Huddle around the computer a little bit, your digital detox is a farce! How can you stay away from great stuff that you can read and chew on … mentally that is! We got you covered, while you were away, busy with your digital detox diet. Don’t be shy, take a look at the week that was, right here on SolidSmack. Cause we are ROCKIN! This All-in-One Kit Teaches You How to Build Your Own Mechanical Watch Currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, Rotate takes things one step further by having users assemble their own mechanical watch from scratch. Completely devoid of batteries (because that’s what a modular watch is), the kit teaches…

If you thought mobile cases with bunny ears and googly eyes were weird, wait ‘til you get a load of what HCI (human-computer interaction) researcher and interaction designer Marc Teyssier has been working on. By laying a number of electronics underneath a mixture of various silicones, he and his team created Skin-On: a phone case material that mimics human skin; complete with touch capabilities: Let’s address the elephant in the room first: this is NOT real human skin used to make a case. Rather, it is a mixture of DragonSkin silicone poured into a mold to create the outer epidermis topped Datastretch conductive threads to form the electrodes on the…

It’s time for another round of apps that cover the spectrum of your beloved smart device(s)! The Weekly App Smack is the best of new or updated design and productivity apps (and maybe a couple of fun ones, too) for the busy design or engineering professional. This week we have a list sure to make you more efficient. Do you have an app suggestion that has made your life easier or changed up your workflow? Let us know in the comments below or send it to tips@solidsmack.com. Hit it! Airmail (iOS — Free) Airmail is a powerful mail client for Mac, now available for iPhone and iPad. Halide Camera  (iOS -…

For the serious LEGO junkies out there, the LEGO IDEAS community is a one-stop shop for all things plastic brick. From message boards to activity ideas, the platform—which is officially hosted by LEGO—encourages members to share their creations and compete for prizes with build competitions. It’s also where master builders can upload proposals for new LEGO sets that the community votes for to move into mass production. Among others, the LEGO Typewriter from Master Builder Steve Guinness recently hit over 10,000 supporters—meaning, the LEGO corporate team will move the design into the Review phase for 2020 and if they decide to move forward with it, create the SKU, packaging, and…

Since the 19th century, the bicycle has undergone thousands of different design iterations for different riding styles and rider sizes. While you could say frame designs have varied based on road or offroad usage, the core design of the bicycle itself hasn’t gone through many revolutionary design changes. This is where German manufacturer Urwahn Bikes comes in. In their effort to make a more urbanized bike, they came up with their newest (and hardest to pronounce) creation: the Stadtfuchs. The curves on the frame allow the Stadtfuchs to be more ergonomic and balanced, making the ride through city streets a lot smoother (it also helps that the bike has an…

Get that stretch out of your system with this week’s Spotify-powered SolidSmack Radio Playlist. It’s fashioned up, ready to make you pull your shoulder blades back and knock out another week of meaningful work while you bob your head to the beat. Whether you’re in the shop milling aluminum, sketching the latest product prototypes or modeling up a 3D storm, consider these tracks as a tool for your process. This week on SolidSmack Radio we’re getting things rolling with “The Whole of the Moon” from Kirin J Callinan before rolling into a tasty set with tracks from Toro y Moi, LCD Soundsystem, Yeasayer, and others before wrapping up with “Sadboy” from…