To Support Ukraine, Support Ukrainian Industrial Design by Rain Noe

While Russia's attacks on Ukraine continue, factories in unaffected areas continue to run. They have to. "We need work," says Roman, a factory line leader for consumer electronics manufacturer Linedock, which has facilities in western Ukraine. "We have mouths to feed and bills to pay. We must carry on." At press time, Linedock's factories were approximately 200 miles from the nearest combat zone.

For the survival of Ukraine, it's important to keep the flow of cash coming into the country. Thus Linedock has launched the Robinwood Project, an initiative whereby the purchase of a Ukraine-designed, Ukraine-sourced product will see all of the profits donated to NGOs in-country and on the ground. The first object they're offering is the Storm Lamp, by Ukrainian industrial designer Julia Kononenko. It's made from laser-cut plywood sourced from the region.

"All Robinwood products are made using Ukrainian wood exclusively, a sustainable resource that is plentiful, even in times of war. Plywood is produced locally (3 miles away from our factory) and has no known military application to date. Ukraine is a major source of wood in Europe, ranking 6th in Europe in terms of timber reserves."

"All manufacturing facilities are located in western Ukraine, 200 miles away from combat zones. Final assembly is the most manual labor intensive step of the production, currently relying on a staff of 30-60 workers. The factory has direct access to a soviet era nuclear bunker where workers can shelter within 2 min, should air raid sirens start blasting. Since March 15th transport of goods through the Ukrainian-Polish border has resumed and is on par with pre-war efficiency."

"We have daily calls with our production team and are reassessing our contingency plan weekly. May the conflict progress to the west, manufacturing and sales of Robinwood products would be stopped until the situation reaches necessary safety levels."

Linedock has selected the following NGOs to donate to:

- Humanitarian Aid and Medical Supply : Vostok-SOS

- Food Supply : World Central Kitchen

- Childcare : Voices of Children

- Protection of civilians and army (non-lethal) : KOLO

The Storm Lamp is available here.

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Monitree: A Frame of Living Plants for Your Monitor by Rain Noe

There is something tragic about this product design, speaking as it does about how we spend our days and in what environments. But I see why it's doing well on Kickstarter. The Monitree is a series of plastic tubes designed to cover the top and edges your monitor. It can be filled with a small amount of soil and seeded, allowing tiny vines to frame your screen.

The designers reckon you'll have a full frame in 10 months...

...and the thinking is that unlike a desktop plant, this cannot easily be knocked over.

The light source is an LED halo up top. I believe the designers made a mistake here in not providing a better shield for it; I can't imagine that not providing an annoying glare, even when pointed away, not to mention the tubes will reflect it.

Overall, the project—like many that we see on Kickstarter these days—has the air of an Industrial Design student project; its heart is in the right place, but I want to see the execution pushed a little further.

The $49 Monitree has been successfully Kickstarted, with 23 days left to pledge at press time.

For student work I'd give this a B. You?

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Industrial Designer Receives Damaged Lamp, Fixes It, Launches Successful Design Business by Rain Noe

During the pandemic Sean Kim ordered one of Noguchi's Akari table lamps. It didn't survive the shipping process; the paper shade arrived torn. Kim asked the retailer for a replacement, which they sent. But he also happened to be studying Industrial Design at Pratt, and decided to use his skills to design and 3D print a replacement shade for the otherwise fine base unit.

Kim liked his replacement lamp so much that he designed a new base for it, sourced the parts, posted a photo of his all-new creation on Instagram and asked if anyone wanted to buy it. Five people did. Fast-forward a bit, and as Curbed reports:

"The Wavy Lamp was a hit, and Kim could barely keep up with orders. He turned his closet into a mini-factory that had six 3-D printers going 24/7 and recruited his neighbor to help with wiring bases, which she did from her own closet studio across the hall. The playful spontaneity of making it became a philosophy for Kim's home-goods brand, Wooj."

Kim cranked some 2,000 lamps out of his closet factory before moving into a dedicated manufacturing space. Today he's sold roughly 5,000 units, has four employees and has expanded into vases and clocks.

Interestingly, Wooj even sells these Distorted Lamps models, which are the results of failed experiments:

"Sometimes our experiments go awry, and we're left with printed lamps that don't meet the exacting standards we set for ourselves.Over time, we've accumulated some of these lamps and haven't known what exactly to do with them. But since we're a smol [sic] studio (in Brooklyn, no less), we're really pressed for space. This has left us in a slight conundrum."

"In the spirit of experimentation, we've taken cues from the art of glassblowing, heating up the lampshades -- returning them to a flexible and fluid state. This allows us to reshape them into unique forms which would otherwise be impossible to print or manufacture."

"Each of these warped forms is completely unique. The process of forming them by hand allows us some freedom from the fixed nature of the manufacturing process we typically employ and allows us to impart more spontaneity into our Wavy Lamps."

Wooj's products, by the way, are printed from a corn-based PLA bioplastic.

Check out their stuff here.

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Industrial Design Student Work: A Combination Light Switch/Pop-Out Socket by Rain Noe

Unnecessary Design Studio Creates Shop-Vac that Vacuums and Sorts LEGO Pieces by Rain Noe

Vermont-based Inventor Matty Benedetto has prototyped hundreds of objects at his so-called Unnecessary Design Studio. Benedetto's schtick—"unnecessary inventions"—always yields amusing objects, but in this case, I believe many parents wouldn't find this one unnecessary. He's invented a Shop-Vac attachment that sucks up and automatically sorts LEGO pieces:

The build is fun to watch, and reminds you that Benedetto could surely be running a real industrial design studio:

To be clear, this is not coming to a store near you. As his channel page notes, "Each week from the Unnecessary Design Studio in Burlington Vermont, Matty develops 1-3 brand new fake consumer products using diverse production methods from 3D printing, sewing, mold making, wood working, laser cutter, and whatever else he can get his hands on. Each invention lives across Unnecessary Invention's social profiles which have grown to a community of over 6 million followers.

"Each post mimics a real marketing campaign with their signature product photos and commercials alongside behind the scenes videos on how the inventions get built."

I do think he might have a saleable one here!

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A Design Degree Where Job Offers Outnumber Grads by Rain Noe

Exhibit Design is a course taught within many Industrial Design programs, including the one I went through at Pratt. (In fact the ED course directly led to my first job offer, giving me a soft spot for the sub-field.) So I was interested to learn that there's one design school in the U.S. that actually offers a standalone degree in Exhibit Design. Bemidji State University, in Minnesota's North Woods region, holds that distinction—and their program is apparently a good one to go through if you're looking for employability.

"Bemidji State University is presented with more career opportunities for graduates than graduates to fill these positions," the school writes, specifically of their Exhibit Design degree program.

"More than ever, exhibit design is increasingly recognized as a significant form of public and private space design and experiential design. Although many universities offer a course in exhibit design, Bemidji State University offers the only undergraduate academic track in Exhibit Design in the nation. The department prides itself on its close relationship with industry, which serves as an advisory board and offers one-on-one mentorship for interested students. To maximize the students' exposure to exhibit design, the students have the opportunity to attend annual field trips to Minneapolis, Chicago, and Las Vegas."

"…The complexities of exhibit design overlap a wide range of disciplines, among them include: interior design, product design, model design, architecture, graphic design, multimedia, sustainability, and construction. Projects for this multidisciplinary form of design tend to be commercial or cultural in nature. Projects can be either permanent or temporary, and can range from trade show exhibits, museum exhibits, events, brand experiences, themed attractions, visitor centers, science centers, retail spaces, and consumer-related experiences."

Here's BSU's video describing their program:

Exhibit Design 1 from Bemidji State University on Vimeo.

As for what you'd make with an ED degree, the company released these compensation survey results in 2018, which indicates an average starting salary of $66,722, going up to $89,360 if you put in more than 10 years:

You can check out BSU's program here, and you can compare your own salary, within multiple ID sub-fields, at the Core77 Design Salary Guide.

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China Joins International Industrial Design IP Treaty by Rain Noe

In what they consider "a major development for the International Design System," the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has announced that China has joined their Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs.

Under the Hague System, applicants (theoretically) gain design protection in over 90 countries through the filing of just one application for their design. (Outside of the system, you'd have to file by individual country or region.)

What this means for China:

"All designers in China will be able to use the International Design System to protect and promote their designs overseas, saving time and money."

What this means for designers who worry about design piracy from Chinese sources:

"Foreign designers will have easier access to the Chinese market, using one application and one set of fees to file for protection in 94 countries including China when its accession comes into force on May 5, 2022."

In the announcement WIPO Director General Daren Tang, a Singaporean citizen of Chinese descent, said:

"From the earliest ornamental products made by our Stone Age ancestors to the modern day haute couture we see on runways across the globe, designers enrich, excite and enliven us. Designers are also playing a bigger role in shaping the look and feel of the products we use every day – from household products and mobile phones to virtual designs. China's accession to the Hague System means that the design community in China will find it easier to protect and bring their designs out of China, and overseas designers will find it easier to move their designs into one of the world's largest and most-dynamic markets."

I don't mean to sound cynical, but I'm curious to see how this all shakes out.

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Unusual Vintage Designs for Clothes Hangers by Rain Noe

Without any context, when I first encountered these images I guessed it was an Industrial Design school assignment.

"HOOK UP" was the name of a 2018 exhibition in Japan featuring over 100 vintage clothes hangers, as well as new hangers improvised by a variety of artists and designers. The exhibition was apparently coordinated by "Hanger Holic" Tsugu Yasuda. Here are some examples of what was on show:

Believe it or not, there's more to see--a lot more--here.

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