Hasta La Ideas

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:

This sleek cutlery set (chopsticks are available too!) comes apart to fit inside a tiny, pocket-sized tin—it’s never been easier to BYOC. Made of stainless steel, the set is easier to clean than other reusable options and comes in a wide range of colors, including this cool rainbow effect.

Spruce up your knowledge of contemporary architecture while playing your favorite card game with this eye-catching deck of cards inspired by iconic 21st-century designs.

Your days of fumbling around with awkward, dripping umbrellas may be numbered. The TAGIT umbrella is made of sturdy, water-repellent fabric and features a magnetic buckle system so you’ll get a perfect, highly satisfying fold every time.

CR8 is a mounting base for your bike, fitted with various attachments that let you quickly and securely mount a wide range of cargo: from storage crates to grocery bags and pet carriers.

This improved toilet seat design employs a patented hinge that eliminates all the hard-to-reach nooks and crannies where dust and filth collect. The result isn’t just easier-to-clean, Serana eliminates another common toilet woe because it’s far less likely to shift or wobble out of place.

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.

With augmented reality technology becoming more readily available, young designers are creating face filters for social media platforms. Design reporter Gunseli Yalcinkaya picks five of the most interesting examples.

Johanna Jaskowska

Berlin-based digital artist Johanna Jaskowska looked to the way light reflects on a person’s face when creating her range of shimmering and shiny face filters.

Beauty3000 transforms the user’s face into a glossy, “plastic” surface, while Techgnosis has a slightly pixelated quality with iridescent colouring.

“I like to experiment with lights in the virtual space that will stage and highlight the user’s face. Kind of like we would do for a photo portrait in a studio, but with AR, the model is you and me,” she told Dezeen.

Aaron Jablonski

Jablonski’s Hypermat filter explore hypermaterials – materials that have exaggerated properties like hyper-glossiness and iridescence. The user floats in midair in an abstract space surrounded by colourful iridescent shapes.

“I am fascinated by technology, its impact on our lives and how these hyper-technologised times change how we perceive ourselves online and offline,” said Jablonski to Dezeen.

“I am interested in topics like human-machine interface or the uncanny valley. Technological progress fascinates me but of course I also acknowledge the dystopian implications it has for example in terms of mass-surveillance in combination with face tracking technology,” he continued.

Ines Alpha

E-makeup artist Ines Alpha’s futuristic face filters are inspired by beauty, nature and science fiction.

Recent filters – or 3D makeups – have included iridescent ribbons that swirl around the user’s face, initially produced for a collaboration on a music video, and floral tendrils that frame the face and eyes.

“I wish one day makeup could react to emotions or, I don’t know, temperatures,” said Alpha in response to a recent 3D make-up collaboration with Korean actress Asung Ko that saw Ko’s face overlaid with a mask-like filter that shifts colours and expands towards the screen.

Allan Berger

Influenced by fantasy and futuristic imagery, designer Allan Berger’s face filters range from dragon-style face tattoos with glowing eyes to purple glowing flower accents.

“I get inspired by many situations and scenes in the day to day and try not to get too limited on one theme. Lately I’m becoming more and more fascinated and inspired by patterns and shapes that appear in nature,” he told Dezeen.

“I love fantasy and futuristic scenes and get amazed by things that glow or shine and move in atypical and smooth ways. In that regard fantasy and sci-fi related movies, series, games and artworks are huge inspirations,” he said.

“Face filters and AR effects provide a beautiful playground to melt them together,” he continued.

Mathieu Ernst

French programmer Mathieu Ernst began creating face filters for Instagram after meeting Jaskowska in Berlin a few months ago.

With inspiration ranging from anime characters such as the geisha doll in film Ghost in the Shell to surrealist makeup artist Kiko, Ernst’s face filters feature mask-like colourful overlays.

“At the moment I’m trying to work on colour modifications and more glitchy work. The feedback I get from users are positive, some people even feel empowered when they use my filters, which is such a great feeling,” he told Dezeen.

The post Five leading AR designers creating face filters for Instagram appeared first on Dezeen.

California’s Salk Institute for Biological Studies is developing a plant that can store excess carbon dioxide in its roots, in a bid to curb the effects of climate change.

The Harnessing Plants Initiative aims to create plants with the ability to retain an increased amount of carbon in the soil once they decompose rather than returning it to the air – a process called carbon sequestration.

Implemented on a global scale, this could reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and with it reduce the warming of the earth.

Increased suberin results in larger roots

By influencing the genes that control root size and production of a substance called suberin, the team hope to create a plant with an expanded, more robust root system. This Ideal Plant, as they call it, would stockpile carbon in a form that resists decomposition, for optimum carbon storage in the ground.

Suberin is a naturally occurring plastic-like carbon polymer, commonly found in cork, melon rinds and potato skins, that regulates which natural elements are found in the roots of plants.

It resists decay, so the Salk team are looking to isolate its properties and establish the gene that affects its production, in order to encourage other plants to produce more of the substance. It has the added benefit of enriching soil and helping plants to resist stress.

Could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 46 per cent

Salk is testing the idea on arabidopsis, a plant similar to mustard cress, which reproduces quickly and produces identical seeds, making it useful for research purposes.

According to Salk, this plant-based approach to climate change has the potential to achieve a 20 to 46 per cent reduction in the excess carbon dioxide emissions produced each year by human activity.

They liken the project to “coaching plants to function at the level of Olympic athletes”, pointing out that plants are already major drivers of the natural carbon cycle through photosynthesis.

The five professors working on the Ideal Plant hope to have a prototype within five years, and are looking to roll out the project on a large scale within a decade.

Carbon dioxide removal needed to combat global warming

Harnessing Plants is an example of carbon dioxide removal (CDR), one of a number of approaches being explored to combat global warming.

Methods of CDR fall broadly into three categories: storing carbon in the soil by planting more forests, pulling it out of the air mechanically or removing it at source, for example from factory chimneys, or burning biomass to capture the carbon dioxide for storage underground.

A report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last year stated that, alongside cutting emissions, carbon removal is an essential part of the puzzle to ensure that the global temperature increase remains below 1.5 degrees centigrade.

“Humanity faces an unprecedented threat caused by climate change and a burgeoning global population,” said the Salk Institute. “To solve this imminent crisis, atmospheric CO2 levels must be decreased and agricultural production must be increased.”

Could be used in commercial agriculture

Regular plants release a large amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when they decompose in autumn. When a plant regrows, it uses the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to produce food for growth, completing the carbon cycle.

By storing more carbon in the soil, the Ideal Plant has the potential to revolutionise agriculture.

Testing on the arabidopis plant model will commence later this year. If successful, the institute will begin testing on nine mainstream agricultural crops such as wheat, soybeans and corn.

Salk is already talking to seed companies about future implementation in commercial agriculture.

“The solution is scalable because it is based on widespread existing infrastructure and resources, and it advances sustainability because healthier soils and coastal aquatic regions will provide more resources to feed the world,” said the institute.

Although CDR will help to curb climate change, many argue that we should focus our attentions on cutting the amount of carbon dioxide that we produce rather than providing alternative solutions.

Nonetheless, it is broadly agreed that CO2 removal will only work in conjunction with a reduction in our global output. Other proposals for tackling global warming include proposals to dim the sun, which scientists at Harvard are working on with the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment.

The post Salk Institute develops a plant that offers a solution to climate change appeared first on Dezeen.

As a jaded and longtime design blogger, I rarely encounter a new-to-me product category that seems genuinely useful. But recently I found one such class of objects and, within them, an exemplary version that I’ll show down below by a fellow named Frazier Price.

The category of product I’m talking about are body-worn palettes for painters. These are functional, technology-free wearables for artists working on-the-go, or even whilst in transit. Internet forums for painters are awash in DIY examples, like this simple one fashioned from a piece of wood or Masonite:

Image via Svyatoslav Brakhnov Academy of Realist Art

This design features a lid and a wristwatch-style band:

Image via: Svyatoslav Brakhnov Academy of Realist Art

Pigments can even be stored in something as small as a ring:

Image via: Svyatoslav Brakhnov Academy of Realist Art

While fabricating a ring is beyond the capability of your average tinkerer, the wristwatch form factor lends itself well to DIY. Dutch artist Koosje Koene is the co-founder of Sketchbook Skool, an online drawing/painting academy, and her handy father Frans Koene created this Watercolor Watch for her:

You can see a video of Frans demonstrating how he made it here.

For those who would like a similar object but don’t want to make it themselves, Adventurous Art Supply sells a couple of variants on Etsy for around $25:

Even mass market retailers have offerings in this arena. Walmart sells this Van Gogh 12-Pan Pocket Box Watercolor Set:

Image by Trikist on the Wet Canvas forum.

Going back further in time, we find this intriguing example below, which has a story behind it. Watercolor painter John Haywood recently stumbled across, and purchased, this brass box stamped “Frazier Price Palette Box” that unfolds into a functional palette complete with rinsing wells.

Image by John Haywood

“I came across this sketchers’ palette quite accidentally and had never heard of the make before,” Haywood writes. “The fact that it was brass, boasted enameled mixing surfaces, and like nothing else I’d seen before certainly got my attention.”

Curious about the box’s provenance, Haywood poked around on the internet until he came across a forum–and found exactly what he was looking for, a post from Frazier Price himself explaining how and why he designed it.

Subject: RE: watercolour palettes

I have recently read the group’s comments on palette boxes and mention was made of the Frazer Price Palette Box – probably time that I enter the forum as I am Frazer Price. I designed and had the box manufactured, in Shropshire, and first came on sale in 1985 and continued to be marketed until the early ’90s.

Image by John Haywood

The box came into being because of my frustration with what was available for the travelling watercolourist. I was a publisher and whilst I was travelling extensively for Newsweek I would find time to sketch in one country before spending endless hours on my way to the next port of call and decided my time could be usefully spent by painting on the plane.

Image by John Haywood

I had a Gabbi box which was Ok but with only a curtain ring as a holding device it was uncomfortable. Therefore, over time, I designed a lacquered brass bijou type box just over 4? long, under 3? wide and 2? deep.

Image by John Haywood

The inside pieces were made from washable plastic with room for 18 half pans or with slides for paint from tubes, a water bottle and a divided reservoir for clean and dirty water. Two fold out enamel mixing trays one with a thumb hole enabling the box to be held comfortably as as a palette.

Image by John Haywood

It was launched in the Leisure Painter in 1985 and the advertisements had an endorsement by Rowland Hilder-the only time the great man endorsed anything- the selling price was £28.95 and with a couple of price increases it was marketed until ’93/4 selling over 5000 boxes worldwide. It was also branded and marketed by Talens and Daniel Smith in the States.

Image by John Haywood

A point of interest when the box was first produced- the prototype costing £1,400.- I offered it to Windsor and Newton who initially showed great interest but then pulled out as they considered the box too ‘glamorous’ but asked if I would mind if they produced a plastic box based loosely on the FP box. I had no desire to go into mass production – hence the Cotman box* arrived on the scene.

Image by John Haywood

…All that’s left now are a dozen boxes for the grandchildren and posterity. All my painting comes from the Frazer Price Palette Box and if you have the time click onto http://www.frazerprice.shutterfly.com and you’ll see it at work!

*[Editor’s note: The “Cotman box” Price refers to is, today, this commercially available design by Winsor & Newton.]

On his blog, Haywood mentioned a modern-day producer of portable brass-clad palettes, House of Hoffman. I looked them up and their products, designed and manufactured by a gent named L. Henry Fanelli, are pretty nifty.

The Sketcher I by House of Hoffman

The Sketcher I by House of Hoffman

The Sketcher I by House of Hoffman

The Sketcher I by House of Hoffman

Their prices are also quite dear–the Sketcher I shown above rings in at $1,225.

Lastly, when I was looking at this detail photo of Fanelli’s fold-down, patent-pending “Thumb Hanger” for holding the box…

…it occurred to me that a body-worn palette would really be an ideal first-year industrial design school project. Here’s why I say that:

– The object has clear utility for the end user, and very specific practical requirements

– It requires some human factors work for the interface (i.e. how do you securely hold it?)

– It’s small enough that a student could manufacture a prototype in the school’s shop

– The extant examples of this object span from $15 plastic Wal-Mart objects up to $1,000-plus luxury items, giving the students a wide range in how they want to execute

– At most design schools, there are nearby Painting majors who could be interviewed and used for testing different designs, providing important feedback

I’d love to see the range of designs that an entire class of ID students would come up with. If you’re an ID professor who can pull this off, please do let us know!

If you have a passion for sports and the outdoors, look no further than this exciting mid-level position at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Under direction of the design leadership, the Associate Designer will utilize core design skills, adhere to the timing and action calendar, execute production level information including information including 3D data, follow through with all steps for execution of the product from concept to post design finalization, increase the amount of projects executed with the

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