By Andrew Liszewski

Besides world peace, free energy and a “fat-free fudge cake that doesn’t let you down in the flavor department like so many others”, mankind’s greatest pursuit has been a solution to the problem of dirty laundry. And it turns out it’s been sitting right under our butts the whole time. It just took the designers at elementodiseño to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

What they’ve come up with is a brilliant way to ignore and avoid the issue of washing soiled garments, by turning them into the stuffing for a padded stool. Now I know what you’re probably thinking: “Andrew, I’ve been wallowing in a mountain of dirty laundry for months now, this isn’t new!” And I can’t argue with that. But, have you been wallowing in it while it’s stuffed inside a stylish blue canvas bag with reinforced seams? I didn’t think so. So let’s give the credit where the credit is due ok?

[ elementodiseño - Nexus Stool ] VIA [ Stilsucht ]

A good way to green a city is to plant more trees and what better reason to do so than have trees replace traffic signal poles. Designers have conjured up the traffic signal of the future, called the Wearable Signal, in the form of a flexible LED solar panel that can wrap around any cylindrical form.

Easy to install, easy on the eyes, easy on the environment, and easy on the city’s checkbook, this flexible traffic signal can wrap around trees or existing utility poles.

[Via Yanko Designs]

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By Andrew Liszewski

I really like the design of Younes Duret’s Ransa sofa which makes it look like the sitting area is floating over a floor-level bookshelf, but I have to question its practicality. I mean it’s nice to have a small library of reading material within arm’s reach when you’re lounging about, but as one of those guys who hates cracking the spine on his books and magazines, I’d be constantly worried about guests swinging their legs, constantly banging into my collection. But as I’ve discovered time and time again, maybe that’s just me…

As far as I can tell this is just a design concept, but I’m sure you can DIY one with an old futon and a collection of milk crates once you remove all the vinyl hippy.

[ Younes Duret - Ransa Sofa ] VIA [ DigsDigs ]

Sarah Brody is leaving Apple for eBay-owned PayPal to help improve user experience and make its payment platform easier to use. The hire of one of Apple’s leading UI designers is a big catch for PayPal.

Brody worked at Apple for seven years where she participated in the design of the original iPhone and the original iPod Nano. Most recently you can find her efforts on the homepages of Final Cut Studio, Logic Pro, and Pro.

[Via All Things Digital]

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By Andrew Liszewski

The coffee table in your living room probably already serves as everything from a work desk to a foot stool to the occasional dining area. In fact you’d probably miss it more than your TV if it ever disappeared. Even more so if it happens to be one of these Acoustables which feature a built-in sound system, adding ‘home stereo’ to the list of your coffee table’s duties.

Made of a unique polymer and mineral blend which supposedly combines the advantages of both stone and plastic, the Acoustable is also water and fire resistant, which I guess is a good thing. All of the wiring and hardware are stashed out of sight keeping it aesthetically pleasing, and even the black membrane that sits just below the table’s surface letting the sound out looks more like a design element than a technical requirement. As for cost? It’s another one of those ‘contact us for more info‘ which roughly translates to ‘we want to prepare you for the sticker shock.’

[ Acoustable ] VIA [ designboom ]

I am not a watch wearer, I have said that many times. I do like to look at some of these awesome watch designs like the Hublot La Cle Du Temps “key of time” watch here. This thing is so cool it hurts. If Darth Vader had an awesome watch, this would be it.

The awesome watch is a follow up to one that was apparently designed with the Predator in mind with a dial meant to look like a brain. I don’t see any resemblance to a brain or the Predator in the new design. All I see is a crazy watch with a really sweet design.

The watch has a control on the side that will slow down or speed up time. Why you world want to do that is beyond me. The watch will always remember the correct time though. An exact price is unknown, but it is said to go in the high six-figure range.

Via ABlogtoRead

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Inserting a USB connector is generally a fairly simple task. But there’s always that little pesky split second you spend checking which side is on top. Now considering how many devices these days rely on us plugging and unplugging their USB connectors, we are possibly wasting loads of time each day. This problem may now be solved should the Double USB design from Yanko be adopted as a standard.

Yanko Designs has offered up another beautifully simple solution. The Double USB features two contact layers that expand and contract freely and hence would fit in either direction. When inserted, regardless which orientation, one of the contact layers will be pushed in allowing the right one to make contact.

[Via Yanko Designs]

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By Andrew Liszewski

On one hand, if you’re prone to losing your keys, change or even the remote control in the cracks and crevices of your couch, you’ll probably want to avoid this Inflow coffee table which is made from a steel frame wrapped in ~3,300 feet of elastic string. But on the other hand, if you’re not so keen on cleaning up messes when company calls-a-calling, it looks like this table will happily swallow all your crap for you. Unfortunately it’s also $2,285 from Animi Causa, so you better start scrounging around in those couch cushions for misplaced change.

[ Inflow Table ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

A compact way to modify downspouts for collecting water is now available, promising eco-friendly thirst quenching for apartment gardens. The Raindrop Mini by Studio Bas Van der Veer fits in-line with the drainpipe and channels rainwater into a removable jug; rather than demanding you accomodate a water-butt, water is collected into the watering can itself.

That saves space and also makes for a more ergonomic – and less messy – way of watering small gardens. No word on exact pricing, but according to the designers the Raindrop Mini system is available now in European gardening centers.

[via Core77]

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By Andrew Liszewski

Winner of a much deserved (IMHO) Red Dot Design award, the Rima lamp, created by Dreipuls, uses a strip of 65 white LEDs that can be selectively turned on or off by sliding around two sets of metal rings. Apparently optical sensors are used to determine the position of the rings, and only the LEDs falling in-between them are turned on. Kind of like a shower curtain… except that there’s no water… so nothing like a shower curtain. You catch my drift right?

Now there’s little to no evidence the Rima lamp actually exists, or at least in a working form without the assistance of Photoshop, but it’s still a great idea. Particularly for anyone burdened with a glossy screen MacBook who spends an unreasonable amount of time getting the angle just right to avoid annoying glares. It’s not just me right?

[ Rima Desk Lamp ] VIA [ MoCo Loco ]