The Dutch design firms Studio Roosegaarde and Hejimans Infrastructure just came up with a brilliant prototype for a “Smart Highway” that uses interactive lighting that adapts to driving conditions to make the roads safer. Enough with crap infotainment systems inside cars that distract us from driving with Twitter and dinner reservations—let’s light up the roads like a night club until no one crashes again. More »
If dining in the great outdoors is your cup of tea, you’ll love designer Jeriël Bobbe’s Springtime picnic basket. Not only does it make it easy to use your bike to transport everything you’ll need for a feast in the park—from plates, to cups, to food—the basket also transforms into a picnic table for two. More »
Music is a great medium for self-expression. But if you can’t be bothered to play traditional instruments, what then?
Diego Stocco has made a name for himself with his multi-track music videos where the audio was provided by ‘playing’ common objects and modified instruments. Now he’s gone one step further and actually built his own orchestra of modified instruments.
See the Experibass and Arcophonica? There’s also the Harpiano and Glockenstrange, and I’m just getting started.
Now how’s that for musical self-expression?
[via Colossal]
If you hate extraneous clutter but need to organize your books, here’s just the thing: Paul Cocksedge‘s Invisible Bookend is an exercise in function over form. Largely because you can’t see the damn thing. More »
This wooden clock is great. It’s in the style of the ones you remember hanging over the chalkboard in your middle school classrooms, but the two-toned wooden design makes it fresh and modern. More »
You’ve probably seen people with rubber-band-like bracelets advocating one cause or another, but if you’re like me, you’d appreciate something a little more functional. The 1:Face Watch supports a variety of causes and lets you tell the time at the same time.
The 1:Face Watch was designed by Mirza Minds. It’s quite minimal, which I like. Each color supports a different cause. The white watch provides food for children, the pink watch provides a mammogram for someone in need.
All of these causes are backed by reputable charities, so you don’t have to worry about where your money is going to.
The 1:Face Watch was launched as an Indiegogo project, and you can get in on the action for as little as $40(USD). With 27 days left, the project has amassed over $100,000 in funding, with a goal of $25,000 so it will definitely go into production
Dutch designer Kiki van Eijk created this cabinet to look like an antique sewing box. She really hit the nail on the head here, because it immediately reminded me of the rickety old piece my grandmother had. More »
I do like weather apps, but the strange thing is that when I open the ones that I have on my smartphone, they all end up saying something slightly different. While this could be problematic, it would probably all be solved by one weather app with better predictions. Check The Weather looks like another well-designed weather app, and claims to offer some of the most accurate weather data available.
Check The Weather gives you access to current conditions, hourly temperature and precipitation forecasts. It offers an extended 16-day outlook and astronomical data as well. The rest of the features are only available in the USA, including hazardous weather alerts from the National Weather Service and doppler radar precipitation maps, all navigable in a clean interface. There’s also an integration with Dark Sky for minute-by-minute precipitation updates.
The Check The Weather app is available for iOS through the iTunes App Store for $1.99(USD).
[via Uncrate]
Designer Danny Taylor created this smiley/frowny dimmer switch concept to help teach kids about responsible energy use. When the lights are off, the dimmer switch expresses its approval with a big smile across its face. But when the lights are on, a disapproving frown will be staring at you until you stop your wasteful ways. More »
There should be a special Nobel Prize set aside for geniuses who find ways to improve the simplest things in life. And this year’s award would go to Shapeways user OliveBird, whose Button 2.0 turns any shirt into a convenient headphone wrangler. More »
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