TheFW » Design

Barcelona Man Lives in a Tiny, Transforming Apartment

Danny Gallagher — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 19:45:11 +0000

Christian Schallert of Barcelona, Spain lives in what many would consider to be a very small apartment, just 258 square feet. As you can see, he's still got everything a human being needs to live — a full kitchen, a bed, tables, and even a TV room — hidden in a special wall he built into his apartment.

Rugs Printed With Google Maps' Satellite Images [PICTURES]

Dylan Schenker — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:21:24 +0000

What if instead of going online to find a map of your city, you could look directly under your feet? Artist and designer David Hanauer has created a series of rugs that takes Google Maps' satellite pictures of cityscapes and manipulates them into hypnotic prints.

NASA Corn Maze Patterns Are Out of This World [PHOTOS]

Dylan Schenker — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:50:06 +0000

When you hear about crop circles, the first thing that immediately pops to mind is strange, unexplainable alien patterns encoded in farmland. So what better way to celebrate NASA’s rich history of space exploration than with some amazing corn maze crop circles? Space Farm 7, a collaboration between NASA and seven of the most popular [...]

Never Waste Another Cookie With the Oreo Crumb Case

Dylan Schenker — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:27:40 +0000

We all know, of course, that the best part about eating Oreos is twisting them open and dipping them in milk. So why not take it to the next level to better flavor your milk with all that Oreo goodness? Miami Ad School students Michael Malz, Jacob Gale, Kelly Saucier, and Michael Grosso have invented [...]

London Tower Becomes World's Largest Light Saber for a Night [VIDEO]

Dylan Schenker — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:30:56 +0000

What better way to celebrate something ‘Star Wars‘-related than with a massive light saber? The force was strong with BT Tower in London on September 15 when it was converted into a 581-foot saber to celebrate the release of the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy on Blu-Ray. Anthony Daniels, who played droid C-3PO, did the honors [...]

Can You Recognize the Most Famous Haircuts in Hollywood History?

Dylan Schenker — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:46:11 +0000

There are some fictional characters whose hair is so iconic that if someone were to take the razor to their cranium they’d lose their whole identity. What would Mr. T be without his beard and mohawk? How about Leia without the buns? Pop Chart Lab recently released a poster compiling some of the most iconic [...]

Portable 'Sleepbox' Lets You Doze Off Anywhere [VIDEO]

Jeremy Taylor — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:14:10 +0000

A Russian architectural firm has developed a climate-controlled sleeping capsule the size of a “small dumpster” that has three self cleaning beds, wi-fi connections and room for luggage storage. The ‘Sleepbox’ is designed to provide hotel-like comforts to travelers waiting in train stations or airplane terminals. However, when it comes living in dumpster-sized spaces, we’d [...]

Bizarre iPhone Case Looks Like a Human Face

Chris Illuminati — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:34:14 +0000

These iPhone cases, made to look like the side of a human face, make it appear as if a person isn't really talking on the telephone. They're just, you know, hanging out with their hand up to their face doing who knows what. Kind of quirky.

A Fort That Looks Like a Mushroom Cloud [PICTURES]

Dylan Schenker — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:47:06 +0000

How would you like to live in your very own nuclear explosion? Sculptor Dietrich Wegner has designed a fort in the shape of a mushroom cloud, the visual associated with the mass destruction of powerful nuclear weapons. The the 20-foot-tall installation is titled ‘Playhouse’ and is made of wool, steel and poly-fil foam. The piece [...]

Man Makes 'Luxury' Home in Dumpster [VIDEO]

Jeremy Taylor — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:12:17 +0000

In artist Gregory Kloehn’s effort to “break down what a home can be,” he was able to create a high end living space in a common dumpster. His miniature house includes a bed, a toilet, a stainless steel sink and other kitchen appliances, storage space, electricity and an outside shower — not to mention granite counter [...]

Bomb Alarm Clock Promises Explosive Mornings [VIDEO]

Dylan Schenker — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:30:31 +0000

We're all guilty of hitting the snooze button and sleeping a little bit longer in the morning. But with this alarm clock, if you don't wake up on time to defuse it, you're in for an explosive surprise.

Honda Used to Make a Briefcase Motorcycle You Could Carry Around [VIDEO]

Chip Sandalwood — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:46:13 +0000

These days cars come with some pretty sophisticated add-ons: rearview cameras that show what's behind you, driver alert systems that wake you if you're dozing off. These optional features are all well and good, but none of them hold a candle to the Honda Motocompo, a tiny, folding scooter that was sold as a trunk-sized accessory for the Honda City and the Honda Today from 1981 to 1983.

Awesome Interactive Chart of Every Crayola Crayon Color Ever

Shauna Wright — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:30:10 +0000

If you had a box of Crayolas as a kid, chances are the words "Burnt Siena" and "Goldenrod" evoke some nostalgic memories.

Crayola introduced crayons to the world back in 1903. At that point, there were just eight colors per box. Within two years, the number of crayons more than tripled. By 1958, there were 64 colors in a box. These days, the Crayola box boasts 133 standard colors.

Wheelchair for Dogs Is the Cutest Thing Ever [VIDEO]

Dylan Schenker — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:09:09 +0000

While there are wheeled contraptions available to give mobility to handicapped pets, the Amigo — a new wheelchair from industrial designer Nia Shalom — is specially optimized for the way pups move. Shalom, after some exhaustive research into the physiology of dogs, created a harness that specifically contours to the animal’s body and takes into consideration [...]

Facebook Stamps Let You 'Like' and 'Dislike' Things in Real Life

Dylan Schenker — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:48:04 +0000

For those who spend tons of time of Facebook, the real world can feel like a foreign place: How can you know if that cute girl at the bar is single without a relationship status? How to remember the name of that guy from high school if he hasn't been helpfully tagged? And how does one share an opinion on a clever magazine article or cool piece of art without a "like" button? Happily, liking things in real life just got a whole lot easier with Jailbreak Collective's set of Like/Dislike stamps.

Bizarre iPhone Case Lets You Hold Hands With Your Beloved Gadget

Chip Sandalwood — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:07:01 +0000

Forget about touch screens. If you're looking for a more hands-on iPhone experience, look no further than this realistic, creepy case from Japan. Modeled after a lady's hand, this case is perfect for those lonely nights when you want to feel closer to the person on the other end of the line. According to the product description, it's also great for practicing marriage proposals. This beautiful case can be yours from Strapya for 5,000 Yen or about 63 US dollars, plus shipping.

Budweiser Can Gets First Makeover in a Decade

Jeremy Taylor — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:41:33 +0000

Anheuser-Busch will be rolling out a redesigned can for its iconic Budweiser brand this summer. Bud’s first updated look in ten years will feature more red then before, and will give more space to Budweiser’s bow-tie shaped logo. Although Budweiser is still the number two best-selling beer in America — trailing only sister brew Bud Light [...]

Eco-Conscious Sneakers Biodegrade and Grow Flowers

Shauna Wright — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:13:55 +0000

You may wear organic cotton and carefully avoid apparel made in sweatshops, but what do you do with all those items when you’re done with them? If you’re wearing footwear from OAT Shoes, the answer is simple — bury them. The environmentally-friendly Dutch company, founded by designer Christiaan Maats, makes sneakers entirely of biodegradable materials [...]

Urinals for Women Could Be Coming Soon

Jeremy Taylor — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:30:04 +0000

Currently, men have twice the options as women when it comes to public restrooms and, as a result, shorter lines. Danish design company UiWE wants to change that with the Polle, a four-pronged female urinal that allows women to relieve themselves in a semi-squat position. UiWE tested out Polle prototypes at a couple recent music festivals [...]

Whee! Dutch Transit Authority Installs Playground-Style Slide on Train Platform [VIDEO]

Andrea Rosen — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:30:49 +0000

Morning commutes just got a lot more fun in Utrecht. Recent renovations to a train station in the Overvecht neighborhood of the Netherlands city included the installation of a slide (their transit authority calls it a "transfer accelerator"), which passengers can ride to the platform instead of taking the adjacent stairs.

See it in action in the below clip:

Magazine Creates Amazing Pencil Head Sculptures of Politicians [VIDEO]

Shauna Wright — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:17:43 +0000

German political magazine Cicero wanted to interview high-profile politicians but didn't know how to get their attention. So its staff came up with a truly unique promotional idea.

The magazine commissioned an artist to carve busts of world leaders like Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy into the lead of Cicero-branded pencils. The one-of-a-kind sculptures were then specially boxed and delivered to their likenesses.

New 'Dyslexie' Font Created to Help Dyslexia Sufferers [VIDEO]

Shauna Wright — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:57:28 +0000

Dyslexia sufferers have a tough time with basic reading-- the learning disability actually causes those afflicted to view words differently than the rest of us. They sometimes see letters flipped upside down, mirrored or even rearranged within a word.

A new typeface called Dyslexie is trying to change all that. Created by Netherlands designer Christian Boer, it thickens the bottom of some letters and slants others in an effort to make texts easier for dyslexics to read.

Designer Creates Prototype for Robot Armpit That Smells Like Real Armpit

Shauna Wright — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:18:21 +0000

Look closely. What you're seeing isn't chewing gum that's been left on the floor of a hair salon. That's a robot armpit prototype, built by designer Kevin Grennan as part of his studies on the role of smell in human-robot interaction. He's also developed ideas for adding scent glands to industrial robots -- like a surgical robot that releases the trust-building hormone oxytocin.