ID Firm Designs USPS Mailbox Sensor by Rain Noe

Something I've spotted many times out here in the country: A small, one-story house or trailer home with a long aluminum wheelchair ramp permanently installed in the front. And the mailbox for the house is on the other side of the road.

It's difficult enough to be confined to a wheelchair in the countryside—some of these homes have gravel driveways, as asphalt is pretty expensive—but to then have to wheel across the two-lane road, which is regularly traveled by logging trucks and occasionally, a random off-leash pit bull, just to get your mail has got to be stressful.

I looked into it, and some houses have their mailboxes on the wrong side of the street by design, and it's impossible to have them moved to the right side. The Postal Service has carefully-mapped routes and the carrier only has time to travel down certain roads in certain directions, so that they can loop back on other roads and cover the whole county. And regulations say they can't get out of the car to carry the mail to the other side.

Photo by Mikaela Wiedenhoff on Unsplash

My wife and I unfortunately have our mailbox on the wrong side, and it's more than a half-mile round trip from the house and visually obscured by trees. We are not in wheelchairs (yet, I feel like many of us will eventually be), so it's a mere annoyance if we travel to the mailbox and it turns out to be empty. The one UX "hack" that we employ is to leave the mailbox door open, so when we get within fifty feet we can see if the mailman has closed it, meaning there's mail inside.

What would be ideal, for both us and a wheelchair user, is if the mailbox itself was a drone that automatically flew to the front porch when it had mail. When you emptied it, it would then fly back to the mailbox post. Maybe it wouldn't be clawed out of the sky by a hawk or a barn owl.

As far as I know, nobody's working on that. But industrial designer Kevin Banos, while working for ID firm Leadoff Studio, did at least get to work on the design of this speculative USPS Mailbox Sensor, which would at least work from Wi-Fi range.

"In collaboration with MRM//McCANN's product innovation lab, we worked on the creation of the USPS Mailbox Sensor, a device that streamlines the mail receiving process," Banos writes. "We joined forces with electrical engineers and model makers to prepare a prototype to be showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)."

"We led all industrial design efforts of the concept, creating a modern product design aesthetic for USPS [that] would fit in most free-standing mailboxes across the US," writes Leadoff Studio. "The design of the angles and grooves on top of the tech product allow any type of mail to fall over onto the sensor when the postal worker tosses it into the mailbox."

The CES they designed it for was in 2019, and there's no word on whether the USPS actually plans to move forward on these. Maybe I can talk them into the drone thing!

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20 Woman-led Industrial Design & Innovation Firms You Should Know by Kristi Bartlett & Ti Chang

As we began working on this project of spotlighting woman-led design studios, we quickly realized that there were too many noteworthy studios to contain in a single article, and decided that the project warranted a multi-part series. (You can read part 1 here.) We repeatedly hear the question, "where are the women in industrial design?" Well, it appears many are starting their own studios! Here you will find a list of 20 woman-owned or woman-led design studios that you should support or hire to add a diverse perspective to your projects.

Anvil Studios

IG: @anvil_studios

Treasure Hinds is co-founder and partner at Anvil Studios, a boutique industrial design studio located in Seattle, WA. Anvil Studios designs physical products for a wide range of industries, following a traditional industrial design process while tailoring each project specifically to the client's needs.

"Shell" child carriers for Bell Sports by Anvil Studios

Blumline

IG: @theblumline

Blumline is an insights-based innovation studio led by Natasha Margot Blum, Principal Director and CEO. Based in Oakland, CA, Blumline offers a wide range of services including research and strategy, industrial design, service design, experience design, and more.

Blumline led research & design strategy for Nesos, a wearable earbud to treat rheumatoid arthritis

EGGS Design

IG: @eggsdesign

Ulla Sommerfelt is CEO of EGGS Design, an innovation consultancy based in Norway with additional offices in Denmark. EGGS works holistically to mesh human insights with technology, brand, and business and offers a range of services including UX design, service design, and industrial design.

Xplory X for Stokke

Leadoff Studio

IG: @leadoffstudio

Jessica Diatlo is the co-founder and head of product development at Leadoff Studio in New York City. Leadoff studio takes a user-centered approach to design innovative product experiences for clients.

Eco-friendly protective case for reusable PPE for CastleGrade

Troy Studio

IG: @juliatroydirects, @troy.studio

Julia Troy is Creative Director of Troy Studio in Stamford, CT, which offers product photography, video production, and creative direction for brands. Julia also works as an independent consultant in the areas of ideation, industrial design, design direction, and sprints.

Styling and photography by Troy Studio for Flow

Kinder MODERN / studiokinder

IG: @kindermodern, @femaledesigncouncil

Laura Appleton is the founder of kinder MODERN and studiokinder, a design studio that creates collections of furniture, objects, and rugs for children of all ages. Studiokinder translates the needs of growing children into useful, luxury furniture, and works alongside architects, interior designers, and developers. Laura Appleton is also the founder of the Female Design Council.

Residential Project w kinder GROUND Rug, Photographer: Dane Tashima

Ayana Patterson

Ayana Patterson is a luxury CMF and form designer focused primarily on the housewards and hospitality industries. Her services include design leadership, market research, CMF and form strategy, and brand strategy.

RL 50 Mixology Box by Ayana Patterson for Ralph Lauren

OI Studio

IG: @oistudio_

BOA is the founder and creative director of OI Studio, a New Orleans, LA based design firm that creates bespoke furniture and home accessories using sustainable materials and processes. OI Studio's design aesthetic is an intersection of reverence for nature, minimalism, and craftsmanship.

CHAD storage bed by OI Studio

Diagram

IG: @diagramoffice, @yahnopodcast

Diagram was founded by Miya Osaki and Tina Park, and is based in New York City. Diagram is dedicated to improving healthcare experiences by seeing through the eyes of the patient, leveraging tools of human-centered design, service design, user experience/interface design, and more.

Patient self-management app for Cahoots by Diagram

Interwoven

IG: @interwoven_design

Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman is the founder of Interwoven Design in Brooklyn, NY. Interwoven specializes in smart textile solutions and wearable technology, bridging the disciplines of fashion, engineering, materials science, and product design.

Fiber Optic Tutu for the Brooklyn Ballet

Catalano Design

IG: @catalanodesign

Carol Catalano is the founder of Catalano Design in Boston, MA. Catalano Design creates physical products for companies across a wide range of industries, and believes that good design is a balance of art, science, and craft, supported by user-centered research.

HE560 for HIFIMAN

Greater Good Studio

IG: @greatergoodstudio

Sara Cantor is the co-founder of Greater Good Studio, which has a mission to advance people-centered social change. Greater Good Studio is based in Chicago, IL and blends the structure of human-centered design with the relational nature of community engagement.

Creating equitable access to the Girl Scouts experience with Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana

Jennifer Linane

Jennifer Linane is a Boston, MA based designer offering industrial design, user centered design, user research and testing, and UX & visual design services. Her work spans a range of industries including medical and life science, consumer products, and industrial products.

Vectra Polaris Automated Pathology Imaging System for Perkin Elmer

Mottoform

IG: @mottoform

Elizabeth Salonen is the founder of Mottoform, an industrial design and consulting studio based in Canada. Mottoform has a broad range and works in the areas of product, textile/surface, housewares, and furniture design.

Suunto Lumi, first women-specific outdoor instrument for Suunto

Plot

Gill Wildman is co-founder and director at Plot, a strategic design agency that leverages user-centered research and design thinking to reimagine systems, digital products, and services. Plot is based in London, United Kingdom.

Workshop for Humane Regeneration in Hackney Wick, by Plot

Anke Salomon Product Design

IG: @salomonproductdesign

Anke Salomon is the founder of Anke Salomon Product Design in Berlin, Germany. Anke Salomon Product design works in close collaboration with clients for the process of conception, engineering and realization of products.

In-drawer knife organizer by Anke Salomon for Wüsthof

STBY

Geke van Dijk is co-founder and Strategy Director at STBY, a design research agency based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. STBY is an interdisciplinary team of creatives and social researchers and seeks to apply research for meaningful and positive transformation.

Design research projects for public space by STBY for the City of Amsterdam

PROWL

IG: @prowl__

Prowl is a design and material futures consultancy founded by Lauryn Menard and based in Oakland, CA. Prowl is on a collective mission to make the material world more sustainable. With a unique combination of material innovation and strategic foresight, Prowl helps their clients future-proof their businesses.

Photo by Smile Plastics

Observatory

IG: @observatorydesign

Ayako Takase is the co-founder and principal of Observatory, a multidisciplinary design studio in Providence, RI. Observatory has experience in a broad range of disciplines from furniture and personal care products to structural packaging and interface design.

Aria desk for Herman Miller

ProductLogic LLC

IG: @productlogic.llc

Merry Constantino is founder and principal of ProductLogic, a product design consultancy in Buffalo, NY. ProductLogic acts as an innovation partner to companies in a variety of sectors, offering a full range of services from market research to specifications and production.

Sanitizing Station for Allé Designs by ProductLogicLLC

Read Part 1 now—"20 Woman-led Industrial Design & Innovation Firms"

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Industrial Design Student Work: Segev Kaspi's Forest Ranger Druids by Rain Noe

Here's a wonderfully bizarre, terrifically imaginative project from Industrial Design student Segev Kaspi. Called Forest Ranger Druids, it's Kaspi's graduation project at Israel's Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art, and was intended to "stimulate public discussion of atmospheric CO2 levels and the importance of rehabilitating the world's forests." Kaspi has envisioned some startling forms at the intersection of robotics and character design:

"A series of robotic forest rangers were developed to support reforestation efforts and sustainable forest management."

"Each robot is assigned a defined role in managing and preserving the forest. Their roles and design language reflect a long process of studying the work of forest rangers and an attempt to gain an in-depth understanding of the needs of the world's forests."

"The robotic foresters operate in systems that change in accordance with the forest's needs, and can function as separate individuals or as members of work groups."

"The project's visual and conceptual power derives from the hybrid connection of two worlds that are perceived as opposites – nature and technology – to offer a possible solution for an urgent problem."

Here's animations of the tasks they'd perform:

Check out more of Kaspi's work here.

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How All Design Degrees Should be Presented by Rain Noe

After gaining my Bachelors of Industrial Design, many years ago, the diploma went into a box somewhere. I'm not even sure where it is in my house. And any ID job I ever held, no one ever asked to see the degree.

Why do we still print them out on pieces of paper, oughtn't they be on something more useful, particularly for function-minded designers? I know some of you frame them, but London-based designer Liam Mead had a better idea:

"I printed my degree on a blanket so when I can't afford to pay the bills, my degree can keep me warm ?? "

"If you rearrange all the letters in the name 'Liam Mead,' you can create the anagram 'A dilemma,'" he writes. "Ironically, I consider myself to be a problem solver."

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Fantastic Industrial Design Thesis Project: The Cercle Bicycle Camper by Rain Noe

For his Bachelors Thesis at Austria's FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Industrial Design student Bernhard Sobotta began with the question: "Can you integrate an overnight stay on a bicycle?"

His resultant creation is the Cercle bike:

Bernhard Sobotta © FH JOANNEUM / Industrial Design

Bernhard Sobotta © FH JOANNEUM / Industrial Design

Bernhard Sobotta © FH JOANNEUM / Industrial Design

Bernhard Sobotta © FH JOANNEUM / Industrial Design

Bernhard Sobotta © FH JOANNEUM / Industrial Design

Bernhard Sobotta © FH JOANNEUM / Industrial Design

Bernhard Sobotta © FH JOANNEUM / Industrial Design

Bernhard Sobotta © FH JOANNEUM / Industrial Design

Bernhard Sobotta © FH JOANNEUM / Industrial Design

Bernhard Sobotta © FH JOANNEUM / Industrial Design

"Cercle offers a professional answer to all areas of daily nomadic existence through a modified frame geometry and an integrated bed, chair, table construction. By simply folding out the bed frame, any suitable place can become a campsite, regardless of the condition of the ground. The height-adjustable table and the bed construction converted into a chair provide a portable workplace. The roofing of luggage, driver and vehicle offers safety and lets the adventurer merge with his vehicle."

If this seems like some wacky never-gonna-make-it student concept to you, consider that Sobotta puts his money where his mouth is. The avid cyclist, along with friend William Cornwell, took the Cercle on a long-range test drive, covering nearly 1,000 kilometers. For stretches of the trip where they had to take the bike onto a train or bus, "We always found a free space somewhere, despite the slight excess length."

In an interview with Bike Citizens, Sobotta discusses the inception and ongoing development of the project. "So far, touring bikes are based on a very narrowly defined initial question: What does a machine have to look like that is light and durable in order to be able to drive around the world on its own? That was a good and important question - and it was answered comprehensively and satisfactorily.

"When traveling, you don't just want to move forward, you also want to eat, chill, sleep. Questions that you ask yourself again and again: Where can I sit down and relax and have a snack? Where do I put the stove so it doesn't fall over? Where can I find a place for the tent that is reasonably level, clean and maybe even dry? Do I leave my panniers outside today or do I prefer to bring them to my tent so that they are safe? These questions have not yet been adequately answered with regard to the touring bike, which is why there is still a lot of scope for further development and innovation."

During the long test journey, Sobotta found that "The user experience in camping mode feels really good. The multifunctional bed-chair-lounger-table frame, which we call CampingCompanion, can be quickly unfolded. You sit well, the table is quite stable, you can sleep relaxed, and all in all, this module weighs just 3.5 kilograms."

Sobotta and Cornwell are planning to embark on a cycling world tour next year, with each of them riding a Cercle. This fall, prior to the journey, the pair are trying to solve one of the remaining design issues, and they could use a little help. "A big chapter is definitely the design and customization of the tent," Sobotta says. "So far we have been using an old tarpaulin as an emergency solution. It would be ideal to find someone who is interested in the project and has experience in tent construction."

You can follow the Cercle's development (and/or contact them if you've got an idea for the tent solution) on Instagram and Facebook.

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