Category Archives: Industrial Design

You know what it’s like, shopping for a power strip. A whole bunch of them would lie around, and the decision process goes something like this: decide on the number of ports, and choose the cheapest one that doesn’t look like it’d explode immediately on use. So it’s pretty refreshing to see this Monster “Power to Go” being the focus product re-designing for mobility – it is compact enough to fit in a typical laptop bag. The somewhat over-the-top illustration of product benefit:

If there is one thing more frustrating than checking into a hotel after a long day, searching for AC outlets and then finding just one lone socket at the base of a lamp, it’s the anxiety of not knowing if this will happen tonight! Now with Outlets To Go you will always have enough outlets–consistently, confidently, and very elegantly.

One of the first things to notice is the absence of the clumsy coils of cable: a short, and more importantly, flat cable going around the body, with its flat-profiled plug fitting into one of the ports. One thing that may not be apparent: this power strip actually has SIX outlets – there are three on each sides. I’m naturally led to wonder about its thickness – but (cleverly?) I haven’t come across a side profile of this on its website.

Another issue raises my eyebrow – from its own product feature list: “Outlets to Go will provide safe charging for up to four devices, and prevents overloads with its resettable circuit breaker”. So, why do they have six outlets when you can only safely use four?

The name of this object  “Ceramic for Mix” doesn’t quite exactly illuminate its function, though it certainly hints at it. At first look I didn’t get what was it – but after I do, I liked the slightly-whimsical but interesting execution:

The ball is put into a glass built with special shapes. Then we have to pour some infused tea into it for example: the liquid pushes the ball, and invites users to move it by moving the glass. The ceramic ball comes to mix all various sugars, ringing the glass at the same time. When we drink, this ball is blocked by the gravity in the recess of the glass, moreover than its shape is too big to be ingested.

Ah, so that’s what the doughnut at the base is for! While I accept the fact that gravity would trap the ceramic ball rather than to flow into your throat, I wonder about the “ring tone” with the ball. The ball is sunk in the liquid loop – probably rather heavy – would it be able to drift around the glass and make those clanking sounds that we’ve come to associate with merrymaking?

[from Anna Gram]

Wind power is fascinating – it promises to deliver clean, renewable energy, except that everybody wants to have it at someone else’s backyard. I don’t quite get it though – I always thought wind turbines are such elegant, beautiful structures – I really don’t mind having one in my backyard, or the rooftop. But of course, there are people who see them as ‘eyesores. The sea thus become a likely solution – moreover, the average wind speeds on sea are higher than land.

The seas aren’t always nice though – while the elegant wind turbines may seem dainty in the face of the open sea, some scale and perspectives could probably help visualize the scheme of things:

It is HUGE!

But still, I really like the imagery in the first picture – it reminds me of palm groves in an oasis – except that instead of a desert, this vast openness is filled with water rather than sand.

[More here]

Wait a minute – did Nissin come up with heat-tolerant plastic for you to cook your 3-minute dinnner? Nah – that black platform, masquerading as a legitimate stove, is actually just a simple timer so that you can simmer your processed noodles into just the right softness, while pretending that it’s actually well-cooked goodness.

Another one of those “gadgets” from Japan.

[via TokyoMango]

In the early days, LP records work by having a needle tracing the microscopic grooves on the underside of a record. As the needle traces the contour, the vibration is amplified, broadcasting the music content. Later, CDs were developed in the same principle, but instead of a needle, an optical laser is used to read even finer grooves on the disc.

The red talking tape above works in a similar manner. According to the website selling it, it is:

A long thin plastic strip, about 60cm long. It doesn’t look like much, but it talks! Along the length of the strip is a pattern of fine ridges or lines. Run your thumb nail along the ridges, and the tape speaks. However the sound needs to be magnified, so that you can hear it. One method is to hold one end of the strip between your teeth. Then, when you run your nail along the strip you hear it talk, but no-one else does. Or you can stick one end of the strip to an inflated balloon or a paper cup using sticky tape. The balloon or cup acts as an amplifier, and you can then demonstrate it to anyone nearby. Never heard a balloon talk? You have now!

What do the tapes say? One says ‘Happy Birthday’ others say ‘Congratulations’ or ‘Have a Nice Day’. We have 5 different messages, and we supply 4 tapes of each message, making a pack of 20 Talking Tapes.

That sounds pretty amazing, as something that invokes an old familiar technique to create a new effect – however, I’d still have to hear it to believe it – I still can’t quite picture how this works or sounds.

There are other rather interesting articles of merchandise too – like the one above, an “inkless pen” – however seemingly contradictory that might seem.

The pens we sell are a modern version (and do not use silver). The solid metal ‘nib’ consists of a metal alloy, that leaves a mark on most types of paper. If you use the sort of paper typically used in printers and photocopiers, the pen leaves a mark that looks as if it was made by a pencil. However the line will not smudge, and cannot be rubbed out.

Since there is no ink, there is nothing to dry out, so the pen will work just as well in 25 years time as it does today. And of course it never needs sharpening!

For the quirky geek in you!

I stumbled upon this unique clock while surfing. The clock’s shaped like a grenade or a rugby ball – the cool thing about it is the various cities carved on the sides – to choose a time zone, simply choose the city you want and put it at the 12 o’clock position.

Definitely a much simpler solution than the cumbersome dials, or multiple faces, or other more conventional solutions.

I came across this Blow Table Lamp from Studio Italia Design, and was immediately mesmerized by its powerful imagery – like a forlorn lamp trapped within a glass house.

The more interesting part is the control for the direction of the lamp – a magnet is outside the clear globe. Move it around the globe, and the lamp inside would turn and follow accordingly, giving rise to an engaging and innovative experience while maneuvering the lamp. I can even almost imagine the lamp becoming “happier” if you moved the magnet further down the globe, causing it to “look up” – heh, it’s funny that a lamp can elicit so much (irrelevant?) imagination from me.

Technical details: Low voltage lamp with metal ware finish in chrome and diffuser in brushed aluminum; outer clear crystal globe; H41cm, maximum diameter 24cm. The painful price: $1363

Find it here!

If you still have a CD collection, and if you like them arranged alphabetically, somewhat like Tower Records, then this is for you. Would’ve been cooler if this was spotted say 15 years ago…maybe something similar for books would still have a market.

This is quite an interesting innovation for a laptop – having an extendable screen that helps lift the screen to a more proper viewing and reading height. It’s also considerably more expensive (USD2878+) than the typical laptops – I guess the hinge and mechanism is worth paying for if you’re constantly getting neck strains from peering at your typical laptop screens.

What does intrigue me is the size of this thing. From the pictures, I was thinking that this laptop might be a 15 or 17 inch model – and this feature would make it ideal for a portable, flexible workstation – having the portability of the laptop while incorporating the desktop power. A closer look at the specs reveals that it is only a 12.1″ screen – a small portable that doesn’t measure up as a proper desktop replacement (not to mention it’s either measly specs, like the 30GB hard disk drive).

If you’re still interested it does not appear to be available any longer!

We all loathe having to request for a baby seat at the restaurant, wring your precious tot out from his stroller, pacifying his scream as you attempt to fold/stow your stroller. Well, I think Stokke had came up with a well-thought solution encapsulating most of these needs – from lying down, to sitting down (facing either front or back), to being a high seat at the table – by having a central spine structure that can house the various components – the adjustable baby seat, wheels, handles etc.

Stokke Xplory