Articles By: Blaine Brownell

Light Tape

Light Tape lamps alter one’s preconceptions about point based light sources. Imagine a lightbulb as thin as a credit card in any color that can be bent around any surface for hundreds and hundreds of feet, and that costs only a fraction of what traditional bulbs cost to operate. Developed by Electro-LuminX,...

June 11th, 2010 | feature, light | Read More

Laser-Sintered Textiles

Laser-Sintered Textiles, based on a concept by designer Jiri Evenhuis, have opened a new frontier of possibilities for the production of future textiles. Instead of creating textiles by the meter, then cutting and sewing them together into final products, Laser-Sintered Textiles could one day make needle...

June 4th, 2010 | digifab, feature | Read More

KiloLux

KiloLux is a monolithic glass block with the appearance of a laminate produced by thermally bonding glass at low temperatures. Wales-based Innovative Glass Products Ltd. developed the material for inclusion in building facades as a light-emitting decorative element. Because no adhesive is used to manufacture...

May 28th, 2010 | feature, glass | Read More

Symbiosis

A course at the Department of Microbiology at the University of Wageningen taught Jelte van Abbema how to handle bacteria and their surroundings. Armed with this new knowledge and with the help of a microscope, Abbema began experiments in living font manipulation. According to Abbema, “the page...

May 21st, 2010 | coatings, feature | Read More

CarbonCoat

Geckos possess the remarkable ability to climb vertical walls without using any adhesive glue. A gecko’s feet are covered by tiny hairs that stick to rough and smooth surfaces using van der Waals forces. Inspired by the gecko design, Ali Dhinojwala and researchers at the University of Akron have...

May 15th, 2010 | feature, metals | Read More

Liminal Air

Inspired by a cave visited at the foot of Mount Fuji, Shinji Ohmaki constructed an installation designed to render visible the air we cannot see and the sounds we cannot hear. Liminal Air is composed of 123,000 nylon strings suspended in varying lengths in such a way that they collectively create a kind...

May 8th, 2010 | feature, textile | Read More

Creacrete

Concrete is an omnipresent material in architecture and public space. Previous attempts to use it in product design have led to massive, heavy objects which were also limited in their formal design. Creacrete is a concrete-based material that is highly dense and compact and makes thin-walled objects...

April 30th, 2010 | concrete, feature | Read More

BAMbOO

BAMbOO panels are made by casting bamboo sections in translucent resins. The diagonally-cut bamboo sections may be open or filled with a different color resin for a dramatic spatial effect. By changing the amount, size, or direction of bamboo ovals, the acoustic performance of the panels changes as well...

April 23rd, 2010 | feature, wood | Read More

Feather Circuit Boards

Richard Wool has recently developed a circuit board made from soybeans and chicken feathers. A professor of chemical engineering who directs the Affordable Composites from Renewable Sources (ACRES) program at the University of Delaware, Dr. Wool seeks creative, locally-available substitutes for petroleum-based...

April 16th, 2010 | digital, feature | Read More

Flip

The Flip light is a fun and tactile new luminaire that changes color when it rotates. With no cords to tie it down, this soft rubber sphere is made for the hands as well as the desk. An equilibrium sensor invented by NONdesigns enables every movement of the fixture to be reflected chromatically in its...

April 9th, 2010 | feature, light | Read More