The latest Core77 Weekly Roundup highlights a diverse collection of innovative design projects and products that are shaping the contemporary industrial design landscape. From furniture to technology gadgets, the featured items demonstrate the creative breadth of current design thinking and manufacturing capabilities.
Among the standout products featured this week is The Pepe, a distinctive leather chair designed by architect and designer Raffaella Mangiarotti. The chair draws its inspiration from saddle design, creating a unique seating solution that combines equestrian aesthetics with modern furniture functionality. The roundup also explores the surprising connection between classic science fiction cinema and modern consumer electronics, revealing how Casio's iconic G-Shock digital watch traces its origins back to Stanley Kubrick's legendary film "2001: A Space Odyssey," where it first appeared as a futuristic movie prop before becoming a real-world product.
Technology integration continues to evolve in consumer accessories, as demonstrated by Belkin's innovative PowerGrip, a camera grip specifically designed to charge iPhones while providing enhanced stability for photography. The roundup also features more unconventional innovations, including an ironworker's improvised climbing solution that showcases the kind of creative problem-solving often seen in industrial settings, and Silver Fox Tool's user-adjustable leather tool organizers that offer customizable storage solutions for professionals.
Safety testing reveals important insights about automotive accessories, with recent studies showing that traditional automotive glassbreakers are ineffective against modern automotive glass technology. This finding highlights the need for updated safety tools that match contemporary vehicle manufacturing standards. Meanwhile, transportation innovation reaches new heights with the Janus-I Flying Suitcase, a personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft designed to fit conveniently in a car trunk, representing the cutting edge of personal mobility solutions.
Automotive design showcases international influences and bold new directions across multiple manufacturers. The Square X125, a Honda scooter, incorporates Chinese design aesthetics, demonstrating the global nature of contemporary vehicle styling. Dacia presents its striking ultracompact Hipster electric vehicle concept, which the lead designer describes as "a car that can be sketched in three strokes of a pencil," emphasizing the importance of visual simplicity in modern automotive design.
Luxury automotive manufacturer Mercedes-Benz revealed its new design language while simultaneously releasing a limited-edition design manifesto, providing insights into the company's future aesthetic direction. Additionally, Yamaha has begun teasing unusual concepts and prototypes ahead of the Japan Mobility Show, building anticipation for innovative transportation solutions that will be unveiled at the prestigious industry event.
The Core77 directory features prominent industrial design companies that are driving innovation across various sectors. Go Mighty Studios operates as a business-savvy product design consultancy that emphasizes the importance of commercially viable design solutions. Mixer Design Group specializes in electronic product design and engineering, with particular expertise in wearables, electronics, and bioscience applications.
StudioFAR, established in 2009 and based in San Francisco's Mission district, focuses on softgoods design, while Datum3D Product Development serves as a comprehensive product development company in the Greater Boston Area. DesignStein Studios, LLC operates as a team of industrial designers dedicated to developing products intended for tooling and manufacturing, and Spatial Dynamics functions as a hardware product design and development agency located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, rounding out the featured company profiles that represent the diverse landscape of contemporary industrial design services.
