These sleek gaming headphones go stalk-less to deliver crystal clear audio!

Posted on 26/06/2021 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

Gaming is a full sensory experience. Your seat has to pass the Goldilocks test, an HD screen brings everything into focus, and the audio needs to be crystal clear. That means that the right pair of headphones can change the whole game. Reconceptualizing gaming headphones to meet their personal requirements, design team Vasudevansr visualized a pair that moves past bulky hardware and poppy audio to instead deliver headphones that mean business.

Vasudevansr Design initially felt inspired to design its own pair of headphones to elevate the gaming experience. Frustrated by the jumps and general scratchiness that microphone stalks fail to equalize, Vasudevansr designed a pair of stalk-less headphones so that gamers don’t have to speak directly into the microphone to be heard. Confessing to this, Vasudevansr describes his initial inspiration, “I have a general dislike for stalks poking out of the units and for people who breathe into it,” they told Student Design Showcase on Instagram, “A slight protrusion from the main body, housing two microphones on each side is my idea of tackling the [microphone] stalk issue aesthetically.” Ditching the microphone stalk for an internal input and output system, Vasudevansr’s gaming headphones look sleeker and should deliver crisper, less shrill, and muffled audio.

Communicating with other gamers across servers is half the fun of playing video games, but not when all you’re listening to is someone’s breathing. To remedy this, Vasudevansr integrated an internal audio system that would be able to capture a full spectrum of frequencies without the bulkiness that accompanies protruding microphone stalks.

Designer: Vasudevansr Design

An internal audio system is contained in each earbud, equipped with dual microphones to pick up a full spectrum of frequencies.

A tough, metallic outer ear borders the headphones’ inner cushioning, which wraps the user’s ears.

Ditching the stalk microphone for an internal, slightly protruding microphone gives Vasudevansr’s headphones a cleaner look.

The pair of headphones have a slightly exposed look to them, offering view of its internal structure.

The swappable directional pads of this gaming controller are designed to give you tactical gameplay advantage!

Posted on 24/06/2021 by Gaurav Sood

A gaming controller for your PC, consoles, or smartphones is one accessory every gamer should have handy. A versatile gaming controller is a quintessential piece of equipment in any setup these days. Sure options like the Xbox Controller or the PlayStation DualSense bring precise in-game controls to gain a tactical advantage. But how about a more flexible control input that is tailormade for a better user experience?

Industrial designer Dingyu Xiao of Suosi Design decided to do away with conventions and came up with the MOZER Gamepad. The controller resonated instantly with me since it solves a fundamental issue – having a single joystick layout for a varied set of games. For example, you’d need precise and fast input sticks for an FPS game, a D-Pad for sports titles such as FIFA, or a spring-loaded sling joystick for a tactile feel of shooting a stack of balls in Pool. The MOZER Gamepad makes all of this and more possible. And to top it all off, it’s wireless.

The concept is quite interesting as the user can swap the control modules instantly and it’s all plug and play. The directional pad of the controller is the one that has this modular function which Dingyu quite smartly does, I have to say. Even better, the grip of the controller hides two of the three directional pad control inputs when not in use. I’m sure gamers will be dying to get such a well-designed wireless gamepad in their hands to have a strategic advantage over their mates or online hotshots.

Designer: Dingyu Xiao of Suosi Design

LEGO is experimenting with sustainable bricks made from recycled plastic bottles

Posted on 23/06/2021 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

Since 2018, LEGO has been making strides towards sustainability initiatives including removing single-use plastic from their boxes and producing specialty elements from bio-polyethylene, a natural polymer sourced from sugarcane. Today, the iconic toy company reveals its latest sustainability effort, a prototype brick produced from recycled PET plastic. Derived from discarded plastic bottles, LEGO’s new sustainable prototype marks the culmination of three years worth of testing over 250 variations of PET plastics. The result, a LEGO brick constructed entirely from recycled materials that meet an array of different requirements, including safety, quality, play, and perhaps most exciting, clutch power.

Following a year of testing and reassessing of different PET formulations, LEGO will consider moving onto a pilot production phase, which would bring the recycled LEGO blocks into product boxes to hit the shelves for purchase. Sourced from a single one-liter PET plastic bottle, LEGO’s patent-pending PET formulation can produce ten 2×4 bricks, using a custom compounding method to ensure classic LEGO structure and secure linkage. Currently, the prototype is a blend of recycled PET plastics and additives that work to strengthen the recycled plastic and in turn meet specialized LEGO requirements. Vetted by the USA’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA), LEGO’s new recycled composition guarantees the same quality building blocks we’ve come to expect from the mega toy company.

Speaking on the brand’s latest step towards producing sustainable and recycled building blocks and the prototype’s proximity to pre-existing bricks, LEGO’s Vice President of Environmental Responsibility notes, “We are super excited about this breakthrough. The biggest challenge on our sustainability journey is rethinking and innovating new materials that are as durable, strong, and high quality as our existing bricks — and fit with LEGO elements made over the past 60 years. With this prototype, we’re able to showcase the progress we’re making.”

Designer: LEGO

LEGO Bricks made from Recycled Plastic Bottles

From a single 10-liter PET plastic bottle, ten 2×4 LEGO bricks can be produced.

LEGO Bricks made from Recycled Plastic Bottles

Complete with the same quality as pre-existing LEGO bricks, the new recycled bricks meet every safety, play, and clutch power requirement.

LEGO Bricks made from Recycled Plastic Bottles

Following three years worth of testing, LEGO finally found an ideal PET formulation for its new recycled brick prototype.

LEGO Bricks made from Recycled Plastic Bottles

By incorporating strengthening additives, LEGO’s recycled prototype maintains the same quality and strength as pre-existing LEGO bricks.

LEGO Bricks made from Recycled Plastic Bottles

This chess board uses visual projectors to help you learn the game and learn creating strategies!

Posted on 23/06/2021 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

Like many, chess was one of the hobbies I took up mid-pandemic. Half the battle of chess is learning and remembering the directions and formations each piece is allowed to move, once that’s squared away, strategy can be weaved into your game. I never got that far, but the new chess set Illuminis designed by Bülent Ünal might do the trick. It’s a chess set that enacts visual pointers on the actual board for kids new to the game who want to learn the rules, but it’s tailored for anyone who’s taking up the new hobby.

Familiarly decorated almost like miniature orange and black minions, the chess pieces look inviting for kids, with a gleaming outer coat and round bodies and heads. Setting his chessboard apart from the rest, Ünal’s chess pieces’ faces have been replaced with protruding circular projectors that look similar to antique scuba diving helmets. The minuscule projectors work by illuminating the squares on the chessboard where each piece is allowed to move, allowing kids and learners of chess alike to understand the rules of chess accurately and quickly. The visual indicators that come equipped with Ünal’s pieces merge technology with the antique chess board to give the game a modern edge, fit for today’s younger, more technologically perceptive generations. The bottom of each chess piece also comes outfitted with battery slots for fast and accessible charging and longer game time.

Chess is a game of skill, memory, and discipline. While it takes determination and patience to develop your own strategy, Ünal’s Illuminis chessboard might help streamline the beginner’s learning process and harness the memory and skill it takes to become tactical at the game of chess.

Designer: Bülent Ünal

Dressed in gleaming orange and black outer coats, the chess pieces have an undeniable personality that will speak to kids and beginners alike.

The pieces’ projectors indicate the different squares on the board each piece is allowed to move.

Underneath each chess piece, batteries can be inserted into slots for quick and easy charging.

Each chess piece has its own distinct personality to hone in on the character’s elements (i.e.; knight, queen, king, rook, and bishop).

Genius plastic covers let you play a game of poker on your iPad while concealing your cards

Posted on 22/06/2021 by Sarang Sheth

WonderCover Card Cover for playing Poker on iPad

I hope there’s a Battleship version in the works too!

The most obvious convenience with gaming on an iPad is that you can practically play anything on it. You don’t need to go out and physically buy a board game or order cards online. Everything is just an app-install away… although that comes with an obvious caveat – it isn’t easy playing group games on one iPad. The Wonder Cover comes up with a clever little hack to facilitate better group-gaming on the iPad. The covers are just plastic parts that slide onto the tablet, creating a shielded enclosure to allow players to “protect their hand”.

Perfect for card games like Poker and Uno, or even for Scrabble, the Wonder Cover is a nifty way to bring a physical/personal element to a digital gaming experience. Poker-face not included!

Designers: Nuno Pires, André Gouveia and INNGAGE Design

WonderCover Card Cover for playing Poker on iPad

The plastic ‘dugouts’ act as physical barriers, preventing other people from seeing your cards. The fact that they can be clipped on anywhere to the side of a tablet makes them accommodate different games and numbers of players. They can also be used on any tablet, working as well on an iPad as they would on a Galaxy tab or a Microsoft Surface Tab.

WonderCover Card Cover for playing Poker on iPad

This unique joinery toy lets kid connect with nature and utilize their creativity to build engaging structures!

Posted on 20/06/2021 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

Connecting with nature as a young kid brings out some of the most imaginative and tactile experiences the world has to offer. Each one of us can think back on afternoons spent blazing through our grandmother’s forested backyard or early morning swims at our favorite beach. While being in nature by itself is an experience that brings out our most creative and peaceful potential, collective global design house Studio 5.5 takes afternoons spent in nature one step further with a new collection called The Things To Make.

Primarily composed of a series of odds and ends that connect different items found in nature together to create items like kites, magnifying glasses, tents, and any other item our imagination allows, The Things To Make is a collection of accessories that help guide creative building processes for little kids. Complete with end sockets, fabric, and string, kids find the rest of the building materials, like twigs, branches, and leaves, in their backyard or nearby forest.

The kite’s building kit comes with end sockets that can connect tree twigs and branches to form a cross that can then be covered with the included kite fabric. Similarly, the 3D shape building kit comes with a collection of end sockets that children can get creative with and connect twigs to form 3D geometric structures like cubes or pyramids. To literally bring kids even closer to nature, Studio 5.5 includes a deconstructed magnifying glass that kids can put together and use sticks for the handle. Studio 5.5 then completes the collection with a tent-building kit, which includes end sockets and a camouflage tarp to be overlaid on top of the tent’s frame, giving kids a nature-made hideout.

Designer: Studio 5.5

The kite building kit comes with a spool and end sockets to make kites from twigs and branches.

Kids can connect two branches together to create a T shape and ultimately a flying kite.

End sockets allow kids to connect twigs together to create shapes.

Kids can also create their own geometric structures using the provided end sockets.

Studio 5.5 also included a magnifying glass for kids to construct together.

To complete the collection, Studio 5.5 devised a tent building kit for kids to escape to when the playtime is done.

Illegal LEGO designs that will simultaneously annoy and inspire all the master builders!

Posted on 17/06/2021 by Neha Mistry

LEGO is on a mission. Collaborating with brands across the world, LEGO is rapidly turning into a leader that is making waves – be it celebrating pride month or launching an Adidas special edition brick sneaker, or bringing your favorite FRIENDS moments to life, there is a LEGO set out there for everyone. That is, until we met the Illegal LEGO collection by Matteo Ercole.

This Illegal LEGO collection may be the piece a master builder needs to unleash their creativity. Each piece is a statement in contradictions, with half a raised side and the other a receiver/negative half, making it almost impossible to join your pieces. Or is it? As far as master builders go, they are always looking for complicated pieces that can help them build the next big impossible structure. While the bricks look simple on paper, the trouble comes with mass production is with LEGO’s manufacturing process that uses induction moulding. Usually, the bricks begin with tiny plastic grains called granules which come in a bunch of different colors. The plastic granules are fed down using pipes to the molding machines. Inside the molding machines, the granules are superheated to a temperature of about 450 degrees Fahrenheit (230°C). This melted plastic goo is fed into molds, little metal containers shaped like hollow LEGO bricks, and are cooled and ejected, which only takes about 10 seconds. The process is fast, a need of mass manufacturing. But to create a brick as we described, it would require us to 3D print these bricks individually, which may not suit or give the exact precision injection moulding delivers.

While it may take some time before LEGO actually manufactures such bricks, I know the true enthusiasts will go to every means necessary, including 3D printing the design to bring their next design to life. Do you think LEGO should make these bricks?

Designer: Matteo Ercole

The bookshelf integrating seating nooks makes this renovated basement the ideal summer escape!

Posted on 16/06/2021 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

As a kid, you either wanna be the one with the coolest basement in school or be friends with the person who has the coolest basement. Manhattan-based architecture and design studio Eisner Design renovated a family’s basement into a private miniature theme park for their kids, complete with adult-only theme parks in the form of a wine bar. The basement in Water Mill, New York is the ideal summertime destination for kids and adults alike, equipped with everything from a wine bar to a rock climbing wall and foam pit.

Eisner Design’s renovation pads the children’s basement playscape with cushioning from the floor to the ceiling to ensure rowdy and safe play. From the bookshelf to the tree swings, the designers at Eisner envisioned kids’ imagination and brought it to life. Stenciled between cubbies and bookshelves, Eisner Design lodged cushioned seats that work as hideouts tucked away from the action for when playtime gets too tiring. One shaped into a perfect circle and the other forming the shape of a lima bean, the new seating nooks offer kids their own midday nap destination, à la mom and dad. Rooted just in front of the seating nooks, a modular, cushioned playground is stationed next to an indoor tree trunk that can be used for climbing or as a base during games of tag.

Beyond the colorful resting nooks and modular playground, the basement once again assumes its minimalist optic white color scheme and introduces the basement’s hammock tree, constructed from a steel, columnar base and cloth seated hammock beds. Then, tucked away in the basement’s corners, an upholstered low-rise wall forms the pool of a foam pit where kids can plummet into after climbing to the top of the basement’s rock climbing wall or hanging from its monkey bars.

Since basements are the spot for sleepovers, Eisner Design equipped it with PlayPlace-approved sleeping accommodations, providing netted bunk beds located next to the basement’s indoor basketball net. Of course, while the kids are playing, adults can enjoy the basement’s integrated wine bar, complete with white Caesarstone countertops where you can enjoy a beverage you couldn’t get at McDonald’s PlayPlace.

Designer: Eisner Design

A modular cushioned playground gives the newly renovated a safe place for kids to get rowdy and escape the heat of the summertime.

Integrated seated nooks provide kids with their own naptime escapes just like mom and dad.

Cushioned window seating create nooks with outdoor views throughout the basement.

A basketball net stationed next to the basement’s netted bunk beds gives the sleeping area a playful touch.

Just beyond the modular playground, a hammock tree, and foam pit bring this basement to the next level.

An integrated wine bar for mom and dad provides the adults with entertainment that McDonald’s can’t.

The rock climbing wall is stationed atop a foam pit for kids to fall into after falling either from the climbing wall or overhead monkey bars.