Could a train seat that stores bikes be a solution to post-pandemic travel?
PriestmanGoode has reworked a train seat so that it can hold bikes in place, thereby creating distance on trains and lessening pressure on public transport.
Product
News, views and analysis on the latest product and industrial design stories, covering transport, tech products and homewares.
Google designer Mark Spates on the role of smart homes amid coronavirus
“If you told me 60 days ago that I’d be on video calls eight hours straight from home, I’d have been like, there’s no way,” Mark Spates says of the
Dyson reveals details about scrapped £500m electric vehicle
James Dyson has revealed information about electric vehicle project, which was scrapped last year, which was an SUV model with a “hologram” dashboard.
Are homegrown biomaterials the answer to facemask shortages?
US-based Sum Studio is looking to address the “supply chain bottleneck” caused by the pandemic with the nature-inspired “Xylinum” transparent mask.
How do you design an “immersive” virtual product launch?
Bike company VanMoof was supposed to unveil its new models live, but COVID-19 made that impossible. Instead design studio Resn created a virtual launch.
O-zone at home: how product design is aiming to purify our inside spaces
We take a look at the design concepts that seek to purify our domestic (and office) spaces, with a new urgency post-coronavirus.
Will this design from Philips be a “new normal” for retail post-coronavirus?
New “queue management” designs from Philips look to Android technology to implement two-metre social distancing regulations in retail settings.
This wearable monitoring technology aims to “revolutionise” elderly care
Bluebell InTouch is an extension of the company’s baby monitoring kit, which hopes to provide a “revolution in social care”.
Female frontline workers are having issues with badly-fitting PPE
The coronavirus has brought attention to the shortage of PPE in the UK, but there are other issues with protective equipment.
Zines, quarantine maps and rave suits: design inspiration from lockdown
Put the world’s designers in lockdown and this is what they come up with.
Could virtual reality change how designers work?
Even before COVID-19, design studios were looking to implement virtual reality solutions, but lockdown has added renewed relevance to the effort.
These designs help women carry out their own smear tests
Three new concept designs from Bath-based studio Matter aim to engage more women in positive cervical screening experiences by taking the process out of the doctor’s surgery and into the
The government cancels order for 10,000 Dyson ventilators
Dyson’s CoVent design had not yet received approval from the UK’s medical regulatory body as the demand for ventilators decreased.
Hande is a “playful take” on hand sanitiser
A hand sanitiser brand has been set up in South London to help communities who have been financially affected by coronavirus.
Letterbox deliveries are booming. How are designers meeting these new demands?
You can get wine, laundry capsules and deodorant posted through your letterbox now, and it’s testing traditional ideas of product and packaging design.
The suit that keeps homeless people warm and connects them with services
Bas Timmer’s Sheltersuit was designed to protect homeless people from the elements but soon grew into a business, which fuses circular economy and social design principles.
These snorkelling masks have been adapted for use as ventilation equipment
Manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz and Airbus have produced valves, using 3D printers, to help those needing ventilator treatment.
“We’re in a golden age of design”: The enduring appeal of board games
Prioritising audiences, design and innovative game mechanics, modern tabletop gaming has surged in popularity in recent years, and the current coronavirus lockdown is only bolstering this trend.
In-house design teams: how are LEGO sets designed?
LEGO has enchanted all ages with sets from the magical worlds of Harry Potter to the sci-fi settings of Star Wars. We speak to the people behind the bricks.
The world’s first plastic-free deodorant refill is made of bamboo pulp
Designed by Morrama studio, Wild is a compostable refill deodorant that takes aim at the cosmetic industry’s waste problem.
Car designer Frank Stephenson on baby seats and biomimicry
The man behind the updated Mini, Fiat 500 and BMW X5 turns his eye to a completely different design project: the baby seat.
Coronavirus: Apple sources 20m medical masks and designs face shield
The tech company is working with its supply chain to provide medical supplies where they are most needed around the world.
Mercedes F1 and UCL develop breathing aids for coronavirus patients
The device was “reverse-engineered” with the help of clinicians at UCLH and aims to reduce the need for ventilators and demand on intesive care units.
Pentagram’s Yuri Suzuki has designed a machine that lets you cut your own vinyl
The Easy Record Maker comes with blank discs for people to record their own musical creations, and has in-built speakers to play it back.