design

Apple's iPod Nano design: Evolution, revolution or vision whiplash?

I can't figure out what Apple wants from the iPod Nano.

The gadget maker introduced the seventh generation of its smallest portable media player this afternoon, and much to my surprise, the dimensions grew to incorporate a larger screen.

All of Apple's products have shrunk over the years -- the iPod begets the iPod Mini begets the Nano, and so forth -- but this year they grew. Indeed, the iPhone 5 grew taller as it grew thinner, echoing past updates to the iPod Nano. (See the evolution below.)

But the Nano model has ballooned and shrunk with each … Read more

Blueprints give peek inside Apple's new HQ

Tired of looking at the same old "leaked" photos of "the new iPhone 5," complete with metal back, relocated headphone jack, funny little holes arranged asymmetrically on the bottom, and, of course, a bigger screen? How about getting a glimpse of the interior of Apple's new Cupertino, Calif., headquarters instead?

Elyse Betters over at 9to5 Mac has put together a gallery of details from blueprints she says a reliable source provided to the blog.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the images is that it appears the interior will be done up in a riot … Read more

At Apple HQ, eye for design extends to men's room

Last night, I was considering the true meaning of truth -- as is normal for a Friday night -- when an odd tweet appeared in my TweetDeck.

Here was something from Steve Ko, who is a software engineer at Apple. I don't know him personally, but his tweet had been retweeted by someone else.

His was a simple tweet. (Well, he does work at Apple.) It read: "Oh, only at Apple."

Attached was a link to a photograph, which I reproduce here. It is a picture of a broken urinal, supposedly at Cupertino HQ.

Some might be … Read more

Wanna come back to my place to see my Apple store?

David Wu looks ridicule in the face and says: "Come on, ridicule, you lily-livered lout. Show me what you got."

You see, his enthusiasm for Apple products is such that he displays it with all the gusto of a potentate who builds a temple to his own personal god inside his mansion.

I am grateful to Razorian Fly for indicating that Wu exists and to Wu himself for allowing me to use his photographs, which he has posted on his blog.

Oh, I can't put off the reveal any longer. Wu has constructed an Apple store in his home office. … Read more

Cooking simulator adds a sense of touch to virtual food

Learning how to cook can be a frustrating experience. This should not be the case. Aside from an occasional overcooked steak, the process should be an enjoyable one. And considering that one gets to eat the results of one's labor, the aftermath isn't too bad either. (Unless that steak is really overdone.) Understanding that learning how to cook can be thought of as a game, a research team at the Tokyo Institute of Technology has created a cooking simulator designed to give novice cooks instantaneous feedback.

As a novel approach to culinary education, the system is composed of … Read more

Wear a Wampa skin: 'Star Wars' outfits for the ladies

Some people watch the Wampa cave scene from "Star Wars" and think, "Look out! Wampa attack!" Others watch it and think, "I could make a dress out of that!"

Nerd Alert Designs falls into the latter camp. The geeky Etsy store is full of custom dresses with "Star Wars" themes.

One of the most impressive of the lot is the $130 Wampa dress crafted of fake white fur with a bomber-style horned hat and clawed boot covers. A little touch of blood on the chest really makes it pop.… Read more

Design 3D lava lamps with gestures on Handy-Potter

Gestural interfaces like the Leap promise a world in which we'll all be driving cars and flying planes by waving our hands in the air, "Minority Report"-style.

Pudue University is joining the fun with the Handy-Potter, a design tool that lets you fashion 3D virtual objects with your bare hands.

Recently presented at the ASME 2012 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference in Chicago, the research won the All-Conference Best Paper award.

The Handy-Potter is a departure from traditional computer-aided design. It works with the Microsoft Kinect to track the user's body and hand gestures, modifying 3D shapes according to motions such as waving or pulling. … Read more

Geekify your living room with a recycled Mac coffee table

You're lounging on your couch watching "Star Trek" reruns. You need someplace to set your sleek new MacBook. How about on your Crunching Numbers G4 coffee table, where its ancestors can keep it company while you're gone?

Reform Designs is recycling old Macs in a creative way by turning them into coffee tables that will match your geeky decor. The whole table is made from up to 70 percent reclaimed materials, so you can feel green about your purchase.… Read more

A view to the future with the Electrolux Design Lab 2012 semifinalists

The Electrolux Design Lab is a yearly competition that challenges design students across the globe. This year's competition asked students to create home appliances that would "provide a fuller sensory experience." Perhaps one day, some of these entries will be used in the home kitchen. Below are a few highlights:

Ingresure (seen above) is by Jongwoo Choi. It is a gadget designed to be a taste tester. Instead of chef's tasting their own creation, they would use the device to taste it for them. The idea is that the Ingresure would give amateur chefs the assurance … Read more

Skip the run and try footwear headgear instead

Some people look at a pair of Nikes and picture a jog. Others look at the shoes and see each section of the sole as a lobe of the human brain. Put the designers at Wieden + Kennedy London in the latter category.

A team from the design firm made the shoe-brain connection when asked to participate in Nike78, a challenge that tasked designers with rethinking a pair of new Nikes.

Wieden + Kennedy got the Nike Free -- a shoe inspired by athletes who train barefoot to make their feet stronger -- and the designers looked at the segmented soles and saw gray matter. Nike Free Your Mind was born. … Read more