atohmsFiled under: Materials, Product Design | Tags: container, flexible, tupperware
Tupperware sought to improve the design of their famous product for consumers who need more flexibility in their storage. Many people devote an entire cabinet to storage bins, yet they have trouble finding a container that is the right size. And when they do, they have trouble finding the lid that fits. The solution to this problem was derived from the accordion-style expansion of drainage pipes. A form that would flatten to occupy little storage space, then extend into a full container when in use. These can even be loaded into the dishwasher like plates and washed flat. The products are also color-coded, so it’s easy to locate the right size container and its corresponding lid.
via:: frogdesign
Filed under: automotive, Materials, technology | Tags: BMW, car, concept, textile
Concept cars give automotive designers a chance to let their imaginations run wild, often with outlandish results. But even by that measure, BMW has come up with something as strange as it is innovative — a shape-shifting car covered with fabric. Instead of steel, aluminum or even carbon fiber, the Gina has a body of seamless fabric stretched over a movable metal frame that allows the driver to change its shape at will. The car — which actually runs and drives — is a styling design headed straight for the BMW Museum in Munich and so it will never see production, but building a practical car wasn’t the point.
via:: Wired
Filed under: Materials, Product Design | Tags: Living hinge, metal, plate, propylene
Hylite, which is comprised of sheets of aluminum bonded to a polypropylene core. Why bond metal to plastic? Because once you mill off a thin strip of aluminum from either side, boom, you’ve got a metal sheet with a living hinge. It was originally developed for non-loadbearing car body parts. However, the combination of considerable flexural stiffness and extreme lightness, also makes it interesting for aviation, transportation vehicles, autobusses, office supply, ring binders, etc.
via:: core77
Filed under: Architecture, interior design, Materials | Tags: Eric Barrett, texture, wallpaper
Ceramic designer Eric Barrett founded Conrete Blond in 2002 in reaction to the prevailing conservatism in the use of concrete in interior and exterior spaces. The designer creates permanent wall castings with traditional wallpaper prints embossed onto an entire surface of concrete. The concrete castings come with a variety of sizes, finishes and patterns to choose from. Barrett focuses on interior and exterior wall cladding, flooring and custom concrete castings.
via:: Concrete Blond
Litroenergy is a new product that will allow for the manufacturing of plastics that will glow brightly for well over a decade without any recharge what so ever. If you can make it out of plastic, you can make it glow with Litrospheres! We will be manufacturing a wide array of products over the coming year with Litrospheres.`
via:: litroenergy
Filed under: Architecture, Materials, technology | Tags: concrete, Transparent
Litracon concrete is a combination of optical fibres and fine concrete. It can be produced as prefabricated building blocks. Due to the small size of the fibres, they blend into concrete becoming a component of the material like small pieces of aggregate. In this manner, the result is not only two materials – glass in concrete – mixed, but a third, new material, which is homogeneous in its inner structure and on its main surfaces as well.
via:: litracon
Filed under: biomimicry & Ecology, Materials, packaging, Product Design | Tags: bottle, material, packaging
Unlike the multiple parts usually used in plastic bottles, here the bottle and closure is an integrated single part. This clever solution allows it to create a bottle from a single material in a single process with good recycling potentialResult:Substantial cost reduction during production and handling processes, excellent recycling qualities, highly recognizable, single-handed use. Use: The shapes of container and cap-opening can be altered according to the packaged goods (powders, granules, pills or liquids) without compromising the closure principle.
via:: iondesign
These Lightweight, collapsible speakers are portable and can be folded away and placed in the included pouch when not in use. Plug them into your personal stereo’s headphone jack to enjoy quality sound.
via:: MOMA
Filed under: Materials, Product Design | Tags: droog, flexlamp, lamp, shade
The material of this lampshade may look rigid from a distance but is in fact flexible enough to be twisted and squeezed. The light casing is combined with the shade to look like one but it can be easily removed to fit an energy saving bulb.
via:: droog
Filed under: Architecture, biomimicry & Ecology, Materials | Tags: hydrophobic, lotus, lotusan, paint
Dirt particles are unable to hold on the leaves of the lotus plant and simply flow off with the rain droplets that fall on the plant. The Lotusan® exterior coating possesses a highly water-repellent surface similar to that of the lotus leaf. Its microstructure has been modeled on the lotus plant to minimize the contact area for water and dirt. The surface additionally offers enhanced hydrophobic properties.
via:: lotusan
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