Industrial design
Greased Lightning: The 3.4 kW Gnarboard Trail Rider electric skateboard
The growing availability of high capability electric motors is currently in the process of revolutionizing every aspect of personal transport. In a short time, electric skateboards have gone from being docile and anemic to having enough power to do burn-outs and wheelies. In April we looked at all the available 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-wheel transportation appliances on the market, but envisaged nothing quite like the newly announced US$6100 Gnarboard 4WD Trail Rider with its 3.4 kW of power and peak-power output of 16.5 kW. The Gnarboard accelerates so hard that it can hit its top speed of 28 mph in 1.9 seconds, which is faster than almost anything on the road. Ridden by an expert, it is quite possibly the fastest urban point-to-point conveyance available, yet can be ridden through soft sand and up the steepest of trails. For pure road riding, there's also a slick-tired 4WD road board available. Read More
Our recent rundown of the coming "Transportation Appliance" marketplace has unearthed yet another another compact fold-up electric vehicle that appears set to become the smallest of the last-mile transport options. Well-known Israeli Industrial Designer Nimrod Sapir has devoted much of his life to figuring out better ways of "getting there." Nimrod designed the ingenious Tagabike we featured four years ago, but his Myway Compact EV is more compact than anything we've seen and might play a major role in transportation in the future. Read More
If you’re in Monte Carlo on May 12, you’ll have a chance to purchase a bit of of history when design legend Raymond Loewy’s 1972 Avanti II Coupé goes on sale as part of Bonhams auction house’s Les Grandes Marques à Monaco. Not only is this one of only a handful of Avanti IIs in France and one that was owned by a celebrated designer, but it’s also distinguished by the fact that its original owner was the man who created it. Read More
Gizmag's top 10 outdoor furniture items
Whilst most of the Northern Hemisphere is rugging up from the cold weather and dreaming about summer and sun, here are some outdoor ideas to add to your wish-list this year. Be it an indulgent lounge chair or your ideal cocktail bar, these designs will revive your backyard in time for summer. Read More
02 Pursuit motorcycle runs on compressed air
A vehicle that runs on air. It sounds like a fantastic idea, but energy is still needed to compress the air and the losses that go hand-in-hand with converting energy still have to be taken into account, just as in fossil fuel-based propulsion systems. Pros and cons aside, we still haven't seen air powered transport make an impact in the race to find economic, environmentally-friendly ways to get from A to B. Industrial Design student Dean Benstead thinks that compressed air does have a role to play in the future transport mix, and he's designed a working air-powered motorcycle prototype with a view to exploring the viability of the platform. Read More
Electrolux Design Lab 2011 winners announced
The votes have been tallied in the Electrolux Design Lab 2011 and coming out on top in a field of over 1,300 entries received from over 50 countries is Slovakian design student Adrian Mankovecký for his Portable Spot Cleaner. Comprising two components that are separated and placed on either side of a garment, the pint-sized washing machine would be powered by a sugar crystal battery and use negative ions and steam to clean stains. Mankovecký will receive a prize of 5,000 euro (approx. US$7,025) and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center. Read More
The grand final of this year's Electrolux Design Lab 2011 competition is fast approaching. The field has been reduced to the last eight solutions for compact living and video presentations of the concept designs produced. The young designers will get their chance to pitch for victory in front of the judges on September 7 in London, but before that Electrolux has opened up the ballot box for the People's Choice - a chance to reward your favorite design with some of the limelight. Read on for a look at those video presentations... Read More
Corrugated cardboard can be traced back to the latter part of the mid-19th century, although cardboard itself goes back much farther than that. Most of us will have encountered it at some time, probably as the outer packaging of our latest digital must-have, but it has recently been breaking away from such traditional uses. Over the past few years, we've seen everything from a cardboard record player to a festival tent to a USB drive. Now, industrial design student Jake Tyler has created a prototype cardboard vacuum cleaner - the Vax ev. Read More
The 25 semi-finalists in this year's Electrolux Design Lab competition have now been announced. Every year, students and recent graduates are invited to submit design concepts that tie in with the chosen theme of the challenge. This year's Design Lab is all about Intelligent Mobility for domestic appliances and has attracted 1,300 entries from over 50 countries. We'll be taking a closer look at some of the entries in the coming weeks but for now, here's a quick look at some of those that have caught our eye. Read More
Yves Béhar, the industrial designer behind such diverse products as the WattStation EV charging station, the Jawbone Bluetooth headset and Mission One electric sports motorbike has turned his talents to that most essential of modern day devices – the mobile phone. The result is a stylish handset that comes in either stainless steel or gold versions priced at 7,250 euro (approx. US$10,140) and 42,000 euro ($58,740) respectively. But anyone expecting a phone at those prices to do everything short of fixing you a fine meal and cleaning up afterwards will be sorely disappointed as the +YvesBéhar phone has been designed firmly with simplicity in mind. Read More
