While we may not have the hoverboards we were promised, electric longboards – particularly Boosted Boards – have come in at a close second. Also, unlike the hoverboard, you can actually buy an electric longboard today – assuming you can justify the $1,000+ price tag. Or, if you happen to have an electric drill and a spare…

Except for perhaps the Raspberry Pi or Arduino, few products are as capable of going from zero to hero with a little DIY ingenuity than IKEA furniture – otherwise known as IKEA Hacks. At its core, an IKEA hack is a modification or repurposing of an IKEA product that breaks into the IKEA code of furniture…

The force has always been strong when it comes to interest in Star Wars prop replicas, but Disney and Lucasfilm have always relied on licensing official designs and schematics to third-party companies. While the resulting products may hold up well when it comes to sales numbers, they’ve been a far cry from what would be…

In case you haven’t scratched your retro video game nostalgia with emulators, apps and more DIY projects than you can shake a sweaty handful of quarters at, Atari has announced that they want to take over living rooms once again. This time, however, as a range of smart home products.   In a news release…

The lasting contribution to society from today’s reality TV shows can be endlessly debated, but if there is one that can do more good than harm, it’s likely the Intel-backed America’s Greatest Makers. The reality competition show, which pits 24 teams of Makers against each other with weekly build challenges leading up to a $1…

Call it a first world problem, but keeping plates hot and drinks cold during a carefully-curated meal can be a problem for many chefs – particularly if they’re upholding a reputation in the elite ranks. First shown at the Salone del Mobile in April, the SmartSlab Table just might be the missing piece in a…

Having received multiple awards from countless institutions as well as being a favorite for the world’s elite, Steinway & Sons pianos continue to pass all standards since the company was founded by German immigrant Henry Steinway in a loft in New York City in 1853. Unsurprisingly, making the world’s best piano is a time-honored process…

From removing his socks with a handbuilt rocket launcher to creating a working homemade hoverbike, garage inventor Colin Furze has somehow managed to keep his limbs intact over the past few months – which is saying a lot, because his projects as of late have been getting bigger, faster and certainly a lot more explosive. With…

Presented by For those who have visited, it’s slightly difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes Amsterdam such an attractive city. No matter how you describe it, though, few cities are capable of melding that old European charm with the attributes of a modern metropolis quite like Amsterdam can. It should come as little surprise then,…

According to Bob Ross, we don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents. While this is very true, few happy little accidents end up as pieces of designer furniture capable of commanding thousands of dollars apiece. At least, this was the recent scenario for product designer Christopher Stuart of the Indianapolis-based studio LUUR. Stuart, who sells…

What happens when aerospace specialists develop a motorcycle with bionic algorithms instead of calculating spaceship engines? According to Airbus subsidiary APWorks, the result is “the world’s lightest motorcycle,” AKA the 77-pound Light Rider. 3D printed with the company’s own Scalmalloy material – which they describe as being a 3D printing-optimized, aircraft-grade aluminum with the strength of…

Designed to allow devices to be customized for an individual’s own style and functional needs, Google’s Project Ara modular smartphone has been one of the more compelling pieces of hardware kit announced within the past few years. The platform, which allows users to swap out hardware components including high-resolution cameras, loudspeakers, different battery sizes and…

When it comes to starting a side project (or a “project” project), ironing out early ideas and evaluating them ahead of time – rather than just jumping in – can mean the difference between a hugely successful venture or a massive major headache further down the road. Unfortunately, moving productively through this brainstorming process and staying…

Responsible for everything from R/C lawnmowers to auto-lacing sneakers, the Arduino is the backbone for some of the most wild and crazy – but also sorta genius – projects within the past few years. Now, there’s a new kid on the block. Launching at Maker Faire Bay Area this weekend, the Arduino Primo is the latest and…

Invented in 1932 by British automotive engineer George Carwardine, the Anglepoise Original 1227 desk lamp is one of the most iconic product designs in the history of industrial design. The lamp, which is capable of remaining in a fixed position after being moved in multiple directions, was born out of Carwardine’s explorations into new types…

Rockers. Triggers. Directional Pads. No matter how you use them, nothing yells control quite like physical buttons do. Unfortunately, incorporating working analog controls into a piece of hardware is more often than not significantly more difficult than it sounds. From an industrial design perspective, buttons can both be a blessing and a burden. While size,…

Although it has advanced significantly within the past few years, the process of going from CAD model to 3D printed object is still a bit rough around the edges – particularly in industrial applications. Aiming to expand their 3D printing ecosystem with a refined design-to-print workflow for product designers, engineers and 3D printer operators, Stratasys…

As predicted, hot off the (literal) heels of HP’s unveiling of their HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing Solution this morning, the first of many companies have stepped forward in support of incorporating Multi Jet Fusion technology into product development processes and low production runs. First up to the plate is none other than Nike – consistently…

Since hitting the 3D scene in 2012, Sketchfab has made viewing, embedding and ultimately sharing 3D content as easy as sharing a YouTube video – be it on a website, Facebook or as a direct link to a client. As the Virtual Reality market continues to expand, it only makes sense for the company to grow…

Back when we caught our first glimpse of the 3D prints made using Multi Jet Fusion Technology in October of 2014, it became quite apparent to us that HP not only changed the game but effectively positioned themselves to control the entire court on which everybody plays. This morning, after years in development, the HP…

Completed in 1912, Portland’s Steel Bridge is the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world and the second oldest vertical-lift bridge in North America – after the nearby Hawthorne Bridge just a stone’s throw down the Willamette River. For his 3rd-grade son’s recent school project, our woodworking YouTuber Frank Howarth of Frank Makes…

As athletes that rely wholeheartedly on nature to make or break a good day in the water, the surfing community has consistently been among the most active when it comes to preserving our oceans and keeping environmental threats at bay. Ironically, the materials used to produce the very boards they ride on also contain some…

As the latest in digital fabrication technologies – such as 3D printing in multiple materials – become more affordable and widespread, the promise of a supply chain-disrupting distributed manufacturing future – at least, for some products – continues to look more promising. As we continue to navigate the landscape of 3D printing and other digital fabrication…

While their parents may have invested in furniture sets that are designed to last decades, many of today’s young urban dwellers are turning down purchasing heirloom-quality goods that require moving trucks and in favor of functional and cheap solutions that can be packed easily for a somewhat nomadic and unpredictable lifestyle. For recent Falmouth University…

As a certified LEGO Master Model Builder at the LEGOLAND California Resort, Robbie McCarthy earns a living doing what most kids (and many adults) could only dream of. According to his job description, McCarthy frequently combines good old-fashioned brick building skills with proprietary software and custom fabrication to manage LEGO projects from creative conception through…

Between video games, spreadsheets, musical instruments, weather forecasts, cameras and more, the amount of life-changing things made possible on our smartphones is made possible thanks to over five decades of developing increasingly powerful – yet smaller – computer chips. Needless to say, it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t that long ago when even the…

Like others who found their way to a career in product design, Dimitris Niavis spent a significant amount of his childhood tearing apart toys, figuring out how they work and ultimately reassembling them again. Today, the designer is using that same train of thought to rethink local manufacturing with the goal of creating a synergy…

By nature, the human eye is one of the most complex and intelligent examples of biological design – not to mention one of the more challenging biological features to design protection for in extreme conditions. For athletes that sweat and move in all directions rigorously for hours on end, this design problem is made all…

According to San Diego surfboard shaper Josh Oldenburg, the most critical challenge of being a local shaper in an international surfboard manufacturing mecca is the level of competition and design standards that go into each and every board. Needless to say, just to be considered a shaper alongside names like Rusty, Chris Christenson, and Jeff…

Whether you prefer to cook your steaks over an outdoor fire or in the kitchen, few materials offer excellent heat retention properties and a better experience than cast iron cookware. With its near-perfect design, the age-old cast iron skillet has changed very little over the past two-thousand years and continues to be handed down through…

With a deep fascination of what they call the “common territories between architecture and music”, designers Marcelo Ertorteguy and Sara Valente of NYC design studio Stereotank operate somewhere at the intersection of architecture, art and sound. Although the team is used to working at a large-scale, they’ve recently turned their attention to creating hybrid objects…

First invented by German physicist and astronomer Christoph Scheiner in 1603, the pantograph was used for centuries to copy and scale diagrams and text leading up to the introduction of more modern solutions used today. More recently, Brooklyn-based designer Ian Stell utilized the functional mechanism to create a collection of tables and chairs that can…

From arcade tables and streaming weather stations to a DIY Amazon Echo and even cat exercise wheels, the amount of possibilities one can cook up with the Raspberry Pi is near-limitless. For audiophiles looking to jam out to their Pink Floyd discography on the $25 computer, there’s now a solution for that, too. Designed by…

Responsible for churning out everything from construction helmets to hot tubs, vacuum forming is easily one of the most fascinating forms of manufacturing for the non-technical crowd due to its relatively simple process: heat plastic and pull it around a shape to create multiples of that shape. Aiming to package this vacuum forming experience with…

While some dusted off their lightsabers or danced around the house in Darth Vader socks this past unofficial Star Wars day (May the Fourth be with you), Frank Howarth of the YouTube channel Frank Makes celebrated exactly how you would expect him to: by turning wood on a lathe. Unlike his usual lathe projects, however,…

As both a toy designer and educator in Brooklyn, Assaf Eshet has witnessed a unique perspective of how today’s kids are building their own toys and using modern tools to add new levels of interactivity to them. It was from this unique perspective – and over a decade working for major toy manufacturers – that…

The last time we checked in with totally-insane-yet-completely-brilliant garage inventor Colin Furze, he was epically removing his socks with the aid of a firework rocket launcher and somehow walking away unscathed. Yet again, we still don’t know how this guy doesn’t end up in the hospital. Yesterday, Furze shared what is likely his most impressive…

Whether it exists in the form of Javascript, a music video, or any other bonkers use of everyday objects, the Rube Goldberg machine never fails to keep the fun side of invention alive. More recently, the watchmakers at Seiko created what is sure to be the smallest Rube Goldberg machine ever created using – you…

Whether it’s a toy Lightsaber, a miniature city, a robot or even just a plain old box, few materials can fuel a child’s imagination like cardboard can. Not to mention, the environmentally-friendly material is easy to work with and is nearly free – depending on where you look. Aiming to make creating awesome cardboard toys easy…

When it comes to creativity and DIY culture on wheels, few people embody the creative spirit more than the British Columbia-based Zenga brothers (AKA Zenga Bros). Born and raised by eclectic parents in Vancouver, the six brothers (of nine children total) were taught from a young age to explore their creativity – regardless of where…

Like others in the design profession, industrial designer Joey Ruiter approaches the design process as a path that leads him around the obvious to a place that reveals the unexpected. In his case, however, the design process rarely starts with a pen and paper; it starts by taking an existing machine and stripping it down…

With a foundation in photography and a degree in Product Design from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Northwestern Switzerland, photographer Fabin Oefner learned early that the creative process – regardless of the medium – is a multi-layered and complex balancing act of multiple factors. Along the way, he also found that his…

As any true LEGO fan will attest to, the real fun of the plastic brick toys exists somewhere in the process of unboxing a model and attaching the final piece. For Porsche fans, the latest release from the toy brick maker will give you 2,704 opportunities to appreciate that process. For their latest LEGO Technic…

As a UX designer, Tobias Eichenwald believes we’re on the cusp of a shift that will move us away from generic Graphical User Interfaces to a new generation of Natural User Interfaces that engage multiple human senses including gesture, speech, haptic, visual interfaces and more. He is also the co-founder of Senic, a new hardware…

The consumer 3D printing landscape has changed dramatically since MakerBot Industries stormed onto the scene in January of 2009. While any new company can expect its fair share of ups and downs, navigating the rocky road of lofty consumer expectations for 3D printers – combined with a surge of competitors from nearly all corners of…

Whether your choice of vinyl exists in the 200-gram form or as a tortilla, the magic that makes music play from an analog disc is one of the most impressive engineering feats ever conceived. But how exactly does a turntable convert those modulated spiral grooves into magic melodies? As music writer Ned Lannaman once described,…

With Game of Thrones fans gearing up for the premiere of Season Six this Sunday, the Moleskine marketing team did what anybody with a giant stack of empty sketchbooks would do: they recreated the show’s iconic opening sequence from paper – 7,600 cutouts to be exact. Created to celebrate the release of a ‘Game of Thrones’…

In the age of the iPad and Apple’s revolutionary approach to changing how technology is used in the classroom, it’s easy to forget where it all started: the eMac (or, education Mac). Originally designed as an affordable iMac option for teachers and classrooms, the eMac eventually became available to the masses due to high demand…

As anybody who has seen or personally created spin art knows, the power of centrifugal forces can lead to some pretty impressive results. But how might you apply the same psychedelic effect to physical goods? For industrial designer Maor Aharon, this question became the basis for his recent experiment “Matter of Motion” – a project…

As any hardware developer worth their salt knows, getting part dimensions accurate is key for success in manufacturing and ensuring that assemblies fit together in the real world as intended. Among other common problems that can occur and cause a domino effect disaster down the line include mismatched fastener hole placements and loose or overhanging…