The Calmingstone uses technology to prevent panic attacks
The Calmingstone is a pebble-shaped, handheld device originally designed in 2014 by Ramon Telfer, who, after suffering with anxiety himself, found that there wasn't a tangible product on the market to help him. The Calmingstone sits comfortably in the palm of your hand and uses light and sound to ease anxiety. It was created by Telfer alongside Calmingstone Co-Founder Alex Johnson, and operates via a copper heart-rate sensor, which circles the edge of the device. When in the user's hand, the sensor picks up on their heart rate and mimics it through a softly glowing light and a slight pulsing sensation. As the user relaxes, the Calmingstone's pulse and glow become more subtle. Specially selected audio runs alongside the vibration and light, giving the user a comprehensive sensory experience. Each of the Calmingstone's functions can also be manually controlled. To alter the level of light, the device is flipped over; to alter volume, it is tipped up and down; and to turn the audio on, it is moved in a circle. A Kickstarter campaign for the Calmingstone launched this week, two years after Telfer presented his first 3D-printed prototype.
“We have created and evolved our learnings into a beautiful, intimate product that anyone can hold, feel and listen to”
Benjamin Hubert designs self-gripping strap for Apple Watch
Benjamin Hubert has created an injection-moulded Apple Watch strap, which negates the need for buckles with its self-gripping fastening. The LABB strap (short for loop-less and buckle-less band) was designed by Hubert's studio Layer for Swiss start-up company Noomoon. It is intended to be used with the Apple Watch Series Two that was released earlier this year. Made from a supple rubber material named fluoroelastomer, the strap is patterned with a series of corresponding holes and protruding elements that grip together along the entire surface to join it together. These fastening elements are designed to securely lock together while also being easy to detach and remove. The injection-moulded strap is currently available in five mix-and-match colours; black, navy, olive, red and white. It launched on Kickstarter earlier this month and has already exceeded its goal of 20,000 Swiss francs (£15,880) by 11,000 francs (£8,730).
“The LABB is a stylistically new and functionally intelligent self-gripping strap that is inspired by the fast-moving lives we lead, yet surpasses trends to become timeless”
Fancy Jeremy Clarkson as a Sat Nav?
To celebrate the launch of The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime Video, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have lent their voices to the free, real-time and crowdsourced navigation app, Waze. Back in September, Clarkson tweeted out videos of May recording multiple takes of directions. May looked liked he was having a great time whilst Clarkson tweeted that he was losing the will to live. Thankfully they completed the recording without incident and the voice navigation has gone live to download alongside the launch of their new show.
dn&co design way-finding system based on circuitry for London tech hub
Studio dn&co's way-finding system for London's Here East campus features symbols borrowed from circuit drawings. dn&co was tasked with designing both interior and exterior way-finding for Here East, a technology hub in Hackney Wick that is part of the redeveloping Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Inside the building, large bright orange graphics placed on the walls and floors guide visitors to different areas. The signage uses lines and symbols based on those found in electronic diagrams. The emblem for a transistor is turned into an icon for the reception desk, while the zigzag resister symbol represents doors. As in a circuit diagram, the symbols are connected by lines – forming a giant floor graphic that connects different elements of the building. The design is intended as a reference to the technology organisations inhabiting Here East, which describes itself as “London's home for making.” Visitors curious about what each of the 20 symbols mean can pick up a postcard at reception as a guide. The studio also designed exterior way-finding for the 111,000-square-metre campus, creating three-metre-tall bent monoliths with a faceted aluminium surface. Each totem has embedded screens with interactive maps and graphics that can be set to show messages and animations, developed by digital agency Poke.
“We saw an opportunity to create a memorable experience for the thousands of people who will interact with this environment”
Recyclable paper bike helmet wins James Dyson Award
A foldable paper helmet designed to be used for bike share programmes has won the international stage of this year’s James Dyson Award. The contest, which runs in 22 countries, is aimed at university students or recent graduates studying product design, industrial design and engineering and is based on designing a product which “Solves a problem.” This year’s winner is Isis Shiffer, a recent graduate from the Pratt Institute of Design in New York City who has designed a recyclable paper helmet for cyclists using bike shares, called EcoHelmet. Shiffer will take away £30,000 to develop the product, while a further £5,000 will be awarded to her university department. The EcoHelmet uses a honeycomb hexagonal-style structure to protect the head from impact, and can be folded completely flat when not in use. The cell structure of the helmet means that impact is distributed evenly around the head in the same way as a polystyrene helmet, while its biodegradable coating makes it rain resistant for up to three hours. Due to the inexpensive materials and simple construction process and, Shiffer plans to sell the helmet at bike share stations for as little as £4!
“EcoHelmet solves an obvious problem in an incredibly elegant way” James Dyson
Covent Garden becomes world's first AR Shopping Destination for Christmas
Visitors to Covent Garden can experience the Christmas shopping spree of the future this festive season as the area transforms into the world’s first augmented reality (AR) retail district in partnership with pioneering AR app Blippar. Over 140 participating stores and restaurants in Covent Garden will be introducing new AR applications over the next six weeks in what will be the largest showcase of AR technology ever attempted in one location. Merging bricks and clicks, visitors can expect fun and digitally enhanced immersive shopping experiences from world-class brands across beauty, fashion and accessories such as Mulberry, Dior and The Watch Gallery. Families can also meet Santa in an interactive neighbourhood Grotto and embark on an AR treasure hunt to catch reindeers hidden around Covent Garden, including the largest digital reindeer ever which will soar around the famous Piazza, merging the real and virtual worlds. Meanwhile, shoppers will be able to unlock exclusive offers from the UK’s first AR Christmas tree, which will be decorated with “offers” that can only be unlocked through Blippar.
“We are looking forward to merging the old and the new, the real and the virtual in Covent Garden this Christmas”
Amazon launch voice-activated music streaming service to rival Spotify
Amazon has launched a music streaming service to rival Spotify, which has been designed in-house and comes with smart voice controls. Amazon Music Unlimited is an on-demand music service with a catalogue of more than 40 million songs and thousands of playlists and personalised stations. The service integrates with Amazon’s existing Alexa voice service, allowing the user to choose music by asking instead of manually searching. Amazon says it hopes the experience will become more “Conversational” and “Personalised,” as users are able to ask for music from a certain year, decade, genre or to match their mood at the time. If they don’t know the name of a particular song, users can also request it by saying a few of the lyrics. Another new feature is Side by Side, which provides background information about songs from an increasing number of artists. Amazon Music Unlimited features within the recently redesigned Amazon Music app, which has a new interface that puts more emphasis on album artwork, music discovery and playback. The Amazon Music app is available now on multiple devices, with a range of different subscription plans currently available for Amazon Music Unlimited.
The Apple coffee table book is just as expensive as you'd expect
Apple's latest release is a coffee table book chronicling 20 years of its past and present products. Eight years in the making, the book, titled “Designed by Apple in California.” profiles products from the 1998 iMac to the 2015 Apple Pencil. It is dedicated to the memory of late founder Steve Jobs. Shot by photographer Andrew Zuckerman in Apple's deliberately spare style, the book's 450 images illustrate the company's design process and finished products. Apple's Chief Design Officer, Jony Ive, wrote in the book's forward: “While this is a design book, it is not about the design team, the creative process or product development. It is an objective representation of our work that, ironically, describes who we are.” The self-published book is available in two sizes and printed on specially milled, custom-dyed paper with gilded matt silver edges. It costs $299 (£240) for the larger version, and $199 (£160) for the small one. So maybe consider it for the Apple fanboy in your family if you happen to think nothing of setting a couple hundred notes aside for an (admittedly rather fancy) book.
“We strive to define objects that appear effortless. Objects that appear so simple, coherent and inevitable that there could be no rational alternative” Jony Ive
Jaguar unveil its first electric car
Jaguar has revealed its first electric car, which is expected to hit the roads as soon as 2018. The I-Pace is an all-electric SUV with space for five passengers, which is described by the company as a dramatic design that offers a glimpse into the future of electric vehicles. It made its debut at the LA Auto Show, and while currently only a concept car, Jaguar says the design will remain largely the same when it goes into production next year. When it eventually hits the roads, the British company also claims the car will be able to travel 310 miles (500 kilometres) on a single charge and will be able to accelerate from zero to 62 miles per hour in approximately four seconds.
“The I-Pace Concept represents the next generation of electric vehicle design” Ian Callum, Jaguar's Director of Design
Cardiff University set to open new £300 million innovation centre
Cardiff University has unveiled a new £300 million Innovation Campus which will look to support tech start-ups and research. The new space, which is due to start construction in early 2017, will be based at the university’s Maindy Park. It will be a hub for university students, researchers, businesses and those from the public sector. It features two new 12,000 square metre buildings, which have been designed by architectural practices Hawkins Brown and Hok, alongside site master planner BDP and town planning consultancy DPP. The campus will include facilities such as a research centre for compound semi-conductors, a facility to support research in chemical sciences, a research park dedicated to social design projects, and The Innovation Centre, a creative hub for start-up companies. There will also be an exhibition and events space in the Innovation Centre, and areas open to the public. The space will also feature lettable office and lab spaces available both to start-ups and big companies. Alongside the two buildings, a bridge has also been built which connects the Innovation Campus with Cardiff Business School. Shared facilities include a Ted-ex style event and talking space, and a fabrication lab to trial new manufacturing technologies.