DesignBytes

A new study finds input from social media is more distracting than beneficial during the product development process.

Infusing connected technology into products means IT departments will have to work with their firm's R&D as well as with product design groups. Can it be done easily with a Chief Internet of Things Officer?

A British non-profit is turning coffee grounds into furniture, jewelry and coffee machines.

In 2016, Taipei will hold the honor of World Design Capital, an initiative sponsored by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). With the theme "Adaptive City - Design in Motion," Taipei will focus on development issues and how government officials and citizens can employ "design thinking" to improve the quality of life.

Say goodbye to dustpans: the vacuum trashcan is here.

Microsoft’s Ralf Groene is responsible for the design of Microsoft’s Surface tablet, and he offered some unique insights into the early days of Surface.

Borough Furnace is a metal casting workshop that designs and individually handcrafts environmentally cautious skillets in small batches.

Say it's so. Hungary is hungry for a new takeout bag that doubles as a serving tray.

The chips and sensors and vibration engines and other parts total up to $81.20 in the 38mm version of the Watch, or about 24 percent of the retail price.

Bresslergroup's director of industrial design on three technologies that will take the risk out of product innovation.

Designers predict the future is now in wireless lighting: "Wires are really archaic. Like the light bulb, which looked modern until five years ago when suddenly the LED arrived and now it's history."

IDSA Member and 3M Chief Design Officer Eric Quint weighs in on what qualities make for a great Chief Design Officer.

Fake ID plays off of the notion that we as designers intend to sneak into this world using any means necessary, even if it is borrowed, bought or stolen from other fields."

Self-driving cars will certainly change our habits on the road. But truly autonomous vehicles will also affect how we work, says Tim Brown, chief executive officer and president of design consultancy IDEO.

Although IKEA products have become synonymous with various levels of hackability, the company has been yet to celebrate the “IKEA Hack” movement under their own brand, at least until now.

Can the Dymaxion teach us a lesson today? It does illustrate the difficulty of reinventing the automobile (and the wisdom of keeping four wheels on the ground).

From watches to lacquer to precious plastic to a hair highway, the Victoria & Albert Museum asks "What is Luxury?" in a new exhibit on Contemporary Furniture and Product Design.

Design Days Dubai celebrates the significant strides made by top Middle Eastern female designers who are dramatically altering the landscape of contemporary design by transcending the limitations of material to socially conscious and philanthropic initiatives.

Fast Company reports the world’s largest maker of computer mice and keyboards is being transformed, thanks to a duo at the top; an open floor plan; and a new wave of collaboration.

"...using design methods to understand customer needs better...is leading to insights that constitute strategic competitive advantages," according to a DMI study.

With the official launch of the Apple Watch, here is a list of its top five competitors for comparison.

"Paint the back of the fence," has been referenced time and again, "because you'll know."

Briefly forgotten, but by no means gone, Memphis—a phenomenon that shook the design world—is creeping back into the mainstream. At this year's Salone del Mobile, signs of its re-emergence were widespread. Original Memphis, which peaked from 1981 to 1987, illustrates the hallmarks of postmodern '80s design: strong geometric motifs, mixed materials, clashing and saturated colors, and a repudiation of anything streamlined and tasteful—a veritable "shotgun wedding between Bauhaus and Fisher-Price."

Wake Forest researchers fine tune "bioprinting" .. the capability to print something that’s alive. "An organ would arrive in a sterile container... ready for implantation. Presto, change-o: A new piece of me—of you—made to order."