Time for another round of apps that cover the spectrum of your beloved mobile device, be it iPhone, Android or Windows! 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@www.solidsmack.com. Hit it! Marsbot “Marsbot helps you discover new places by learning what you like and then sending…
Having received multiple awards from countless institutions as well as being a favorite for the world’s elite, Steinway & Sons pianos continue to pass all standards since the company was founded by German immigrant Henry Steinway in a loft in New York City in 1853. Unsurprisingly, making the world’s best piano is a time-honored process and despite the availability of various modern manufacturing technologies, the company insists on using skilled craftspeople rather than machines to assemble the some 12,000 parts that go into each piano. Between the two Steinway & Sons factories that house these skilled piano builders – one in Astoria, NY and one in Hamburg, Germany – it takes…
From removing his socks with a handbuilt rocket launcher to creating a working homemade hoverbike, garage inventor Colin Furze has somehow managed to keep his limbs intact over the past few months – which is saying a lot, because his projects as of late have been getting bigger, faster and certainly a lot more explosive. With tea kettles, prams, go-karts, bicycles and ejector beds behind him, Furze’s latest takes rock n’ roll to a new level in the form of the Flamethrowing Guitar and the Smoking/Strobing Bass. “I’ve been creating these wonderful machines as making anything doesn’t just mean solving a problem or making life easier,” says Furze. “It can also…
This week’s Spotify-powered SolidSmack Radio Playlist knocks you in the pop sockets with head-boppin’ groove tuneage to help propel you through the work week in style. Whether you find yourself inking markers until they’re dry, grinding material through a bandsaw or working that 3D geometry all day, consider these tracks as a tool for your process. This week we’ll start things off with “Be Thankful for What You’ve Got” from Massive Attack then work our way through some White Denim, Matt Berry, Warpaint, Temples and others before wrapping up with “Dove” from Cymande. Have suggestions? As always, let us know what you listen to, what you want to hear and…
Presented by For those who have visited, it’s slightly difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes Amsterdam such an attractive city. No matter how you describe it, though, few cities are capable of melding that old European charm with the attributes of a modern metropolis quite like Amsterdam can. It should come as little surprise then, that the city is also a hub for some of the most cutting-edge architects and designers of today – many of whom explore future technology along the streets and canals of this bustling, modern city.
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 his furniture design pieces for around $10K apiece, ran into rendering problems in Rhino while designing his latest collection. Rather than growing frustrated with the popular NURBS software – as most of us likely would have – Stuart chose to embrace the glitches and work them into his designs. The result is a new series of…