Hasta La Ideas

To help round off 2024, Dezeen’s editorial team have each picked their favourite design project from the year, including grow-at-home furniture and a device to prevent cancer patients losing their hair.

Athena by Olivia Humphreys
chosen by Lizzie Crook, architecture editor

“For me, the most noteworthy design of 2024 is Athena, a prototype for a portable and low-cost scalp-cooling device that aims to prevent hair loss in cancer patients.

“It offers an alternative to traditional cold caps that are uncomfortable, scarcely available and require people to spend additional time in hospital on a chemotherapy infusion day.

“Instead, Athena makes cold-cap therapy accessible anywhere – helping patients take back an element of control and retain a sense of self at an incredibly gruelling time. It tackles a real problem in healthcare that is overlooked yet has the potential to empower many people if solved.”

Find out more about Athena ›

Carton ceramics by Jacques Monneraud
chosen by Cajsa Carlson, deputy editor

“This joyful project was popular with our readers, who were dumbfounded by the realism of designer Jacques Monneraud’s pieces – a collection of ceramics that appear to be made from just cardboard and tape.

“Monneraud’s brown vases, pitches and teapots have an astoundingly realistic look and really do look like they’re made from cardboard. The designer created the striking effect by combining three different stonewares to create an accurate texture and colour. He then added white tape made of glaze for a trompe l’oeuil finished result.”

Find out more about Carton ›

Design Mixtape by Hall Haus
chosen by Ben Dreith, US editor

“Put on during the increasingly dynamic Design Week Mexico, this exhibition saw French studio Hall Haus collaborating with local designers to ‘remix’ its designs instead of shipping the already-made pieces from France.

“The exhibition included a popular Hall Haus chair with a slightly different form closer to the Mexican tabuque chair, with a Neko glyph cut into its back, in collaboration with design studio Neko.”

Find out more about Design Mixtape ›

EP-1320 by Teenage Engineering
chosen by Nat Barker, features editor

“I’ve admired Teenage Engineering products from afar for quite some time, and with the EP-1320 the Swedish outfit proved that tech companies can indeed show imagination and a sense of humour.

“Conceived as a beat machine inspired by the Middle Ages, it allows users to make tunes using samples of lutes, cackling witches and the hurdy-gurdy. All this could be incredibly naff if it wasn’t so exquisitely put together.

“It’s just such a shame that, as someone with no musical talent whatsoever, I have absolutely no use for it.”

Find out more about the EP-1320 ›

OBJ-08 mirrors by Manu Bañó
chosen by Starr Charles, editorial assistant

“The rich textures and tones that feature in the OBJ-08 mirrors created by designer Manu Bañó are a testament to the craftsmanship involved in their production.

“Moulded from single sheets of tarnished copper, the sculptural mirrors showcase the versatility of the red-toned material through their polished centres and hammered surfaces that would add character to any interior.”

Find out more about OBJ-08 ›

Paris 2024 Olympic cauldron by Mathieu Lehanneur
chosen by Tom Ravenscroft, editor

“With the world’s attention focused on Paris there was no higher-profile commission this year than the Olympic cauldron, and Mathieu Lehanneur rose to the challenge with an uplit orb that floated above the city skyline.

“Following a recent tradition of kinetic, moving Olympic cauldrons, Lehanneur’s ‘flying cauldron’ rose into the sky from the Jardin des Tuileries as the finale of the opening ceremony. Designed as a nod towards France’s history of hot-air ballooning, the cauldron consisted of a seven-metre-wide ring of electric ‘fire’ hung from a 30-metre-tall helium-filled balloon.

“By raising the cauldron 60 metres into the sky, the installation was visible from across the city and Lehanneur hopes it will become a permanent landmark.”

Find out more about the Paris 2024 Olympic cauldron ›

Protest Street Seats by Pneuhaus
chosen by Ellen Eberhardt, US reporter

“A timely project, Rhode Island design studio Pneuhaus converted a series of playful, outdoor inflatable benches into self-defence objects for pro-Palestine protesters at universities across the US.

“Uncomplicated yet effective, the project demonstrates how designers and their objects can quickly adapt and contribute to current events while serving to aid a wider community.”

Find out more about this project ›

Reef Rocket by Mary Lempres
chosen by Amy Peacock, architecture reporter

“Reef restoration is a huge factor in climate action today, both to increase marine biodiversity and to mitigate coastal flooding, but some examples of artificial reefs made from man-made materials have been found to increase pollution, including the use of car tyres in Florida and on the French Riviera.

“Industrial designer Mary Lempres seeks to remedy this with Reef Rockets. Made by combining plant-derived cement with aggregate made from crushed glass and oyster shells, the ridged modules were designed to mimic coastal oyster reefs. I hope to see more nature-inspired solutions in the future!”

Find out more about Reef Rocket ›

Tear-gas canister candle holders by Majdulin Nasrallah
chosen by Jane Englefield, design and interiors reporter

“Palestinian designer Majdulin Nasrallah painstakingly salvaged tear gas canisters from Israeli-occupied streets in the cities of Bethlehem and Nablus over more than two years and repurposed them as key-shaped candle holders.

“The designer transformed inherently violent objects into a subtle but universal symbol of Palestinian resistance, undeterred by the many obstacles she faced in the process. I am inspired by her resourcefulness and collaboration.”

Find out more about this project ›

Under Pressure Solutions by Christophe Guberan, Anthony Guex and Camille Blin
chosen by Jennifer Hahn, design and environment editor

“Sustainable furniture gets a bad rap for not being the most exciting. But this grow-at-home chair blew me away when I saw it at Milan design week this year.

“Made using cellulose sponge, the design is flat-packed and effectively self-assembles when soaked in water, growing up to 10 times in size to take its final form.

“To me, it proves that the very thing that makes a product better for the planet can also make it more fun.”

Find out more about Under Pressure Solutions ›

Yoghurt window coating by Tom Greenhill
chosen by Christina Yao, China editor

“The yoghurt window coating proposed by British engineer Tom Greenhill as an emergency heatwave solution might sound completely bonkers at first, but you can’t help giving it a chance and considering its low cost and accessibility, what’s the harm?

“It’s good to see someone is trying to come up with a simple solution to keep their homes cool in the summer, rather than going straight for an architectural application which is not always affordable to everyone.”

Find out more about this project ›

The post The Dezeen team’s favourite designs of the year appeared first on Dezeen.

Promotion: the government of Uzbekistan has given planning approval for London firm Cross Works’ masterplan to expand Tashkent, adding another 25,000 hectares equivalent to a “twin city”.

New Tashkent (or ‘Yangi Toshkent’ in Uzbek) will occupy a site between the Chirchiq and Karasu rivers, where groundworks are already underway, effectively growing Central Asia’s largest capital eastwards.

It will almost double the size of the capital eastwards, housing an additional two and a half million people, adding to the existing three million population.

Cross Works was chosen as the lead consultant on the project following an international competition and is advising the government on creating “a future-proofed masterplan that will provide a foundation and a framework for the city’s rapid urban growth for decades to come”, according to the studio.

Its role encompasses masterplanning, overseeing and coordinating the outputs of a design consortium made up of over a dozen international firms (consisting of engineers, landscape architects, cost consultants, economists, and others – including Buro Happold).

The studio has also created a digital twin of the new “twin city”, which involves creating a digital clone of the project which will evolve in tandem with its real world counterpart.

“The masterplan is not intended to be static,” said Cross Works founder and New Tashkent design lead Hakan Agca.

“Instead, our intention for the project, is that it lives on the digital twin, and is able to evolve and flex, almost in real time; that’s been our mission statement from the start.”

The digital twin includes 2D and 3D urban analyses, interactive design guidelines, geolocated renders, immersive VR / walk-through environments and a timeline of the project, through which various evolutions of the project can be called back and viewed, alongside detailed engineering and economic forecasting.

A streamlined version of the digital twin was also made accessible to the public, “allowing for unparalleled accessibility to the masterplan by stakeholders, investors and future residents”, according to Agca.

“A true evolution in city design and planning, the project revolutionises how visionary masterplans are conveyed to the public, setting a new benchmark for city scale stakeholder engagement,” Cross Works said.

“Of course it is up to the directorate of New Tashkent (the government body managing the delivery of the new city), as to when the information will be released, and to what extent,” Cross Works said.

“Our role was to design the city and build the digital infrastructure for the management of those designs, which we’ve now completed.”

Alongside the masterplan, the studio has also developed overarching urban design guidelines for the area to guide the future development of its buildings and infrastructure.

Called the Tashkent Code, this is intended to update the existing Soviet-era planning regulations, which still guide some of the building codes in Central Asia.

“The Tashkent Code is prescriptive, not restrictive,” Agca said. “It is intended to guide the form of the city in a certain direction, in line with the government’s wishes, all of which was established during our engagement with the directorate.”

“There’s a desire to continue defining and evolving a clear and unique national identity,” he said. “It has been underway since the nation state’s independence in 1991. It’s an exciting time for the city and the country at large.”

“This is done with certain overarching principles, not to restrict creativity in any way, or to propose a homogenous approach to design across the city,” he added.

Cross Works is soon to complete the architectural guidelines for New Tashkent’s District 1 and is also working on individual plots in the masterplan alongside other international architecture firms.

These designs will be published over the coming months. This includes Zaha Hadid Architects, which has already unveiled its design for an Uzbek cultural centre with a weaving brick facade.

The Cross Works masterplan, and other initiatives across Uzbekistan will be presented at conferences throughout the year, including MIPIM in Cannes in March 2025.

“This is a new city of many tens of thousands of plots, that will need to be designed and built collaboratively,” Agca said.

“There will be enough plots for many hundreds of architects to design in the future, in line with the masterplan framework and codes that have been set out by the design team and the Directorate of New Tashkent. As time passes, the framework and codes will evolve.”

To see New Tashkent’s digital twin, visit yangitoshkent.com

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Cross Works as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

The post Cross Works wins approval to extend Uzbekistan’s capital with New Tashkent masterplan appeared first on Dezeen.

Lighting has always been about utility—switch it on, illuminate a space, move on. But every so often, a product flips the script, reminding us that light can be an experience, not just a function. The Star Bulb, with its kaleidoscope of colorful LEDs, doesn’t merely light a room; it reshapes it. Think of it as the modern-day lava lamp, reimagined through the lens of precision engineering and contemporary design. It’s playful, mesmerizing, and has a few smart chops that let you play the artist, painting a tapestry on your wall… not with paints or ink, but with photons.

At its core, the Star Bulb feels like a piece of performance art trapped inside a standard bulb socket. Instead of swirling liquid or wax, it choreographs beams of light into fluid patterns, creating movement and mood with each flicker. There’s a sense of nostalgia to its effects, echoing the hypnotic draw of lava lamps from the ’70s, yet it’s unmistakably futuristic. With its 95 individually addressable RGB LEDs, the bulb recreates the essence of molten light art but with endless customization. Each glow and gradient is a masterpiece in motion, turning a mundane corner of your home into an evolving, mesmerizing visual statement.

Designer: Moonside

Click Here to Buy Now: $37 $65 (43% off). Hutty, only 14/70 left!

The Star Bulb doesn’t look like your traditional LED bulb – instead of hiding the LEDs under a diffusing enclosure, they’re all visible in plain sight, allowing the lights to shine more precisely onto your lampshade for a more vivid gradient of colors. The bulb comes with a standard E26/E27 base that allows it to fit into pretty much any light socket, whether it’s a table lamp, study lamp, floor lamp, wall sconce, or ceiling lamp. Use it wherever you’d use a smart bulb… but don’t limit it to just lighting your room, it has so much more potential.

Its secret lies in the advanced Chip-on-Board (CoB) LED technology at its heart. Unlike traditional LED designs, the CoB LEDs in the Star Bulb create a uniform glow with unmatched richness and depth. The unique array of these CoB LEDs pair along with RGB LEDs to give the Star Bulb the best of both worlds. With a color rendering index (CRI) of over 90, the bulb delivers colors that feel vivid and true. In fact, there’s even a one-of-a-kind star-shaped CoB LED on the top, helping achieve lighting uniformity while still pushing the boundaries of what’s capable in the LED hardware realm.

While most smart bulbs let you choose one color for the entire bulb, the Star Bulb gives you a little more creative flexibility. Each LED can be controlled individually, letting you design complex animations or subtle transitions that suit your mood. The bulb responds to your creativity with precision, making it as versatile as it is striking. This level of control means your lamp can evolve throughout the day—from calming waves of pastel in the morning to vibrant party vibes at night.

Lighting multiple Star Bulbs together opens an entirely new dimension of design. Group multiple bulbs together, and they interact in perfect harmony. Whether it’s a dramatic cascade of colors across a series of fixtures or synchronized patterns that bring an entire room to life, the result is always cohesive and captivating. The system works so seamlessly, it feels as though the bulbs are extensions of each other, creating an interconnected light experience that transforms your space.

The technology isn’t tucked behind layers of complication, either. From app-based controls that offer rich customization to smart home integration for hands-free management, the Star Bulb simplifies advanced lighting. You can control the bulb via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi through the app, but better still, hook it up to your smart home setup and the bulb integrates seamlessly into your home IoT roster, with Matter compatibility and support for Google Assistant, Alexa, Apple Home, IFTTT, and Samsung SmartThings.

The Star Bulb comes from the folks at Moonside, a team of designers and engineers who’ve mastered the art of blending light with creativity. The company was founded in 2019 with the launch of their debut product, the Moonside Neon Lighthouse – a product that still remains a staple addition to my bedside table. While the Neon Lighthouse (and all of Moonside’s subsequent products) have been built as standalone products that emit a technicolor glow, the Star Bulb is the company’s first independent bulb that can be plugged into any socket, turning your existing lamp into a lava lamp of the future.

Perfect to spruce up your living room or definitely upgrade your gaming setup, the Star Bulb is available for $37 for a single piece, or $72 if you spring for a double-pack (the discount is for a limited time). The E26/E27 threading means it should work wth all your standard light sockets, giving you a lamp a literal ‘glow up’ this holiday season!

Click Here to Buy Now: $37 $65 (43% off). Hutty, only 14/70 left!

The post This Smart Bulb Turns Any Lamp into a Dazzling Gradient Light Show – Moonside Star Bulb first appeared on Yanko Design.

The use of personal commuters in cities is on the rise as people are becoming aware of the environmental impacts of our lifestyle. Kick scooters fit perfectly in the future of personal transportation and safety is one consideration that’ll fuel their feasibility in the long run. While other modes of transportation come with advanced safety features, kick scooters are limited in that aspect.

One of them is the spatial awareness of the surroundings in crowded cities. What’s behind you is one major blind spot that’s only covered if you look back to be aware of what’s happening. That in itself can be a driving hazard as one loses vision of what’s happening right ahead and can also lead to loss of balance. The idea of these RearView Glasses is born out of the need to get over this catch-22 situation. Not only kick scooters, but the accessory is also useful for cyclists, delivery personnel and anyone who needs enhanced peripheral visibility.

Designer: Ugly.Duckling

The concept is targeted towards Gen-Z who are normally carefree and need all the aids to drive safely in cities. Attaching rearview mirrors to a kickscooter is highly impractical, so the only option left is to have rearview mirrors on a pair of glasses. The RearView Glasses are a stylish solution as they have foldable mirrors integrated into the frame’s temple arms. Having high-quality convex mirrors promises a wider field of view to eliminate any blindspots, and give the rider a safe option to navigate the visual surroundings without moving the head.

The design team went beyond the conceptual stage to create the prototype version of the RearView Glasses. Its frame is made from durable and lightweight material to keep the fatigue down with extended sessions of wearing. This novel approach to solving the rising safety issues of urban transportation is a holistic solution that balances the functionality, aesthetics and user experience. More than anything, the idea of RearView Glasses raises the bar for urban mobility standards since we are heading into a future dominated by emission-free personal mobility vehicles.

The post RearView Glasses expand your peripheral vision for safely riding personal mobility vehicles first appeared on Yanko Design.

Brat Summer has come and gone and it seems like the color’s cultural impact hasn’t really affected Pantone much. The color company has, as it does every year, announced a color for the year moving forward (something I’ve had my own thoughts about). The 2025 Color Of The Year is Mocha Mousse – a ‘flavorful’ brown shade that aims at neutrality and an alignment with mother nature. “There is a growing movement to align ourselves more closely with the natural world,” Pantone mentioned in an Instagram post while announcing the Color Of The Year “Characterized by its organic nature, PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse honors and embraces the sustenance of our physical environment.”

The color has received an interesting response from Pantone’s global audience as well as from publications. While there were public calls for a form of Emerald Green to be the color of the year, hat-tipping to summer’s hottest color “Brat” green (thanks to Charli XCX’s album), Pantone made a deliberate choice to follow through on choosing a color that aligns more with its color from 2024 – peach fuzz.

The color hopes to unite people through taste (and even smell), evoking a subliminal reaction that echoes feelings of warmth and comfort – the kind you would as you eat a spoonful of chocolate mousse. “As people continue to seek harmony and balance, there is a shift to focussing on curating moments or experiences that boost our sense of personal comfort and wellness,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute.

Browns are a foundational shade, a versatile color that’s both “genderless” and “practical,” says Pressman. “This is a color that’s honest. It’s authentic. We believe in this. It’s a color we see in nature,” she adds. It’s also the first time a shade of brown has been selected as Pantone’s Color Of The Year in its 26-year-long history. Notably, Mocha Mousse is also an existing shade in Pantone’s catalog, as opposed to being a newly minted color as Pantone develops each year for its Color Of The Year tradition.

The color, however, comes at a strangely pivotal time in human history. The Global Peace Index 2024 found that there are currently 56 conflicts worldwide—the highest since World War II, reports TIME Magazine. 2025 is all set to be a pivotal year, with an overwhelming feeling of uncertainty, both political as well as economic. I’m not sure if the color’s supposed to provide a sense of comfort through these unprecedented times, but here’s hoping.

Still, the color itself lacks any inherent social connection. There’s really no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ color given that it isn’t calculable. Color choices are merely a combination of fashion trends and human emotion, although there’s really no democratic way to pick a Color Of The Year – Pantone does it in its own secretive manner. In a lot of ways, the colors are ‘implemented’ into culture rather than being a reflection of it. Personally, a variant of Brat Green would reflect public sentiment, or maybe a form of green that symbolizes the Palestinian struggle, or the Ukrainian resistance, given that Yellow and Blue (Ukraine’s flag colors) combine to form green. That’s probably just wishful thinking on my part. Mocha mousse, anyone?

The post Pantone Chooses “Mocha Mousse” as its 2025 Color Of The Year instead of Brat Green first appeared on Yanko Design.