On Friday, February 12th, in Los Angeles, Design Observer is producing a design conference on food —entitled TASTE—a subject that deeply touches everything from agrarian economics to supply chain resources, dry farming, water harvesting, and rethinking the way we source, manage and plan for the future. (Core77's Managing Editor LinYee Yuan will be speaking as well!) Following on the success of their (spectacular) What Design Sounds Like conference in New York back a year ago, and in anticipation of this next "senses" conference, Core77's Allan Chochinov sits down with producer Jessica Helfand to get, well, the juice.

Allan Chochinov: Jessica, let’s start right there actually. The Sound conference last year was honestly one of the most intriguing and inspiring design conferences I’ve ever been to, so high hopes for the upcoming Taste. But is this part of a series? (And a follow-up, will you be doing the “sixth sense” as well I hope?)

Jessica Helfand: Well, first of all, thank you for that! These conferences are a way, for us, to bridge the gap between design and other topics—last year, sound and this year, food—which is not only a challenge for those of us at Design Observer, but represents, I think, a real opportunity for everyone working in design. It’s just not a balkanized world any more, and we’re all involved at so many critical levels in things beyond our immediate orbit. Conferences are hard—just a brutal amount of work—so I can’t promise the series will endure, but we certainly hope so.

We're going to be looking at everything from the history of artificial flavor to the future of recycled mushrooms, from seed sovereignty to waste policy.

Food represents a particularly pressing set of issues. We’re going to be looking at everything from the history of artificial flavor to the future of recycled mushrooms, from seed sovereignty to waste policy. There’s this kind of basic assumption I think that we eat to live, and that the choices we make—economic choices, aesthetic choices, even moral choices—at every turn connect in some way to visual decisions. Plus, quite frankly, who doesn’t like food?

AC: Okay, so you’re dodging the 6th sense question! Fair enough. The conference is coming up quick, and I’m assuming the lineup is set. (You’ve probably got a few surprises up your sleeve of course.) Can you tell us about a few of the speakers and sessions that you’re super excited about? Maybe some things not so obvious from the published schedule?

JH: One of the things I am really proud of is that we currently have booked more women than men. (The Design Observer team is about 75% female, so we’re feeling rather good about this!) That said, our interest is primarily in gathering a timely, diverse group of passionate speakers—and we’re pretty excited to hear what they have to say.

Lynda Deakin is a partner at IDEO where she runs their Food Studio, helping companies solve tough problems and identifying new opportunities for growth. Mark Bittman is going to talk about the future of food, too—he’s really concerned about why we eat the wrong things, and what that means for the future—I think their talks will benchmark the conversation around a kind of urgency that we all need to hear: there’s so much talk about “design for good” in the absolute, but what does any of that really mean? What does it actually look like?

Then there’s a slippery slope, too, between food as a source for nutrition and as a snack, or even a stimulant. So while Bittman will talk about food proper—he’s just launched a vegan food delivery service in Boston that’s likely to be addressed—Jessica Koslow will talk about packaging preserves, 

Nathan Sharp will talk about designing chocolate covered marijuana, and Lucy Knops and Julia Plevin—your former students, Allan!—will share the story behind their foray into the world of the insect-infused libation—Critter Cocktails. 

Visitors to last year’s conference will recall Mike Errico—a singer songwriter who wrapped up the conference and also performed some of his own original music. Errico is a National Treasure: his inclusion alone is worth the price of admission.

AC: Yup. He was amazing. (And for the record I think you should be proud of the more women than men. Remember the website “Amazing women you can invite to talk at your design conference”?) Certainly food has always been a fantastic “design material”—I’ve often used it metaphorically and literally in design education—and as an effective lens to culture I’m not sure anything comes even close. Can you talk about form and content, form and context, and form an audience in terms of how an attendee might frame their experience?

JH: You’re right that it is a lens to culture, and to the differences and discrepancies between cultures, but it’s also its own kind of engine: the idea that we can plant and grow, harvest and recycle, address issues in energy, policy, and visual form are perhaps the objective ways food manifests in our lives. But at the same time, we each experience food at a deeply personal, idiosyncratic, molecular, and metabolic level. I think that a day spent looking at the fulcrum between the self and society, considering issues that live at the nexus of the public (universal) and the personal (unique) is indeed time well spent. Especially for anyone interested in the role that design and designers play in it all.

We each experience food at a deeply personal, idiosyncratic, molecular, and metabolic level. I think that a day spent looking at the fulcrum between the self and society, considering issues that live at the nexus of the public (universal) and the personal (unique) is indeed time well spent.

So maybe this comes back to your question of the sixth sense. I’ve always kind of thought of design as a muscle—expandable, contractible, trainable, physical. But thinking through a design lens also invites questions that are philosophical, primal, and deeply moral. This symposium will flex those capacities—we want to go high and low, think inside and out, go big or go home! 

Anyone who thinks that design can change the world would be well advised to consider the very basic fact that that these kinds of issues are meaningless without some kind of tether, an intellectual focus that grounds us in some very basic certainties about who we are, what we do, and where we might actually be headed. So yes, food might be seen a kind of basic raw material, but maybe more importantly, it’s what unites us as a species. What could be more important than that? We think food, as a topic, offers a compelling platform for addressing some very pragmatic truths: truths about failure, struggle, and ambition; security and sustenance, sustainability, communication, and growth. This conference is likely to generate more questions than answers. And maybe that’s precisely the point.

Yes, food might be seen a kind of basic raw material, but maybe more importantly, it’s what unites us as a species.

AC: Let’s focus on the audience for a bit. You’ve got design practitioners and design students, artists, and critics. But you’ve also got epidemiologists, civic planners, and more. A huge part of an event is who you meet of course. So who will we meet?

JH: For starters, it may surprise your readers to know that Berkeley’s School of Public Health has a design and innovation track. We’ve got a half-dozen of their students coming, and their backgrounds are fascinating. An epidemiologist from Nigeria. An MBA who studied superfood in Kenya. A clinical stem cell researcher who recently published an article on particle imaging in Nature. We’ll have our share of designers—including students and faculty from Art Center, OTIS, and CalArts, among others—as well as quite a few architects. Because it’s LA, we’re confident that we’ll have some show business representation, too. 

We’ll have a bookstore in the lobby, surprise edibles all day long, and our closing party is at Pirch—a wonderful purveyor of all that is kitchen-related, with their own manifesto. We may have some off-site visits to culinary locations, but frankly, we’re trying to bring it all to the LATC so we can hunker down and focus.

Maybe this will be a conference about trading hubris for humility.

AC: The title, “Taste”, has an obvious double entendre. Designers are certainly in the taste business, but that’s a word that’s for me, anyway, a bit problematic. It points to the fact that design isn’t entirely a rational process; that it’s often (some might say too often!) informed by plainly irrational ingredients. Will you be touching on any of this in the conference? I guess I’m asking is, when you came up with the title, “Taste,” where did you think that would lead you?

JH: I think that’s the point. It makes people uncomfortable, but frankly, it’s pretty accurate. We’d like to think we’re making objective judgments, as makers, when we produce work for others, but inevitably our choices are governed by a host of deeply subjective drivers—our backgrounds, our parents, our schooling, our bank accounts—but at the end of the day, food is our most essential common currency. By their very nature, designers are  ambassadors of the visual, indeed—carriers of the future. But how can we make decisions for others without considering who we are as individuals, first? Designers dwell in this eternal effort to craft a kind of certainty, and how can we do that without looking at the broader and arguably much more complex infrastructure that circumscribes the world? 

So, yes: Taste is finicky, seemingly idiosyncratic, maybe even a little politically charged. Designers used to get paid for having taste, but now that everyone with a smartphone is believed to be “visually literate,” what does that even mean anymore? On the other hand, our individual proclivities with regard to “taste” lead us to do, say, and produce things that impact our planet, and each other. So what seems personal is in fact, quite the opposite. 

(AC: I can’t tell you how many times I remind people that design is a political act.)

JH: We’re growing weary of designers basking in a kind of self-congratulatory idyll of semantic nonsense, seeing themselves as catalysts for change in a world that’s increasingly global and increasingly complex, but not necessarily understanding how design practices need to adapt to engage that complexity. So we’re bringing in scientists, chefs, historians, policymakers, and a number of smart, dedicated designers who know that in order to do anything, we have to admit, first and foremost, what we don’t know. Maybe this will be a conference about trading hubris for humility. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

++++++++++++++++++

Taste Conference
Produced by Design Observer
Los Angeles, February 12th
Learn more and buy tickets right here

We saw that Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department is testing out a drone-capturing drone. That requires a skilled drone operator. Dutch police, however, are experimenting with a slightly easier method: Using a freaking awesome-looking bird of prey to rip unauthorized drones right out of the sky. Check this out:

In the ship-slicing post I made a jibe about how no one wants to learn Dutch, and now it's come back to bite me as I can't understand a thing in the video. So here I stand before our Dutch readers, hat in hand, begging you to tell us what they're saying! I mean, I realize most of it is probably just them gushing about the majesty of America's national animal, and how wise we were to select it, but perhaps they offer some details about the anti-drone training too?

Early Bird pricing for the 2016 Design Awards ends one week from today. This means if you fall into the pit of procrastination, you'll miss your chance to pocket the cash you'll save by getting your entry in by February 9th. 

To provide you with a little extra motivation to submit your entry before pricing increases, here are 12 amazing things you could buy with the money you'll save on a Professional entry:

12. Twenty-four Emergency Mustaches. Because you never know when you'll need one in a pinch.

11. A back issue of Cranes Today Magazine. Get your monthly crane fix without breaking the bank.

10. Add a little to your retirement fund. It's not flashy, but it's practical. Your future self will thank you.

9. Rent a private yacht for 38 seconds. Go on, you deserve it.

8. Infinity high-fives. You can't put a price on friendship.

7. Ten thousand (yes, 10,000!!) paper twist ties. No matter what life throws at you, you will always have the freshest bread.

6. Six 16 oz. tubs of Marshmallow Fluff. You'll need something to put on all that bread.

5. A 2nd century Roman marble bust of a man. Alright maybe not the whole thing, but maybe an eyelash?

4. Live like a King or Queen at a penny-candy store. Try to be a benevolent ruler.

3. Ten Banana Slicers. For the man who has everything... except time to cut up his banana.

2. Thirty-seven pounds of dry ice. Wet ice is so 2015.

1. Three Hot Dog Slicers. For the man whose Banana Slicers just won't cut it.

None of these excellent ideas, however, compare to the satisfaction you'll feel knowing your entry submission process is finished for another year, and you can just kick back, put your feet up, and bask in the knowledge that your work will be critiqued by an internationally distributed panel of design leaders.

That feeling, as they say, is priceless.

Start your Entry Now!

You're more than an Industrial Designer with a hot sketching hand and 2+ years experience, you're passionate about a holistic development process and are driven to tease out the nuances that make a good design great. You're a Solidworks powerhouse and are highly empathetic to designing for the end user.

Ferrari describes their Top Design School Challenge as "a competition in which the world's most prestigious design institutes vie for supremacy." This here is their third installment, where students from some 50 design schools entered; as the judging rounds advanced, 46 schools were knocked off of the list. That left just:

- The Hochschule Pforzheim (Germany), which has a hugely successful automotive design course and is one of Europe's leading schools;

- The College for Creative Studies in Detroit (US) which attracts students from all over the world because of the incredibly high standard of its facilities and teaching staff;

- The Asia-Pacific region's top design school, Hongik University in Seoul (Korea), which had the largest number of entrants in the competition and also won the 2011 Ferrari World Design Contest; and, lastly,

- The ISD-Rubika in Valenciennes (France) which has a cutting-edge computer modelling course that embraces structured interdisciplinary projects.

From those four schools came the 12 submissions that made the final. The winner was ISD-Rubika's Ferrari Manifesto concept, which was designed by a team of six students: France's Michael Barthly, Grimaud Gervex and Jean Baptiste Epinat, and Belgium's Michael Kalyvianakis, Stanislas Oleksiak, and William Stock.

Writes Car Body Design:

The jury was won over by the completeness of the Manifesto design as well as the students' ability to create a coherent overall vision of the car spanning its exterior, cabin and running gear.

The spectacular door opening mechanism also highlights the evolution of the interior functions, using future-forward technologies. The exterior is instantly recognizable despite the fact that it incorporates certain orthodox features.

Also worth a look is the FL Concept, which took second place and was the only finalist to focus on the car's interior. Amazingly, this was apparently designed by just a single student, Hochschule Pforzheim's Roman Egorov, who hails from Russia.

Check out some of the UX/UI decisions and features Egorov has incorporated:

All of the finalists can be viewed here.

Who'd have thought that the once strange and marginalized form of design practice–discursive design–would be promoted and even employed by national governments? What a difference a few decades can make.

A few months ago on the unofficial "Back to the Future Day," (October 21st) the White House blog gave props to design fiction practitioners for their ability to "spark richer conversations" about important topics such as self-driving cars and desirable transportation futures.

Additionally, it expressed that American ingenuity and such creative talent could help describe a future in which, as President Obama put it, we go to space "not just to visit but to stay."

One reason for our excitement is that many of the innovations that we take for granted – such as smart phones and global communications satellite – were inspired by science fiction. A number of the technologies portrayed in Back to the Future are either here today (flat panel displays, video chats, gesture-based computing) or under development (flying cars, hoverboards). Many technologies and ideas that seem like science fiction today – such as Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility, an Iron Man suit, or Andy Weir's story about astronauts on Mars – are being actively explored by scientists and engineers. 

Happylife is a project by James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau that appropriates the government's "real-time dynamic passive profiling techniques for detecting malicious intent in areas of border control and national security." It speculates on how personal emotional data might be used within the home and affect family life: "What would it mean for an electronic device to know more about your partner's emotional state than you do? Or be capable of predicting a future bout of misery through statistical analysis of accumulated data? When does technology become too invasive?"

Design fiction is a species of discursive design that deals with visioning and prototyping possible futures as a means of eliciting debate and uncovering often-competing values. As a tool it can be used to challenge political frames, and in this case the US government is acknowledging what discursive design can do for them. But it cuts both ways, of course. 

It is more common to see discursive work challenging government. For example discursive designers have questioned policies and practices regarding surveillance, nuclear waste disposal, and national security.

So, rather than an inherently biased form of design that necessarily challenges big business, or big government, or big culture, we see it as an agnostic technique for communication—and potentially big communication when governments get involved.

As an alternative to burying 70,000 tons of nuclear waste at the remote Yucca Mountain facility in Nevada, Mike and Maaike propose the 24110 Plutonium Memorial (the half-life of plutonium is 24,110 years). To be conspicuously located in Washington D.C. and formally evoking the idea of sweeping issues under the rug, it is intended to "make a strong statement about the shortsightedness of our society and our world's policy makers." mikeandmaaike.com

Recently the UK government bested the US by actually putting money where their discursive mouth is. Its Arts and Humanities Research Council funded the ProtoPublics project, which ultimately aims to get researchers and the community together to craft "new services, experiences, projects and policies that address contemporary issues." In support of this objective a sub-project, ProtoPolicy was organized to investigate how design fiction "could be used to help politicians and community groups imagine the future implications of policy initiatives in creative ways." This past summer they looked specifically at the issues of aging in place, loneliness, and isolation with the help of discursive practices. Their 38-page report, Using Design Fiction to Negotiate Political Questions discusses their process and findings. For example:

Design fictions appear to be more readily adopted by the civil service rather than politicians because of the shorter timescales usually adopted to take political decisions. However, through additional advocacy and research, the ProtoPolicy team seek to demonstrate that design methods, particularly design fictions, could contribute to a shorter decision-making cycles through rapid problem definition, co-developing solutions with citizens, rapid prototyping and refining concepts before full-scale deployment.

All this might be somewhat disturbing  for those that imagine discursive design (and its many various species like speculative design and design fiction) to have a particular bent—a more adversarial and provocative role in challenging the status quo, the state, and powerful institutions. Perhaps more so than a "selling out", this is mainstream appropriation, which evidences its utility. Indeed in relatively free and liberal societies where sharing of information goes both ways, this should be expected. Ultimately it can lead to the advancement of the discipline—this is how knowledge and practice develop, with both pros and cons.

We want designers to be well versed in pluralist notions of their fields–manifold applications and outcomes. Certainly guns (3D printed or otherwise) can be used for self-defense or aggression. It is a big world and we can expect that, or at least not be surprised if, effective tools are used by anyone. They are not only for certain notions of patriotism, righteousness, or the truth; obviously, these are relative conceptions that we hope continue to be contested and debated. As such, a broad conception of discursive design can allow for fuller and continual negotiation about how best to live our lives.

Please keep the conversation going by commenting on this post, or by submitting your discursive work to us for possible publication.

Starting up a new car company from scratch is just about impossible. That's because there are massive regulatory hurdles to clear, courtesy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. Once in a blue an Icon or Revology Cars manages to pull it off, but it's far from common.

That may change. Several weeks ago, a new bill was signed into law that's intended to make it easier for small-batch car manufacturers to get their businesses off of the ground. H.R. 2675, a/k/a the Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act of 2015, was proposed in June of 2015 and got Hancocked in December. The new bill's goal is

To direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish a program allowing low volume motor vehicle manufacturers to produce a limited number of vehicles annually within a regulatory system that addresses the unique safety and financial issues associated with limited production, and to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to allow low volume motor vehicle manufacturers to install engines from vehicles that have been issued certificates of conformity.

The way that they do this is by handing out exemptions to low-volume car manufacturers who install an engine from one of the big-dog manufacturers. These engines, which have already cleared the regulatory hurdles, would then be registered and subject to recalls if needed.

There's just one catch: The law is apparently limited to producers of "not more than 500 replica motor vehicles per year." To clarify,

The term replica motor vehicle means a motor vehicle produced by a low volume manufacturer and that…is intended to resemble the body of another motor vehicle that was manufactured not less than 25 years before the manufacture of the replica motor vehicle….

Translation: No newfangled designs allowed. Here in 2016, you've got to license a design from 1991 or earlier.

Interestingly, a revived Delorean Motor Company, perhaps spurred on by the recent renewed interest in the Back to the Future series, has been following the development of the bill and is looking to get back in the game:

In anticipation of this legislation, DeLorean Motor Company has been working for some time to identify a supplier for engines and other parts that must be reproduced to facilitate this production for 2017. A number of hurdles exist before production can begin, and we're still early on in this process of determining the feasibility of moving forward.

According to the law, the body would be identical to the car Doc Brown first got his hands on.

While H.R. 2675 paves the way to us seeing more small-batch variety on the roads, wouldn't it be interesting if they expanded the law to include wholly new exterior designs? I'd love to see what a legion of upcoming auto designers would create, given the freedom of not having to answer to a massive corporation and all of their focus groups.

Designers Tower followed its nomadic principles again and moved to a new location with their exhibition, this year at the showroom of the Cologne Chamber of Crafts. Fresh graduates, young designer-makers and small studios present products with a focus on wood work.

Stromer extension cord

Stromer by Njustudio is a four-legged extension cord that aims to bring energy sources closer to where you need them and to prevent having to crawl around on the floor when your battery is low again.

This football table is completely foldable

Lars and Katja Führmann had a cohabitation problem: Lars wanted a football table in the flat, Katja didn't. So they made this foldable model that fits under the sofa when collapsed. Flattishfold is their collection of foldable furniture made from birch screen printing boards and colourful cable ties as hinges. It comes flat-packed in vintage army laundry bags.

Flat-packed and space-saving

They offer a system of tables and chairs, with modular add-ons like padded seating and a curved rail that turns regular lounge chairs into rocking chairs.

The curved add-on turns the chair into a rocking chair

Gunnar Brand of Moebel Compagnie has a background in architecture and carpentry and designs furniture that aims to age with its owner.

Chopping block Konrad

I loved his massive oak chopping block and breakfast table Konrad, which is named after his grandfather who was a butcher. Weighing about as much as your average grandfather too (close to 150 lbs), and with a solid jointed elm base, Konrad is not a flimsy affair.

Edge tableware

Another design from Moebel Compagnie is Edge. The modular oak tableware system is inspired by the traditional German 'Frühstücksbrettchen' (A personal wooden board that is used instead of a plate for making sandwiches in the morning and cutting all the meats and cheeses that are part of a German breakfast). With its angled sides, Edge can be joined together with other boards and copper plates to form a larger unit.

Cologne Design Week consists of two major events: IMM (Internationale Möbelmesse), "the most important furnishing show in the world's most important furnishing market" in the fairgrounds of Kölnmesse, and the alternative Passagen "An exhibition event focusing on current trends in design," spread throughout countless venues in the city.

See extended coverage from this year's shows here:

• Living Concepts for the Urban Nomad

• Craft and Small-Scale Production at Design Parcours Ehrenfeld

• Designers Tower Focuses on Wood Work for Urban Living

Jasper Morrison exhibition at Kölnischer Kunstverein

A&W magazine honoured Jasper Morrison as Designer of the year with an exhibition showcasing his works of the past decades.

Photo credit: Anki Delfmann

IMM Cologne 2016

Photo credit: Anki Delfmann

Foodprint by Daniel Wilkens

Folkwang University of the arts presented Prozesse und Prototypen, incluing live 3D cake printing.

Photo credit: Anki Delfmann

Foodprint by Daniel Wilkens

Daniel Wilkens explores how 3D printing will influence food production

Photo credit: Anki Delfmann

Honigleder by Julia Krayer

On the hunt for an environmentally friendly alternative for leather, Julia Krayer experiments with bacterial cellulose, a 'skin' that is produced by bacteria during a fermentation process borrowed from the beverage industry.

Photo credit: Anki Delfmann

Bark by Birgit Hengstebeck

Bark is a cork stool that can be used in various positions and challenges the user to stay active while sitting.

Photo credit: Anki Delfmann

Biodegradable seat and container by Niklas Markloffs

Annoyed by the mess left behind after festivals, Niklas Markloff has developed a seat made from paper mache that can also be used as a container.

Photo credit: Anki Delfmann

Biodegradable seat and crate by Niklas Markloffs

After a few weeks, this is what's left of the material when left outside.

Photo credit: Anki Delfmann

Hörgefühl

Hörgefühl is an interactive Audio Book that can play and record acoustic souvenirs, controlled by haptic interfaces.

Photo credit: Anki Delfmann

Chain Chair by Lara Liese and Hendrik Beyer

Schlicht was an exhibition of student works from KISD and RMIT. This sculptural chair can be rolled up and stored away. Chain chair is based on intricate cantilever structures that turn it into a rigid structure when unfolded.

Photo credit: Anki Delfmann

The Interaction Design Intern is part anthropologist, part storyteller, and part engineer. This person has the ability to solve problems creatively with interdisciplinary sensibility to graphic, product and digital media design, and is open to learning and contributing to the future of GE’s products. CANNOT graduate before/during internship. 3.2+ GPA.

Unless you're Izzy Swan, a vehicle is something you buy. It's ready to go; they're turnkey affairs, which is probably where that phrase came from. But this interesting concept by a pair of industrial designers proposes an alternate system, whereby a corporation would sell the motive power and local communities would build the vehicle bodies themselves.

From Seoul-based WooSung Lee and ChanYeop Jeong comes this Bamboo Recumbent concept, their entry in the 2016 Michelin Design Challenge:

It was designed with a specific region in mind, the impoverished and flooding-prone Navotas region in the Philippines, where folks are reportedly living in conditions like this:

Navotas which is located in the central region of the Philippines. It's a typical slum where 25 million people live in floating bamboo houses because Navotas is a flood-prone region.

When the rainy season begins, the whole village is covered with waste from the landfills. The whole village suffers from epidemics due to poor sanitation.

Lee and Jeong's idea is that Michelin would manufacture a pedaling rig, similar to what you'd see on a recumbent bike, and provide it along with axles, a crankshaft and four paddle-wheel assemblies. The target user would then lash widely-available local bamboo into a structure that the Michelin components would integrate with.

Part of their concept entails kitting the raft out with a series of Lifestraw filters, the idea being that the craft would purify the water as it went along. Obviously this doesn't seem realistic from a volume perspective, particularly after looking at those photos above, but this is a concept, after all.

Lee and Jeong took third place in the competition, whose theme was "Mobility for All." You can see the rest of the entries here.

What do you do when your favorite piece of furniture is something you found in the street—and you want another one? Here Jimmy DiResta shows us how he duplicated the dimensions of his favorite stool, then built a far sturdier version.

He manages to incorporate some otherwise useless but still-pretty walnut that he reclaimed from a scrapped project, and uses a don't-try-this-at-home table saw trick. (Always remember to heed Jimmy's warning: "I have been using tools for over 40 years. I have developed my comfort level with tools through years of experience. DON'T DO THE DANGEROUS THINGS I DO.") He also explains and shows you how he gets a fantastic weathered finish on the steel, among other things; there are tons of clever production tricks here.

Watch and enjoy!

3D Scanning is an emerging field in technology. From scanning ants to scanning cities, the possibilities seem endless. However, body parts are still very hard to scan due to their agile nature. A prior graduate designed a 3D printed brace, and during her process she experienced the frustrating process of trying to scan a hand properly.

During my graduation, I developed the first dedicated and low-cost 3D Hand Scanner. Using Raspberry Pis, laser pointers and 32 cameras, the scanner is able to create a precise surface model of the hand.

This model opens a new world of possibilities: think of 3D printed braces, personalized medical instruments and a long-awaited tool for everyone who designs products that interact with the human hand.

While it's possible to rearrange the handholds on an indoor climbing wall, it's not terribly easy. But now a coder named Jon Cheng has come up with a bright way to instantly freshen up the climbing wall experience using augmented reality.

The tech is not NASA level, which makes it even more appealing. Cheng pulled off the following demonstration of his "Time Trial" game using just coding, projectors, a camera sensor and a laptop:

"A lot of people have been contacting us about Time Trial," says Jesse O'Driscoll of Brooklyn Boulders, the co-working/climbing space that we covered here. "This is augmented reality like you've never seen before—it turns rock climbing into an interactive video game."

Interesting, no? And I think the surface of this combination has yet to be scratched. While the current version of Cheng's projections might not be Super Mario Bros IRL, adding a bit of digital interest and mutability to the patterns could prove tantalizing for the videogame crowd—and this is certainly better exercise.

Let's have a bit of fun here: Given that it's now easier to start up a replica car company in the U.S., let's say that you had the funding to do it and unlimited licensing options. Which car design would you choose to revive? Remember that:

- Under the Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act, the design's got to be more than 25 years old--and you'll probably have to go further back than that to find a true design classic. (Can anyone think of a single U.S. marque that produced a lustworthy car in the '80s and '90s?)

- We're assuming American designs; we'll save the European designs for another entry

- You can assume modern underpinnings, technology and safety features, so don't worry about the poor mileage, horrendous plate-glass windshields and drum brakes of the past

I'll pick five to get you started:

1940 Cadillac Series 62 - Bohman & Schwartz

Designed by the legendary Harley Earl (and here with a custom body by the Bohman & Schwartz coachworks of the era), you can almost hear the swing music when you look at this thing. A fine example of streamlined design, the nose recalls a locomotive or the prow of a ship, while B & S have added a fanciful plunging beltline. This bad boy had enough room inside to seat six freaking adults.

1949 Buick Roadmaster

One of the transition vehicles, in my humble opinion, between the streamlined '40s and the jet fighter '50s design aesthetics. The absurdly chunky grill looked like it was made to chew the road up in its chrome teeth. The nonsensical but handsome "VentiPorts" on the side recalled a ship's portholes, but were supposedly there to help ventilate the engine. This vehicle represents a time when American excess actually had aesthetic value.

1959 Chevy Impala

I had the good fortune to see one of these driving down the road once. I know the design doesn't make any functional sense. I know it's too much. I know the one in the photo has been lowered beyond what you got straight out of the factory. But when you see one of these things glide past you, you get a funny feeling in your stomach.

1963 Corvette Split-Window Coupe

I'll always have a soft spot for the '63 split window, because it was a function of manufacturing limitations. Designer Bob McLean wanted that crazy compound curve shape for the rear window and no one knew how to make it. So they split it in two, inconveniently placing a strip of metal obscuring the driver's visibility. Today we could retrofit it with backup cameras and finally provide a perfectly unobstructed view.

1967 Pontiac GTO

To be honest, I don't even find this car that attractive (though I think the single hood scoop on the '65 and later models looks better than the dual ones on the original '64). The reason I'd bring this car back is because it was symbolic of American auto design clearly moving in a new direction—the '50s were never coming back. Sure, the muscle car design aesthetic eventually led the U.S. auto industry into ruin, but for the next few, all-too-brief years, we still had it.

Okay, your turn. Show us some good ones!

Those of you that do modelmaking work know this stress: You've got to precisely epoxy this part into place, and you've only got one shot to get it right. You also know the agony of getting it wrong, and having to back up several steps to start again with a fresh piece.

Still, the parts you're working on are model building materials. If you accidentally slice through a piece of styrene, no one's going to die. Unlike with certain other delicate tool-wielding professions, there's no chance you'll cut the surface too deep and suddenly puncture…the sugary goodness inside a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup or an Oreo.

So you don't know stress like the guy in the video below. He's a professional, highly-experienced Food Surgeon, probably trained at some institute in Switzerland, tasked with performing the notoriously-difficult Reese's Peanut-Butter-Ectomy with Oreo Cream Transplant operation:

Seriously though—at the risk of sounding like a troll—I knew guys in the ID department that would put this dude to shame. I'm pretty sure he rips the paper when he's removing it with the tweezers, and what's with the nitrile gloves over latex? My buddies Randy or Jay could've done this with a Dremel, yo.

Over the weekend, Belgian cyclist Femke van den Driessche had her bike impounded at the UCI Cyclocross World Championships—and it was discovered that there was a motor hidden inside.

Femke van den Driessche

"After one lap of the world championships, UCI took Femke's bike in the pit area and tested it with some sort of tablet," said Sporza journalist Maarten Vangramberen. "When the saddle was removed, there were electrical cables in the seat tube. When they wanted to remove the bottom bracket, which is normally not difficult, they could not because the crank was stuck. Inside there was a motor."

"For the UCI, this is the first time we have established a technical fraud and for us that's a downer," said Peter Van den Abeele, a manager for the UCI (that's International Cycling Union, in English). "Most people are bewildered [by this]."

As someone unfamiliar with racing bikes, I am totally bewildered by this. How do you hide a motor inside a bicycle, such that it requires a tablet to detect it? Where is the UI hidden, such that it cannot be seen by visual inspection? And wouldn't a motor make some kind of noise? Let's look at these points one by one:

How the UI and UX Works

In an article in Cycling Tips called "Hidden motors for road bikes exist — here's how they work," editor Matt de Neef reveals German company Vivax's Assist concealed bicycle motor. (There's no confirmation that this is the system van den Driessche used, but it's an example of how it's done.) Here he shows you how the UI works:

Activating the Vivax Assist motor is a simple case of turning the pedals and then pressing the start/stop button. The motor kicks in after roughly a second or so.

The motor doesn't create any extra resistance in the drivechain when you're riding with the motor disengaged; it feels just like you're riding a normal bike. But when you press the button, the power that you're pushing through the bike is supplemented by what feels like roughly 100 watts.

To disengage the motor you simply stop pedalling. You get a little bit of a jolt forwards from the pedals, similar to what you might get when you're riding a fixed-gear bike for the first time and you forget you shouldn't stop pedalling. Except in the case of the Vivax Assist, the impetus from the motor stops immediately after that initial jolt, and you can then freewheel as normal.

The Noise

"The motor does make a little bit of noise but it's not as loud as the end of the above video might suggest — in that case the microphone was placed close to the bottom bracket," de Neef explains. "When riding along it is only slightly audible over road and wind noise."

Where the Motor is Hidden

The cylindrical motor of Vivax's Assist tucks away inside the seat tube, and at the bottom is a gear arrangement that then drives the crankshaft. The system can be purchased in an Invisible Performance Package option that renders the button wireless, which could be hidden anywhere, like under the saddle or even on the cyclist's body. What's not clear is where or how the battery was concealed in the Van den Dreissche incident.

Why Does Vivax Make Such a Thing?

A bicycle-assisting motor is actually a fantastic idea, and the company's original goal was to increase a recreational rider's range and/or even out "the performance difference between riding partners;" imagine a married couple, for instance, where one is a triathlete and the other is a desk jockey, but they enjoy riding together on the weekends. 

What's less clear, however, is why they make an "Invisible" option; all we can assume is it's for aesthetics.

Says She's Innocent

Van den Dreissche, for her part, claims she's innocent. Here's her version of the story, according to Velo News:

The 19-year-old denied that she had used a bike with a concealed motor on purpose, saying that it was identical to her own but belonged to a friend and that a team mechanic had given it to her by mistake before the race.

"It wasn't my bike, it was that of a friend and was identical to mine," a tearful Van den Driessche told Belgian TV channel Sporza. "This friend went around the course Saturday before dropping off the bike in the truck. A mechanic, thinking it was my bike, cleaned it and prepared it for my race," she added, insisting that she was "totally unaware" it was fitted with a hidden motor.

Tell It to the Judge?

Wilier Triestina, the Italian bike manufacturer that built Van den Dreissche's ride, isn't pleased with being associated with the event. Here's a statement released by CEO Andrea Gastaldello on the company's website:

"We are literally shocked, as the main technical partner, we want to distance [ourselves] from this act absolutely contrary to the basic values ??of our company, and with the principles of each sporting competition. Really unacceptable that the photos of our bike is making the rounds of the international media due to this unpleasant fact. We work every day to bring worldwide the quality of our products and when we know that a Wilier Triestina's bike is meanly tampered we're very sad. Our Company will take legal action against the athlete and against any responsible for this very serious matter, in order to safeguard the good name and image of the company, marked by professionalism and seriousness in 110 years of history".

The UCI is currently conducting an investigation. If Van den Dreissche is found guilty, she faces a six-month suspension and a fine of up to 200,000 Swiss francs (US $195,000).

Via Velo News

Seeking a mid-level to recent grad in Graphics/Visual design who is enthusiastic for design. Candidates will be developing packaging and visual content for clients as well as in-house products. They should have 4+ years of relevant agency experience and expertise in packaging design concepts (materials, tolerances, dielines, 3D form building).

Cooking is a crucial part of life, and in the right hands it's a tough art form. The newest Hand-Eye aprons are an homage to caring cooks of all types, whether you work in a state of the art kitchen or a simple studio. Because the kitchen is a particular kind of workplace, we worked with particularly picky foodies to design them. The result is a simple, tough and beautiful apron cut short enough for movement, with simple ties and a few purpose-built pockets, stitched tough out of durable and inviting textiles. 

Seems simple, right? Like all good design, these are easy to use because we spent our sweet time cooking them up right. The resulting Hand-Eye Kitchen Apron is available in a black canvas, a light extra-fine stripe cotton ticking, and a midnight twill stripe. Each is made from thick and long-wearing cotton, with comfortable cotton ties, and double stitched seams. 

We tested them out with the talented kitchen hands at Simpatica, here in Portland. Check out our photos from the visit and the new aprons in action here! 

Shelving is one of those basic organizing products that almost everyone needs: in a garage, an office, etc. So when interesting shelving products like those from Origami come along, they catch my attention.

Origami makes steel shelving in various sizes, from this three-tier size up to a six-tier bookshelf. They're sturdy things that can hold a lot; this one holds 250 pounds per shelf without casters, and 75 pounds per shelf (evenly distributed) with the casters.

But what makes the Origami products special (and explains the company name) is the way they fold and unfold for simple assembly—and space-saving storage when they're not in use. 

Without wheels, the rack assembles in 20 seconds, with no tools; adding the casters takes a bit longer, but is still quick and easy. (a wrench is provided.) Purchasers say things like this: "I am one of those people that can't put anything together, and this is the best thing since sliced bread."

There's a corner rack, too, which provides good use of space that sometimes goes to waste.

Shelf liners are available (for most sizes) to keep smaller items from falling through the bars. They have magnets to keep them in place.

I saw these racks in person at a conference for professional organizers, and I was impressed—as were the other organizers i spoke with. 

Origami has taken its folding design and applied it to other products beyond your basic shelving. For example, there's this folding shoe rack.

There's also a tool rack for long-handled items: mops, brooms, rakes, etc.

The 4-tier drawer cart is still going to require some storage space for the drawers, but the easy-assembly features are still important. This cart reminds me of the Elfa carts, which aren't difficult to assemble for most people but are certainly more work than the Origami cart.

Origami has also created some bundled products to meet specific needs. These take a bit longer to assemble, but they are still very quick and easy. The Systemate has four-tier shelves and a locking cabinet; that cabinet would be good for anything that needs to be kept safely away for kids or pets, as long as the end user remembers to lock it every time. 

One drawback: Pieces like this give the end user less flexibility to adjust to changing needs than a collection of single pieces would.

The Armario Closet allows the end user to set up an 8-foot closet in less than 15 minutes using only one tool (an allen wrench, which is included). The towers unfold just like other Origami products, and after watching the assembly video I feel pretty confident that even someone as assembly-challenged as I am could handle this one.

To avoid the all-too-common problem with dark closets, the Armario includes two battery-powered motion-activated LED lights that last for six to 12 months. 

This video shows how the Origami racks unfold—just ignore the sexist "no husband required" comment at the very end.