Just touch with any dry, clean part of your body to activate. Any clean body part will work. That simple. Touch to activate. Touch to deactivate. That. Is. It. Off with handles. Off with indicators. Off with any superfluous elements. Just capacitive touch built in the whole body, so you don't have to mess its metallic surface with your dirty, wet hands. And you can even detach the tip.

Geeneeus functionality, and perfect, minimalist design. Jon Ive and Dieter Rams probably have theirs already. As soon as I get $547 to throw away, I'll get mine. [Delta Faucet via Core77]

"There are only two things you care about besides the appearance," he explains. "The amount of water coming out and the temperature." This seemingly simple balance between image and duty is one that Norman understands implicitly. As an engineer his priority is making sure things operate properly, but as a psychologist he argues that there's more to functionality than, well, functioning. "Emotions are really the most important part of life. Things have to work well, but they also should excite you."

(Indeed—emotions and faucets go hand in hand. My faucet makes me cry...but how can I stay mad at it?)

To be honest, the reviews of these faucets are disappointing, but the point here is that these simple everyday fixtures are being thought about in a very intellectual way. I mean, Norman talks about the "aesthetic and kinesthetic pleasure" of the water stream for God's sake. I get it though. With a background in art and design I can appreciate the massive amount of engineering that can sometimes be employed on items we take for granted. In fact, some of the most cutting edge designers are working on sinks and faucets these days. Coffee makers are getting this treatment as well. It's just pouring water over a bean but there are some crazy elaborate concepts out there. And why not? These are gadgets we use every single day. [Dwell via BBG]

I'm sure that is part of the inspiration behind designer Shen Di's "+shifter" faucet concept. However, the true purpose behind the design is a unique method of conserving water. You see, the faucet regulates the water flow from low to high as the gears progress upward.

The concept certainly looks interesting, but there is one major problem: how do you control the temperature? [Yanko via DVICE]

X-Touch is a product of Newform Italy, and looks to be either a sink faucet or a bath faucet. Either way, we're glad to not be burning our hands/mouths/genitals from water that's just slightly too scalding. If they can only mesh this with the type of showerhead that you can set it to a certain temperature and shut off automatically, this would be the ultimate faucet. [Trendir via Like Cool via Uber Gizmo]

[Paini via Limitedhype]

[Frattini via Trendir via Newlaunches via DVICE]

The hack requires a little plumbing know how and some circuitry work, which makes it slightly harder than your normal DIY project. To help you and your pets out, Tsruzik has put together some kits for order. Prices range from $10 to $125.

The end product works a lot like those sinks that automatically turn on when you waive your hands under them—except instead of detecting hands, it detects cats. Tsruzik has even thrown in an optional “people detector” so that the faucet won't run every time a person walks by. Check out the video to see some cute kittie drinking action:
[MAKE]

[Product Page via Engadget]

The iSave is a rather simple gadget that has just clinched the runner-up prize in Metropolis Magazine's 2007 Next Generation Awards. Attach it to either your sink or a showerhead and it will show you just how much water you are using for your morning's ablutions/scrubbing last night's taco melt off your plates. Designed by Reamon Yu, it's not going to save any water, but it will make you conscious of just how much is used/wasted, and hopefully will push you to further reduce your consumption.

The iSave is powered by a small turbine embedded in the waterflow, so greenies among you need not worry about expending any more energy than you have to. It's not available as yet, but fingers crossed and faucets tight. – Ad Dugdale

The 2007 Next Generation Design Competition Winner and Runners-Up Announced [Metropolis Magazine via Inhabitat]

•The LED isn't variable: Once you hit 89 degrees or greater, the red LED switches on. Before that, its blue. And when your water isn't running the circuit opens and the light goes off.
•The piece is long, so if you've got a shallow sink basin, you're going to be annoyed.
•It'll runs an unspecified number of hours with three easily changed small button batteries.
•Comes with two adapters for different faucet sizes.
•That's not chrome. It's silverized plastic (the kind that chips). What do you expect for $20?
•The flow is superb, but unfocused. Ultimately, I couldn't justify this without a wide spray and stream mode, and an adjustable neck. Depending on your love for LEDs, though, YMMV.

–Brian Lam

LED Faucet [Thinkgeek]

It runs on tiny watch batteries and looks like it's pretty easy to install. Now we really want one. But must the bathroom be dark for its effects to be visible? – Charlie White

Product Page [Think Geek]

For just $19.99, you get a LED faucet light that streams blue water normally, but turns red as soon as it hits 89 degrees. Gimmicky, sure, but at that price how could you say no? – Jason Chen

Product Page [Think Geek - Thanks tipster!]

The ring faucet spurts out water in a completely unique way, making the act of just washing your hands a work of art. Or something like that. Whatever, I just want one. –Adam Frucci

Yanko Design [via Luxury Launches]

It's a cool concept, as you won't have to worry about scorching your hand while testing the water again. If it's red, don't mess with it. If you doubt the reality of this product, check the video after the jump for a much less classy version than the one pictured above doin' its thing. –Adam Frucci

[World's First Color Changing LED Faucet [TechEBlog]