We’ve seen a huge influx of cool designs in 2021! These three months have brought us some really innovative, exciting, and heart-racing designs that have got us wondering….what does the remainder of the year have in store for us? Almost every design we came across had us intrigued for various reasons, though it was a tough task, we’ve finally put together a collection of designs that we felt were the best of what the start of 2021 had to offer! Each of these designs is the result of the blood, sweat, and tears of an array of amazing designers. From the world’s first paper disposable razor to a menacing Dodge Viper GTS concept, these designs are highly functional, cater to various problems, provide unique solutions, and of course… are VERY COOL!
Say hello to the Paper Razor, a sustainable alternative to the disposable plastic razor. The Paper Razor, as its name suggests, comes with an all-paper body and sports a metal blade-head on top. Designed to be flat-packed, the single-use razor comes completely unfolded and can easily be put together in a matter of seconds by merely folding in the sides and the top to create a rigid, ergonomic razor with a grippy handle. Its origami-inspired design gives it as much strength and maneuverability as a plastic razor while minimizing the use of plastic by as much as 98%. The result? A razor that can be easily flat-packed and shipped, used and then disposed of… safely, of course.
Carved entirely from sustainably sourced timber and not compatible with plastic building blocks, Mokulock works in the same way as LEGO bricks but is a couple of steps ahead on the road towards sustainable toy production. Coming from a love for trees and the natural world, the designer behind Mokulock recognized the waste that manifests with forest thinning and decided to make use of the smaller trees that are too thin for architectural purposes or furniture-making. Prioritizing simplicity and organic structure over shiny paint jobs, the Mokulock building blocks maintain their original tree’s finish, without additional finishing oil, chemical paint, or glue. While the different timber species used to create the building blocks of Mokulock vary, a sanded finish that promises a soft feel and splinter-free play is guaranteed. Currently, Mokulock uses timber from Japanese Cherry, Japanese Zelkova, Japanese Bigleaf Magnolia, Birch, Hornbeam, and Maple trees to produce their building blocks, which provide different textures and shades of wood for either smooth gradient or color block building projects.
It all started with Guillaume Mazerolle, a transportation design student at Strate, School of Design, Paris spotting a special edition GTS-R parked in a little hotel in Malbuisson, France. It was his lucky day as the ride was owned by none other than the President Dodge Viper Owners Association, and he was generous enough to have a short conversation with the curious design student. He even let him inside, and start the engine of his supercar! That was the moment, Guillaume fell in love with this beautiful monster, and the idea to create the future Dodge plug-in Hybrid vehicle with both an electric powertrain and an internal combustion engine was germinated. For the Viper Basilisk concept, Guillaume took inspiration from the 2nd generation Viper GTS from 1996 and the 3rd generation Viper. Apparently, the design is indicative of the half reptile and half rooster character that’s pretty apparent in the whole thought process behind the concept car. 2nd generation lends the sensual feeling while the 3rd generation has that definitive precision element in the design execution. So, in its design DNA, this Viper Basilisk concept is a ‘Sensual Precision’ of unique design fusion that compares to none.
Depending on the home you’d like to build with Woonpioniers, Indigo’s structure and shape may vary. Recently, Lia Harmsen collaborated with Woonpioniers to design her live-in workspace for sculpting. The finished custom two-floor home measures 861-square-feet and features fixed-end moment building practices that produce a beautiful, curved interior leading from the wall to the ceiling. The fixed-end moment frame of the home offers an open-air floor plan, giving complete access for the building’s interior layout to take shape, leaving behind the spatial restriction of support beams and partitions. Inside, the topmost section of the pinewood sheets that make up the home’s wall curves and connects to the ceiling, producing beam-like support for the building’s structural forces without the physical need of additional beams.
While the price plays a major role in what makes the ZEROO DT1 so fascinating, it’s the two-tourbillion complication that absolutely steals the show. Visible at the 5 and 7 o’clock positions on the watch face, the tourbillions rotate once per minute, achieving greater precision through their synchronization, while hat-tipping to a category of watches that were previously only reserved for billionaires. Given its average price, double-tourbillion watches are considered a luxury lifestyle accessory, but the designers at Japan-based ZEROOTIME are committed to bringing the technology to regular consumers through the crowdfunding business model. This results in ZEROOTIME being able to avoid all overheads and middlemen, allowing the $3,000 DT1 to be ‘honestly priced’.
The iPhone Fold concept designed by Svyatoslav Alexandrov (for the YouTube channel ConceptsiPhone) comes in the familiar Galaxy Fold format, with a primary 6.3-inch screen on the outside, and a larger, 8-inch folding screen on the inside. It ditches FaceID for the reliable TouchID, and turns the entire primary display into a fingerprint sensor – so you can unlock your phone simply by swiping up. The lack of FaceID means a significantly smaller notch with just one front-facing camera for selfies. The back, however, comes with the iPhone 12 Pro’s entire camera setup, featuring wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto lenses, along with a flash and a LiDAR scanner. Open the iPhone up and it transforms into a squarish iPad Mini that’s designed to be perfectly portable.
Aether is a rather edgy-looking Cybertruck-ish conceptual motorcycle that runs on an electric drivetrain… but that isn’t its highlight feature. The e-motorcycle sports two large air intakes on the front (right before each leg) that naturally pull air in as you drive. The air that enters these intakes is passed through the Aether’s ceramic filter modules that help trap PM 2.5 microparticles, allowing filtered, cleaner air to pass through the exhausts on the opposite end. The result is an e-motorbike that does more than reducing its carbon-impact, it actually purifies the air around it, resulting in cleaner and lesser polluted air. The ceramic purifier module needs periodic maintenance/replacement too, which is why Lin Yu Cheng’s developed a system where you can either get them replaced ever so often or pop them out and wash the dirt off them, making them as good as new!
EconOdome homes are built similarly to conventional homes involving a foundation and the main floor. Once that is in place, the vertical walls and roof is added in. There are 130 triangular roofing elements that connect to form the dome which has 10 equal sides. To minimize waste, parts in the DIY kit are cut to fit precisely with no additional work required on that end. The wood also comes with pre-drilled holes for stainless steel screws and caps to make assembling it super easy. The company’s 26-foot fully insulated model is sold for about $18,000 and their smaller 13-foot option is an option for those working within a more reasonable budget. The two-story larger model spans just over 800 square feet and comes with a fully equipped kitchen on the first floor and a bedroom on the top floor. The bedroom zone also includes a half-bath and space for a home office or extra storage.
The Seal Shield Silver Seal Glow Waterproof Keyboard does exactly what its name says it does! This full-size keyboard is waterproof, as well as dishwasher-safe! Providing you with a True-Type setup, the keyboard is compatible with all sorts of household cleaners and medical-grade disinfectants. So, if you accidentally spill your morning coffee or bits of your lunch on the keyboard….worry not! You can easily clean it and rinse it off with some water, and dry it. For messy people like me, this keyboard is a major gift in disguise! The keyboard also contains an antimicrobial agent, that ensures microorganisms do not degrade and decay the product! A Seal Cap also protects the USB connector. It’s a foolproof and handy keyboard, this one!
The Lumos Kickstart Smart Bike Helmet combines the front and rear light, hard brake, and turn signals within one design! The helmet allows you to become more visible on the road and helps others to understand where you are headed exactly. It weighs less than a pound and sits comfortably on your head. A cozy Lycra padding helps your head feel cool. The smart helmet has also been amped with smart gesture recognition, so you can utilize hand signals while wearing your Apple Watch, and the helmet will catch onto them. Not only is the helmet highly functional, but it also showcases an elegant and smart design, one that you wouldn’t mind protecting your head with!
