Service Design: All projects entailing the organization of communication, transactions, end-users, infrastructure, institutions and organizational systems for greater efficiency and ease of use. Examples include: distribution or delivery systems, ways of connecting people or enabling transactions, funding platforms, web-based communities, etc.

This year's Service Design jury team was led by Bo Ren. Joining her on the panel were Chiara Cacciani, Product Manager at Facebook, Dan Wu, a privacy lawyer researching data and AI ethics, and Stacy La, Design Consultant for Resolve to Save Lives.

The Core77 Design Awards Service Design Honorees are as follows:

Jury Team Announcement Video

In this video, the Service Design jury team goes into more detail about this year's honorees:

A massive thank you from everyone at Core77 for the stellar efforts of our judges, and the incredible work submitted by our honorees!

Check out all the 2019 awards winners here

Packaging: All graphic design, branding and structural designs related to the packaging of products. Examples include: primary or secondary packaging for Fast Moving Consumer Goods or premium brands, promotional packaging and gifting programs, limited editions, etc.

This year's Packaging jury team was led by Daniela Garza, Partner at Anagrama. Joining her on the panel were Alex Center, Founder of CENTER, Cristie Stevens, Art Director & Editor of Studio A/C, Daniel Martinez, Art Director & Partner at Futura, and José Bernabe, Designer, Letterer & Illustrator.

The Core77 Design Awards Packaging Honorees are as follows:

Jury Team Announcement Video

In this video, the Packaging jury team goes into more detail about this year's honorees:

A massive thank you from everyone at Core77 for the stellar efforts of our judges, and the incredible work submitted by our honorees!

Check out all the 2019 awards winners here

Transportation: Vehicles, systems or modes of transportation used to get people or objects from one place to another, for private, public, commercial or industrial purposes. Examples include: planes, trains, automobiles, buses, bikes, boats, mass transit systems, transportation infrastructure, etc.

This year's Transportation team was led by Jacob Bouchard, Senior Industrial Designer at JUMP Bikes. Joining him on the panel were Elizabeth Costa, Hannah Lueptow, Lead Design Researcher & Strategist at Questto|Nó, Josh Chadwick, Industrial Designer for Scooter Hardware at JUMP, Michael Liu, Head of NPD for JUMP APAC and Michael Steiner, Senior Designer for Infrastructure & Charging for JUMP Hardware.

The Core77 Design Awards Transportation Honorees are as follows:

Jury Team Announcement Video

In this video, the Transportation jury team goes into more detail about this year's honorees:

A massive thank you from everyone at Core77 for the stellar efforts of our judges, and the incredible work submitted by our honorees!

Check out all the 2019 awards winners here

Visual Communication: All visual and graphic design, branding and identity projects for print, digital or physical environments. Examples include: logos and identity systems, environmental graphics, signage, typefaces, infographics, motion graphics, print design, advertising, etc.

This year's Visual Communication team was led by Kristy Tillman, Head of Global Experience Design at Slack. Joining her on the panel were Amélie Lamont, Independent Product Designer & Co-Founder of Good for PoC, Maria Gonzalez, Senior Communications Designer at Slack, and Stewart Scott-Curran, Executive Creative Director at Instrument.

The Core77 Design Awards Visual Communication Honorees are as follows:

A massive thank you from everyone at Core77 for the stellar efforts of our judges, and the incredible work submitted by our honorees!

Check out all the 2019 awards winners here

Hydro Flask is on the hunt for a Design Engineer who will lead projects through the Design Engineering cycle, working closely with the design team (industrial designers, manufacturing engineers, product managers) to ensure products meet Hydro Flask performance standards, quality expectations, are manufacturable, adhere to design brief and deliver that satisfying, hydrating 'ahhh' feeling to their consumers.

See the full job details or check out all design jobs at Coroflot.

We haven't covered Virgil Abloh-related news all that much here on Core77, but he seems to be creeping his way into our territory more and more these days—from an ongoing footwear collection with Nike to a much anticipated IKEA collaboration. Now, all of a sudden, this is our second piece about Abloh this week. So, please excuse me while I put on my hype hat (probably this one) and lean in.

In addition to his current Figures of Speech exhibition at MCA Chicago, which opened this past Monday, Abloh recently announced his latest collaboration: a small collection of furniture, lighting and home goods with Vitra. Abloh has been quoted saying that, "It's arguable whether we will even have a need for furniture by 2035," but just in case, the collection is called—you guessed it—TWENTYTHIRTYFIVE. Here is a look at the collection, which includes glazed ceramic storage blocks, Abloh's take on Jean Prouvé's iconic wall lamp design and a plexiglass-encapsulated version of Prouvé's Antony armchair:

It's important to note that Abloh's work often pays homage to the work of others and is subsequently put under a microscope by the design community for doing so. When asked about the Prouvé references seen throughout this collection, Abloh responded: "I loved the idea of introducing some Prouvé classics to a generation today that might not know the importance of his work."

My main question in relationship to this collection is: Who is the target audience here? Abloh has a loyal fanbase that is mainly made up of people under 30 years old who can drop a few hundred dollars on sneakers or a hoodie, but likely not €2,489 on a Vitra chair. And if they do decide to partake, the unfortunate truth is that they will buy the €149 ceramic blocks without realizing or caring about Prouvé's influence on the design process. Abloh and Vitra's message is noble, but will it get through to an audience that could benefit from some good old fashioned design history?

TWENTYTHIRTYFIVE is currently on view at the Zaha Hadid-designed Fire Station on the Vitra Campus during Art Basel and through to the end of July.

Luna is a lamp, a wireless charger, a and has Alexa built-in, equipped with a high-quality 7W speaker. The first of its kind, Luna Smart Lamp brings Italian Design into a new generation of multi-functional Smart-Home devices.

Brought to you by MAKO Design + Invent, North America's leading design firm for taking your product idea from a sketch on a napkin to store shelves. Download Mako's Invention Guide for free here.

Navigating the world of crowdfunding can be overwhelming, to put it lightly. Which projects are worth backing? Where's the filter to weed out the hundreds of useless smart devices? To make the process less frustrating, we scour the various online crowdfunding platforms to put together a weekly roundup of our favorite campaigns for your viewing (and spending!) pleasure. Go ahead, free your disposable income:

Inside, this globe "built for curious people" has a map of the night sky, with more than 2,500 stars and constellations. As a bonus, all backers will get a scaled lunar globe—place them 35 feet apart to get a sense of the distance between us and the moon.

Zendure won a Good Design Award in 2017 for their Passport Go travel adapter, and now the team is back with an updated design and even more features. The only adapter you'll need to pack on your next trip, this small and sleek unit comes with a four-port USB charger, 30W Power Delivery (PD), an auto-resetting fuse, and a power adapter. It boasts GaN technology, which means it can run at a higher efficiency, produce less heat, and tolerate higher currents than typical models.

Chameleon Fineliners' patented dual-ink system stores ink in the pen's body as well as the cap, so users can simply swap the top when they want to seamlessly blend one color into another. The campaign offers up to 48 color options which can yield more than 1000 color combinations and an infinite amount of sketching possibilities.

You'll need a place to store all those pens—and your other drawing supplies—and for those of you who like to sketch in plein air or are always on the go, it doesn't get much better than this backpack designed with artists in mind. There's a place to safely tuck away your portfolio, organized storage for brushes and other tools, and even a waterproof pocket for ink.

If nothing else has worked to keep you off your most addictive apps, consider this minimal smartphone, aptly called BoringPhone. A few notches up from the antiquated Nokia, this model covers only the essentials of modern life: calling, texting, camera, GPS maps, music, podcasts, and not much more.

Do you need help designing, developing, patenting, manufacturing, and/or selling YOUR product idea? MAKO Design + Invent is a one-stop-shop specifically for inventors / startups / small businesses. Click HERE for a free confidential product consultation.

Long a staple of Mexico's gastronomy, the country has historically been home to over 60 species of native corn in a range of colors, from dark purple to soft cream. Industrialization and the advent of genetically modified seeds have led to many of these species becoming endangered over the years. Mexican designer Fernando Laposse has come up with an ingenious veneer material made from the husks of heirloom corn, and he's hoping it will provide a way to revitalize both the crops and the communities that grow them.

"The hope of preserving native corn really lies in the indigenous communities of the country which continue to plant it because it is essential to keep their traditions alive rather than planting it for financial gains," Laposse explained in an interview with the Design Museum last year. "I decided to call the project Totomoxtle because that's what the corn husks are called in Zapotec and Nahuatl, two of the most spoken native languages."

Laposse first partnered with International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, the world's largest corn seed bank, to find seeds for six species of critically endangered native corn. Once the corn has been growing for seven months, it can be harvested. To make the material, corn husks are first peeled off the cob, then ironed flat and glued onto a reinforcing material. The pieces can then be cut by hand or with a laser cutter and used to create a range of furniture, desktop objects, and interior finishes.

"All the trimmings that don't get used to make the material are composted…[and used] to fertilize the fields in preparation for the next harvest," he notes. "Every season is different, the sizes might vary, so I have to adapt my designs to the results of every harvest."

Laposse has been working with the residents of Tonahuixtla, a small village in the state of Puebla, since 2016, and Tototomoxtle is made entirely by the community. "I think the way design can help preserve biodiversity is by using its power as a communication tool to give a voice to farmers that are being forced to abandon their traditional ways of life because of economical and political pressures," he explains. "My project will never make a dent in the global corn trade, but it is a first step in taking a stand against how things are being done."

Continuing with the same holistic approach, Laposse recently started exploring a new material: sisal made from fibers of the agave cactus that's also native to Mexico. The indigenous Mayans used sisal to make rope and fishing nets, but the advent of nylon and other plastic materials have greatly impacted sisal production. "In my opinion tackling issues like plastic waste in the future is not so much about making new magic materials but also looking back to the ones that were already working well in the past."

Totomoxtle is on view as part of the exhibition FOOD: Bigger than the Plate at London's Victoria & Albert Museum through October 20, 2019.

"Since most people can't figure out how to get water from a faucet into their mouths after brushing their teeth, it is my duty as a designer to bring this object into the world."

"I wanted to use ten times more material than necessary to create this staircase. I also wanted to create a confusing optical illusion as to where the step actually is, and I wanted it to be very difficult to clean. The only thing I don't like is, I wasn't able to get the edges of the glass handrail as sharp as I'd like."

"I think most people want to have an object they need to adjust under their desks, something that forces their feet into one of two positions. Also, my illustration of the silhouettes in the chair demonstrates that I don't understand how most seatbacks work."

"A conventional bookmark, which is just a slip of stiff paper, is too easy to ship and recycle; they also don't use up enough materials or take up any additional desk space. To solve this, I designed mine out of lacquered ash." [True story: This "bookmark" is "ideal for…books under 9 inches in height." For differently-sized books, you can order their larger version in STEEL.]

"I designed this for the Australian market, so that they can experience what it's like for water to drain in the normal, Northern Hemisphere direction."

"Only thing I don't like is, since we have this against a wall, my wife has to climb through my blue water to get into her pink water. But other than that I am satisfied with my purchase."

"Hear me out: This isn't an umbrella. I designed this to throw it over people who vape in public."

"These come in sets of three shapes with sliding connection points. You can buy as many as you like, figure out some way to affix them to a wall, then fit them together to create a way to store your books in absolute fucking visual chaos. If this doesn't give you a headache, then I'm not doing my job." [True story: The three-unit module retails for $595. The assembled unit shown in the photo costs about $2,400.]

"You will never tire of the novelty of needing to physically rotate this living unit, after removing any object that might fall, into one of three uncomfortable configurations."

"I often want to drink beer or wine while taking a shower, so I designed these. And in my experience, when you stick things to tile they never fall off. So with a wine glass hanging from the wall and me being boozed up and barefoot, what could go wrong?"

Are you a UX designer that also happens to hate household pests? Look no further than this opening at PestRoutes. PestRoutes is a cloud-based, mobile friendly software for managing pest control offices. With this position, you'd have the chance to fight the good fight through the screen of your computer, working on multiple projects at once with both clients and in-house designers. Cockroaches, be gone.

See the full job details or check out all design jobs at Coroflot.

Hop is the suitcase that gives children independence. As a step stool and suitcase in one, hop makes destinations kid-accessible. This adds ease to travel and puts the focus back on making memories while staying the weekend at grandma's or spending the night at a hotel.

This week, Uber unveiled an updated look at the future of its flying taxi service, Uber Air. At the third annual Uber Elevate event on Tuesday, chief Eric Allison claimed that Uber Air will eventually make it "more economically rational for you to fly than for you to drive." With an ambitious target launch date of 2023, the initial roll-out would use piloted helicopters and gradually become "fully electric and autonomous."

Ahead of the launch, Uber will need to build a series of "skyports"—the structures from which Uber Air will operate. A group of architecture firms has developed "fully considered and technically feasible" concepts for skyports geared toward the pilot cities of Los Angeles, Dallas, and Melbourne.

In contrast to the more imposing, futuristic structures previously proposed, Uber is now planning on working with real estate developers and city officials to primarily install the skyports on top of parking garages and other underutilized structures. The tame results essentially look like flashy shopping malls with helipads on top.

Without getting into the many details that make Uber's fast-track to launch plan seriously eyebrow-raising (feel free to sound off below), here are five visions of what skyports might look like:

SHoP Architect's designed a skyport for Los Angeles. It can handle 72 Uber Air trips per hour, and includes space for bikes, scooters and electric vehicle charging.

Architecture firm Pickard Chilton teamed up with Arup to design the only proposal for Melbourne, which would feature a mass timber structure and incorporate retail on the ground floor.

In Dallas, Corgan's design would tap into existing infrastructure and incorporate "restaurants, grocery stores, sports courts, and co-working spaces."

Mithun's "SkyPark" in Los Angeles is the most community-oriented, with more than two acres of public park space.

The Beck Group's simple, retrofit solution could easily be installed on top of existing parking garages.

Speculative Design: Projects, whether physically or digitally produced, designed for the purpose of cultural commentary, intervention, or exploration, or created as speculative design for a client or educational institution. Examples include: future scenarios, social critique.

This year's Speculative Design jury team was led by Yosuke Ushigome, Creative Technologist & Director at Takram.Joining him on the panel were Phil Balagtas, Experience Design Director at McKinsey & Company, and Sarah Gold, CEO of IF.

The Core77 Design Awards Speculative Design Honorees are as follows:

Jury Team Announcement Video

In this video, the Speculative Design jury team goes into more detail about this year's honorees:

A massive thank you from everyone at Core77 for the stellar efforts of our judges, and the incredible work submitted by our honorees!

Check out all the 2019 awards winners here

Looking for an extra way to beat the summer heat? Hunter Fan Company is looking for a Lead Industrial Designer with consumer product experience to manage multiple projects at various stages of the design process. Responsibilities include conceptual development of ceiling fans and accessories, preparing and presenting high-quality presentations and prototypes, mentoring Associate Industrial Designers, acting as a role-model and leading by example and more.

See the full job details or check out all design jobs at Coroflot.

Finally, a comprehensive study of Latin American design is available in one book. Pablo Diaz's recently released ABC del Diseño Industrial Latinoamericano(ABC's of Latin American Industrial Design) gathers the best design projects from over 14 countries in one, easy-to-read and picture-filled tome perfect for students and anyone seeking inspiration.

The idea for the book first occurred to Diaz in 2011, when he realized the story of Latin American design still wasn't being communicated adequately. "Although Argentina has a huge and cosmopolitan editorial culture, in terms of Latin American industrial design there is very little, and what there is is concentrated in pure and simple theory," he explains. "I felt the need to get rid of all that academicism and that centrality that is published on industrial design in the United States, Europe, and Japan, mainly."

In 620 pages, the book presents one hundred emblematic projects, across transportation design, furniture, household appliances, and more. The approachable study covers the first decades of the 20th Century to the present day. You'll find big names like Lina Bo Bardi, but plenty of lesser-known figures as well. "I include the heroes, but we put them on an equal footing with other designers, design offices, products, and companies, surely more anonymous, but vital."

ABC del Diseño Industrial Latinoamericano is currently available through Caligrama Editorial. The first edition is only available in Spanish, but fingers-crossed an English translation will be coming soon.

Sometimes design opportunities are right in front of your very eyes. For instance, anyone living in an urban setting is familiar with the scene below:

The classic orange barrier (otherwise known as the plastic Jersey Barrier) is an iconic symbol of urban construction in the Big Apple, right up there with temporary green plywood walls marked "Post No Bills". Each plastic barrier is blow-molded and kept hollow to minimize weight during travel. Once placed at a construction site, they are then filled with water to ensure they stay put.

Even though they serve a noble purpose, the barriers are, without a doubt, a big, fat, orange eyesore to passerby and nearby dwellers. And if you live in any city, you're very familiar with the long lead times of construction projects—they often take anywhere from weeks to months to complete.

Brooklyn-based industrial designer Scott Henderson identified this design opportunity after walking past one too many ugly orange barriers in his neighborhood. "The city is always changing, and with that comes large scale construction projects that are surrounded by tens of thousands of these super ugly, construction barriers," says Henderson of his 'aha' moment. "It is clear to me that no one has ever considered these unsightly "Lego" blocks beyond their utilitarian purpose—like how they affect the lives of people forced to live around them."

So, he set out to do what any frustrated designer would do when confronted with an object in need of improvement: redesign. Recognizing that it would cost about the same amount of money to manufacture a more beautiful version of the orange barriers, Henderson went to work, eventually yielding the below solution:

Since the material is still plastic, the barriers could theoretically be any color, but we're digging the green. Below are a few more visualizations of what they would look like on site:

The lattice surface pattern makes the barriers more visually interesting while discouraging graffiti. Granted, the barriers would still be paired with a pretty ugly constriction site, but at least at eye level, the view would be much more pleasant.

Have you ever come across an urban object that could use an upgrade? Let us know in the comments.

Early Australian Evolution

1934 Ford Coupe Utility

Following Australian designer Lewis Bandt's invention of the Coupe Utility form factor, other manufacturers began releasing their own versions. In 1937 American manufacturer Hudson designed their innovative Terraplane Utility Coupe:

1937 Hudson Terraplane. Image credit: Alden Jewell, CC 2.0

What you may not realize from the illustration above is that this was meant to be a car or a truck, not both at the same time. It was essentially a car in regular use, but by opening the trunk, a steel box was revealed. This box could be extended outwards like a drawer and locked into position, effectively serving as a hideaway pickup bed.

1937 Hudson Terraplane. Image credit: 96Impala

The war years of the 1940s disrupted most worldwide automotive design and production, but by the 1950s manufacturers were back on track. Holden, an Australian subsidiary of General Motors, released the Holden Coupe Utility in 1951:

1951 Holden Coupe Utility. Image credit: Chris Keating, CC 2.0

1951 Holden Coupe Utility. Image credit: Chris Keating, CC 2.0

Ford Australia's offering for 1951 had more modern styling than Holden's design, with the front end pointing the way towards the look of the '50s:

1951 Ford Coupe Utility. Image credit: Sicnag, CC 4.0

1951 Ford Coupe Utility. Image credit: Frank Beale,TradeUniqueCars

Making the Jump to America

Following his original 1934 design, Lewis Bandt had traveled to America and met Henry Ford. Ford reportedly referred to Bandt's coupe utility as a "kangaroo chaser"--whether he said that in derision or affection, I don't know--and stated that they would one day build such vehicles for the U.S. market. That promise had taken some time to fulfill, but it really paid dividends in 1956, when Ford released a new design for the American market called the Ranchero:

1956 Ford Ranchero

1956 Ford Ranchero

1956 Ford Ranchero

1956 Ford Ranchero

1956 Ford Ranchero

In 1957 the design was tweaked, with cowling added to the headlights, and the body accent lines migrating rearwards:

1957 Ford Ranchero

1957 Ford Ranchero

1957 Ford Ranchero

1957 Ford Ranchero

1957 Ford Ranchero

1957 Ford Ranchero

1957 Ford Ranchero

1957 Ford Ranchero

1957 Ford Ranchero

In 1958 the design was tweaked again, with extra headlights added and the accent lines in the body now starting to flatten out:

1958 Ford Ranchero. Image credit: Detectandpreserve, Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

1958 Ford Ranchero. Image credit: Detectandpreserve, Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

1958 Ford Ranchero. Image credit: Detectandpreserve, Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

The customized version below has had the bumper removed from in front of the grille, and has had its suspension lowered, but you can still see the body's accent lines and overall gesture of the vehicle quite clearly:

1958 Ford Ranchero

1958 Ford Ranchero

1958 Ford Ranchero

The Ford Ranchero proved to be a hit with both buyers and the automotive press, selling in the low five figures annually. Here's how the car was marketed:

Ford competitor Chevy noticed the sales figures, and decided it was time for them to get a piece of this market. Before we show you what Chevy's designers did, first let's review how Ford's designers were gradually evolving the Ranchero, in terms of the accent lines, gesture and length, from year to year:

1956 Ford Ranchero

1957 Ford Ranchero

1958 Ford Ranchero

Looking at the photos above, it's as if some giant grabbed the car from front and rear and began stretching it.

With that in mind, here's what Chevy released in 1959, the El Camino:

1959 Chevrolet El Camino

1959 Chevrolet El Camino

1959 Chevrolet El Camino

1959 Chevrolet El Camino

Ford's offering for that year, the 1959 Ranchero, looks positively stodgy and dated in comparison:

1959 Ford Ranchero. Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/that_chrysler_guy/

It seemed like Ford's designers had lost it, and the sales figures for 1959 reflected it: Chevy sold 22,246 El Caminos, while Ford moved just 14,169 Rancheros.

Here is a magnificently restored 1959 El Camino by Randy and Peaches Clark at Hot Rods & Custom Stuff (HR&CS) in Escondido, California:

1959 Chevrolet El Camino

1959 Chevrolet El Camino

1959 Chevrolet El Camino

This coupe utility form factor--nowadays more commonly referred to as a car-based pickup--would continue to evolve in Australia, America and elsewhere. But as we shall see next, the results weren't always good.

Last week it was the Ultimate Dad Shoe**, this week it is a Flying Rideshare Vehicle. It is the second of three sketch challenges this month, and a part of our summer-long Core77 Design-Athlon, where designers flex their creative muscles in three core skills of sketching, prototyping and rendering.

We were wowed by your enthusiasm and ideas last week and want to keep that positive design-energy flowing, so are adding a token of appreciation for all those who play along this summer: participate in at least one challenge in each skill and we'll send you a free t-shirt. (Offer good for US mailing addresses only. International participants who meet the requirement can receive a t-shirt with payment of $10 USD to help cover shipping.)

Again we have lined-up special guest-star judge Reid Schlegel, sketching guru, educator and Senior Industrial Designer at Aruliden, to help us choose the winning entries. We are excited to see what you can cook-up...

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The Brief

Ding! Your future is arriving now. Flying cars have been whizzing through our imagined futures for a long time, but today economics and technology driven largely by rideshare companies seem to be steering them out of dream space and into real-world air space. What is that really going to mean for us? Our infrastructure, our communities, our wallets? Artificial intelligence, advanced fabrication and the sharing economy all converge at this intersection; will it be a wreck or a seamless flow? And that is just our current timeline - who is going to think of how things *could* have been, or *should be* - what about alternative realities and value-systems?

Let your imagination take flight – show us your vision of what a future rideshare vehicle could look like. Sketch out a blue-sky scenario before Sunday!

Flying Rideshare Vehicle Deadline is this Sunday, June 23rd at 11:59pm Eastern!

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How To Enter

1. Follow us on Instagram

2. Explore the concept of "Flying Rideshare Vehicle" via sketching and take a picture or screenshot of your best work

3. Post your picture to Instagram, posting must tag us, @core77, and include the hashtags #c77sketching, #c77challenge

Good luck!

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Rules

• The contest ends Sunday June 23, 11:59pm EDT –– winners will be announced by July 3rd.

• Multiple entries are permitted but a participant can not have more than one winning entry per challenge.

• Winning entries will be selected by a panel of design professional(s) and Core77 staff based on skill, presentation and ideas.

• The contest is hosted by Core77 and there are no eligibility restrictions.

• This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram.

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To learn more about our entire Summer-long design skill series, check out our announcement of the Core77 Design-Athlon.

**Dad Shoe contest participants: this is a reminder that winners will be chosen at the end of the month along with the other sketching challenges!

Best known for their sculptural wood clutches, the designers behind Tesler + Mendelovitch have progressively increased the scale of their work. Taking their innovative process to the next level, the latest product launch from the Tel Aviv-based studio provides sculptural solutions for interiors.

When we last spoke to Orli Tesler and Itamar Mendelovitch, the duo explained how they developed their technique of making wood veneer act like a textile through a series of diagonal crosshatches.

Mesmerizing GIFs brought to you by Goodeye Studio

"In the beginning, we interfered terribly with the wood," Tesler said, recounting how their early experiments involved weaving the wood or sanding it down and breaking it into small fibers. The breakthrough came when they tried scoring it and realized that allowed them to bend the veneer to the form they wanted. "If you go too much against the grain, the wood will not budge; it will crack or splinter," Tesler explained. "And if you go too much with the grain, all you have are straight lines. The point of going diagonally is to cross over the soft and hard points where wood can bend without breaking."

In making their clutches, the designers only scored the material where they had to in order to get it to perform. That materiality is expanded upon in their most recent products, which are made out of sheets of veneer that have been evenly cut by the designers to create a completely flexible wooden textile. "The flexible wood matrix we developed moves in such a way that it determines its own configuration," Tesler told me in a recent email. "As the material pulls itself into shape, we merely 'freeze' the textile in place—resulting in a myriad of shapes, product applications, and concepts."

The panels are structurally reinforced and can be customized to include integrated seating, as pictured above. (Image courtest of Tesler + Mendelovitch and Studio Maayan Golan)

(Image courtest of Tesler + Mendelovitch and Studio Maayan Golan)

Some of their most stunning recent work adapts this process to create a range of wood panels and sound diffusers for interior installations that can be completely customized depending on the project. "The sculptural nature of the wood textiles [allow] a flat wall [to] be transformed into an organic, curvy structure," Tesler said, "creating a spatial dialogue between floor, figure, sculpture, and structure."