Here's what we looked at this week:The quest to optimize existing objects: The EDJY features an unusual single-blade fingernail clipper design that allegedly delivers better results. Apple's "Vehicle Motion Cues" are an on-screen anti-motion-sickness trick.From Australia, magnetic and custom-fit sun shades for your car.The Otemon splice: A crazy Japanese technique for splicing the bottom of a rotted column.Image and work: Chris Hall Stunning Frank Lloyd Wright art tiles by Motawi Tileworks.A glow-in-the-dark substitute for EDC gear: These Isotope Tritium Fobs rely on actual radioactive isotopes.Philips' Fixables initiative will offer free downloadable files to 3d print replacement parts for their products.Dutch researchers develop "countersnapping," the opposite of a push-to-open mechanism. An industrial design classic: The Brionvega Algol TV, by Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper.Good or bad? The Trace camera system records entire sporting matches, but highlights just your child.From Latvia, Kanttari's bronze bar cabinet. This Solo Windchill 47 Cooler has a built-in air conditioner. Because heaven forbid you break a sweat outside.The Loki cleaning robot, here to end janitors.A new umbrella shape from Japan. Growl: An AR punching bag for training and gaming.Design solutions for beachside umbrella-wind wars, and one man vs. nature.Form follows function: Dyson's new approach yields the super slim PencilVac. An industrial design case study from Germany: Fluid Design updates Beurer's grooming devices. #core77 #weekly #roundup

We live in an interesting, some might say gluttonous, era of product development. In addition to the seemingly daily invention of new EDC objects, any given product design has multiple competitors' offerings to choose from. On top of that, both startups and established companies regularly seek to re-invent and re-design existing objects in the name of optimization.On that latter note, take the nail clipper. Most of us take them for granted, if we think about them at all. But Canadian startup Khlip reckoned they could improve the ergonomics and reversed the leverage arrangement. The Griff rotating nail clipper, by Japanese industrial designer Yoshita Moritaka, is also designed with ergonomics in mind. Now a startup called EDJY jumps into this market with both reversed leverage and a re-thought blade arrangement. While the Khlip and Griff designs do demonstrate some ergonomic advantage, particularly for those with compromised grip strength, EDJY's claim is a bit harder to swallow: Their cutting technique, they say, results in "Smoother, healthier nails." Most nail clippers have two blades in a jaw arrangement. EDJY's eponymous product features just a top blade, with an anvil arrangement at the bottom. The company claims this set-up "cuts, not crushes" fingernails, "leaving them with a flawlessly smooth edge."Standard resultsEDJY resultsThey do claim that the leverage arrangement "requires 250% less force to cut through your nails," which would be an improvement for the elderly or those with grip issues. The nail clippings are captured within the body of the clippers. While that's not a unique feature, with multiple manufacturers offering a collection-bin-style design, the Khlip and Griff designs lack this. The EDJY is made in the U.S.A. and runs #unusual #singleblade #fingernail #clipper #design

Nails by Kumi. Image © Kumi Chantrill Fresh Sets: Tembe Denton-Hurst Celebrates 35 Boundary-Pushing Nail Artists May 16, 2025 BooksDesign Jackie Andres From the birth of the first modern nail parlor in 19th-century Paris to the rise of the Vietnamese nail industry in America after the fall of Saigon, nail beautification has always been connected to the world it adorns. Author Tembe Denton-Hurst reminds us of this in her new book, Fresh Sets: Contemporary Nail Art from Around the World. Setting the scene with her own experience of falling in love with manicures as a child in Brooklyn and a brief survey of the transformative history of nail embellishment throughout time, the book showcases 35 standout artists thriving today. Nails by Kumi. Image © Kiel Wode. All photos courtesy of Prestel Publishing, shared with permission While basic sets remain timeless, there’s no doubt that in the 21st century, contemporary aesthetics have flourished in a subversive, powerful way. From birthday candle pedicures and maximalist jeweled acrylics to moss-covered fingertips and sculpted claws channeling cyber sigilism, Fresh Sets features 300 vibrant images highlighting ongoing innovations in the medium. The democratization of nail art has allowed the creative form to flourish across time and space. Extravagant designs once only seen sauntering down the catwalk, for instance, are now within reach for daily wear. The rise of nail artists has uniquely blurred this line between luxury and everyday accessory, forging paths and connecting worlds. One such artist featured in Fresh Sets is Lauren Michelle Pires. With a methodical precision, she approaches her practice as a designer, collecting extensive archives of color combinations and references images. Once a fashion student, Pires now works with designer brands such as Loewe, Diesel, Miu Miu, and more. “I view being a nail artist as a very intricate and pristine job, and I definitely try to capture beauty in my work,” she explains. “But, over time, I’ve really learned how to experiment more and to lean into the awkwardness of beauty.” Nails by Kumi. Image © Kiel Wode As the realm of nail design continues to evolve in tremendous fashion, transforming one’s own fingernails as if they were ten tiny canvases—each a site for creating an extension of self, asserting identity, and even signifying resistance—has and always will be a deeply resonant gesture for many. As Denton-Hurst shares in the introduction, “long nails have become part of me, as identifiable as the brown of my skin or my loud laugh.” You can find your own copy of Fresh Sets on Bookshop. See more from Tembe Denton-Hurst on Instagram. Nails by Iksoxo. Image © Alona Sobolevska Nails by Dxpper Acrylics. Image © Black Archives Nails and image © Tomoya Nakagawa Nails and image © Naomi Yasuda Nails by Juan. Image © Juan Alvear Nails by Yeswhat Nails. Image © Violetta Kurilenko Nails and image © Tomoya Nakagawa Nails and image © Nikki Panic Next article #fresh #sets #tembe #dentonhurst #celebrates