Cardboard, like reclaimed wood, continues to provide inspiration for materials-minded designers. It's tough but soft, ubiquitous and underrated, and incredibly easy to source. Letting the material drive the object is a similarly tried and true source of both innovation and "innovation." The R16 Lamp project aims to join the shipping durability and lo-fi looks of cardboard in a DIY pendant light.

The team at Waarmakers, whose designers proudly state that their "package is lamp," are so enamored with shipping tubes that they based the whole design around them. The shipping tube for the self-assembled lamp turns into the housing for the lightbulb. The tube is laser cut and scored, designed to arrive safely while allowing the user to pop out panels for hanging and fitting the bulb. 

The height of the lightweight light is adjustable by a cork at one end of the tube, and the horizontal placement of the bulb is fixed by a pencil or coin. 

The bulb is an unremarkable 15 watt Philips LED tube, which is pretty lightweight for output, but probably fine for statement lighting or in work environments with other sources of light. A full day of 15w LED overhead sounds like a headache, regardless of how ecologically minded its packaging design was. 

The lamp first debuted in 2016, and has been followed up with a rectangular wooden version called the Ninebyfour.  

The lines are lovely, the assembly and adjustment flourishes are fun, and the instructions (.pdf) are neatly designed, but the familiar banal-material-turned-chic falls a little short of exciting. What do we think? Good, bad, eh, or other?

Most button-down men's shirts come in XS, S, M, L, XL. Just five sizes. As industrial designers we understand that manufacturers must limit their production variations in order to maintain profit, but clothing manufacturer Stantt reckons that those five sizes truly fit just 15% of men.

That's why Stantt takes a completely different approach to shirtmaking by using a sizing technology they call Datafit. By poring over thousands of bodyscans of men yielding millions of datapoints, they've calculated they can produce a perfectly-fitting shirt for any man based on just three measurements:

Rather than five sizes, then, Stantt has a staggering 75 sizes.

Perhaps what's most shocking is the price: Their shirts range from $78 to $150, which is well under the cost of having a custom-tailored shirt made. I'm dying to know the details of their production process, but unsurprisingly, they're vague: "Our factory uses cutting edge technology and equipment to allow us to craft your shirts one at a time, just for you," they write. "By eliminating the waste of excess inventories and errors, we are able to use the highest quality materials and bring them to you at a great value."

I thought what you thought—they've gotta be made in Asia—but it turns out their factory is in Central America.

Their turnaround time is 7-10 days, and each shirt is automatically shipped with a pre-paid return label; they offer free exchanges and returns. As someone who owns more than a few ill-fitting shirts, I just might give these guys a try.

The Spring Oven is a product that started as a university project and became something much more.

I love homemade bread, and as I began to learn about the science of bread baking, I found that steam-baking bread is a trick bakeries use to increase the rise and perfect the crust of their bread. In my final year at university, I set out to design a product that would allow me to produce steam-baked bread at home.

The Spring Oven is the simple answer to the steaming challenges that face any home bread baker.

Once again, one of the annual highlights of New York's Design Celebration, NYCxDesign, was WantedDesign's Design School Workshop—which brings together students and mentors from all over the world to collaborate on a timely theme. 

Conceived "as a collaborative activity rather than a competitive one," teams are composed of students mixed from different schools and backgrounds. The program  has always been on of the centerpieces of WantedDesign, and is a wonderful way of fostering creativity and networking between young designers from around the world.program  has always been on of the centerpieces of WantedDesign, and is a wonderful way of fostering creativity and networking between young designers from around the world.

This year's workshop was led by Constantin Boym, Industrial Design Chair, and Ignacio Urbina Polo, Associate Professor of Industrial Design, at Pratt Institute.

And this year's theme was a great one: "HyperHybrid". 

The challenge is the ideation of projects that celebrate differences through multifunction objects and a production process that combines new technologies with the traditional making process and materials.

The students worked non-stop at forceMAJEURE in Industry City, Brooklyn, from May 17 through to the 22. 

This year's participating schools included Pratt Institute, Art Center College of Design, ENSCI les ateliers, Centro, and Aalto University.

When the work was done (or when time ran out!:), the groups presented their work to the Jury at WantedDesign Manhattan on Tuesday May 23. The Jury Committee consisted of Core77's own Allan Chochinov, Chair, SVA|NYC MFA Products of Design; Giulio Cappellini; Andrea Lipps, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum curator; John Gulliford, Shop Architects; Lauren Slowik, Shapeways; and Chantal Hamaide, Intramuros.

The workshop's material sponsor was Shapeways, and Core77 was proud to be the media sponsor. The Textile Partner was FilzFelt, with mentor Kelly Harris Smith; and the Wood Mentor was Omar Muniz.

Let's get to the projects!

SPROUT

Team: Antonio Gurrola (Aalto University); Brittany Lydster (Art Center); Anne Byrdsell (Pratt Institute); Diego Olguin (Centro)

"We as a society are disconnected from our food," argues the design team. "Cities are becoming more congested, living spaces are smaller and our access to affordable produce scarce. We all know about the concept of farm-to-table farmers markets, and we demand that our food be organic. But what about the process of harvesting?"

Combining the innovative technology of 3D printing with the timeless method of woodworking and felt, Sprout is an open source concept that will allow the user to be more involved in the making and designing of their own farm table, as well as the growth of edible produce like sprouts or herbs. It consists of "spouters"—bulb-shaped 3D-printed inserts that float below the surface of the table top.

"The user can have the spouters 3D printed ,and have their table CNC printed through Open Desk with a hole planter pattern of their choosing," offers the team. "The user can then 'plant' and water their seeds in the felt, watch the sprouts grow, and harvest their food from the table!"

PIKNIK

Team: Camille Besse (ENSCI Les ateliers); Francesca Suman (Pratt Institute); Miguel Harry (Art Center); Tuomas Hämäläinen (Aalto University)

Set, sit, grab & go

Piknik is a versatile bag that unfolds into a surface for anything you need—from eating to lounging to playing—seamlessly combining the natural beauty of felt with the versatility of 3D printing.p

The pull-through bucket-style bag allows the felt's natural rigidity to form beautiful, stable walls in its carrying form, and a thick, soft barrier in its expanded form. The team adds, "in Piknik's expanded form, the wool's natural hydrophobic properties creates a barrier between the contents of your bag and the ground."

The base of Piknik is pure versatility: Users can customizable 3D inserts to fit their desired bag function. The designers' prototype insert was for a picnic—with sections to hold supplies like tumblers, wine glasses, utensils and napkins. But the 3D-printed insert can be interchanged with bases to hold everything from toys to diaper bag supplies to sewing supplies!

ALPHABET

Team: Niels Fromm (Pratt Institute); Noora Yau (Aalto University); Reem Saleh (ENSCI Les ateliers); Lorena Garciacano (Centro)

Alphabet is an open system for organization. The piece consists of a modular grid base made from wood and felt, with a combination of wood, felt, and 3D-printed attachments that plug into the grid system. "By combining materials, an endless variety of fully-customizable parts can be created to cater to the needs of any user demographic," submits the designers. "The system can serve all different kinds of people with all different kinds of needs."

The system comes in a range of sizes to accommodate any space—a small grid for an entranceway, a medium size grid for an office space, or a larger grid for a workshop or studio. The layout of the grid also allows for multiple bases to be added together, allowing for further customization. The team adds, "the modular and fully-customizable nature of the piece lifts restrictions, and allows an open dialog between user and object."

ECLO

Team: Viviana Ramos Patterson (Centro); Rae Chye (Art Center); Sam Cotton (Pratt Institute); Adrien Giordana ( ENSCI les ateliers)

The Eclo quilt approaches the concept of hybridity as an object that transforms personal space. The prototype serves as a foundation for an additive and evolutive system consisting of felt panels and 3D printed nylon fasteners that act as building blocks for creating various forms. Playing on the qualities of felt to generate both warm open public space as well as intimate personal space, the Eclo adopts the flexibility of 3D printing to facilitate this transformation from public to private interaction. The team offers, "With a single quilt, or with additive components, the user can play with the system to construct their space in imaginative and flexible designs that can evolve between personal and public."

The team went further with the metaphor: "Quilting is an additive construction of separate parts to create a whole, which much like our team assembled from Ensci les Ateliers in Paris, Centro in Mexico City, Arts Center Los Angeles, and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn played into the theme of hybridity on this project. We took these elements further by incorporating various materials into an object that takes on multiple forms to create what we saw as a hyper hybrid device." Looking over the work, it was clear that the form originally was derived from geometric patterns and origami, and later softened to more organic inspirations of lotus flowers and cocoons that transition from open to closed space. The team hopes that the Eclo quilt will cross these concepts into an object that can become truly personal.

SYMBIO

Team: Audrey Krumenacker (Pratt Institute);  Saija Halko (Aalto University); Andy Gutierrez (Art Center); Berke Gold (Centro)

"As social media and smart phones grow in popularity, people have become hyper-connected to their phones and use them as the exclusive tool for communication," begins the design team. "Both in social and professional situations, people are constantly distracted by their mobile phones and live behind their screens." They add that this new type of connectivity has an emphasis on constantly being online and looking at a screen—rather than directly connecting with other people.

Symbio is named after the biological term symbiosis, which describes organisms working together. It is a "tabletop centerpiece and game" that encourages people to set their phones down and, instead, connect through conversation and fun. The modular units have a wooden base which charges the phone. The back piece is felt, to which 3D-printed socket joints are sewn. The designers added to the hybridity of Symbio by incorporating a digital component which links phones together: When they are all docked, ambient videos and sounds play across the screens into a choreographed whole, encouraging people to keep their phone plugged in, and simply engage with their group.

The Kinkajou Microfilm Projector is a teaching tool for nighttime adult literacy courses in rural communities without books or electric lighting. It was DtM's very first projected, started back when the company founders were still graduate students at MIT. It's been more than a decade since the Kinkajou pilot in rural Mali and what was once cutting edge appropriate technology is probably no longer the best tool for the job. What was the Kinkajou project, and how did it teach us that context-appropriate design is a moving target?

The Kinkajou projector in action in a rural Mali classroom, with a student at the board reading text off the projected image.

The Kinkajou Microfilm Projector

One in five adults worldwide does not know how to read. In rural regions of West Africa, up to 75% of the population is illiterate. According to Barbara Garner of World Education, "It's the lack of resources"—specifically access to books and lighting—rather than a lack of interest in education that contributes to illiteracy rates.

Unboxing in Bamako, Mali

To solve this problem, DtM partnered with World Education, students from MIT and a team of professional volunteers to design the Kinkajou Microfilm Projector. Kinkajou was a rugged, lightweight, low-power projection system, which used a microfilm cassette to store up to 10,000 images at a fraction of the cost of paper books. The system also employed what was then state-of-the-art LED lighting and low-cost plastic optics adapted from "View Master" toys to project an image large enough for the entire classroom to read. The design required no tools more complicated than pocket change for maintenance, and included a battery, charge controller and solar panel for off-grid use.

Kinkajou included solar panel, and a motorcycle battery and charge controller in a hard case.  During the day, teachers would leave the solar panel and battery pack outside to charge.

User-testing in rural Bangladesh

In 2004, with funding from USAID, World Education implemented Kinkajou Projectors in literacy centers in 45 Malian villages. They were an immediate hit.

Turns out it's hard to photograph a projected image using a flash!

"It is better, because without [the Kinkajou], when the teacher is writing on the board, students wait in the dark in vain, and they do nothing. We lose much time and the quality of handwriting is not good." Martine Sogoba, Literacy Teacher ("Karamogo"), Digani, Mali

The alternative: writing on a chalkboard.  Note that all the light in the picture came from the camera flash; the classroom lighting came from the kerosene lantern on the table.

To date, over 10,000 adults have learned to read using these projectors. The results of an independent, two-year pedagogical impact study showed that performance in Kinkajou nighttime classes far exceeded that of non-Kinkajou nighttime classes, and even exceeded the performance of World Education's daytime adult literacy classes. A site survey in 2015 found that many of the projectors were still in use.

Adult literacy teacher with printed classroom materials.

DtM's Kinkajou received worldwide attention and recognition, including the Tech Museum Award Laureate 2005, the INDEX: Award Top Nominee 2005, the Design News Award 2004, and the MIT IDEAS International Technology Award 2003. Kinkajou exhibitions included the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum's 2007 "Design for the Other 90%" and the Boston Museum of Science.

A teacher advances slides on the Kinkajou--again all the ligth came from the camera flash.

Where is Kinkajou Now?

Technology has come a long way since 2003. We developed Kinkajou because at the time, you simply couldn't buy a rugged, portable projector at any cost. All projectors at the time used fragile incandescent bulbs that cost as much as $400 each, and required bulky optics that made transportation difficult and expensive. This meant that our compact, LED-based lighting system and rugged plastic optics filled a niche for rural classrooms without electricity.

Enough LEDS to make dozens of Kinkajou projectors!

If you dig deep enough in your box of old bike lights and hiking headlamps, you'll discover the historical stratum where they all suddenly switched from incandescents, to compact halogen bulbs, to LEDs. In 2003 Kinkajou was built around what was the most cutting edge compact light source: the Luxeon "star" five-watt white LED. This component was so new and had found so few commercial applications that we had to develop our own custom optics and thermal management system. Now, high-intensity white LEDs are a dime a dozen (or will be soon).

Kinkajou predated the launch of the One Laptop per Child project by three years. In 2003, it was rare to find a rural African community with internet service or even a cellular signal. There would be no way to deliver new content to a computer short of the "sneakernet"—physically transporting information on CDs (or floppy disks if you were a real freak). We were surprised when our product requirements indicated that high-density and durable microfilm was the most cost-effective solution to delivering educational content to rural villages.

Today, most communities have access to a cell signal and the cost of smartphone has plummeted. In addition, a smartphone in a jelly case is a tough gadget, far more resistant to dust and bumps and cheaper to ship than a desktop computer or even a laptop. It is now possible to buy a high-quality LED-based portable pico projector for under US$300 (examples). You can pair these projectors with an inexpensive smartphone, tablet or Chromebook—all of which could be charged with an inexpensive solar panel.

This new combination of a smartphone and a pico projector may not be a perfect solution to rural education, but it's better than any solution that was available at the time we developed Kinkajou.

And this matters because…

The key lesson for us with Kinkajou is that today's design requirements may become tomorrow's bad assumptions. Many products have a narrow moment in which they're the best tool for the job. It's part of the designer's job description to stay up to date on the latest technologies, from components to manufacturing processes. As designers, we might take an inspiration from MIT professor Robert Langer's approach to medical innovation:

In the early 1990s, [Robert] Langer became interested in the fabrication techniques for microchips used in electronics. He thought these methods might also be used to make implantable devices that could release drugs. (He jokes that he saw a TV program about microelectronics and thought, as always, that anything new and interesting should have relevance for drug delivery.) [Amanda Schaffer, "The Problem Solver," Technology Review, 21Apr15]

Consider the products you're designing today. How many of them are based on assumptions about current resources and technologies? How might those technologies evolve over the projected lifespan of your project? The next time you read about some new gadget, ask yourself: what does this say about the project we're working on right now? Does this create a new threat or a new opportunity?

The Core77 team spends time combing through the news so you don't have to. Here's a weekly roundup of our favorite finds from the World Wide Web:

See the work of the graduating students in Industrial Design, Interaction Design and Visual Communication Design at UW Bachelor of Design Show 2017: THE BIG REVEAL.

The world is not safe.

I saw a full-sized German Shepard in a duffle bag on the N train last week. I see a new market for designers here.....

Whether you love it or absolutely hate it, it's hard to deny that Memphis has the attention of the millennial generation. Check out in this article a little bit about its history, plus a pretty entertaining timeline of the style.

Why aren't teenagers working summer jobs anymore?

Elegy for the KFC logo of yore.

How would a Xenomorph wear a hat?

Fantastical shoes.

Hot Tip: Check out more blazin' hot Internet finds on our Twitter page.

Knife Holder / Cutting Board

A short, nifty project: La Fabrique DIY shows you how to make a knife holder that doubles as a picnic-side cutting board and serving board:

Sheet Goods Cart

In an effort to organize his new, larger shop, Matthias Wandel puts his pantorouter to use to create a cart to hold cut-offs. I like the clamping trick he uses for when you're trying to clamp something into square but don't have one long enough to go corner-to-corner.

Replacing Garage Windows

April Wilkerson shows you how you can replace a broken window, even if you don't have all of the right tools on hand:

Liam Hoffman Camp Axe Review

Now that camping season's here, those of you who've been in the market for a camping axe might want to watch the Samurai Carpenter review one:

Glowforge (Prerelease) Laser Engraver Overview

Bob Clagett got his hands on the much-anticipated Glowforge laser cutter, and here he runs it down for you:

How to Make a Custom Shop Apron

Clagett also shows you how you can make your own shop apron, even if you don't have advanced sewing skills:

Commercial Welding Table Assembly

Product placement from Jimmy DiResta and a company called Weld Tables this week. If you've been thinking of getting a welding table, you might want to check out this assembly video:

Company Description A three-billion-dollar global leader in the high performance and lifestyle footwear industry, Skechers USA, Inc. designs, develops and markets more than 3,000 styles for men, women and children. Skechers' success stems from its employees, high-quality, varied product offering, diversified domestic and international distribution channels, and targeted multi-channel marketing. The company offers two distinct footwear categories: a lifestyle division and performance footwear.

A Swiss Army knife is something everyone should have rattling around in a drawer or glove compartment. But if you're not into the classic red plastic cladding, Victorinox makes this sexier version in black oxide steel.

The 29-function multitool is 0.7 inches thick, 4.5 inches long and weighs 10.2 ounces, and the company reckons the black oxide finish provides better corrosion resistance. 

The onboard tools are:

1. pliers
2. wire cutter for thin and soft wire up to 40 HRC
3. hard wire cutter
4. blade, large
5. blade, large with wavy edge
6. wood saw
7. metal saw
8. metal file
9. reamer, punch
10. can opener
11. screwdriver 3 mm
12. bottle opener
13. wire bender
14. screwdriver 5.5 mm
15. Phillips screwdriver 1 – 2
16. screwdriver 2 mm
17. screwdriver 8 mm
18. strong crate opener
19. chisel 7 mm
20. wire scraper
21. wire stripper
22. ruler (inches)
23. lanyard hole
24. ruler (cm)

At $200 it ain't cheap, but I guess stuff that looks like this never is. One thing the company might want to do is change the name. They're calling it the SwissTool BS.

At the beginning of the month, adidas unveiled their newest materials experiment, FORGEFIBER. The difference between this new manufacturing method and what we've been seeing in the industry lately is simple—no 3D printers. I know, crazy. Instead of 3D printed material, FORGEFIBER focuses on knit technology, varying densities with a TPU coated yarn that's then stitched and forged onto the sneaker's upper.

As a nod to organic cell structure growth, the Future team focused on patterns found in nature to develop the FORGEFIBER knit structure. The result provides targeted zones of stretch and support that can eventually be tailored for individual athletes. The technique was used to create a limited run of alphabounces, which can be purchased here. 

Members of the adidas Future team, designers Jacques Perrault and Jason McGinnity, stepped away from the lab to share with us some more information on FORGEFIBER, their thoughts on designing personalized footwear of the future and the problems they run into while doing so: 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Future team has been heavily experimenting with materials that have the ability to vary in density, as seen with the 3D Runners and Futurecraft 4Ds and now with FORGEFIBER. Can you speak about the role material density plays in personalized footwear? 

Jacques Perrault: The foot itself is a heterogeneous, multi-functional object. For the adidas Future team, modern approaches to design are about getting closer to people and their sport. Creating varying functional stiffness and response are the best levers to turn to make footwear more intimate and personalized. The core concept here is that by making product closer to the desired function, we can improve performance. 

Jason McGinnity: This level of control at the material and process level is what we're constantly trying to push for. Ultimately what comes from this is a feedback loop in the creation process where we're able to quickly iterate and validate these new concepts with our engineering and sport science teams, with a much higher cadence than we have been able to in the past. 

We ultimately want to get as close to the processes that create the product and find new ways to make use of the tools at our disposal—foot scans, ARAMIS data, force plate data, athlete assessments—and translate those into meaningful changes in the final product.

In terms of the FORGEFIBER, can you elaborate on the importance of heat and pressure in the stability of the sneakers?

JM: Heat and pressure are the key to creating the fully integrated reinforcement from the stitch structure. We can achieve a certain level of strength using these same stitch structures with a conventional thread, but by using this coated yarn and applying heat with a specific amount of pressure, we are able to fuse the structure into the base material and create that integrated reinforcement in a controlled way not previously possible with die cut laminated TPU films. 

A classic example is the adidas Copa Mundial—the stitching through the forefoot is there to control the natural stretch in areas of a kangaroo leather hide. By getting hands on with the process and building a deep understanding of these new materials, we are able to formulate new approaches that achieve higher levels of control of that stretch and reinforcement, while significantly reducing the amount of material needed to achieve those results. It also allows us to target fit, breathability, and flexibility.

Did you run into any challenges when figuring out this process?

JM: There were many challenges faced during the development of FORGEFIBER. Testing standards vary for each sport—basketball has some extreme numbers that need to be reached as far as strength and durability when compared to a lightweight running shoe. Base materials are all different, so there was a very large work stream validating what material compositions pair the best with this process. You have to solve for how this works on a size 6 versus a size 16. 

The real difficult part is achieving all of those results while developing and aesthetic that is intuitive and (hopefully) beautiful, but I think that ultimately comes from being honest about the material and the process that drives it.

Can you talk a little bit about the typical prototyping process your team goes through?

JM: The adidas Future team in PDX is very lucky in that it has its own specific "Makerlab" R&D area. It's a space where we're encouraged to experiment, build machines, try new things, and are given the freedom to fail fast in order to get to new solutions. It's also a space where we bring in new industrial prototyping machines that can be used for multiple purposes. That's where this concept came from. 

It started out just learning how to maintain and run the machine, then how to code production files, but then you have to dive in and find the limits of how it can be used. It's often not solutions you can sketch, so it comes down to making and experimenting with materials and approaches that aren't considered normal. Once we develop a clear direction, we begin that feedback loop of creating and testing samples with our engineers to validate and iterate until we come towards a final solution that checks all the boxes.

What has it been like delving into the science of materials while designing beautiful sneakers?

JM: It's an amazing time to be in footwear innovation. The market is demanding innovation on an increasingly faster timeline, and that is allowing us as designers and engineers here at adidas the resources to tackle big ideas like Speedfactory, Futurecraft 4D and FORGEFIBER. It just proves that being an agile company and having a team capable of building new solutions internally and collaborating with industry leaders in manufacturing and material development is where future success lies. 

*****

It seems as though adidas is focusing on designing personalized footwear in parts—midsoles and heel caps with the 3D Runners and Futurecraft 4Ds and uppers with the Futurecraft Leather Superstars and FORGEFIBER. This may be a stretch, but I'm left wondering if all these new shoes are just prototypes and there will be a mega sneaker that combines a little bit of everything in the works sometime soon. I guess we'll have to wait and see. 

START Design Studios partnered with blue to create a new and unique listening experience with the wireless over-ear headphone that let’s the user hear more of their favorite music, everywhere and anywhere. Satellite headphones combines the legendary blue sound quality with new patented active noise canceling technology to ensure a non-compromised listening experience. Satellite with high emphasis on sound isolation, comfort & foldability is a new benchmark for the modern listening experience.

In this day and age, I value bodies that can take a lot of information and present it in a comprehensible way. The folks over at Kurzgesagt (German for "in a nutshell") spent 900 hours and nine months researching the history of automation, then created this video explaining why recent advances in technology are very swiftly leading us towards a crucial crossroads.

The video is well worth the watch, informative, mildly terrifying at points, and I found the bit about the freelancers both chilling and fascinating:

Manufacturing is hard enough without knowing terms most manufacturers use. Here's a quick resource to help you learn the most common terms around describing physical parts.

DFM (Design For Manufacturing) Terms

Undercut: In manufacturing, an undercut is a special type of recessed surface. In machining it refers to a recess in a corner or a piece of geometry that allows extra material to be cut away without losing important pieces of a finished part. In molding, undercuts are features of parts that prevent them from being directly ejected from an injection molding machine.

Through Hole: Through-holes refer to a hole that is drilled, reamed, milled (or otherwise created) completely through a substrate. Essentially, a through-hole is a hole that goes all the way through something. For comparison, a blind hole does not go all the way through a substrate. Both types of holes can be tapped to add threads for screws.

Boss: In manufacturing, a boss refers to a raised, circular peg or protrusion. A boss often has a hole in the center and is used to improve assembly.

Thread: Threading is the process of creating a screw thread. More screw threads are produced each year than any other machine element in the world. There are many methods of generating threads, including subtractive methods (many kinds of thread cutting and grinding; deformative or transformative methods (rolling and forming; molding and casting); additive methods (such as 3D printing); or combinations thereof.

Tolerance: Engineering tolerance is the permissible limit or limits of variation in:

1. A physical dimension
2. A measured value or physical property of a material, manufactured object, system, or service
3. Other measured values (such as temperature, humidity, etc.)
4. In engineering and safety, a physical distance or space
5. In mechanical engineering the space between a bolt and a nut or a hole, or some other associated feature.

___________________

This post is provided by Fictiv, the most efficient manufacturing platform for fabricating parts. Powered by a distributed network of highly vetted vendors, the online interface makes it easy for customers to get instant quotes, review manufacturing feedback, and manage orders—all through a single service.

While NASA has had four different rovers on Mars, none of them, obviously, has ever been manned, nor designed to hold human beings. But this month they pulled the sheets off of the first manned Mars Rover concept, unveiling it at the Kennedy Space Center:

The Mars Rover Concept Vehicle was designed and built by Parker Brothers Concepts, a design/build shop that does specialty and custom vehicles. However, we must point out that while CBS and other news sources are crediting them as the designers of the Light Cycles that appeared in "Tron: Legacy," we believe that is incorrect. The Parker Brothers did produce a handful of Light Cycles in cooperation with the studio for promotional purposes, but we believe that credit for the design goes to either production designer Darren Gilford or concept artist Daniel Simon.

Creature, a product development consulting firm in Atlanta, is seeking an energetic and talented, entry-level/junior industrial designer to join our team. We are looking for a creative problem-solver who can generate a wide range of concepts for any given challenge. You will be working on a wide range of projects, including understanding user insights/needs/opportunities, quickly sketching and visualizing concepts for client presentations, brainstorming mechanical configurations and details, developing form and visual design languages for new products, and generating 3D files and renderings.

Caged Venetian (or Murano) glass lamps are a nearly timeless inspiration in lighting design. Their mix of metal restraint and trapped organic glass can range from sensual, to exquisitely detailed, to schlocky "Italian style" restaurant decor, and back again. (I have a conspiracy theory that those bad plastic pizza restaurant cups were styled after Italian glassware, inadvertently ruining the texture for generations of Americans.) 

Glass trapped by metal may date back thousands of years, but this type of caged blown glassware lighting was dialed to a total art form in Italy by the late 1700s. There craftsmen in the Venice area developed glass blends resilient and plastic enough to hold incredible coloration and detailed imprints through multiple manipulations. 

Caged lamps are marked by their brass or steel external frame, which is traditionally meticulously symmetric. The regularity of the expanded glass inside is fascinating when you stop to realize it's all been handblown until the last couple decades. Up close it's beautiful stuff. After stumbling across a Lithuanian glassblowing shop's process video, I scrounged for more process information but came up fairly short. As with many heritage craft products, makers often keep their detailed methods to themselves. However, in a midcentury British Pathe recording of British glassmakers it became clear that artisans have approached the caged style similarly for at least a century.

In particular it's interesting to note that the pre-texturing and expansion steps are virtually identical, over 50 years apart.

But this type of artisanal caged glassblowing isn't all handmade for handmade's sake. As large manufacturers like Pottery Barn and less experienced blowers have found - the traditional results are difficult to replicate. 

As these stressed out gentlemen show, it's not quite as easy as it looks in the videos above.

Semai by Saggia & Sommella

Modern lighting design updating this tradition includes exploratory work by Alberto Saggia & Valerio Sommella's work for Vistosi (above), the broad-ranging caged collection by Sogni di Cristalo, and Pallucco's Egg lamp below.

All good things should be punctuated by a party.

It's only fitting, then, that last Thursday, June 8th, Core77 threw an inaugural Results Celebration dedicated to the incredible efforts and brilliant designs of our 2017 Core77 Design Awards honorees.

Generously hosted at A/D/O's award-winning creative space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the festivities kicked off at 6pm with a bang, as a mixture of current and former Core77 Design Awards honorees, designers, design lovers, and curious passersby filtered in to explore the diversely awesome entertainment the night had to offer.

Put your hands in the air if...[insert jubilant motivation here]

That's right, Alfred Hitchcock was there!

Core777777

Awesome Designers Occupy

The honored projects of the 2017 Core77 Design Awards were the obvious stars of the show - as a looping slideshow of winning projects by the stage made sure to point out - but a number of activities, demonstrations, and displays were also on hand to engage partygoers throughout the event.

Front and center was the large format 3-D printer designed and built in-house by the design studio, JIMMI - winner of the Core77 Designers-in-Residence program in collaboration with A/D/O. The printer was hard at work for most of the night showcasing its talents, while JIMMI co-founders Evan Roche and Harrison Tyler remained nearby to answer any questions and soak in any compliments from interested onlookers.

For attendees looking to commemorate the night with a fun picture they could cherish forever, Eastman Innovation Lab, a key sponsor of the celebration, brought in a professional photo booth, replete with props and cutouts for picture-takers to augment their (often) goofy poses.

Our friends at Microsoft provided several new Surface Studios on which partygoers could peruse the full spectrum of 2017 Core77 Design Awards honorees online. Though it quickly devolved into eager attendees toying around with the PC's impressive interactive features like kids in a digital sandbox, we can't really blame them after admittedly salivating over this video. Microsoft also generously donated a Surface Book as a reward to the winner of the Core77 Design Awards Community Choice Prize.

Two fascinated fellows check out JIMMI's large format printer at work

Good times abound at the 2017 Core77 Design Awards Results Celebration

Guests looking through the 2017 Winners on a smart phone (we can only assume)

Balloons are crucial for any party worth its salt

Attendees explore the Microsoft Surface Studio's innovative Dial

Celebration was the theme of the evening, and about halfway through the festivities, Core77 co-founder Stuart Constantine came on stage to give a brief speech about the Core77 Design Awards, and toast to the people that made the event possible. He also called all Core77 Design Awards honorees in the audience to come on stage to take a bow, which was, of course, met with raucous applause.

Past and present Core77 Design Awards honorees (and Stu Constantine) give themselves a deserved ovation

Arguably the biggest curveball of the night, however, involved actual balls...Skee Balls. Temporarily installed in A/D/O's outdoor terrace area, a pair of Skee Ball machines presented attendees the chance to win a shiny, new Microsoft Surface Book - graciously donated by Microsoft - in a surprise Skee Ball tournament.

Playing to an ebullient crowd of onlookers, each partygoer was offered a practice round to hone their craft before taking their official turn in the tournament. The top scores were recorded, and at the end of the night the two highest scorers from either machine were pitted against each other in a final, dramatic showdown.

Would-be Skee Ballers flash the high-tech tokens cashed in to partake in the Skee Ball tournament

Brooklyn designer Klaus Rosberg tries his hand at the fickle Ball of Skee

Ultimately, it came down to Orion vs Bryan in a head to head matchup for the Surface Book. Both gave valiant efforts and put up impressive scores, but Orion eked out the win, and, with it, a new Microsoft PC.

Put your hands to the side if...hey, wait, I recognize this guy!

When the sun goes down, the LEDs turn up

Orion rolls his way to the top score. Bryan (far right) smiles nervously

2nd place finisher Bryan is cheered on as he tries to top Orion's score. Orion uses playful tactics to distract him 

Professional Skee Ball hustler Orion holds hands with a Microsoft representative as he's presented his prize

When all was said and done, the 2017 Core77 Design Awards Results Celebration was a rousing success, and a fitting testament to the unique, clever, and enthusiastic designers that make up the Core77 Design Awards program.

The show's not quite over yet, however - there's still a role to play. From now until June 30th, we're turning to the Core77 community to vote for their favorite honored project to receive the 2017 Community Choice Grand Prize. This year, the Community Choice Grand Prize Winner - the project which tallies the most votes overall - will be gifted a new Microsoft Surface Book. So be sure to look through the full cast of 2017 Core77 Design Awards honorees and show your favorites some love by giving them your vote!

I think wonder is the basis of worship. My inspiration is the honeycomb, a structure unique to the creative powers of bees. They build strong, systematic and nurturing honeycombed hives, similar to how humans construct objects for protection, be it clothing or architecture. The fusion of geometric, architectural and biological forms coming together on a human body is to question: why are we not fighting for Mother Nature if we humans are so passionate self-preservation and protection? Beeing Human aims to convey an environmental message, encouraging people to rethink our relationship with nature by joining the dots.

3D printing is integrated to show how technology can be a design medium, democratizing fashion. This is a fresh way to push boundaries for aesthetics and culture as well as production and performance.

Different fabrication technologies were used in creating these outfits; various plastic materials are printed together with silicone castings. These are 'made-to-order', avoiding wasteful mass production methods. These parts will be manually sewn together.

By juxtaposing the automative with traditional, we remind audiences that we are all connected deep down. Woven/knitted materials are not limitations; defined silhouettes are superseded by new visual experiences that are avant-garde and whimsical.

This capsule collection is kindly sponsored by Takasago, Swarovski and Converse.

Are you the type of designer who wants to know how your tools work, or are you only concerned with the utility they provide? If you're the former, you're bound to find the following video interesting. TechQuickie breaks down the difference between JPEGs, PNGs, GIFs, TIFFs, SVGs and Raw files, and the tricks each format uses to balance image quality with file size:

Sadly there's no comprehensive video on the variety of modern-day CAD file formats. Best we could dig up is this rather bizarre video explaining the difference between IGES and STEP files.

When certain demographics can't use your product, it's important to ask why. Nail color is an ancient tool for self expression and accessorizing, but the practice has fallen out of use with many Muslim fashionistas. This is because run of the mill nail polishes are seen as a barrier to the body during prayer and ablution, and their ingredients are normally non-Halal. 

To reformulate something as chemistry-heavy (and opinion provoking) as nail polish is no small feat, but the Muslim market is a lot to miss out on. To meet the needs of one of the fastest growing populations on earth and a massive sector of the beauty and beauty blogging world, beauty brand Orly paired up with Muslimgirl to release Halalpaint, a collection of water-permeable, breathable and 100% certified Halal polishes. 

It's not the first time the niche has been targeted, but earlier attempts would often peel, chip or wear off. This partnership was designed with industry quality standards and religious limitations equally in mind. As MuslimGirl.com chief of staff Azmia Magane noted that most beauty brands fail to recognize and lift up Muslim girls and women, who are still expected to use products "that are designed without them, instead of for them and by them."

The result is a set of polishes that are vegan, cruelty free, and able to let the nail breathe more healthily, while delivering what Teen Vogue reports as a longer lasting manicure than normal.

Unsurprisingly, the limited run collection sold out within days. The brands are considering another production. As positive reviews and praise for their inclusive push roll in, it's a nice reminder to reconsider our assumptions about why we make things the way we do.