Core77

Nendo's Wonderful Toru, an Electric Kettle for Alessi

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Doing a lot with a little: Nendo's Toru, an electric kettle for Alessi, perfectly reconciles gesture with form.

Taking advantage of Alessi's distinguishing metalworking techniques, which is the origin of the company, the stainless-steel body is shaped simply like a pitcher. The handle coming out from the top seems to go through the side of the body, forming a continuous line to the spout.

A handle of a kettle is usually gripped from the side, but thanks to the top-suspended shape, the kettle can be easily lifted from the power base, and hot water can be poured smoothly by holding the upper part of the handle as a fulcrum and lightly tilting the kettle.

With its soft form, the base has an integrated appearance with the kettle when power is being supplied, while it takes on a straight and simple silhouette when the kettle is detached, designed to blend in well with its surroundings in either case.

From the distinctive handle and spout that seem to pierce through the body, the collection is named "toru" (meaning "through" in Japanese).

Alas, Alessi's only selling a version with a European plug or a British plug. (Thanks, tariffs.)

Pentel's 8-Color Mechanical Pencil, for Designers and Religious Readers

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While France produced the Bic 4 Color Pen, Japan's Pentel makes this Multi 8 mechanical pencil, which holds eight different leads.

Though it holds eight colors, the company sells 12 all told, if you want to swap out.

The design is quite clever. The clip is the indicator that you rotate onto the desired color in order to engage it.

Though the utensil was, by design, aimed at artists, designers and architects...

...the Multi 8 found an unexpected market: Religious readers. Thanks to (non-affiliated-with-Pentel) influencer videos, the Multi 8 has become popular for those studying and annotating scripture. Indeed, religious retailers specifically market the Multi 8 as a "Scripture Marker."

Pentel also makes a version with special leads "For Checking Use." That loses a little something in translation: This version is for editors and designers who need to mark up documents, where the marks won't be picked up by a copy machine or blueprint machine.

An Industrial Design Classic: The Bic 4 Color Pen from 1970

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In 1970, French writing utensil company Bic released the 4 Color Pen. Aimed at French schoolchildren, the chunky pen featured four spring-loaded cartridges providing black, blue, red and green inks.

The pen was a hit, and was exported to the U.S. the next year. It also saw strong sales here, with uptake by students, teachers, clerks, nurses and, I have to believe, designers who prized the ability to lay down multiple colors without needing to switch utensils. The product became so ubiquitous in America that I think most people didn't even realize it was a French invention.

Fun fact: The ball at the top was for dialing rotary phones.

As clever as the design was, it still bore the flaws of '70s thinking: The pen was sealed shut and therefore disposable. People tended to burn through the blue ink first, and then the pen was tossed, even though the other three colors still had plenty in the chamber. Bic later rectified this by providing a threaded barrel and selling refill cartridges.

Fifty-six years later, the pen remains a bestseller; Bic moves millions of these every year. Aside from the now-refillable cartridges, the only significant design change Bic made is that the ball has been replaced by a lanyard loop. (A touch-capacitive ball might've been more in line with the original spirit of the design, but I'm sure it'd be cost prohibitive.)

The pen was designed internally, and sadly, the industrial designer(s) behind it never received any credit.

Core77 Weekly Roundup (4-13-26 to 4-17-26)

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Here's what we looked at this week:

Hyundai unveils Venus and Earth, two Chinese-market-specific concept vehicles.

Dyson finds another application for its tech: Powerful handheld fans.

A handsome two-compartment bathroom waste bin, by industrial designer Daniel Barnes.

A low-tech sliding shutter system from pre-industrial Japan.

"The Lunch of Small Mechanicals," lunch delivered via steampunk-like contraptions.

The insane entrance door to (A)void Café in Prague.

Experimental furniture design: Fastener- and adhesive-free upholstery by Raw-Edges Design Studio.

The PT-200 is a remote-controlled, daisy-chainable pan & tilt 360-degree LED light.

A strange alternative to beach umbrellas: The ShadeSock, a giant windsock.

An '80s objet d'esign: Oliver Michl's expanding Architect's Lamp.

Iyo Hasegawa's wrench-based furniture.

Ralf Jacobs' incredible Harmonograph: Furniture that can draw patterns.

Mario Tsai Studio's modular Star System of lighting.

Industrial design research: Form studies for writing/drawing utensils, by BKID.

Industrial Design Research: Form Studies for Writing/Drawing Utensils, by BKID

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"Write, Draw, Think" is a research project by South Korean ID firm BKID. It was undertaken for the National Hangeul Museum in Seoul, which is dedicated to the country's writing system, Hangeul.

This project proposes sixteen new writing tools developed through research into the habits and gestures of using a pencil. Beginning from the most fundamental act of "writing," the work expands various modes of writing and thinking into new forms of tools. BKID views the pencil not simply as a writing instrument, but as a medium that connects thought and the body, embedding a different writing experience into each tool.

Some tools are designed to help a person immerse themselves and focus on solitary writing, while others allow multiple people to draw a single shared line together. Sharp writing reveals the tension within letter structures, whereas round writing evokes the soft breathing found in Korean vowels. Through the diverse gestures of writing, the project explores the origins of form in writing tools.

Here, the pencil becomes more than a means of recording. It becomes an experimental tool that holds layers of writing, drawing, and thinking. Through the sixteen tools, visitors encounter the moment where letters and bodily gestures meet, and experience new sculptural possibilities for the act of writing.

You can see more of BKID's work here.

Mario Tsai Studio's Modular Star System of Lighting

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This Star System of decorative lighting is by China-based ID firm Mario Tsai Studio.

It consists of modular units of fabric stretched over a frame containing LEDs.

Power is transmitted daisy-chain style, through specially designed connectors.

It's not clear if these were designed for an exhibition, as a one-off for a client or as a product line. While the Star System is currently on display at the firm's showroom in Hangzhou (see below), they're not yet listed as a project on the firm's website.

Ralf Jacobs' Incredible Harmonograph: Furniture That Can Draw Patterns

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Ralf Jacobs is a Netherlands-based artist who works "at the intersection of art, design, science, and signal." He invented this incredible Harmonograph, a piece of furniture that can draw patterns:

He's designed the "hinge" mechanism to be frictionless, which gives the drawing utensil a lot of momentum:

"Underlying my practice is the belief that art is a form of signal processing," Jacobs writes. "Each work is a relic of interaction: a transmission captured, a behavior observed, a pattern retrieved from noise."

Iyo Hasegawa's Wrench-Based Furniture

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These Wrench furniture pieces were made by Japanese artist Iyo Hasegawa.

They're made from threaded rods holding stacked offset wrenches, a tool whose form has captivated Hasegawa.

Washers are used as spacers, and the pieces are fastened together with nuts.

The main material used in the work, the offset wrenches, is not glued or welded and is not fixed in place, allowing the wrench to "twist" freely. This flexibility enables the wrenches to be transformed into any shape. Additionally, they can be folded into a flat form for convenient storage and transportation.

Finally, all the materials can be removed and returned to their original state for their intended use.

These are sold through Copenhagen-based gallery Adorno.

An '80s Objet D'esign: Oliver Michl's Expanding Architect's Lamp

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While the '70s was about flowing plastic forms, the '80s jolted towards hard edges and an industrial aesthetic. A good example is this Architect's Lamp, designed in the '80s by German lighting designer Oliver Michl. It borrowed heavily from equal space dividers:

It really wasn't an "architect's" lamp, of course. Being ceiling-mounted, it was more a statement piece than a deskbound utilitarian lighting source.

The lamp was produced by German lighting brand Lucelab.

Strange Alternative to Beach Umbrellas: A Giant Windsock

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The ShadeSock is an alternative to beach umbrellas or sail shades. Intended for beaches that get a steady breeze, it's essentially a giant windsock. Unlike an umbrella, it works with the wind (and indeed, requires it in order to stay aloft) rather than fighting it. And unlike a sail shade, it's completely silent.

Of course, you'll look like a fool if you bring this to a beach that doesn't have steady wind—there's no structure to it, so it will collapse without a breeze. And yes, like a windsock it rotates, so the wind dictates where you'll place your towel.

A Remote-Controlled, Daisy-Chainable Pan & Tilt 360-Degree LED Light

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This innovative PT-200 is a remote-controlled, battery-powered LED light that can pan and tilt, with 360-degree rotation.

It features a magnetic base, giving you the freedom of a quick, wire-free installation.

Multiple units can be connected to the same controller:

It can also be slapped onto a vehicle:

It's produced by Chinese mobile lighting company Shenzhen Coming Technology.

Experimental Furniture Design by Raw-Edges Design Studio

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Typically, upholstery is fastened to furniture by adhesives, tacks or staples. London-based industrial designers Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay, a/k/a Raw-Edges Design Studio, took a different approach with this experimental chair design.

Its wooden frame has a purposeful notch in it. The upholstered foam is simply wedged into it and held fast by friction.

This would make repair, or removing the upholstery to wash the slipcover, easy.

At present the unnamed chair is still in the design phase. It will presumably evolve into a saleable product; the project is being undertaken in collaboration with Italian furniture company Bolzan.

The Insane Entrance Door to (A)void Café in Prague

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In the early 1900s, Prague city officials commissioned a masonry embankment alongside the Vltava River. This was to protect against flooding and provide the structure for a quay. This massive wall was built with vaulted chambers within the wall, to be used as storage space.

In the 2010s, these historic vaults were turned into contemporary businesses under a design by architect Petr Janda. The vaulted spaces were given massive acrylic portholes on a pivot, to serve as their entrances. Of these businesses, perhaps the best known today is the (A)Void Café. Its striking entranceway has become a social media destination:

Cool aesthetic aside, the risk remains. The Vltava last flooded in 2002, and the café had to temporarily shut down in September 2024 when the river threatened to (but did not ultimately) flood. Get your visit in before climate change accelerates.

In France, Lunch Delivered Via Steampunk-Like Contraptions

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Toulouse-based Compagnie La Machine is, strangely, a street-theatre company with an internal design-build firm. They create kinetic machines in their workshop, and incorporate them into their performances.

As one example, in the café of their Halle de la Machine exhibition space, they serve a Lunch of Small Mechanicals on the weekends.

Diners are served by performers using steampunk-like contraptions to serve the food: Bread is fired by catapults, serving carts are replaced by giant wheels, the fresh pepper is delivered Tom-Cruise-Mission: Impossible-style, and the dessert descends on chandeliers.

Here's what it looks like:

Lunch is served from 12pm – 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays, through May 3, and runs €65 (USD $76).

A Low-Tech Sliding Shutter System from Pre-Industrial Japan

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In pre-industrial Japan, the predecessor to storm windows were these hinged panels.

Image: Ktmchi, CC BY-SA 4.0

Called shitomi or hajitomi, these wooden lattices were supported by hooks hanging from the eaves.

Image: Ktmchi, CC BY-SA 4.0

However, in the town of Tsuwano in western Japan, you can find this sliding, non-hinged variant. The boards ride in tracks, and rest atop one another.

In the open position, the boards are stowed up top.

I believe that design is called shitomibame. But I couldn't confirm it, if any Japanese-literate readers want to help out: 蔀羽目?