A Simple Concrete Bridge That Could Save America's Wildlife

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates win a design competition for an animal crossing that could help solve our $8 billion roadkill problem. By Suzanne Labarre

A Magical Interface for Dragging Files Between Mobile Devices

A clever Microsoft Surface app makes iPads and Android phones behave like we wish they would: No different from real-life files. By John Pavlus

When Trying to Invent, Being Objective Can Cripple Your Process

Most fields pride themselves on objectivity. Designers need to have a point of view. By Jon Kolko

50 Famous Designers Share the Books That Inspire Them

Ever wondered what George Lois, Daniel Libeskind, and Margaret McCurry have on their nightstands? Wonder no more, thanks to Pentagram's new website. By John Pavlus

How Do You Create Hybrid Interfaces You Touch, Talk To, and Poke?

With so many ways to control our interfaces, from touch to voice, what's the key to designing for them all? By Rob Tannen

Beercamp: A Bold Experiment in Zoomable, 3-D Web Design

Moving the scrollbar zooms "into" the site instead of sliding down its surface. By John Pavlus

Grace E-Bike Proves Electric Transport Can Look Tough and Stylish

The ultralight Grace electric bicycle is greener than a car, less douchey than a Vespa, and looks amazing. By John Pavlus

Mobi, a Super Flexible Desk for Today's Shifting Workplaces

Andrea Ruggiero's Mobi is the ultimate desk for today's flexible working world. By Suzanne Labarre

The Untold Story of How My Dad Helped Invent the First Mac

The guiding principles laid out in those early days -- from "think small" to top-down control -- still run through Apple's DNA to this day. By Aza Raskin

Typography Captures the Essence of Four Great Cities

Commissioned by language-teaching company EF, these magical promos use kinetic typography to capture the pure beauty of speaking mother tongues in Paris, London, Beijing, and Barcelona. By John Pavlus

MIT's Recompose is a Touch Screen, Keyboard and 3-D Display

The experimental interface from MIT's Media Lab combines gestures, tactile feedback, and 3-D visuals into an intriguing tile-like display. By John Pavlus

A Rebranding Concept That Could Make Ladies Love Car Accessories

Vinh Pho's AutoZone packaging makes car accessories appealing to the fairer sex (and more accessible to everyone). By Suzanne Labarre

At Square, Jack Dorsey and Keith Rabois Are OCD About Design

Having just raised $28 million for their pay-by-iPhone technology, the company's founders are still maniacs for refining their product's design. By Austin Carr

User-Led Innovation Can't Create Breakthroughs; Just Ask Apple and Ikea

The user is king. It’s a phrase that’s repeated over and over again as a mantra: Companies must become user-centric. But there’s a problem: It doesn’t work. Here’s the truth: Great brands lead users, not the other way around. By Skibsted Ideation

Could Botswana Become a High Tech Hub?

Botswana hires the A-list New York architects to build a hub for a new knowledge economy. Will it work? By Suzanne Labarre

Concept tram lets you dock on, dock off

Melbourne-based industrial designer, Simon Colabufalo, imagines a new type streetcar system.

Counting ring

One of the many reasons for mankind’s existence is to enjoy luxuries and things that give us pleasure, so we need to make money, and lots and lots of it. By Ritika Betala

Slendertone face

People are willing to go to any extent to enhance their face beauty, be it cosmetic surgery or excessive make up. By Ritika Betala

Velocity mobile concept

Don’t you think the iPhone has gone a bit too old and we need another dashing mobile design that can add a fashion statement to our lives? If you think yes then these mobile designs are what you should check out. By Amasch Qadri

iPhone Nano concept

What if you take the amazing iPhone 4, throw a few inches off and add an iOS 4.2? By Aamir Ramone

Helping Everyone Read and Write: The abcDarian

The ability to read and write is taken for granted by most of us. We consider the right to education as a basic right. The majority of Americans have access to proper education; however, around 30 million people over the age of 16 have reading skills that are no better than an elementary school child. By Raunek Kantharia

Haptic Braille Reader Gives Portable Eyes to the Blind

The Haptic Braille communication device is a portable Braille translator and scanner inside a gadget shaped like a mouse. By Alice Stancu

NEOS: The future of biking

On mean city streets, the best friend a man can have is his trusted two-wheeler motorcycle. The two-wheeler can zip through traffic and allows the rider to reach from point A to point B in the shortest time possible. Motorcycles, ranging from sports bikes to cruisers, have also been used as an individual style statement. By Raunek Kantharia

The Innovative Concepts and Futuristic Designs of Igor Chak

We’ve all seen some of the beautifully designed cars out there. The Lamborghini Murcielago, the Ferrari Spider, of those gorgeous muscle cars from the 60s and 70s. However, there’s a lot of conceptual work the general public is never sold or gets to see on the streets. Welcome to the work of Igor Chak. By Shael de Pinto

22 Awesome iPhone and iPod Docks Concepts, Designs and Mods

As Apple never stops surprising us with its creation, Apple accessory designers also join the race to bring to the market the most innovative products to pamper Apple lovers. By Walyou

CES 2011

Here are more products on display at the CES show this year. By Yanko Design

Tree house camping

The Tree House (awarded with honorable mention by Susdesign and a subsequent exhibition at Centro Cultural de Belém) is a project created under the premise of innovation and sustainability made entirely of cork. By Yanko Design

CES 2011

This year’s CES sees incremental improvements, nothing revolutionary. However Ford has the distinction of being the first automotive company to reveal a new car outside a major automotive press event. Hit the jump! By Yanko Design

Starbucks Drops Its Name From New Logo

Starbucks's logo loses the company name to emphasize ambitions beyond coffee. By Suzanne Labarre

Nike Unveils Runner's Watch With Touch Screen and GPS

The beauty is in the details of the simple design and intuitive interface. By Austin Carr

L.A. Scores a Bold New Museum by Diller Scofidio

A $130 million art museum backed by philanthropist Eli Broad hopes to anchor a revitalized cultural center for the city's downtown. By Alissa Walker

Withings unveils blood pressure cuff for iPhone

A blood pressure monitor with a companion iPhone app makes it easy to track your heart health. By John Pavlus

Splashy new science complex is a floating city

Wolfgang Tschapeller's winning design for a building in New Belgrade hovers gorgeously in mid-air. Eat your heart out, Cobb! By Suzanne Labarre

Ten One Design bringing tactility to touchscreebs

We've seen this idea before, just not applied to the iPad: Ten One Design's Fling, a suction-cup tactile controller for touchscreens, when your finger just won't cut it. By Core77

Ascendings

Stephen Ronsheim is the other kind of industrial designer, the kind that designs industrial machines and assembly lines. While remodeling his own home, he ran into a design problem. By Core77

Yet another alternative design for wind farms

Here comes yet another wind-harnessing solution, this time from a Japanese company called Zena. By Core77

Casio goes innovative with Tryx

The blogs of CES-goers are abuzz with news of Casio's new Tryx camera, which boasts the most unusual form factor we've ever seen on a point-and-shoot. By Core77

Case Study: Humanair Air Purifier

With its focus on the design of the comfortable workplace, it would seem logical for the ergonomic equipment maker Humanscale to turn its attention to the quality of indoor air. By Peter Hall

An interview with Jesse James Garrett

Russ Unger interviews Jesse James Garrett about the new edition of The Elements of User Experience, what's changed since the first edition was released in 2002, why client work is still important to him, and the relationship between UX and the video game industry. By Russ Unger

The relevance of user experience

Is it possible to calculate the ROI of great design? What about the cost-per-acquisition of a customer sold on User Experience? There are no second chances for first impressions, and even the smallest opportunity is a chance to “Wow” users. By Nicholas Thomas

Why you need a user experience vision (and how to create and publicise it)

Many design teams launch into development without a shared vision of the user experience. Without this shared vision, the team lacks direction, challenge and focus. By UserFocus

Power or Collaboration—What’s Most Valuable to a UX Leader?

Do UX leaders need to acquire and wield power to ensure their organizations can produce game-changing design? If they don’t already have executive support, can they can collaborate their way to success? By Jim Nieters

The Future of User Interaction

To stay ahead of the curve when it comes to user research and UX design, we must keep in mind the new technologies that are currently under development and could influence the fundamental ways in which people interact with the products we design and develop. By Demetrius Madrigal and Bryan McClain

Storyboarding iPad Transitions

Most designers will soon be asked to design transitions. Greg Nudelman helps us prepare by examining the principles behind a good animation, showing how to sketch them out, and explaining how to document them effectively for development. By Greg Nudelman

Design Challenge: Thinking Outside the Wrist

Time is a slippery fish for any creative professional. By David Sherwin

Thimble

It seems that the visually impaired could be spoiled for choice with student design projects, as University of Washington design students Erik Hedberg and Zack Bennet offer up another, potential revolutionary, smartphone application for the blind. By Core77

Ziiiro Watches

Just when I think I've seen every possible variant of clock and watch design, someone comes up with a new way to represent those two little sticks that make us on time or late. By Core77

Flexible mobile device

With the latest technologies opening new horizons in the consumer electronic market, futuristic gadgets promise better looks and user interfaces to enhance the experience of the user. By The Design Blog

100 Things to watch in 2011

JWT: 100 Things to Watch in 2011

View more presentations from JWTIntelligence.

Spiral Garden System Fit for Urbanites

Another awesome concept from IIDA, the Spiral Garden System is a proposal for a sustainable public garden that’s totally self-sufficient. By Yanko Design

Super Flat and Retractable Cord

River Cheng a.k.a. Ho-Tzu designed this super-flat retractable extension cord to prevent tangles. By Yanko Design

Don’t Dial My Number

Remembering phone numbers is hard and although we have contact lists to assist, it can become quite cumbersome navigating huge lists. By Yanko Design

12 of the Year's Best Ideas in Interface Design

The past year brought us stories on everything from tweeting toddler toys and streamlined ATMs to news-reading apps and remote controls that magically change channels with a wave of the hand. By Susanne Labarre

13 of the Best Design Books of 2010

The past year saw dozens of dazzling design books hit the market. Here are 12 to check out. By Alissa Walker

Amusement Parks Stacked Up Like Skyscrapers

Ju-Hyun Kim bills his conceptual Vertical Theme Park as an eco-friendly antidote to the sprawling Six Flags of the worlds. By Suzanne Labarre

Mighty Building Facade Beats Solar Heat With Mechanical Muscles

Decker Yeadon's prototype for an expanding, contracting architectural skin has promising applications in green-building design. By Suzanne Labarre

Hacker Web Design: Words of Wisdom for Building Great Apps

David Kadavy talks about the needs and pain points of would-be (or must-be) designers in the world of web development. By Jolie O'Dell

Advanced walking

Welcome to the future of walking support, so says Andres Sebastian Sanchez. By Yanko Design

Starchitect Norman Foster Reportedly Designing New Apple Campus

Sir Norman Foster, the British starchitect behind London’s iconic Gherkin tower and the master plan of Abu Dhabi’s mega-green Masdar City, reportedly has been selected to design Apple’s new campus in Cupertino. By Suzanne Labbarre

Sign of the Times: A Device That Does Boring Small Talk For You

With Gerard Ralló's conceptual Reiterative Communication Aid, a digital readout replaces predictable speech. By Suzanne Labarre

AU 2010 Exhibition

Here Autodesk's Matt Ratliff, Applications Engineer, demonstrates the industrial designer's dream software/hardware set-up: Alias Sketch on a Wacom Cintiq monitor. By Core77

5 of the Best New User Experiences of 2010

When it comes to user experience, designers and developers must do much more than present their users with a “pretty face” web page. By Jolie O'Dell

Susan Kare: Interview With an Iconic Designer

Susan Kare is the master of making icons iconic. From a mere handful of pixels she has created small-scale graphics that have become part of the visual language of computing. By Mashable

Designers: Here’s the Brief for Project Magazine’s iPad Cover Contest

As part of its launch, Virgin’s first iPad-only magazine, Project, announced a contest to redesign the magazine’s animated cover.

Favorite Mobile News Reader, The Flud

FLUD for iPhone v1.0 Down and Dirty Demo! from Bobby Ghoshal on Vimeo.

Its slick interface has the media gushing so we decided to give it a go. There’s a diverse collection of content already featured in the Flud ecosystem. By Yanko Design

Book Reading Made Haptic And Easy For The Blind

The Haptic Braille is a mouse-like device that’s capable of translating ordinary text into braille on its surface. By Yanko Design

Is All Fair in Love and Web Design?

The implication of the phrase "deadly sin" is certainly rather negative, but just how bad are these sins really? Would we eradicate them all from this world if we could? By ZURB

The Future of Design: Blue Is the New Green

Blue design creates places that are not just neutral in their take, but actually add back to our world. By Co.Design

Qatar's World Cup: Engineering Marvel, PR Nightmare?

If you thought building 12 open-air, air-conditioned stadiums was hard, try shipping them abroad when you're done. And then try to explain why one of your top architects is called Albert Speer. By Co.Design

Syd Mead, Blade Runner Concept Designer, Envisions the Future

2019: A Future Imagined from Flat-12 on Vimeo.

Syd Mead discusses robots, Ridley Scott, and the nature of imagination.

ED Med Levitra Gives Users a Really Nice Package

Levitra, the latest erectile-dysfunction pill on the market, is going hard on design. The brand’s parent company Bayer Healthcare has adopted new packaging that not only looks sexy but works precisely how you need it to.

Bloom eco-superyacht integrates retractable sail to harness renewable energy

Bridging the gap between eco tech and superyacht design, Netherlands-based designer Xiang Yu has developed a mega yacht that harnessing renewable energy offers a sustainable sail without compromising the style and comfort of the luxury yachts. By The Design Blog

Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from

Augmented Reality Part Two: Challenges & Opportunities

Josh Damon Williams focuses the conversation around challenges and opportunities around this “new” [Augmented Reality] market.

Augmented Reality Part One: The Low Down

Augmented Reality isn’t exactly new, according to Bruce Sterling it’s at least 17 years old. Here’s a useful diagram made in 1995 by a couple of Sony’s tinkerers to call out the differences between AR, VR, ubiquitous computing, and classic GUI-based HCI:

Virus Beware, The Spuit Is Here

There are two sides to a coin, on one side we have groovy gadgets and on the other we have hidden malware and virus to spoil our fun. By Yanko Design

This Phone Hovers in Space

Oh so you’re not satisfied with phones that connect at speeds almost as fast as you can click and hundreds of new applications that do everything under the sun each day? Well here’s something new for you then! By Yanko Design

Emergency Exits of Splendor

Many gigantic cities in this modern wonderful world of ours have underground transit. Under the ground you’ll find tunnels with trains galore, traveling all around the city and sometimes even under great bodies of water. By Yanko Design

Urban Cart makes you feel like riding a real horse cart

Increasing traffic jams and pollution are two major problems that make cities a worse place to live in, not only in developing but also in developed nations worldwide. By The Design Blog

Readot scans text and images into Braille to help visually impaired to feel them

Usually visually impaired people feel alienated from society due to less or no interaction with others in their day-to-day lives. By The Design Blog

Tron Legacy sneak peek

As sophisticated software is increasingly used in hi-tech filmmaking for rendering, pre-visualization and so on, an interesting side effect has emerged from the special effects. By Core77

Blinput smartphone concept for the visually impaired

Sharing ownership of UX

A UX architect, or lead UX designer, is the member of a product team who is primarily responsible for ensuring all aspects of a digital product that users experience directly—including its form, behavior, and content—are learnable, usable, useful, and aesthetically pleasing. By UX Matters

Twitter Powered TV Remote Makes Channel Surfing Social

The Android application from KDDI R&D Laboratories runs on a tablet and aggregates opinions on current TV shows from Twitter. Read the article here.

Here's Moscow's Showpiece Stadium for the 2018 World Cup

The design, by Erick van Egeraat, builds upon the bones of an old structure. By Suzanne Labarre

Mastering the Apple Game of Customer Perception

When Apple took the iPhone prototype to Verizon, for a possible network deal, the carrier rejected it. By Ndubuisi Ekekwe

Get Local

Emily Pilloton and Project H Design move to small-town America, start teaching a high-school shop class, and find the power and impact of hyperlocal design. By Emily Pilloton

Custom-built, street-legal ‘Tron Light Cycle’ promises a power ride

Florida-based bike store Legacy has rolled out 10 custom-built Tron Light Cycles that featuring a steel frame and fiberglass bodywork look almost identical to each other. By The Design Blog

Wanted: A Cell Phone That's as Simple as Possible

John's Phone is a rebuke to all the smartphones out there that ooze useless special features. By Suzanne Labarre