While the marketplace is flooded with design books of all shapes and sizes, it’s only every so often that a ‘Holy Grail” industrial design book pops up. The ambitious Industrial Design in the Modern Age—out this month from Rizzoli—is one of them. Told through more than 4,000 selected industrial design objects from the Kravis Design Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the collection begins in 1900 and spans through to present day. As one might expect, everybody from Henry Dreyfuss to Charles Eames and Marc Newson to Jony Ive is covered in this comprehensive collection — a must for any design nerd. “Destined to become a new classic in the design genre, this…
It’s time for another round of apps that cover the spectrum of your beloved mobile 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 and 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 into tips@solidsmack.com. Hit it! Inventory List – Track Things (iOS — Free) Inventory List is the best inventory app for iOS. Create any type of…
These days, you can get just about any computer rig designed to your exact specifications. Whether you’re a RAM-hogging SolidWorks user, or simply just want a powerful workstation, there’s something for everybody. But no standardized hardware mod will ever replace the satisfaction of building your own rig from scratch. If you’ve ever wanted to create your own custom-built PC but didn’t know where to start, boy do we have great news for you. The How to Build a Computer Bundle consolidates five intensive online courses (a total of 126 individual lessons) ranging from how to create a blueprint for your desired desktop or laptop setup to how to overclock CPU…
The massively popular first-person shooter Overwatch is two-years-old! To show their appreciation to fans who have played the game over the past 730 days, Blizzard Entertainment has cooked up a little stop-motion video featuring three main characters – Tracer, Reaper, and a massive Overwatch cake. But making this two-minute stop-motion celebration took a lot more than realigning a couple of toys and adding some frosting, so the team decided to show the world how they put it together: After brainstorming the initial story and video flow, the team researched the fabrics and materials they need to bring the puppets to life. Using Tracer and Reaper figures as inspiration for their…
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 o SolidSmack Radio we’ll get the groove going with “Committed to the Cause” from Radio Dept before diving into sweet melodies from Palm, Hospitality, Grizzly Bear, Froth, and others before wrapping BACK up with “Someone Disappeared” the Everywheres. Rock!…
They may look like sacks of latex over an overpaid actor, but superhero masks are the real star of any superhero movie. They hide any facial blemishes and scars, plus they’re what kids recognize on the front of all the movie merchandise. And yet, making these voice-muffling head covers isn’t as easy as it seems. Just take a look at Ryan Reynolds’ mask in the Deadpool movies. Even before filming starts, designers are already getting Reynolds’ face size and measurements to make sure the red mask fits him perfectly. They digitally scan his entire head to create a mold and sculpt on top of it using clay. The clay sculpture…