Core77

A Good Idea for a Lamp for Ferrari Fanatics

Rain Noe

This vintage desk lamp is by VEB Zweckleuchtenbau, a state-owned East German lamp manufacturer of the 1970s. It's a pretty basic Communist-era design, with no mistaking where the switch is.

You can adjust the lamp's tilt by moving the stalk in the little channel in the base.

Which makes me think: If you took a vintage Ferrari shift gate, and made a lamp like this with a more Ferrari-esque shade, I bet you could sell it for an absurd amount of money.

Drawing with Absurdly Long Pencils

Rain Noe

Scenic artist Nikolay Laukhin creates large-scale backdrops for the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. And I mean seriously large-scale:

You might wonder how many levels of scaffolds he has to erect in order to paint one of those pieces. The answer is, none. Here's how he and his team do the work:

I remember a Foundation Year exercise where they had us draw with a pencil on a stick, but it wasn't that long!

Laukhin's got lots of behind-the-scenes footage here.

Improvised Tools: A Creative "Juggad" Leak Detector

Rain Noe

In Hindi, the term jugaad means something like "jury-rigged" in English. With jugaad, the idea is that you don't have the tool or material you need, so you rig something up with what you do have.

Here's an example. The established way to locate a leak in a tire is to spray it with soapy water, then look for the bubbles. This guy either didn't have access to water/soap/spray bottles, or maybe just wanted to make his work more fun. Here's his jugaad leak detector:

For those with poor eyesight, it's also a darn sight easier to see than soapy bubbles.

Core77 Weekly Roundup (10-19-26 to 10-23-26)

Rain Noe

Here's what we looked at this week:

Maya Barkai's "Walking Men" public art installations.

CMF's milk-carton-inspired affordable portable speaker.

Industrial/computational designer Joram de Haas' FilaLoom project combines 3D printing with weaving.

The simple, beautiful interface on Braun's 1960s portable fan/heater.

A creative, low-tech way to cantilever a movable lamp.

Clandestine Design Group's Cellcius C-01: An electric motorcycle concept with modular, scalable power.

Work Sharp's diminutive, flexible knife sharpener.

A transforming Mid-Century chair, and fun Knoll facts.

Toyota releases video of wheelchair-alternative mobility concepts in action.

Manual Golub's Tachomesas: 5-gallon-bucket rolling end tables.

This design for a low-cost manual washing machine has improved the lives of over 100,000 people.

Furniture Design student work: Felix Sand Sørensen of the Royal Danish Academy pushes the boundaries of molded wood.

A spherical computer monitor pays homage to a 1970 JVC design.

A clever design for waste-reducing bottles, by industrial designer Rock Wang and Agoood.

A Clever Design for Waste-Reducing Bottles

Rain Noe

These bottles are by Taiwanese industrial designer Rock Wang and design firm Agoood. They were designed for Hosay, a Taiwanese brand of sustainable cleaning and bodycare products. Embodying their mission, Wang and Agoood's clever design incorporates a funnel, easing refilling:

Upon embarking on the project, these are the questions the design team asked themselves:

Could the cap double as a funnel? Is it possible to minimize printed labeling? Can the bottle exist without a label? Can bottles of different sizes (large, medium, and small) share the same outer carton? Can the caps and bases interlock to eliminate the need for protective packaging materials?

Every "could we?" eventually became an integral part of this collection. The design meets the principles of recycling, waste reduction, and reuse: Bottles are made from 100% PCR (post-consumer recycled) material. Printed labels on the products have been minimized. The caps and the bases of the bottles are designed to interlock, streamlining the manual packaging process. Every refill means one less new bottle is needed.

A Spherical Computer Monitor Pays Homage to a 1970 JVC Design

Rain Noe

In 1969, the world saw images of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.

In 1970 Japanese consumer electronics company JVC, presumably inspired by the Apollo 11 crew's helmets, released this:

That's the Videosphere, a CRT television. It was offered with both a plain base and an alarm clock option.

It's not actually attached to the base, by the way. Rather, it sits in a hemispherical depression.

It came with that chain that you see, as it could also be ceiling-hung.

Image: Canley, CC BY-SA 3.0

Even though the TV's picture was black-and-white, not color, the Videosphere remained in production for over a decade. JVC didn't stop making them until the early 1980s. As testament to its impact, Videospheres are in the collections of the MoMA, the Cooper-Hewitt, the UK's V&A Museum, Germany's Die Neue Sammlung (Design Museum) and others.

Now a company called Retro Lab is selling this Time Planet, a 3D-printed Videosphere homage meant to serve as a computer monitor.

The 9.6" screens, they say, are Samsung or LG screens taken out of iPads. The base contains a mechanical flip clock that's powered by an AA battery.

The company has no history and does not reveal their location, by the way. But for those willing to roll the dice, they're selling these for $740.

A Transforming Mid-Century Chair, and Fun Knoll Facts

Rain Noe

This Mid-Century chair, designer unknown, was produced by German furniture brand Wilhelm Knoll.* Called the Scissor Chair, it can perform a little trick:

Underneath you can see the hinge mechanism, which is rather unsightly, and thankfully tucked away.

Viewed from an ordinary angle, there's no indication that the chair hides a transforming mechanism.

*The Knolls were an enterprising line of people. See if you can keep up:

- In 1865 Germany, leatherworker Wilhelm Knoll started his namesake business.

- In 1907, Wilhelm's sons Willy and Walter took over the business, and expanded it into chairmaking. Wilhelm Knoll became known as a furniture company.

- In 1925 Walter broke from the company to start his own furniture business, Walter Knoll.

- Walter's son, Hans Knoll, grew up in the family business.

- Walter Knoll was an enthusiastic Nazi supporter. Hans was not.

- In 1937 Hans Knoll moved to New York.

- In 1941 Hans, after meeting Scandinavian furniture designer Jens Risom, launched the Hans Knoll furniture company with Risom.

- Unlike his Nazi pops, Hans Knoll supported the U.S. war effort by building replica German villages that the Air Force used as target practice.

- In 1943, architect Florence Schust approached Hans Knoll, to convince him to work with architects and expand into interior design.

- In 1946 Hans and Florence married, and the name of the company was changed to Knoll Associates.

So, now you've got some tidbits for your next designer cocktail party.

Toyota Releases Video of Wheelchair-Alternative Mobility Concepts in Action

Rain Noe

Last year Toyota unveiled three concepts at the Japanese Mobility Show:

Walk Me, a chair that can travel on its legs. This was presented as a wheelchair alternative that can ascend stairs and handle uneven terrain.

Boost Me, a sort of elevated wheelchair that would allow the disabled to play tennis or basketball.

Challenge Me, a rugged off-road wheelchair.

What Toyota didn't show last year, was video footage of these objects actually carrying people. But now they've released one:

"As we continue to come up with these different 'me' ideas," says Toyota Chief Branding Officer Simon Humphries, "talking about our dreams is sure to expand the range of users beyond people with disabilities, and all kinds of new uses will emerge. Ultimately, the ideal is a barrier-free world. That's why everyone should feel free to use them however they like.

"I believe doing so will steadily break down the barriers in society. It's very important that we steer things in that direction."

Designing Play: How Ekoplay Turns Learning Into a Hands-On Experience

Irene Guerrieri

For children, learning rarely begins with a theory. It begins with a gesture: picking something up, turning it around, trying to fit two pieces together, making a mistake, and trying again.

This simple sequence is at the heart of Ekoplay's approach to educational design. For more than 25 years, the Hyderabad-based company has been developing and manufacturing learning materials designed to make education tangible, engaging, and playful. Its products range from wooden educational puzzles to geography and curriculum-based learning materials, but the underlying design challenge remains consistent: how can an object invite a child to explore an idea rather than simply explain it?

For Ekoplay, the answer lies in designing for the hands as much as for the mind.

In 1985, Rajika Dhiren opened a kindergarten in Hyderabad, inspired by her mother's long-standing commitment to education. The experience revealed a practical problem: schools and children often lacked high-quality learning materials that could make educational concepts accessible through direct experience.

That insight eventually led to the creation of Edcraft in 1994, with a focus on research-based educational tools. The company also collaborated with the National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped, now NIEPID, to co-develop and distribute learning materials for children across India, from pre-primary through vocational education

The Indian company has been developing educational materials for children, with a particular focus on wooden puzzles and hands-on learning. Its approach grew from a background in early childhood education and work with children with different learning needs, an experience that continues to influence how the company thinks about design.

The central question is deceptively straightforward: How do you design an object that makes a child want to learn?

From information to interaction

Educational content is often presented as something to be read, watched, or memorized. A puzzle proposes something different. It asks the child to act.

The learning experience begins with the hands: picking up a piece, turning it, testing a relationship, making a mistake, trying again. Information is no longer static. It becomes something that can be manipulated.

For Ekoplay, this physical dimension is fundamental. Its products are intended to encourage children to explore, think, solve problems and learn through play, while also developing focus and patience through screen-free interaction. This impacts the designer's role, as the task is not simply to represent knowledge visually, but to construct an interaction around that knowledge. The product has to be understandable enough to invite participation, but open-ended enough to leave room for discovery.

The complexity hidden inside a simple puzzle

One of the most intriguing aspects of Ekoplay's work is the development of multi-level puzzles. Educational concepts such as three-dimensionality, depth and sequence must be translated into a physical product—and often into a format whose visual language remains essentially two-dimensional.

This is a challenging design problem. It involves translation: from concept to image, from image to object, and from object to interaction. The designer has to establish a visual hierarchy while considering how the child will encounter the product. What should be immediately visible? What should become clear only after manipulation? Which relationships should the object suggest, and which should the child discover independently?

The most successful educational objects do not necessarily explain more.They reveal more. A product that provides every answer can reduce the space for exploration. A product that provides just enough information can turn the user into an active participant in constructing meaning.

In that sense, the puzzle is not merely an educational illustration broken into pieces. It is an interface.

Designing the moment of discovery

The word "interface" might seem unusual when talking about a wooden children's puzzle. But consider what happens when a child encounters one. There is an initial visual reading. Then a physical exploration. Pieces are lifted and moved. Relationships are tested. Patterns begin to emerge. The image changes as the object is assembled.

The product communicates through action. This makes playability a central design consideration. Form is not only about appearance; it determines how an object is approached, held, manipulated and understood.

For Ekoplay, this principle is closely connected to its origins in education. The company began from the experience of working directly with children and from the recognition that schools needed quality learning materials that could make education more engaging and inclusive.

The history places the object inside a broader design question: What happens when educational knowledge is translated into something a child can physically experience?

Wood as an active design element

The choice of wood reinforces this relationship between learning and physical experience.

A wooden puzzle is not an intangible interface. It has weight, texture and physical presence. It can be picked up, carried, rearranged and returned to again and again. These qualities matter because children do not encounter products as static images. They encounter them through their bodies. For an educational product, therefore, material is part of the communication.

Ekoplay identifies sustainable and non-toxic materials as important aspects of its design approach, while its products are manufactured in Hyderabad and tested for international markets. Here, sustainability, safety and durability become connected to the design of the experience itself.

The object has to be engaging enough to be used, robust enough to be used repeatedly, and considered enough in its material choices to fit within a broader environmental responsibility.

Inclusion is not an add-on

There is another layer to the way Ekoplay approaches design: inclusion.

The company's experience with children with different abilities has influenced not only its educational products but also its workplace. Ekoplay describes itself as an inclusive organisation, with neurodivergent adults among its team and an active focus on creating opportunities for women across leadership and production. This creates an important continuity between the products and the organisation behind them.

If design is ultimately about understanding different ways in which people interact with the world, then diversity within the making process can become part of that understanding. In Ekoplay's case, inclusion is presented not as a separate social programme but as part of the way the company operates. That perspective is particularly relevant to educational design, where the idea of a "typical" user is often inadequate.

Children learn differently. They perceive differently. They interact with objects differently. Designing for learning therefore means designing with that variation in mind.

From classroom experience to contemporary design

Ekoplay's development has also brought design into a more explicitly international context. The company works with a UK-based designer and an Italian designer to develop distinctive, trend-focused products for international markets. This introduces another challenge: how can an educational object retain its clarity and purpose while developing a contemporary visual language?

The answer lies less in adding decoration than in understanding the relationship between visual appeal and function. A child has to want to pick up the object. Once they do, the design has to give them a reason to continue. This is where graphic design, product design and interaction begin to overlap. Illustration communicates information. Form guides manipulation. Material establishes physical presence. The overall composition creates an invitation to play. The product becomes a small, integrated design system.

Designing for hands, minds and time

There is a tendency to think of children's products as simple because their users are children, but the opposite may be closer to the truth.

Designing for children requires decisions to be made across multiple levels simultaneously: visual language, physical interaction, educational content, safety, durability, material choice and emotional engagement. And unlike many digital experiences, a physical learning object is expected to remain meaningful over time.

A good puzzle can be used repeatedly. It can be solved, forgotten, rediscovered and approached differently. Its value is not exhausted by the first interaction. That durability is both physical and cognitive. The object remains the same, while the child changes.

The object as an invitation

This may be the most interesting lesson in Ekoplay's approach. The purpose of an educational product does not necessarily have to be to deliver knowledge directly. It can be to create an invitation, an invitation to touch, to look closer, to make a connection, to make a mistake, to try again, and eventually, to understand.

This is where the design of play becomes particularly relevant beyond the children's-product category. Ekoplay's puzzles demonstrate how a physical object can transform information into an active experience, using material, form and interaction to create space for curiosity.

The company describes its ongoing challenge as creating engaging designs capable of captivating young minds, while bringing together sustainability, inclusivity, playability and learning. Seen from this perspective, the puzzle is not the final product of the learning process. it is the beginning.

And perhaps that is one of the most useful things design can do: not provide the answer, but create an object that makes us want to discover it.

______________________________________________________________________________

Work Sharp's Diminutive, Flexible Knife Sharpener

Rain Noe

This Pivot Plus Knife Sharpener is by Work Sharp, an Oregon-based manufacturer of sharpening kit.

Measuring just 3.5" x 1.7" x 0.75", the 1.2-oz device contains three sharpeners: A carbide V for removing metal, a ceramic hone to refine the edge, and a flip-out diamond-coated rod for sharpening those pesky serrated blades.

The red toggle you see is where the "pivot" in the name comes from. With the toggle slid inward, the carbide cutter remains in a locked position. Sliding the toggle to the left allows the carbide cutter to pivot—rock might be a better term—back and forth as you drag the knife through it, allowing the cutter to follow the curve of your blade.

Work Sharp sells these for $20 though, curiously, a Leatherman-branded version (identical except for the badge) sells for just $15.

An Electric Motorcycle Concept with Modular, Scalable Power

Rain Noe

"The EV motorcycle industry forces riders into a rigid binary: endure the massive weight of high-capacity track bikes or accept the severe range limitations of lightweight urban commuters," explains Australian ID firm Clandestine, who sought to break out of this binary. "The design challenge was to eliminate this compromise."

The design team aimed to develop an ultra-premium hypersport motorcycle that could dynamically adapt its power to weight ratio to the user's immediate needs, while simultaneously solving the infrastructure bottleneck of public charging for urban apartment dwellers. Furthermore, the architecture needed to support hypercar level thermal management for sustained high-speed performance without relying on excessively heavy, bulky liquid cooling systems.

The solution is the Cellcius C-01, built around the proprietary "Hex-Core" modular battery ecosystem. Instead of a fixed internal battery, the C-01 features eight hot-swappable 3kWh cells. Riders can load two cells for lightweight commuting or all eight for maximum track range.

To solve thermal bottlenecks, the team engineered a natural flow-through Venturi tail that vacuums hot air from the chassis at speed. A maintenance free carbon shaft drive replaces noisy chains, minimizing unsprung weight for superior handling. Finally, a wall-mounted smart-dock allows for at home hot-swapping, entirely bypassing the reliance on public charging infrastructure.

The Cellcius C-01 radically disrupts the EV market by decoupling vehicle performance from fixed battery weight. Commercially, it creates a scalable ecosystem of aftermarket lifestyle accessories, like Hex-Core-shaped luggage and Vehicle to Load (V2L) portable power stations.

Environmentally, it promotes smart-grid integration, allowing users to charge modules off-peak at home or via solar power. Societally, it democratizes high performance EV ownership for those without dedicated garage charging, making sustainable, premium transport adaptable, accessible, and thrilling for a broader demographic of riders.

The Cellcius is a concept, with no announced production plans.

The Simple, Beautiful Interface on Braun's 1960s Portable Heater

Rain Noe

In the mid-1960s, Dieter Rams and Reinhold Weiss designed Braun's H7, a portable fan and heater.

It had one fan setting, and two heat settings. Rams and Weiss made the control beautifully simple and intuitive:

Alas, the version for the U.S. market had to be dumbed down:

The units were durable, and today you can still find the H7 on secondhand sites.

A Creative, Low-Tech Way to Cantilever a Movable Lamp

Rain Noe

Journalist Peter Wagner runs MeisterStunde, a web magazine where he interviews master craftspeople and creators. (MeisterStunde is German for "Masterclass.") His interview with Toni Roith, a blacksmith who specializes in historical restoration work, was conducted in Roith's home. There we see some rather unusual ceiling lamps that Roith has made:

These can be moved to cast light on different parts of the room:

Creative, low-tech and form-follows-function.

Combining 3D Printing with Weaving

Rain Noe

Amsterdam-based Joram de Haas calls himself an industrial and computational designer. His FilaLoom project, done as his Master's thesis in Integrated Product Design at TU Delft, combines 3D printing with textile weaving. He's rigged up a 3D printer that can do both FDM and lay yarn between the printed elements.

FilaLoom gives a new capability to FDM-printers, embedding yarns directly onto printed objects, allowing us to explore a novel design space at the intersection of additive manufacturing and textile making.

De Haas has now gained his degree and is looking for a gig. Additionally, this month he and TU Delft staff published a paper on the FilaLoom project here.

CMF's Milk-Carton-Inspired Affordable Portable Speaker

Rain Noe

This eye-catching Speaker S is by CMF, a spin-off brand from UK electronics company Nothing.

The portable Bluetooth speaker's from was "Inspired by the sharp geometry of a milk carton," CMF writes, without explaining why.

The controls are minimal but thankfully, tactile. The one on the left is the power button, which lights up to let you know it's on. The knob at the right controls the volume. It also doubles as a button: One press is play/pause, two presses goes to the next track, three presses goes to the previous track.

The different colors come with different knob styles; I thought you might be able to specify which knob you'd like with which color, but no dice; the knob shapes are pegged to the color choices.

Physical buttons on the back are for Bluetooth pairing and using Auracast (linking multiple speakers to the same source).

If a pair of speakers are used, you can configure them, via an app, to serve as left and right channels.

CMF was intended to provide lower-cost offerings than Nothing, and is living up to the mission: The Speaker S rings in at just $59.