This Trivet Necklace is by Ronan Bouroullec.

It's made of cast iron, but possesses a form that would have been unimaginable in cast iron's heyday, containing twenty spheres around its perimeter; the object's name is perhaps a wink at pearl necklaces.

The trivet was designed for the Everyday Objects Collection, a collaboration between interiors magazine Apartamento and art furniture brand Barcelona Design. They're in production, at least for now, and retail for €97 (USD $116).

A startup called Pines Footwear aims to produce a new type of sneaker: One that provides a "foot-healthy," minimalist kick that can deliver on-court performance without the excessive foam that can lead to injuries.

"Basketball shoes in the 90s were these big honking foam blocks," says company co-founder Ryan McDermott. If tripped up, the "high stack height…turned into a lever that would just twist your ankle over."

Working with two industry veterans, designer Michael DiTullo and developer Drew Linth, the company came up with a "zero drop" design that keeps your heel at the same height off of the floor as the toes. (Modern sneakers raise the heel with cushioning, which in turn tilts the pelvis and requires the lower back to compensate.) And the "stack height"—the thickness of the sole—is lower, in order to lower the wearer's center of gravity and thus, stability. Additionally, a reinforced toe box and side panels "support dynamic lateral movement," the company says. Overall, the cushioning is designed to be more targeted and purposefully-placed than with a traditional sneaker.

Here's the company's mission and motivations:

The company is attempting to crowdfund their first model, the Atomic Court, which is intended for any court sport (i.e. tennis, basketball). I find the funding model rather strange: They require a minimum $150 contribution, which does not get you a pair of sneakers, but 50% off of a pair of sneakers. I'd guess that might be too big of an ask, but at press time they were at $68,000 in pledges towards their $110,000 funding target.

In recent years, as movie and TV video quality has improved, the audio quality has gotten worse. Surveys show that people increasingly watch their programming with the subtitles on, citing muddled audio quality. One cause is that modern sound is often mixed for cinema-quality audio systems, rather than the tiny speakers of a flatscreen TV; another is a trend for directors to de-prioritize the importance of dialogue—very fitting, in today's world of partisanship.

Last night I was watching a show on Apple TV, and noticed a new-to-me feature: Each time I hit the left-arrow button, to rewind a scene 10 seconds because I couldn't hear the dialogue, the captions automatically turned on, just for that 10-second clip.

I've since read that other streaming services, which I don't subscribe to (Roku and Amazon Prime Video) also have the feature, but that it must be toggled on. It's a really nice touch, and shows that someone actually acknowledged the problem and took steps to mitigate it. But it is a remedial step that compensates for a failure, at the root level, to address UX. That, too, is very in keeping with our times.

A clever inventor named Ulpan Dimas invented this CourtSense Tennis Rebounder.

Unlike the ball-volleying robots now on the market, Dimas' low-tech invention requires no electricity and no tennis court:

Dimas sells the CourtSense for $295 on eBay (plus shipping, and be aware that Dimas is in Indonesia).

Recently I had to take my dog in for surgery. Over nearly 20 years of owning multiple dogs, this isn't new. But this is the first time design actually played a helpful role for my pet's post-op care.

At every other veterinary practice I've been to—over a half-dozen, from Manhattan to the rural countryside—they hand you med vials with the dosage instructions printed on them. The font on the labels is tiny (requiring reading glasses, for me) and it's impossible to read a full sentence without rotating the vial.

This time, however, this new vet handed me this simple chart:

I was really impressed by the low-tech efficacy of the design. The days are delineated by tonal differences, and a pink highlighter was used on all but one of the boxes, to remind me that one of the drugs was not to be administered on the morning of 2/7 (due to lingering medication from the surgery, I was verbally told). Two of the drugs are meant to be administered for 7 days in a row, and the third for 14 days in a row; the vet tech was easily able to modify the chart to indicate this.

All of this information is on the three barely-legible labels on the vials. But by consolidating it into one chart, the vet practice made the information much easier to grasp and track.

I do wonder why, having been to so many vets, this is the first time I'd seen such a chart. It should be standard practice.

For centuries, human beings have added strands of material to other materials in order to strengthen them. In the Middle Ages, workers discovered that adding horsehair to lime plaster prevented it from cracking. The strands of hair, taken from a horse's mane or tail, act like a miniature version of rebar. The technique is still used today.

In the 20th century, with their Shell Chair, the Eameses put glass fiber reinforced plastic on the map. The strong, lightweight material could be molded into compound curves that bent plywood couldn't. Soon, the material found its way into surfboards, boat hulls and car bodies.

In the late 1950s, a physicist at chemical company Union Carbide accidentally created carbon fiber strands. Soon carbon fiber reinforced polymers were showing up in aerospace parts and race cars, and today you can find it in bicycles and tennis rackets.

Carbon fiber is expensive and generates a lot of emissions during production. It's also not recyclable; it's impossible to separate the material from the polymers it's baked into. And since it doesn't burn, at its end-of-life it can't be incinerated for energy. So once a carbon fiber part's done, it goes into landfill.

Now Bcomp, a Swiss lightweight materials company spun off from the EPFL, has a better alternative. The company has discovered that fibers from flax—the plant that produces both linen fabrics and linseed oil—can produce the same level of stiffness as carbon fiber, and with better vibration-dampening properties. Additionally, it sequesters carbon when it's grown, reducing emissions by 75% compared to carbon fiber, and costs a fraction of what carbon fiber does.

The company has partnered with BMW, who will produce ground effects and the roof for their M series vehicles using Bcomp's materials. Furthermore they'll make seatback covers and interior trim panels for the iX and i4. By using Bcomp's flax fiber reinforced polymers, the carbon footprint of each part is reduced by about 40%, the company says. Furthermore, the material is compatible with BMW's existing tooling.

As for recyclability, Bcomp says their materials "can be recycled into a new base material for different applications (injection moulding) or can be fed back into the production process for components like directly attached fasteners and local reinforcements." That sounds a little murky, but at least offers promise over carbon-fiber's one-way fate.

Here's what we looked at this week:

Issey Miyake's Eye Clip: A bizarre fashion item for making your clothes fit better.

Design details: Trusco's TEX-266A, designed for power users, improves the UX on a tape dispenser.

Remedial design: Three solutions for accessing power outlets behind furniture.

The Offecct Circulus, by industrial designer Mario Ferrarini, is sustainable public seating designed for easy repair.

From Belgian design firm Prodotto: Designey concrete pavers that solve for drainage.

The Skidata sMove Wave: A futuristic, physically flexible turnstile for skiers, snowboarders and mountain bikers.

Japan's Gran-Prix-style office chair racing event.

Taf Studio's coat hanger made of veneer.

The Badger Curb Maker, a battery-powered tool that makes perfect curbs in concrete.

When bad UI design kills: China bans flush door handles.

Smart design for tight spaces: The U.S. Navy's Sit-Up Berths borrow from Tetris to improve quality of life.

Industrial Design student work: Making existing bistro chairs more comfortable.

The Marketday Cart is a multi-level granny cart with way better UX.

Industrial design case study: Nihaarika Arora's jewelry stand for the MoMA Design Store.

Nihaarika Arora is an industrial designer and design lead working across consumer product categories, with an ongoing exploration of form, structure, and everyday utility. One project that exemplifies this approach is the Modern Geometry Jewelry Stand, designed exclusively for the MoMA Design Store and distributed internationally since June 2024.

Rather than approaching the piece as a decorative object, Arora treated the jewelry stand as a small architectural system. The design is composed of two powder-coated iron planes that interlock without fasteners, forming a self-supporting three-dimensional structure. Geometric perforations provide intuitive organization for earrings, while integrated hooks accommodate necklaces and bracelets. The object remains compact, tool-free, and adaptable to a wide range of domestic environments, while maintaining a sculptural presence when not in use.

The project emerged through a rigorous prototyping process that included cardboard studies, laser-cut iterations, and extensive material testing. Particular attention was given to metal thickness, balance, and joint tolerances to achieve structural stability without visual heaviness. Early prototypes were reviewed with the MoMA Design Store team, and their feedback directly informed refinements to the perforation rhythm, structural detailing, and final color palette, supporting its development through MoMA Design Store's partnership with the School of Visual Arts and its release into exclusive commercial retail distribution, with royalties provided to designer Nihaarika Arora per sale.

Formally, the piece draws from early modernist principles, particularly the clarity and restraint found in Bauhaus structural experiments. The interlocking arches reference architectural logic, while the perforation system subtly nods to Josef Hoffmann's metalwork studies. Rather than replicating these influences, the design translates them into a contemporary geometric language that feels quiet, functional, and precise.

Color development was guided by an extended trend and material study, resulting in a cool-toned, playful palette that compliments the iron substrate while allowing the object to integrate seamlessly into diverse interiors. Whether actively holding jewelry or standing empty, the piece is intended to function both as a utility object and as an autonomous sculptural form.

Since its release, the Modern Geometry Jewelry Stand is sold online worldwide and has been carried by the MoMA Design Store in the US and Japan. Additional retailers include Urban Outfitters, Iris & Stout, and Onton. It has also received multiple international recognitions, including the New York Product Design Award, French Design Award, IDA Design Award, and London Design Award.

You can see more of Arora's work here.

This brilliant take on the granny cart is by inventor Michelle Hildebrand, with an assist by Australian ID firm Clandestine Design Group. Brisbane-based Hildbebrand came up with the idea after observing that farmer's markets can be difficult to shop at with conventional bags or granny carts. The result: The Marketday Cart.

"The cart is for people who like to organise and hate [digging] through deep bags looking for that thing they dropped in there just five minutes ago," Hildebrand told Peppermint magazine. "The three levels give you full control over where your things go and how they play with their neighbours. You can actually put hard and soft things together when they are nicely nestled."

"The baskets are also fully insulated, fully zippered, and shallow enough that nothing gets crushed, but deep enough to make it worthwhile. The baskets can all be used separately – so it's actually four bags in one – and you can use one, two, or three baskets on the frame at one time."

"Big wheels take on curbs and stairs, and the whole cart folds to half its size for convenient storage. One of our favourite features is the gimbal that connects the baskets to the frame. It makes the baskets swing to a horizontal position when the cart is tilted and in motion, so your load doesn't tip out."

At present, their distribution is limited to Australia. The carts run AUD $689 (USD $478).

This Vano project is by Clara Uzunovic, done as an Industrial Design student at ECAL.

"For this project, the students had to design a seat, or rather requalify, rehabilitate, and redesign a chair or armchair using existing models such as the monobloc, aluminium bistro chair, or deck chair, as the base structure. Employing Kvadrat upholstery textiles, the designs had to be reversible, meaning it should not alter the existing structure. While the original function of the chair could be maintained, the proposals improved the comfort and aesthetic character of the seats."

"Vano is a waterproof cover specifically designed to fit aluminium bistro-style chairs. Conceived in two parts, it preserves the stackability of the original chair while providing enhanced comfort. Toggle buttons form an ingenious fastening system, giving the chair a cocooning, enveloping appearance."

Is your engineering salary up to snuff? Find out with this look at the top, bottom, and median salaries for engineers working in various roles.

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Here are eight examples of farm automation, from planting and irrigation to harvesting and farm management.

The AI-powered laser tool from Carbon Robotics is helping farmers to eliminate weeds without chemical herbicides or soil disruption.

The carmaker is used to exploding expectations, so maybe its new Verne subsidiary can solve the robo-taxi puzzle.

Latest sensors, lots of data, and AI teaming to make buildings smarter.

3D printing company, Carbon, is producing one-off bike saddles designed for individual riders.

3D digital twins, advanced sensors, and AR/VA are boosting efficiency, automation, and productivity in manufacturing.

Tech CEO at Sensors Converge keynote adamant sensors will help farmers meet goal of growing more food with fewer workers.