Kids today may never learn to appreciate how far technology has come in such a short time. They’ll never know the struggles of rewinding VHS tapes before returning them to Blockbuster, and video games can now be downloaded straight to their mobile phones instead of taking a trip to the video arcade for every quick…
You may have built the London Tower Bridge using LEGOS three times over, but having a structure made of solid bricks just doesn’t have the same *oomph* as a real bridge with cables keeping their towers from collapsing on each other. The Mola Structural Kit 3 is the third incarnation of Mola’s modular systems which…
The Olympics may be where the world’s best athletes showcase their skills, but it’s also a chance for hosting countries to show off the best of their culture and hopes of what the world could become. Next year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo is no different. In preparation for the event, many of Japan’s residents partook…
It’s quite surprising how many people don’t know the Heimlich maneuver. Rather than taking five minutes to look up a simple tutorial on YouTube, most folks would rather live in ignorance until one of their friends or family starts choking on a piece of food or worse… something which isn’t food. By then, it’s usually…
You can’t enter a coffee shop nowadays without at least seeing one iPhone on a single person. First released in June 2007, Apple’s iconic phone has become one of the leading smartphone lines around the world. Goes without saying, right? But what if the iPhone was released earlier than 2007? What if, say, it came…
When the newest Mac Pro was announced by Apple in June, people were ecstatic. Not because of the computer’s maximum CPU capacity of 28 cores/56 threads and 2933MHz memory, but because the hardware was a return to Apple’s tower design after years of a thermally limited, although quite compact, ‘trash can’ style design. Featuring a…
If you’ve ever wondered how a semi-automatic pistol works without having to get anywhere within firing distance of one… then you’re in luck. 3D generalist and motion designer Matt Rittman has taken the liberty of animating a totally safe, digital recreation of the iconic Glock 19. https://youtu.be/V2RDitgCaD0 After doing a fair bit of research to…
Hold onto your Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam—the marketing team at IKEA is at it again. And no, they didn’t create self-assembling furniture…yet. If you’re a fan of the GRÖNLID, the LIDHULT, or the SÖDERHAMN sofas, designing your next setup can now be done sans CAD via your trusty laptop keyboard. Yes—the same keyboard you…
You are a great designer. You have innate gifts with 3D and spatial relations and are a creative, original thinker. You have studied and mastered mechanical principles and fundamentals. Through industry experience, you’ve learned about manufacturing processes, rules of thumb and tools and tricks of the trade. You are an interesting “T-shaped” person pulling from…
Ah, the simple chair. It has one straightforward function: to seat the human rear. And while the invention has been around for centuries, artisans from just about every time period and culture have put their own spin on what has become a fundamental icon of industrial design. More recently, New York gallery The Future Perfect…
One of the hardest things to make when sketching a blueprint, model, or drawing is the circle. How is it possible after years of doodles in school, practice in college, and use in work that drawing a flawless circular is so difficult? Outside the few who may be able to nail all 360 degrees, the…
A majority of youngins’ these days don’t realize just how high the cost of living can be as you get older. Medicine, healthcare, transportation, and canes for hitting those disrespectful youngins – these are a few of the things you start screaming about as you age. These items are not cheap, and some are downright…
As production companies get more creative with materials in an effort to reduce and reuse waste, more thought is being put into how materials can be used. The New Raw has research labs which allow city denizens to craft recycled furniture, skateboards are being turned into kitchen knives, and now… we have portable speakers made…
Swedish furniture company Ikea has been on a problem-solving roll lately. After working on 3D printed gaming chairs for sensitive rears and the more recent ThisAbles project which features accessible furniture for the disabled, the company now has its sights set on helping those lacking personal space in small urban dwellings. ROGNAN is an upcoming…
After showcasing the new Air Force 720 and unveiling a limited-time workshop where customers can… err, customize their shoes, Nike is back at it with another innovation to their timeless shoe: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxh2u3XATwm/ On the surface, these Nike Air Force 1s are as easily dirtied as any other pair of white shoes. But shine a blacklight…
For those who aren’t in the know, handheld gaming is somewhat of a dying industry. “You lie!” No, no. It’s true, Mr. Gameboi. Since that smartphone in yo’ pocket is game capable, there isn’t much of a demand/use for another slab o’ plastic to play games. I guesssssss there’s the Nintendo Switch, but it can…
There are a few abilities you need to prove you’re a proper rockstar. 1) You need to love rock and roll. 2) You need to know how to play an instrument. 3) You need to learn how to break the freakin’ instrument after hours of rocking it. Smashing instruments has been the signature move for…
Just about every kid (or kid at heart) has wanted to try riding a skateboard. Maybe it’s the thrill of using your momentum as a driving force or the fact that the darn thing comes without brakes; the bottom line is anyone who gets on a skateboard is in for a good time (or at…
For a guy who doesn’t use computers, Philippe Starck sure loves to test the tech. He recently teamed up Kartell and Autodesk to showcase “the world’s first production chair” designed with the help of… I’m sorry, through a conversation with, Artificial Intelligence. Making the announcement at the Salone del Mobile furniture fair, the process… apologies…
Nike sure loves celebrating its Air Max designs. After giving sole searchers a look at the design process of the original Air Max and their new Air Max 720 shoes, the global shoe company is launching a new 3D Builder and partnered with designer Heron Preston in April for a 3D Builder workshop experience that…
After the release of the Tesla Model Y in 2018, Tesla CEO, visionary, and (some would say) eccentric, Elon Musk took to Twitter and asked people what they would like from a Tesla pickup truck. *Pause for gasp from crowd* Based on the few snippets of information he provided, the truck would have built-in power…
Nike air technology has come a long way since aerospace engineer Marion Rudy pitched his air-bag innovation to Nike in 1977. These days Air technology is really strutting its stuff by going full sole! I’m talking AirMax 720, a shoe to behold with heal-to-toe air. But how is this possible and what has changed since…
Word pairings and associations can be everything; Peanut Butter and Jelly. Peas and Carrots. Meat and Potatoes. Nike and…Air. To provide further insight for shoe nerds and design geeks into the making of one of the company’s most iconic shoe technologies, the Nike team released ‘A Brief History of Nike Air’ – a consolidated history…
For those who aren’t fans of the dark, Dyson recently announced its new line of Lightcycle desk and floor lamps that—according to them—will last you for the better part of your life. At $599.99 for the company’s new Lightcycle desk lamp and $899.99 for the new Lightcycle floor lamp, these light fixtures are a far…
Known famously for their ready-to-assemble flat pack furniture, Swedish manufacturer IKEA isn’t exactly famous for being user-friendly for people with disabilities. Not only do you have to set up the products yourself, but some of the company’s lamps and cabinets have small switches or handles which are too difficult to work with for someone with…
Even though it has official successors by way of the Game Boy SP and Game Boy Advance, no other handheld console hits you with nostalgia quite like the original Game Boy. Released in 1989 by Nintendo, this chunky block was what you brought around in the 90s whenever you were forced to go outside without…
Life is too short to be sitting on an uncomfortably hard bench— most would rather be spending it on a nice leather chair instead. But what if you could bring that bum-conforming comfort to a wood bench? Heck — how would you even start…no pillows allowed? Such is the premise behind the BEND Bench. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJdGRlAPddU Created…
We’ve seen our fair share of modular desk organizers; each with their own unique features and gimmicks designed to make organizing your desk an easier and more personalized experience. So what makes the Stealtho Organizer stand out from the rest? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz0O_x0hqDw Where most people nowadays use their laptops and phones for the majority of their…
In today’s sea of design, only a select few are truly capable of standing out as thought leaders and changing how we perceive the modern world around us. To further explore how today’s leading designers perceive design, New York City-based design firm Doberman interviewed 20 designers from leading companies around the world to share what…
There’s a good chance you have a fire extinguisher somewhere in your vicinity (most building codes require it after all). If not, consider this a friendly reminder to maybe get that check out. Filled with chemicals made for dousing small fires, these silent guardians spend most of the time getting hit by your foot due…
WhLike a true creative, when he’s not working on a project for a client, industrial designer Eric Strebel likes to create improvements to his own toolset. In the past, he’s made sketchbooks, dust masks, resin casting boxes. This time around, he’s working on a tablet stand for his 16-inch Wacom Cintiq Pro to position it…
I was squirtin’ some tunes on a Zune last week, when all of sudden I got a notification about a blog post on Onshape: Lessons From 5 Epic Consumer Design Failures. In it, John McEleney, Co-founder of Onshape, breaks down some of, what many thought would be, the best products EVER. In one way or…
Though many don’t mind a cluttered work area, there are a few who can’t resume working unless their desk resembles the pinnacle of orderliness. The Re:ease desk organizer was made for these select neat freaks. Created by product designer Marc Stüber and engineer Laurent Hartmann, this modular desk organizer is made up of 6 compact…
Even with the massive convenience that digital fabrication technologies have afforded us, you’ve got to admire those who are actively keeping the primitive manufacturing arts alive. Sculpting, woodworking, and blacksmithing are just a few of the ancient crafts that still manage to draw the eye with their personalized, handcrafted looks — not to mention insane, mesmerizing…
We’ve featured many woodworking workshops before on SolidSmack—but they’ve always been stationary; idle abodes usually found in garages where woodworkers can live in isolation to work on their craft. While these isolated environments certainly enable many artisans to concentrate better, it doesn’t leave them with a lot of flexibility to work on projects further from…
For those who haven’t tried it yet, Overwatch is a cartoonish multiplayer video game set in the not-so-distant future. With a diverse roster of characters—from the giant talking ape Winston to the gun-slinging cowboy McCree—Overwatch’s cast is as wacky as it is all-inclusive. One of these wacky characters—a Swedish engineer by the name of Torbjörn—is…
It’s usually never official until a sizeable multi-national company does it. While smaller electronics companies have been using paper and other recyclable materials for their products for years, Samsung is only now catching onto the environment-friendly trend. In a recent press release, the electronics division of the company has announced that instead of using plastics…
In possibly his oddest/coolest video yet, designer Eric Strebel breaks down the making of a one-of-a-kind toilet paper holder. But unlike the version you have at home, which has no technology whatsoever, this rectum-cleaning receptacle holds a couple of smartly-designed magnet discs to make pulling the right amount of toilet paper squares a one-handed process.…
Despite it being used often in manufacturing, carbon isn’t the most biodegradable material; meaning, it will take years to decompose that excessive carbon fiber waste from a multitude of design projects these days. Further, recycling carbon fiber isn’t necessarily an easy process either. Because the mixture of resin and carbon is so stiff, it becomes…
SolidSmack is honored to feature this article by Jesse Newton, CEO of Simplify Work and Author of Simplify Work: Crushing Complexity to Liberate Innovation, Productivity, and Engagement. Learn more about Jesse’s approach to problem-solving at simplifywork.com. Organizations today are complicated messes. They are a scramble of matrixed structures, reporting lines, disparate systems and bureaucratic processes. Navigating…
Three years ago, we covered the Ghostkube – paper engineer Erik Åberg’s origami-inspired creation made from wooden cubes of different shapes. Instead of using scraps of square paper though, the Ghostkube is composed of small, interlocking wooden cubes designed to move together in unison. The result is one “master” cube–a kinetic sculpture which can be…
The only kind of pens that you’d like to pass down from one generation to another, are in the range of the expensive Cartier and Mont Blanc kinds. Definitely not falling into this bracket, is the ManualPen as it’s not super expensive and neither glam-ed up with celebrity endorsements. However, it holds the distinction of…
Thomas Ollivier isn’t like some designers – he was born in the 20th century. There are so many products from that time, that inspired the products of this time, but Thomas has made the correlation even more direct. Using decades-old products as an inspiration, the French designer rebranded the ancient gadgets with apps and programs…
Even though most people can’t play a lengthy rally, almost everyone can have a good time playing ping pong (or table tennis, if you live in other parts of the world). The games are fast, the equipment isn’t expensive, and the ping pong table itself makes a nice place to store junk whenever you’re not…
Building a guitar is as much art as it is science, and chances are if you’re playing one, you’ve probably entertained the notion of making one of your own. While most all electric guitars are CNC milled (even those considered ‘handmade’), acoustics are a different story, consisting of a myriad of steps that range from…
Back in 2001, when Apple was still known as just a computer company with fruit logos on its computers, it released the first iPod. Unlike other media players before it, this white block used a touch-based scroll wheel to play songs, skip tracks, and scroll through menus. This may seem old hat by today’s standards,…
Take one look at an empty soda can, and you may think “trash,” but to sculptor Noah Deledda, he sees an aluminum canvas ripe for setting his hands on to create something truly unique. Though Noah is a sculptor by profession, he doesn’t work with just any sort of wood, rock, or conventional metal. Neither…
Shadow Creator’s new Shadow VR System is the new kid on the block and they are changing up the VR experience. Namely, they are outpacing their nearest competitors by bringing to market a standalone 6DoF VR headset. These features enable Shadow Creator to lose VR users from the shackles of computers and cables. Even better…
Would you say bottle openers are useless? Some would… until they find themselves in a situation which needs one. But since most bottle openers are single purpose and slightly more useful than a rock, not too many folks carry one on their person. But, what if it had more uses? When designer David Enrico came…
Chances are you have a ton of plastic containers at home with even more plastic lids that never fit the particular container you want. Though plastic containers are sturdier than plastic bags, they aren’t very space-efficient. Why not blend the two to create the best of both worlds? Such is the premise behind Zip Top…
