When Hans Christian Ørsted discovered Aluminum in 1825, it would have been very difficult for him to have foreseen the many domestic uses and aesthetic applications that the material would ultimately take-on in the modern age. It was hardly one century ago that architects and designers truly began to capitalize on the use of raw,…

Reinventing the Wheel: Part 1, Part 2 In this article, I tackle a question that many have, which is: who has what IP and who is behind these wheels? The differences between FlyKly and Superpedestrian help to illustrate what I consider to be the formula necessary for sustained innovation. The question I pose to you…

Reinventing the Wheel: Part 1, Part 3 Now that we all agree that these smart wheels are significant and innovative products, we can  take a closer look at FlyKly and Superpedestrian to determine which company is and will continue to be the innovator. Today we’ll examine how both companies manage their user communities and fund…

Consider it the ultimate snowmobile if you and your four closest friends want to leave the ski lift to the ‘commoners’. The RaptorTrax is a new concept vehicle built off of a Ford F-150 SVT Raptor base that professional rally driver Ken Block will be unveiling (and bragging about) later this week in Aspen, CO…

Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve seen either the FlyKly Smart Wheel or the Superpedestrian Copenhagen Wheel — probably somewhere in your Facebook News Feed. As an avid cyclist, I knew the first moment I saw the Copenhagen Wheel that I would buy one, but got pretty confused when FlyKly launched their Kickstarter campaign…

These days I increasingly find myself asking “where was this when I was a kid?” when it comes to new toy designs ranging from electric inks to Arduino kits and iOS apps to the ability to ‘design your own shoes’ with NikeID. The latest comes in the form of an AMAZING Simpsons LEGO set that…

No, the above image wasn’t lifted from the pages of a Moleskine Sketchbook folks…those are actual three-dimensional structures. Korean designer Jinil Park’s new ‘Drawing Furniture Series’ is fairly self-explanatory, but certainly plays tricks on the eye when viewed from a two-dimensional image. Representing basic line sketches, the new collection of furniture is the result of…

Founded in 2010 by book editor Patrick Mulligan and graphic designer Ben Gibson, the mission of Brooklyn-based Pop Chart Lab was to do one thing and do it very well: render all of human experience in chart form. Three years later, the two have found themselves with new titles (Patrick as Editorial Director and Ben…

If your blackjack hands have been getting a bit stale and you’re looking to conserve those hard-earned pennies, then consider this new bike building-themed Kickstarter project from graphic designer Alex Solomon. Geared consists of color-coded cards that represent different components of a bicycle assembly with the object of the game being to use your ‘Part…

UK-based brothers Simon and Chris Parke surely have an appetite for underwater exploration adventure. Their S.C.P. Marine Innovation Limited is a Portsmouth based start-up dedicated to the powered marine action sports category and the two have just launched a ShareIn campaign for a wearable propulsion system that utilizes high-performance marine thrusters mounted on the user’s…

While Autodesk University has been a premiere event for the product design community for quite a few years now, there has historically been little to offer in the form of concept design, design sketching, and general creative inspiration outside of the CAD/CAM world. This year however, Autodesk launched their first-ever CAVE Conference with the goal…

We’ve seen quite the gamut of unique bicycle designs over the past year. From the 19th century velocipede re-imagined with today’s bicycle technologies to custom bicycle designs that utilize rapid manufacturing methods and everything in between, riders looking for a funkier ride have never had more options. The Sandwichbike from designer Basten Leijh is the…

If you’re a fan of the popular Automoblox toys, then this one’s for you. Architect Matteo Ragni organized a list of one-hundred designers and architects to design their own take on the wooden toy car as a part of his 100% ToBeUs initiative. The well-conceived initiative is focused on moving kids away from disposable toys…

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding the (RED) charity auction curated by Jony Ive and Marc Newson—particularly in regards to their one-of-a-kind desk and Leica camera designs. Well, it all goes down tomorrow (Saturday 11/23) at Sotheby’s in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. In preparation for the auction, Sotheby’s held a limited-engagement exhibition to show…

Yesterday, SolidSmack posted on the Electric Loog Guitar—a sort of build-a-guitar kit that encourages customization. While build-a-kits have been in existence for decades, there seems to be a resurgence in interest for both adults and kids alike. After raising over $160,000 on Kickstarter with 29 days left to go in their 30-day campaign, the Kano…

The iPad stylus market has seen an interesting turn in recent months with the release of Wacom’s Intuos Creative Stylus and now this morning, the Pencil by 53. For anybody who has used the iPad app Paper by 53, you might be familiar with 53’s exceptional attention to detail in the user experience and their…

Airless tires have been sort of like a pesky mole in the last ten years: they poke their heads out just long enough to catch some attention, then retreat back into their holes. Other than being airless and less-prone to damage, their use in automobiles has been questionable based on their potential lack of driving…

As a dog owner, I am constantly on the lookout for dog products that aren’t your run-of-the-mill, ‘bought it at PetsMart’ variety. Sadly, very few products actually exist for dog owners that reflect rock-solid design ideals (and no, I don’t need a Gucci dog collar). For those looking to step outside of the realm of…

As any office prankster worth their salt will tell you, launching objects in a parabolic arc at an unsuspecting co-worker is one of the greatest and most-satisfying ways of communication (assuming that said objects are gummy bears, marshmallows, and the occasional spitball). E&M Labs is offering a new way of stepping up your office warfare…

These days, adding security features to cell phones is usually old news, but for the case of the Halo™ anti-theft system, maybe not. Being marketed as “The World’s Most Advanced iPhone Security Device”, the Halo is an all-in-one security gadget concept for the iPhone 5. Aside from lacking an actual defense weapon, it basically has…

Most folks can probably agree that it has been fun watching the progression of affordable domestic robots evolve in the post-millennium era. Undoubtedly, it is becoming increasingly conventional to employ automated machines to facilitate routine tasks that would have been manual ones not ten years ago. However, it is still fairly uncommon to find free-range…

One year ago, Madrid-based architecture and design studio Kawamura-Ganjavian introduced their Ostrich Pillow concept to the masses on Kickstarter. After crowd-sourcing nearly three times their original $70k fundraising goal, the company brought their head-enveloping pillow to market, and some might argue, laid seeds to revolutionize the world of napping. But they didn’t stop there—K-G Studio…

Boy, howdy. Just when you think it’s not safe to walk down a dark alley unarmed, a 3D printing service company out of Austin, Texas goes and prints a metal gun. Solid Concepts has ‘done gone’ the unthinkable (to some), the unimaginable (to others), and has used lasers, powdered metal and considerable time to 3D…

From the future-forward aesthetic and unique manufacturing processes of Mykita eyewear to the sustainable ‘buy-one-give-one’ business model that is Warby Parker, we’ve seen quite the gamut of what’s possible for eyewear design and manufacturing in the past few years. Belgian industrial designer Frédéric Gooris has expanded that bubble by a few more breaths with his…

Few things can drive a human being more than passion—but coffee might be one of them. For this reason, it makes great sense that people are passionate about coffee. Some of the innovations that have surfaced in the realm of kitchen gadgetry in recent years have been pretty profound, but the coffee maker itself seems…

Perhaps you’re chillin’ in the eclectic abode of Shanghainese family of brush-tailed porcupines wondering where they curate their wonderful assortment of furniture and lighting. Perhaps the conversation leads to the discussion of computers, generative design and applying moisturizer in hard-to-reach places. With such discussions of computers and design, there’s likely one person’s name to pop…

Have you ever fought with gravity in order to get your iphone into a hands-free position where you watch the screen and use your hands for more important tasks like cracking lobster shells or defusing bombs? Now you can! with Breffo’s new Gumstick smartphone stand you can support any smartphone on the market with a…

In a world where mass-manufactured Nike Air Jordans, Teva Sandals, and Croc Clogs dominate the sidewalks, it’s easy to overlook the time and patience that goes into designing and making shoes by hand. Sure there’s value in appreciating how the latest sneaker design came to fruition, but the amount of disconnect is surely larger than…

Yes, you heard that right. Not one, not two, not three-hundred, but 908 robots that can assess what’s dirty in your home and…well, clean your house for you. 23-year-old industrial design student Adrian Perez Zapata recently took first place in Electrolux’s 2013 Design Lab competition in which his concept ‘Mab’ explores the automation-network of bees…

As bicycles increasingly become the go-to transportation of choice for urban dwellers, pre-existing problems that have plagued cyclists for years become highlighted and with them (hopefully) new and better solutions to make riding a better experience. Take for example the problem of commuting with a messenger bag, backpack, or gym bag. While messenger bags by…

For those who watched Apple’s Developer Conference back in June, you might have remembered Apple CEO Tim Cook inviting out a CEO of a new toy car company that utilized Apple’s iOS devices as a ‘steering wheel’ of sorts to drive physical cars. For those who might not have seen the keynote presentation, these aren’t…

As any regular reader of SolidSmack knows, digital fabrication tools have led a helping hand in ways never before seen for designers, artists, and even regular-Joe hobbyists. Combining the powers of digital modeling or 3D scanning with various devices that output a three-dimensional object still sounds like something out of the future, yet every day…

As the Cupertino City Council gets ready to cast their final votes for letting Apple build their ‘Spaceship’ headquarters that was the subject of Steve Jobs’ final public speaking appearance shortly before his death, the rest of us get to see a glimpse at what the initial rendered images couldn’t completely convey: the sheer massiveness…

It’s no secret that having fun, brightly-colored toys scattered across one’s desk can perk up anybody’s work environment. Perhaps nobody knows this better than one of the pioneers of designer toys and founder of Kidrobot, Paul Budnitz. Heck, even MoMA carries over a dozen of his designs in their permanent collection. So what’s his secret?…

Founded in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver to engage the private sector in raising both awareness and funds to help eliminate global diseases such as AIDS, (RED) has been a popular fundraising model that allows companies to offer unique products within their own brand that also help support the initiative. It would take a…

French designer Eugeni Quitllet has barely taken a breather since winning a Red Dot Award this year for his Masters Chair, and has proved once again that he is a master when it comes to working with plastics. In this new set of ‘TSA-safe’ airline cutlery for Air France, Quitllet proves that you’re never too…

Have you ever dreamed of what it would be like to live in the dark, popcorn-scented and smoke-filled acoustic glory of a 1950’s movie theater? If you have somewhere between $18,500-$175,000 to spend on a stereo system, then your 1950s-nostalgia dreams could come true with a custom, handmade audio system from Oswalds Mill Audio, which…

It’s no secret that ex-Apple designer Tony Fadell has found great success in his revolutionary Nest Thermostat design. The device has simplified the room temperature adjustment experience for thousands—and was one of the first smart home products that showed us a glimpse into the future of home living when it first came out. Riding on…

Inspired by the unique balance of what gives a fine whiskey it’s character, (in this case, Ballantine’s 12), Stockholm female design trio Front have created a unique sculpture set by the name of Ballance that embraces the ritual around consuming the fine liquor…so long as you can avoid ‘catching it’ with it’s balancing optical illusion…

Leave it to a lamp to lather the locally manufactured back of custom design and show us how efficient some products could be. Chris Chalmers, founder of Fabripod, is the San Francisco maker/creator behind the very cool Chrysalis project, a project with the idea of helping designers create custom products. Chris, taking the essence of that…

Here at SolidSmack, we do our very best to keep you on the forefront of the 3D printing world…but occasionally, it’s nice to simply sit-back and ogle something pretty! In terms of aesthetics, “pretty” might be one way to describe The Product’s Soundmachines, but stimulating, might be an even better word to encapsulate the Berlin-based…

Time to bring that retro skateboard design into the future and snag yourself a sweet, high performance composite ride. Hydroflex Skateboards, hailing from Oceanside, CA knows a thing or two about vintage surf style–They build surfboards. Now, they’re turning their attention toward skateboards, taking the retro style of the 70’s and literally infusing it with…

I’m all for tossing up some highly complex, geometrically intense, 3-dimensional visuals on flat surfaces to wow the senses and, I tell you what, Bot & Dolly do not disappoint. Bot & Dolly is a design and engineering studio that specializes in automation, robotics, and filmmaking, but to show off what their rigs and equipment…

There are but a few products in this world that really draw out the raw, bubbling essence of human ingenuity and mindful consideration of fellow man. And but a few tools you want at your disposal when formidable circumstances approach. The paint scraper. The shovel. The toilet plunger. Three things that should be on everyone’s…

For those who have tried Phillipe Starck’s Parrot Zik headphones, you might be familiar with the up/down swiping for adjusting the volume—among other touch-sensitive controls on the headphones themselves. While some non-audiophiles may scoff at a pair of $400 headphones, the design is truly a step forward in how we interact with our audio devices.…

To say that your trilogy of design-centered documentaries are all available on Netflix Streaming is no easy task—especially considering that the intended audience is in no way attracting the same crowds as say, Arrested Development. Yet director Gary Hustwit has earned those bragging rights and has also—to some degree or another—given mass audiences a peak…

It is no secret that high-fashion is like history; it is known to repeat itself. While the latest fads might not always be carbon-copies of their predecessors, the roots of modern style are often painfully obvious to those with an observant eye—and eyeglasses themselves might be the perfect example of this. With the recent rise…

You may have just returned from that weekend trip, growing your beard and connecting with nature via a fish hook to the cheek… the ear… and also the upper eyelid. You even caught a few fish to prove it could actually be done, but tying on those fish hooks after clipping them repeatedly from the…

Love it or hate it, McDonalds food is here to stay. While little can be done to ween people off of the iconic convenience food, simple ways of re-thinking existing design elements in the McDonalds ecosystem can have a dramatic domino effect worldwide—15% of the total weight of a McDonalds order is packaging alone. Take…

Ever wonder what a LEGO garden would look like? TogetherFarm founders Matt Stormont, Joe Aakre, and Doug Holcomb have set out to recreate what it means to have a backyard garden through the use of LEGO-inspired bio-plastic building blocks. With a retaining wall design that requires few materials to haul and eliminates the need for…