck, makes people sick.)When the seasons change and it's time for heat, the unit's deflector blasts hot air straight down along the wall. The idea is that the heat would then travel along the floor and dissipate upwards. I'd want to read some user reviews to see how well this arrangement works, but the unit is Asian-market-only.

I'm really impressed with the tidy product design of this Mic Mini set, by drone manufacturer DJI. It's a pair of wireless mics and a receiver all bundled in a charging case, which provides up to 48 hours of battery life. The mics themselves are handsome sculpted and weigh just 10g each. They can be clipped onto clothing or attached magnetically. They're noise-canceling, with two strength levels you can choose between. Windscreens are included. The mics can connect via Bluetooth to the company's line of action cams. Alternatively, you can plug the receiver into your DSLR's hot shoe. There's also an iPhone adapter, if that's what you're shooting with. These run $169.

Believe it or not, this orange thing is actually a bicycle frame. This wild-looking RCYL bike, by German plastics manufacturer Igus, is made primarily out of plastic and recycled plastic. The frame and fork, which are entirely plastic, are made from 50% recycled fishing nets. The company is billing it as a highly sustainable alternative to regular bicycles, and will take the bike back at the end of its life in order to recycle it into a new bike. It weighs 17kg (37.5 lbs), and the manufacturer bills it as a low-maintenance ride:"Lightweight and lubrication-free high-performance plastics from Igus are used everywhere on the bicycle from ball bearings in the wheel to bearings in the brake levers and pedals. All components have integrated solid lubricants and ensure low-friction dry running without a single drop of lubricating oil." "Owners can leave the bike outdoors in all weathers without hesitation and clean it in seconds with a garden hose. The bike, which is suitable for everyday use, does not rust and is virtually maintenance-free." It's said to be particularly well-suited for salty seaside climes, as corrosion is not an issue. The bike is available for order in Europe, and goes for 1,243 (USD $1,315). If you return the bike to them for recycling, they'll give you a 50 (USD $53) credit towards the purchase of a new bike.

Hyundai Motor and Kia Robotics LAB have designed the X-ble Shoulder, an upper-body exoskeleton designed for those doing overhead work. The design was heavily informed by user research, by interviewing over 300 production line workers at Hyundai's manufacturing facilities. The designers first focused on two things: Creating a device that would not only assist with efficiency by increasing a worker's applicable strength, but would also reduce musculoskeletal injuries. They furthered tailored the design by incorporating test user feedback: Workers wanted it to be comfortable, so that they wouldn't have to take it off every time they went on break; they wanted it to be easy to put on by themselves; they wanted it to be lightweight; they wanted it to easily fit over existing uniforms; they wanted it to be easy to clean.The resultant design uses springs and mechanical advantage rather than motors; the units are unpowered and do not require charging. The system consists of a soft vest and hard components that can easily be decoupled from the vest, for ease of cleaning. A worker can don the system in 20 seconds by themselves, using easily understandable interfaces like a zipper, clips and straps. And the device reduces shoulder load by up to 60% and anterior/lateral deltoid muscle strain by up to 30 percent. Made from both metal and carbon composites, the X-ble Shoulder is strong but lightweight, tipping the scales at just 1.9kg (4.2 lbs). The system was designed specifically for Hyundai's factory line workers, who will start receiving the units next year. However, the design is promising enough that they're planning to commercialize the design overseas by 2026, so it should be coming to the North American and European markets.In the following interviews with the designers, you can see how crucial the user feedback was to the development process. If only all designers were this thorough, in interviewing test users!

It wasn't all that long ago that light bulbs looked like this: Now, this is the state-of-the-art: That's the Star Bulb, by Chinese lighting technology company Moonside Design. The linear, illuminated elements you see are the chip-on-board (CoB) LEDs, whereas the square thingies, of which there are 96, are adjustable full-color LEDs. The idea being that this bulb can put out multiple colors at the same time. The lights can even be animated. For my tastes, it's a bit extreme for a domestic environment, but would probably be desirable for event spaces and bars. Here's how you adjust the thing:The pricing is also more in line with a commercial environment: These start out at $37 a pop, with slight discounts available if you purchase in bulk.

American amp company Fender has teamed up with German audio manufacturer Teufel on the Rockster Cross, a large, loud, wearable Bluetooth speaker. Like boomboxes of yore, this is meant to be toted aroundbut slung from one's shoulder, rather than hoisted on it. There's an included Fender guitar strap, and the rear side of the speaker has a curve in it to correspond with the human body.Image: TechTesters Image: HiFi The 30-watt speaker features two tweeters, a woofer and two passive radiators. Audio reviewers say the thing can be cranked without suffering the distortion common with other Bluetooth speakers. It's got an IPX5 water resistance rating. The massive battery provides 16 hours of runtime, with the trade-off being that the speaker weighs nearly 9 pounds.These run $200.

The Tempo Walk, by golf cart manufacturer Club Car, is an autonomous golf caddie. Developed before the pandemic, the original version was pretty utilitarian-looking:When it was time for a design upgrade, Club Car contacted industrial design firm Cardboard Helicopter for help."At Cardboard Helicopter, our team was delighted to collaborate with Tempo Walk to create an innovative and cutting-edge autonomous golf caddie. Our goal was to provide golfers with a unique and immersive experience on the golf course. From the initial stages of industrial design sketch concepts to the final manufacturing production of 3D CAD and engineering, we were deeply involved in the development process." "We pushed the boundaries of design to ensure the caddie was not only sleek and stylish, but also practical, marketable, manufacturable, and most importantly, adored by golfers." Client and company CEO Timothy Doane gave Cardboard Helicopter a rave review:"The folks from CH were great to work with. They combine a unique blend of creativity, artistic ability, and innovation. Their work helped us create an industry shocking design for our new Tempo Walk product which increased sales from the start. If you are looking for an eye-catching new look you can't go wrong with CH!"You can see more of Cardboard Helicopter's work here.