#product design

#product design

Last December, I was standing in front of a wall of bottles, paralyzed. Not because I don't like wine. I do. I was paralyzed because the entire experience was designed to make me feel small. The sommelier energy, the gatekeeping language, the implied message that if I couldn't name the terroir, I didn't deserve a good bottle. So I did what I always did: grabbed the same safe choice, went home, and told myself I'd "branch out next time."

Posha is a compact desk planter built around a passive self-watering system. It separates water storage from the soil zone, with a concealed reservoir at the base and a wick or capillary pathway that draws moisture upward only as the plant needs it. The roots stay hydrated without sitting in water, which reduces overwatering and stretches the time between refills in a way that suits distracted desk life and unpredictable schedules.

For years, Samsung has made products that try to camouflage what they are by displaying works of art. The Frame TV is the most famous example, but the company also released the Music Frame, a speaker disguised as a picture frame, at last year's CES. Now, instead of hiding a speaker with a piece of art, Samsung worked with designer Erwan Bouroullec to make a speaker into a piece of art.

Enter Lunora, a sleep aid device designed by Prithvi Manoj Bhaskaran that's honestly unlike anything you've seen on your bedside table. At first glance, it looks like a little sculptural figure taking a much-needed rest, complete with a glowing orb balanced on its back. That gentle lean, those smooth curves, it all feels intentional in the best way. This isn't another gadget screaming for your attention. It's the opposite.

You know that thing where you walk into your bedroom at the end of the day and just start emptying your pockets onto whatever flat surface is closest? Keys land on the dresser, wallet gets tossed on the nightstand, watch goes who knows where. It's a universal ritual of coming home, and it's exactly the kind of everyday moment that aerospace engineers Javier De Andrés García and Anaïs Wallet decided to redesign. Their brand, Unavela, takes the precision and intentionality of aerospace engineering and applies it to the mundane objects we interact with daily. The Unavela Valet Tray is a perfect example of this philosophy: it's a catchall that doesn't just catch, it elevates the entire experience of organization into something that feels considered and purposeful.

I had a client recently whose biggest issue was that users would get to the product dashboard and just... not know what to do. This is one of the most common problems I see in my consulting work, and it's almost never what the client thinks it is. They assume users need tutorials. They need tooltips. They need a help center with FAQ articles. What they actually need is scaffolding.

The final days before the holidays arrive with their own particular pressure. Gift lists grow longer while time grows shorter, and the temptation to settle for whatever's left on the shelf becomes real. Yet the best stocking stuffers aren't about expense or elaborate planning. They're about finding objects that feel intentional, considered, and genuinely useful. What separates a thoughtful gift from a forgettable one often comes down to design intelligence and material honesty.

Dreame built its name on robot vacuums and smart cleaning stations, but its newest release does not clean your floors at all. Dreame's Air Power 17 arrives as a magnetic portable power bank with a surprisingly polished feel, pairing an aluminum frame with AG glass and a footprint barely larger than a bank card. It clicks into place on an iPhone 17 or any Qi2 compatible phone, then quietly delivers up to 15 watts wirelessly or 20 watts over USB-C.

I usually take months to finish a book but this one took me 20 odd days. An avid book reader might be surprised by this number, but for me, this has been the fastest. The book I am talking about is Articulating Design Decisions by Tom Greever. Even though I have read only a handful of books, this was the only one that made me pause and take notes while reading.

That's the basic description of a series of three lamps made by the luxury Italian lighting company Foscarini. The company's new Alicudi, Filicudi, and Panarea lamps, designed by Italian father-and-son design team Alberto and Francesco Meda, are formed from actual lava rock sourced from Mount Vesuvius. To own a piece of Italy's iconic volcano, you'll have to fork over $866 for any one of the lamp models.

The sleekly designed, multifunctional Stowaway Lap Desk is a far cry from clunky, cheaply produced, and ergonomically ineffective alternatives that have long dominated and stagnated the market. Its main feature - a fully enclosed and concealed compartment proportioned to hold a 14-inch laptop but also chargers, phones, earbuds, notebooks, pens, etc. - doesn't make the design too unwieldy, nor does its cushioned base.

Google Gemini is quickly becoming my favorite versatile AI tool. Not only is the quality of output that the latest AI model, Gemini 3 Pro, generates impressive, but Google has added a few great features that streamline interactions with the AI tool.

What makes a great EDC gift isn't just utility. It's the thoughtfulness behind choosing something beautifully designed, smartly engineered, and built to last. These seven picks earned their spot because we tested them, used them daily, and genuinely couldn't imagine going back. Each one solves a real problem while looking effortless in doing it. Whether you're shopping for someone who appreciates clever design or just building out your own carry, these are the pieces that deliver long after the packaging hits the recycling bin.

Auk Mini is the smaller sibling to Auk's original six-pot system, a four-pot hydroponic planter that has already sold more than 100,000 units. The base is now available wrapped in natural cork, alongside oak and walnut finishes, turning the planter into something closer to furniture than a gadget. It ships with a 100-day money-back guarantee and has won awards from T3 and Esquire, but the story is the cork and how it changes presence.

The best workspace tools seamlessly integrate into your creative flow, making every interaction feel intentional. For designers who spend hours surrounded by materials, implements, and ideas, the objects on their desk become extensions of their thinking process. This holiday season presents an opportunity to replace utilitarian clutter with pieces that spark joy through thoughtful design and refined aesthetics. These five gifts represent a different approach to workspace essentials.

But holding a photograph feels different. In recent years, Polaroid has leveraged the intrinsic value of collecting personal artifacts and tapped into the population's growing primordial desire to reflect fondly on what once was. The Polaroid Flip Instant Camera proposes a deliberate unbundling from the phone as a direct invitation to slow down and choose moments rather than hoard them. It's instant photography tempered by intentional, meaningful production.

Candles have been in use in some way, shape, or form for thousands of years. It's believed that both the ancient Egyptians and the Romans created a kind of wicked candle using rolled papyrus that was repeatedly dipped in melted beeswax or tallow. For centuries, until the advent electricity, they were an essential part of daily life. Today, the tapers, votives, and pillars we decorate our homes with are mostly just that-decoration-but that means they're ripe for creativity, and designers certainly take notice.

Meet Rebug, an urban insect adventure brand that's basically the lovechild of Pokemon Go and a nature documentary. Created by designers Jihyun Back, Yewon Lee, Wonjae Kim, and Seoyeon Hur, this isn't your grandmother's butterfly net situation. It's a whole ecosystem of beautifully designed products that make bug hunting feel less like a science project and more like the coolest treasure hunt ever.

Finding the perfect gift for someone with an eye for design means looking beyond function alone. The best presents merge utility with artistry, transforming everyday rituals into moments worth savoring. Aroma diffusers have evolved far beyond their utilitarian origins, becoming sculptural objects that command attention while subtly enhancing the atmosphere of any room they inhabit. This year's standout diffusers represent a fascinating shift in how we think about home fragrance.

HORL is taking knife sharpening to another level with the launch of their next-generation HORL®3 rolling knife sharpeners. A fool-proof way to achieve razor-like results at home, the easy-to-use HORL®3 set features a powerful magnetic angled grip pad that firmly holds a wide range of knives in place, and a two-sided roller for quick sharpening results: a diamond sharpening disk and a honing one - see how it works .

Unfolding as a series of performative provocations - unconventional dinners staged in unexpected locations - the A New Futurist Cookbook project stems from architect Michael Yarinsky and interdisciplinary artist Allan Wexler's desire to better understand how design shapes the social dimensions of a shared meal. The newly released Tortugaware dishware collection derives, in part, from this ongoing investigation. "It explores tableware as a medium for connection, turning simple acts of dining into moments of exchange," says Yarinsky.