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Blast from the Past

Dieter Rams: ten commandments for good design, applied today

There is still a lot that designers can learn by applying the Ten Principles of Good Design by Dieter Rams. Here it is

Materials

Uncomfortable insights into plastic and bioplastic

We cannot live without plastic and promoting the use of bioplastic as an alternative can be misleading. But there are other things designers can do to tackle the plastic issue, says Professor Marinella Levi, Materials + 3D printing guru

Words that matter

Chief Design Officer (for a city vs a company)

The Chief Design Officer of a City is a new profession, bringing design skills into municipalities. Here is how Helsinki does it, opening up a scenario that opens up opportunities for designers

How to build a circular company _ interview with Krill Design

The Business of Design

You are a 3D printing wizard: how do you build a circular company from here?

Two designers passionate about 3D printing and an engineer expert on biomaterials share their do’s and don’ts on how they used their skills to develop products for big brands and finance one’s own collections

Design Mindset

Creativity is overestimated (unless you know what to do with it)

Ideas (even great ones) are worth nothing if you don’t act on them. In order to do so, you need to know what abilities you lack, to join forces with those who have them, and to understand the context you design for

Comodo con Carmencita FABITA by Adriano Design - cover

Production Tales

How to design something new (without inventing anything)

All companies want designers to innovate. Yet doing something new is easier said than done, especially when the result is to be manufactured in large numbers, industrially. The recipe of the Adriano Design is to take things apart and build them anew. And it works.

Survival Tales

Insights on disability help designers design for all

Designing with disability in mind is key for industrial designers since most people will be affected at some stage in life. A Milwaukee based industrial designer explains through her personal experience

Moving from limited editions to industrial design commissions - Interview with Linde Freya Tangelder

Design Mindset

Moving from collectible to industrial design commissions

Creating a strong design language based on solid research can lead to actual industrial design work because high end brands look for long lasting, sculptural objects. Linde Freya Tangelder explains

The Business of Design

Juggling management and creativity in a large design studio

When you proceed in your design career and join a large, international studio, you need to develop managerial skills while keeping up creativity. Chiara Diana of frog explains how

Blast from the Past

Designing in a time of scarcity: a lesson from the 1930s

When Italian architect and designer Franco Albini passed away, in 1977, the word circular economy didn’t exist. Yet his approach is perfectly suited to an era looking for sustainable solutions, such as ours

Materials

Shaping a chair from a super thin aluminum sheet

Superplastic forming of aluminum alloys allowed Tom Dixon to shape a chair out of a single sheet stretched several times its size. A significant material saving that does not compromise the stability of the seat

Survival Tales

Spotting (and avoiding) companies that greenwash

Designing for brands that practice greenwashing is a threat to a designer’s career. So here is how to single them out (and, ultimately, avoid working with hem)