British Design Fund to invest £500k in products and manufacturing
The initiative, founded by ex-Design Council CEO John Mathers and Damon Bonser, has reached its fundraising target and aims to help British product design start-ups.
Product
The latest product design news, views, inspiration and opinion.
Technology will Save Us: the design studio teaching kids to value art and science
We visit the East London-based start-up to find out about its latest crowdfunding campaign, and the importance of learning creativity, technology and science from a young age.
5 important things that happened in design this week
The Design Week Awards winners were revealed, NatWest launched its own digital studio and designers responded to the general election result – the news from the last seven days.
Waymo drops self-driving car Firefly for new autonomous minivan
The pod-shaped car, which first did a test-run in 2015, will now be retired to museums and replaced with a minivan that has better vision and can reach higher speed.
“When I looked at my sent emails, I knew I was fired”: designers’ biggest mistakes
Last week the Museum of Failure opened in Sweden, which is archiving global design and innovation failures including the Segway and a frozen beef lasagne from Colgate. We ask designers about their most memorable work-related disasters.
Design Week Awards 2017 – the winners in full
We reveal all of the winners from last night’s Design Week Awards across every category, plus Best in Show, Hall of Fame and Rising Star.
The 2017 Design Week graduate show guide
If you’re planning to head to any graduate design shows this summer, here is our comprehensive guide to all of this year’s exhibitions.
From bloodied volleyballs to memory loss neuralyzers: designers’ favourite film props
Last week, a new exhibition on science fiction opened at the Barbican featuring masks, costumes and other designs from classic sci-fi films and TV series. We ask designers about their most memorable prop designs.
Joe Macleod: “Designers should consider the lifecycle of products they create”
In this exclusive extract from Ends, a new book by former Ustwo design director Joe Macleod, he sets out his theory on “closure experiences” and asks: “How many products have you started, designed, launched and built a customer base for? Do you have the same passion about ending them appropriately? Does it matter?”
Apple unveils voice-activated, connected home speaker
The HomePod speaker looks to combine sound quality and voice control to compete with rivals such as Amazon and Google.
Museum of Failure: the exhibition exploring brands’ biggest “f*ck ups”
We delve into a new museum in Sweden which is archiving global innovation and design failures spanning from the 17th century right up to the present day, including the Segway and a frozen beef lasagne from Colgate.
Worker bees, street art and rainbow flags: the designs that define places
Last week, the Design Museum in London launched a new exhibition exploring Californian design. We ask designers about the designs which are most evocative of the place in which they live and work.
Product Inspiration
Dough Universe, by Technology Will Save Us
London-based studio Technology Will Save Us has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a new interactive learning kit for kids made out of conductive play dough. The product is comprised of three individual kits that aim to help children learn about STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) principles, and the “fundamentals of electricity through light, […]
Design Dice, by Andy Neal
Creative block is a common plight for designers, who will often resort to word maps and image moodboards to spark new ideas. A graphic design tutor at Falmouth University has decided to make this process a little more tangible. Andy Neal has designed a set of dice that aim to inspire young designers to think […]
Dart x Design, by various designers
When we think of dartboards, connotations of music-less, ale-filled, old-fashioned pubs and splintered, ancient wooden boards arise. But now, designers including Base Design and Karim Rashid have reimagined the dartboard as part of charity project Dart x Design, organised by consultancy Frog. Interpretations include a colourful, 3D-printed board from Alex Trochut, a mathematical, geometric board […]
The Pioneer Plaque replica, by Duane King
A Kickstarter campaign has been launched to reproduce the original “galactic greeting card”; a communicative plaque that was sent into space in 1972 aboard NASA’s Pioneer 10 spaceship. The Pioneer Plaque was intended as a means of communication, should any extra-terrestrial life come across the spacecraft. Over 40 years later, crowdfunding company Vann Alexandra and […]
Fortnum & Mason biscuit packaging, by Design Bridge
Design Bridge has designed new packaging and tins for Fortnum & Mason’s core range of biscuits, using decorated ceramics and fine china as inspiration for the illustrations. The design aims to add a “contemporary twist” to a classic, “British” teaware style, and create tins “special” enough to be seen as a replacement for a plate, […]
Am I normal? card game, by The School of Life
The School of Life has released a new card game called Am I Normal? The pack of 52 playing cards looks to tackle our perception of “normality”, which currently tends to focus on an “organised, poised and polished” version of ourselves, says The School of Life. It features 52 statements or admissions that seemingly fall […]
Jigsaw store concept, by Barber Design
This singular concept is for Jigsaw’s Cobham, Surrey store. Each new store has its own look and feel and this is the second one that Barber has worked on for the client. Each store is designed to be sympathetic to its surroundings and the architecture of the building it is situated in. Jigsaw has 82 stores […]
TfL Brooch collection, by various
TfL has collaborated with Craft Central to create Underground inspired brooches for Clerkenwell Design Week, which takes place 23-25 May. Designers have taken their inspiration from the visual language of the London Underground. They include: People Will Always Need Plates; Sally Weatherill; Eliza Kesuma; Julie Nicaisse; Rhi Frankton; Myia Bonner; Raul Garcia; Sarah Kelly; Sally […]
Elemental, by Eser Güngör
Istanbul-based architect Eser Güngör has designed a range of home accessories made from materials collected from industrial sites. All of the products within the Elemental collection are made from brass sheets and black marble, which have been left over from mass production factories and other manufacturing sites. Featured products include the Istanbul napkin holder, which […]
The Blackhorse Workshop products, at Heal’s Modern Craft Market
Heal’s Modern Craft Market, which takes place in central London, is set to showcase a selection of craft goods made by The Blackhorse Workshop. Based in London district Walthamstow and set up by architectural group Assemble, The Blackhorse Workshop provides workshop space to over 40 furniture and product designers. The annual craft market’s theme for […]
Winners revealed for 2017 RSA Student Design Awards
Winning entries for this year’s edition of the annual social design competition include an indoor wheelchair which functions as an attractive piece of home furniture, and a carpet which uses human urine to grow crops in refugee camps.
Wacom releases styluses for Microsoft and Apple devices
Wacom strikes new deals with Microsoft and Apple to collaborate on stylus products, which can work directly on devices running Windows Ink, Windows 10 and iOS.
Sponsored content
How Ikea created its first customisable range
As Ikea launched its PS 2017 collection, Design Week and Ikea came together to discuss “designing for modern urban living conditions” and to learn how the company created its first fully customisable range.
Designers’ favourite food designs: from marmite to chocolate bars
Last week, Nestlé lost an appeal to trademark the four-fingered shape of its classic chocolate bar KitKat. This got us thinking – what are some of the most distinctive, food-related designs?