In the ’90s I visited a younger cousin in South Korea. Military service is mandatory there, and he was enlisted in the Navy. He had the craziest haircut I’d ever seen—completely shaved around the side, …
A Smart Design for a Robotic Tennis Partner
Here’s an example of solving a complex problem by synthesizing existing technologies in a novel way. A Chinese inventor known only as Mr. Feng wanted to create a robot that could persistently return tennis volleys, …
When EDC Objects are Actually Designed by Industrial Designers
Most EDC stuff looks and feels like it was designed by an engineer or machinist. In contrast these objects by the James Brand, which was notably founded by an industrial designer (Ryan Coulter), were clearly …
China Moved an Entire Historical Building Complex Using Walking Robots
As we saw earlier this month, Samsung has developed flat robots used to park cars. This same month, China’s Shanghai Construction No 2, an engineering and construction firm, also used small robots to move something …
Designing for Change at ICFF
During this year’s ICFF in New York, over 30 students from seven international design schools came together for the 2025 WantedDesign Schools Workshop, a collaborative, high-energy design sprint centered on one of today’s most universal …
Mobile Shopping Cart Cleaning Solutions
Shopping cart cleaning protocols vary by supermarket, and even by location within the same brand. At my local Walmart they use hot water and steam—you can feel both the temperature of the cart and the …
The Great Fredini Figures Out How to Centrifugally Mold Glass
If there’s one material you’re never going to rotomold, it’s glass. But glass artisan Frederick G. Kahl, a/k/a the Great Fredini, has come close. Kahl designed this clever system for molding glass inside of a …
Empowering Student Innovation
From addressing malnutrition with a sustainable and scalable solution, to turning one of the planet’s largest sources of agricultural waste into a biodegradable plastic alternative, to using synthetic biology to prevent antibiotics from contaminating our …
Obsessive UX Design Detail: A Bag Hook that Retracts
The first time I saw an undermount bag hook was at a café in Japan in the ’90s. More recently they’ve spread to America, becoming popular at restaurants, cafes and bars. It’s a small and …
Solstice 2.0, a Kinetic Clock by Animaro Design Studio
British architect Matt Gilbert, founder of design studio Animaro, first released his Solstice clock in 2018. The kinetic clock expands and contracts with the time, reaching full expansion at noon and midnight, and contracting fully …