Yeah, you know any old helmet won’t do. And you definitely know that Lannister guard helmet you fashioned from a paper bag, gorilla glue and wood chips is looking pretty weak right now. Well, there’s a better way to make a helmet and you won’t believe how simple it is. This week on Tested, the…

The last time we checked in with Swedish designer, craftsman, and innovator Love Hultén, he was blending mid-century style and American walnut to create a series of drool-worthy retro gaming devices powered by a Raspberry Pi. More recently, the master of fusing traditional artisan knowledge with modern technology turned his attention from video games to…

Depending on your stance (and age) towards technology (and whether you have kids or not), Pokémon GO is either a welcome new fixture in your home life or you’re doing everything you can to avoid it. Regardless, the augmented reality game has ushered in a new style of gameplay that adds a layer of interactivity…

Though most people do 100% their writing on a computer or smartphone, there are still a few old people and those with the digit dexterity of a quilt sewer who prefer to write with a pen. Whether you like the feeling of pen meeting paper or just find it easier than nub-punching a keyboard, there’s…

Vehicles concepts fall into a category all of their own. They are different than other products in the sense that they are, in general, 95% styling and about 1% design, with 4% common sense/luck, in my opinion. Toy vehicles are usually some sort of a generalization of what a designer thinks a vehicle is and…

Having just graduated with a degree in Industrial Design earlier this year, 27-year-old Ludwig Rensch is already proving that he can lay down the iron fist and squash existing design annoyances with his innovative problem-solving skills. For his final project, which focused on our relationship with today’s machines and how they can be used more…

Although a well-designed and balanced pen can be a dream to write with, few writing instruments could ever replace the humble wood pencil. Now, artists, designers, engineers, woodworkers and anybody else who grinds their pencils down to a nub will soon be able to get a lot more mileage out of that lead. Soon to…

Cycling. It’s the ragingly popular/eco-friendly/healthy/cheap way to get around town. I like to ride my bicycle – we all do. But it can be a pain deciding where to store the bike, especially if you live in… yeah, just about any apartment. (I have to pay $60 a year to store mine.) Solutions?

Brooklyn-based EXOvault are known for their unique phone cases and all-metal eyewear that is so removed from the norm they boarder on works of art. The idea behind their creations is centered not only on art and craftsmanship, but on the individual as well, providing a wider range of styles that give the customer a…

If you’re thinking of launching a startup (or are already amidst the craziness), Indiegogo and Arrow can help. The companies recently announced a partnership that will give entrepreneurs access to discounted components and manufacturing services through a joint site made just for Indiegogo crowdfunders.

Bee pollination is tied to almost 33 percent of all American crops, but the bee population has drastically declined in recent years. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), 42 percent of bee colonies collapsed in 2015 alone. But San Francisco startup Seedles intends to do something about it by planting one billion wildflowers.

Repurposing old or outdated tech has increased in popularity thanks to the Maker movement. Some of the more creative builds include turning an old Nintendo NES system into a functioning toaster, turning an old iBook and mouse into a decorative clock, and making a rechargeable battery pack from an old cell phone. Repurposing old tech…

In Part I, we kicked off this series discovering how to quickly create concepts of a sci-fi style vehicle through the use of Thumbnailing, Marker Rendering, and Underlay Construction. We’ll pick up from there and cover two more techniques you’ll want to add to your repertoire.

While some furniture comes mass produced and can be found in any dumpy chain store, others are absolute works of art ─ and Benjamin Nordsmark’s Contour Cabinet certainly falls into the latter category. His cabinet design was inspired by the layers and curves found in some modern architecture as well as his fascination with the…

Move over hamburgers and hotdogs, pizza could be the new go-to favorite for tailgaters, campers and backyard barbeques everywhere. How does 1000% of your daily charbs sound? On the go? Nashville-based Tennessee Stone & Design has kicked-off their Kickstarter campaign aimed at bringing mobile brick ovens to pizza and closet brick oven enthusiasts everywhere. The…

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…

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…

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…

What if we could all make a difference by reviving our artisan roots of ages old? I’m not implying you ditch your condo for an old barn, wood shop and some chickens, but I am saying us little guys can change the status quo (and save some money along the way) by supporting, well, other…

Rendering out new product design concepts with markers can be a pretty daunting task. In my new multi-part series I look at how to approach rendering adventure toy concepts, combining old school marker techniques with some modern day digital photo editing techniques.

If you’ve never been across the pond, then you have probably never seen of The ArcelorMittal Orbit. Looking like a sort of towering behemoth from an H.P. Lovecraft story, the ArcelorMittal Orbit is a 376 foot sculpture and observation tower in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London. At 115 meters (22 meters taller than the Statue of…

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…

Never cared much for having a globe at home… until now. Oscar Lhermitte and the design tag team Kudu are ready to manufacture the first batch of MOON lunar globes for commercial sale. MOON is the ‘most accurate lunar globe’ in existence, and is based on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter topographic data collected by the…

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…

Ever dream of flying the high skies as a pilot? How about sitting on the edge of a massive jet engine intake? Well, if either has crossed your mind, there’s still a chance to live out your fantasy. All you need is this beautiful, futuristic chair made by Fallen Furniture.

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…

Prototyping. An overused buzzword? A misunderstood concept? A noun, a verb, and an adjective? Prototyping is a philosophy. Actually, prototyping is the philosophy when it comes to making top notch designs in today’s hyper competitive market.

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…

Ask any avid hiker or outdoorsman and they will say, weight is an issue that can make or break you. Or, only take the gear you’re going to use, not what you think you need. Or, the less gear you carry, the faster you can run from bears. (Psst, don’t run from bears.)

As the internet and Photoshop has taught us, pictures aren’t always what they seem. Sometimes they’re manipulated to a point where it’s something completely different. Other times, they’re optical illusions playing tricks on the eye. But what if these manipulations can be applied to actual furniture?

It started as a prank that went viral and had some wondering if Nintendo lost their minds. The prank in question was centered on a supposedly ‘leaked’ image of a new controller design for Nintendo’s upcoming new console designated NX, which was uploaded to reddit from a user known as Idriss2Dev, AKA David Im. The…

After raising nearly $1 million from their Kickstarter campaign last October, graphic designers Jesse Reed and Hamish Smyth successfully brought the original 1975 NASA Graphics Standards Manual to thousands of space and design geeks – a piece of exploration history that was previously thought to have been lost. Designed in 1974 by Richard Danne and Bruce…

Last year, Nike turned the Air MAG shoes, that Marty McFly sports in Back to the Future, into a reality. They were pricey, yes, but available in limited quantities and sold exclusively to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease research. Now the shoe company is bringing that totally futuristic technology to the…

Our smartphones can do anything and almost everything. Think you’re lost? Whip out your phone. Need to look up an address? Phone’s got you covered. Get in a fender bender? Your phone can take pictures. But even with this technology at our finger tips, there are some situations where a smartphone is useless, like getting…

With an estimated 1 trillion plastic bags being consumed worldwide each year, it’s unfortunate to know that less than 5% of those bags ever end up being recycled. This effectively leaves roughly 95,000,000,000 opportunities for toxic chemicals to end up where they shouldn’t be. While thought leaders, lawmakers and grocers continue to find alternative solutions…

If you’re an audiophile who cringes at the site of sound coming from a mobile device, your day might just get a few decibels better. You want quality and stunning audio even if that means paying top dollar. Hult, a manufacturer based in Los Angeles, has a new high performance wireless speaker called the Pavilion and…

When Harley Earl popularized the concept vehicle in the 1950s, it was used as a way for automakers to showcase new stylings and technologies – most of which were years ahead of any feasible production date if they even made it to production at all. In more recent decades, auto manufacturers have pulled out all the…

Remember getting a Spirograph for Christmas? Yeah, baby! That was the BEST. That wee creative toy had an infinite number of intricate geometric designs within those simple plastic gears. Well Joe Freedman’s LEAFpdx has taken that idea to the next level.

According to acclaimed industrial designer and recording artist Karim Rashid, 3.5 days of your life are spent untangling cords. Together with industrial designers Richard Smiedt and Phil King, the designer is preparing to launch what he thinks is the ideal solution for device charging and cord management in the form of ‘Bump’. Consisting of a…

If failed 3D prints, Futurama toys and mini-LEGO Architecture buildings just aren’t cutting it for desk toys anymore, how about replacing that valuable desktop real estate with some glowing dinoflagellates? Unlike the crudely mass manufactured plastic vessels for mail order brine shrimp (AKA Sea Monkeys), the interactive glass Dino Sphere from BioPop is a true…

Why does modern furniture have to either be expensive or low-quality? Such is the pressing question that a team of 9 designers from California-based online home goods brand SWENYO recently asked themselves. Aiming to bring premium products that embrace a balance of form and function to today’s average consumer, the design team turned their attention…

According to Australia-based Knog, bike bells generally look and sound a bit ugly – but what if they were streamlined to fit the existing profile of a handlebar and sounded like an angel playing a glockenspiel? That’s a big “what if” – but if their recent success on Kickstarter is any indication, thousands of bell-ringing cyclists also…

Xacto knives. Pfllllt. They walked in and thought they were the go-to tool for precision crafting. Ok, I admit, they pretty much have been, whether it’s for a small art project or a huge building design, they seduce us with their oh-so-sharp blades. But holding the knife for so long can literally cramp yo’ style.…

For the best sound and higher rates of amazing an audience, musicians require top of the line instruments. You could say they’re a bit particular, especially when it comes to pianists. Whether they play jazz, classical or pop, pianist want the best piano–the best sound–possible. One name has stood above the rest for over a…

Although simple in functionality, few writing or desk tools have been reimagined quite as much as the humble pencil sharpener. Whether your Prismacolor-sharpening technique consists of microwaving the pencil for 8-seconds before hand sharpening to avoid lead breakage, or if you prefer chiseling away at an old carpenter’s pencil with a gardener’s knife, there really…

Between news of the Apple Car, the introduction of hands-free driving from Tesla and Google’s continued development of self-driving cars, 2015 shaped up to be one of the most interesting years in recent memory for the automobile – yet, 2016 is already shaping up to be even crazier. Not one to be left behind automakers, Goodyear…

For bike lovers who can’t get enough of anything bicycle related, Industrial Kid has designed a unique lamp that is the perfect home/office/anywhere addition. In fact, if anyone doubts your passion for cycling, we’re pretty sure this desk lamp will drive the point home.

When you’re standing in those long lines at the DMV or the bank, ever wish there was a seat you could bring with you? Small, compact, folds out like an Ironman suit or something? One Japanese company is getting you closer to that wish. Archelis is a futuristic wearable chair by Japan’s Hiroaki Nishmura Design…

Rarely do we ever hear “mobility scooters” and ” Harley-Davidson motorcycles” in the same sentence, but now that we have, we can’t help but wonder how or what a mash-up of the two might look like. In any case, it would probably be very close to the recently-redesigned Afiscooter SE mobility scooter from Studio Lama.…

Have you ever surrounded yourself in wood building blocks, then jumped out and scared the cleaning lady? No? It’s good fun. The only thing that would make it better is these. This is the Blockitecture Garden City building set. They smell of pine wood and are the brainchild of James Paulius, an artist who believes that…