According to the United Nations, 783 million people lack access to clean water, and 2.5 billion people worldwide have inadequate sanitation. At the same time, the cataclysm of climate change grows ever nearer as the narcissistic complacency of our species prevents the collective action necessary to head off future…
So Jony Ive has a new title. So what? This banal little reshuffling could have a much bigger impact on Apple than you’d think. As Ive steps back from running day-to-day operations, it will make room for new designers—and a new design language—to emerge from the studio he managed for 20 years. And it’s about time.
When it comes to design, nothing beats a model. But it's also hard to overstate the importance of being able to draw while you develop an idea--whether by hand or by computer. In a new book out in December, two of the best discuss the fine art of, well, art.
Even though most of us never even notice it, Apple has a fantastic history of sound design, from the ping of the text message to the decades-old powering up noise. That legacy runs through Apple's new era of product design too, right down to the sound of the new Apple Watch clicking open.
Each year the People's Design Award honors a groundbreaking design that improves daily lives. Last year's winner, the Pack H20 Water Backpack, was a more efficient way for people to carry drinking water long distances. This year's nominees were just announced, and they include mushroom bricks, smart lighting, and…
Today, Google announced it's taking a big step into its future: By buying Gecko Design, an 18-year-old product design and mechanical engineering studio, to be part of Google X. What could Google want with a smaller engineering company like Gecko? Its ability to build real-world products, that's what.
Every year, Dyson asks industrial designers, product designers, and engineers to submit their smart solution to a problem—any problem. It's an awesomely broad request, and it usually results in some pretty fascinating projects. Leading up to this year's Dyson Award, we took a look at just a tiny fraction of the…
In 1986, Apple tried to turn itself into a beacon for the fashion world. Banking on the popularity of the Mac, the company launched an extensive catalog of clothing and accessories known as the Apple Collection. And it couldn't have been more 80s.
The world is aging. By 2030, nearly 20 percent of Americans will be over 65. By 2050, about a third of China will be over 60. The same goes for many other developed countries. Yet we don't spend nearly enough time thinking about how to make life easier for the elderly—despite the fact that all of us, if we're lucky,…
Hold a fluorescent light bulb near this table and it will suddenly flicker on. It looks like magic, but it's simple science: An embedded circuit produces an electromagnetic field that acts on the mercury gas inside the bulbs, making them glow as if they're plugged in.
Most pieces of technology—like smartphones, TVs, and even computers—are replaced by new models every six or twelve months. Game consoles, on the other hand, are meant to last for at least five years. Which means that every generation is a true milestone of UI, gaming, and industrial design. So what does the latest…
Commercially successful video game consoles—your Game Boys and your Playstations—are iconic pieces of product design. But they're only part of the story. There are dozens of other machines that either didn't catch on or failed miserably—and Evan Amos has devoted himself to cataloging them all.
When "invention machine" Quirky launched in 2009, it made a name for itself hocking plastic utensils and cord organizers—designed by you, for you. But over the past year, it's made a play to move into turning your home into a Jetsons-worthy utopia. And it's got the means—and brains—to do it.
When Adobe unveiled its first attempt at building hardware tools—a stylus called Project Mighty and a digital ruler called Project Napoleon—last April, the company was careful to describe the devices as prototypes, dancing around whether we’d ever be able to, you know, buy them. But today, Mighty and Napoleon are…
To mark the 100th anniversary of Chevy's logo this year, the car company has created this graphic charting the evolution of the iconic bowtie. But did you know that the origins of the slanted cross are vague at best?
Despite the strong feelings Don Draper harbors for them, projectors have never been particularly moving pieces of technology. LG's new portable projector, though, has charisma. This elegant little device looks more like a 1950s camera than a gadget from 2013.
The history of baseball equipment—just like the game itself—beats a meandering path, full of eccentric characters and bizarre details. That's because so many details of the game—from gloves to bats—were left up to the design of the players themselves.
There's one in every family or group of friends: A photographer who—willing or not—spends most of their time behind the lens, and ends up conspicuously absent from nearly every photo. It's inevitable. Well, not anymore. The Duo, a working concept camera, splits in half to capture both photographer and photographee at…
The Chupa Chups packaging is uncanny—you could spot the swirly, colorful wrapper from a mile away, and you'd instantly know it was the most famous Spanish lollipop in the world. David Airey, an Ireland-based graphic designer, put together this illustration that shows the evolution of the Chupa Chups logo since it…
The way we bury our dead hasn’t changed much over the past two thousand years. But it needs to change soon, according to a group of designers, philanthropic foundations, and funeral directors who sponsored a recent design competition to rethink burial traditions in the face of emerging problems with the status quo.…
