Art Lebedev’s Segmentus Clock is a new spin on keeping track of time. Watch the video demonstrate its mesmerizing spinning feature. The successive digits appear in fluid motion, with the 1 and 7 created using nontraditional designs. Check it out for yourself.
Bloom Box claims to have designed a power generator that combines oxygen and natural gas, biogas or solar energy to create electricity. ”6O Minutes” interviewed the inventor and his financial backer, who are going extremely public after years of secrecy. Among the initial companies testing the hype — Google, eBay, and Walmart. Take a look at the video for yourself.
This video shows the shape memory and super elasticity properties of nitinol, a combination nickel and titanium alloy. Commonly used in watch springs, bra underwire and eyeglass frames, it can be instantly and repeatedly transformed into its originally formed shaped with exposure to heat. Take a look for yourself.
In the 1920’s, someone decided to create this screw-driven contraption and documented it for us to enjoy today. So take 10 minutes to enjoy it!
Stevie Famulari, an environmental artist and a landscape architecture professor at North Dakota State University, takes time to color snowfall that collects on her Fargo, N.D., lawn.
Taking creative liberty to spray each layer of snow a different color as it falls, she expects to have a rainbow effect as the winter progresses. Famulari said. “We shove it aside as if it doesn’t exist. We need to celebrate it.”
Some creative people make anything their canvas, and Famulari is one of those people.
Theo Jansen, Dutch artist and engineer known for his wind-walking kinetic creations, is one of the most creative minds in design today. His 20-year career of creating sand-stomping, beach-roaming sculptures has resulted in having his life’s work presented in print, used in a major motion picture and even described at speaking engagements like TED.
The animation above shows Jansen’s most famous work, which recreates the natural movement of a horse walking. Some of the models he has created even utilize solar energy to power the gears.
Looking further into the work of Theo Jansen, you can find many videos and pictures showing how his creatures move by incorporating a robust system of kinetic features. This is one designer worth looking into.
Take a look at this revolutionary structural design method of ‘board on frame’, made famous by IKEA. This smart design process has been documented so you can see it all happen in their European manufacturing facility. Enjoy!
This video is from National Geographic’s Ultimate Factories Program.
Small spaces can engender the best of designs. So many designs have been centered around tight quarters, but not like this. A company called Spiral Cellars has found a niche market servicing the wealthy wine aficionado.
Using a cut-out hole in the floor beneath common areas in the home, these guys create spiral staircases that lead to small depths; so small in fact, that you can do no more than grab a bottle of wine. A cool factor, indeed, to have such a cool hidden cellar, but at what cost? Plenty, I am sure.
With a sense of humor and good timing on his side, rogue artist Diabetik of Washington D.C. might be able to pull this off without any fines or arrest. He has taken the liberty of decorating traffic cones with the ever-so-popular markings of traditional candy corn. No word on whether this has been allowed by the city, but I think it is quite creative and might make a few people slow down in time for the yearly trick-or-treat rush, which could use some slower traffic.
Geometric package designs for snacks are coming from all directions. Doritos has had a conceptual design overhaul, making a play on its famous triangular snack shape.
Impact extrusion is used to create this new Coke can redesign. Looks cool, I just hope it feels cool and can match the structural integrity of the current can.
