Posts Tagged ‘product design’

New Product Design: Evolve LifeStation Gets Big Ticks From T3!

Monday, October 11th, 2010

After the successful release of the UK made Evolve LifeStation, the acclaimed gadget publication T3 has released a dazzling review of the one room AV hub entitled, ‘Evolve LifeStation: 10 Reasons to buy now’ The article is fuelling the buzz about this high end entertainment hub and the team at T3 seem pretty impressed, much to our delight as Applied Product Design worked with Passive Technologies to design and manufacture the model – all inside the UK!

As far as entertainment hubs go, the new Evolve LifeStation has to be the pick of the bunch. We found the project challenging as the end product speaks for itself; the LifeStation is a media server the likes of which few living rooms have seen before.

Surviva Jak – Heat Reflective Product Design Featured on Dragon’s Den

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Surviva Jak - thrills festival goers at RocknessSome people might be skeptical about the benefits brought about by space exploration, but the Surviva Jak may go some way towards dispelling those feelings. The heat-reflective jacket has been developed to keep the body warm in all kinds of weathers – particularly aimed at those who might find themselves lost or stranded outdoors, such as hikers. The jacket recently appeared on BBC Dragon’s Den – the Roadtests.

The shiny, flashy nature of the Surviva Jak – due to the fact it is made of aluminium covered PET – raised a few eyebrows among festival goers at this year’s Rockness Festival, where the BBC took the Jak. The fashion conscious were a little wary of the jacket’s cyber-feel, but ultimately warmed to the product’s heat keeping qualities.

Anyone who’s ever found themselves lost or caught short without enough warm layers, is likely to see how beneficial this item might be. If you missed the Roadtests, you can watch it at bbc.co.uk/dragonsden.

Wind Simplicity’s Windancer Product Design Features In Taschen Survey

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Canadian company Wind Simplicity has been independently selected for Tachsen’s new global survey of sustainable products.

The fetching and rather unique design of the Windancer has evidently caught the eye of the book’s editor, with its combination of looks and functionality. This piece of product design is noiseless, highly efficient and compact – addressing some of the key issues that have turned off potential wind power users in the past.

At Applied Product Design we love to see innovations such as this, especially when such products contribute to the solving of some of the world’s major problems. Products that aim to answer some of the key problems of the future have an even greater chance of success. If you have a concept for a piece of sustainable energy equipment – or indeed any other type of product that meets a demand – get in touch today.

Infant Seat Product Design: Mothercare to Stock mamaRoo

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Until you see the 4Mums mamaRoo in the flesh, you’d be forgiven for thinking that infant seating was no more interetsing than a wooden high chair. But this looks like something you would see in a science fiction film, this new seat, however, is a reality. The seat has been designed to sway and move much like a parent would, with several different motions and five different nature sounds.

The new product has been available in the USA for a while already – with 300 retailers having taken on the seat. Now UK customers will be able to purchase the new seat too, retailing at £199 in Mothercare.

In order to be more attractive to UK buyers, the name was changed from 4moms mamaRoo to 4mums mamRoo. The seat looks set to be a popular product, having won several awards including The National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval, 2010.

‘Design Key To Future UK Wealth’: Design Council

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

The Chief Executive of the Design Council, David Kester, has said that the design sector can be ‘the key to unlocking UK innovation and future wealth creation.”

The future of Britain’s economy is perhaps under more scrutiny now than it ever has been – as the realisation that over reliance on the financial and service sectors is more than a little risky. There was perhaps a time when it was believed that the UK was not the place to build things any longer – but the recession seems to have altered that view.

It seems certain that future wealth creation will rely on what traditionally Britons have been very good at – innovation. Coming up with new product design ideas that fulfil a demand in the market can lead to long term job creation in various fields.

New Dragon’s Den Series Showcases Exciting UK Product Design

Friday, July 9th, 2010

As the new series of Dragon’s Den approaches, we are once again reminded of the huge number of people out there who are passionate about a myriad of different product ideas. From what we can garner, the new series (Wednesday 14th July, 21:00, BBC 2)  looks set to be the most explosive yet, with the Dragons all looking to get maximum value from the ideas they eventually invest in. Among the highlights are a Devon-based vineyard, and an innovative approach to re-designing the nation’s road signs.

Despite the economic challenges that face all business people, the Dragons know that the best way to keep ahead of the competition is to continually find new ideas that help to address specific problems –and make lots of money along the way. For any developed nation, it is of course paramount that it’s resident are as inventive as possible – and the new Dragon’s Den series looks set to demonstrate just how inventive the UK still is.

iPhone 4: Thrilling Product Design, As Long As You Hold It Correctly

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

The Apple iPhone 4 is with us, and it looks like Jobs and Co have done a remarkable job. For the uninitiated, yet another version might seem unnecessary. However, if we look under the bonnet of the new iPhone, we see that there are indeed some big changes. At 9mm wide, it is 25% thinner than the 3GS. It offers better resolution, a noise cancelling microphone, a front-facing camera (5MP) and the ability to record HD video (720 x 30fps) among several other features. When all things are considered, the new iPhone appears to be a very worthwhile piece of product design.

One controversy that has dogged the new offering from Apple, though, is the suggestion that if the set is held a certain way, the antenna is covered, preventing reception. This could be a major stumbling block for the corporation, but in response, it seems to have been working on a patch that will correct the issue.

Samsung Sveta Pushes Refrigerator Product Design

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Inspired by the soft light of the northern and southern polar regions, Samsung Electronics bring you the Sveta RL52VE. It seeks to combine unique, sleek and Scandinavian-esque product design with the high electronics that Samsung have become known for.

The result is undeniably impressive – an appliance that seems to have the same aesthetic value as a piece of beautifully designed furniture. Combining the practical with the visually attractive is not always easy, but it seems that Samsung have done a good job here.

A key part of the design is the effect that the blue light has on those around the refrigerator; the designers sought to create a calming, energising feel to the fridge – something that such a humble kitchen appliance might not normally be associated with.

Video Camcorder Product Design from Standard to HD and Beyond

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

There is currently a massive push on video camera and video camcorder technology, with many product design teams around the globe testing just how far they can push this new technology. I’m sure most of us have now seen the benefits of using an HD television either in our homes or in a shop. It helps to maximise the output of quality with an amazing 1920×1080 pixels being display on the screen, and it hasn’t take video camcorder companies too long to catch up with this new standard.

You can now purchase handheld camcorders, some that are even as small as mobile phones that can amazingly record and store HD video on HD/SD cards for upwards of £100. It is staggering at the rate of electronic product design and it doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon. You have to wonder how long it will be before these companies start developing cameras that can record images that can later be projected as 3D images on our screens.

Moto2 Product Design Leads The Industry

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

The MotoGP World Championship gets underway on Sunday in Qatar, but maybe for the first time in a while the whole world is actually waiting with baited breath for the support category labelled simply Moto2. The new series will host its inaugural race on Sunday night after almost two years of planning and everyone will be eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see the exquisite levels of product design and just what these new machines are capable of for the first time.

600cc in capacity, all the motorbikes will be running specially manufactured Honda engines and will have electronic control units to manage the amount of rider aids that the riders can use. It really should be back down to racing at it purist, when it is the team that has made the best use of their product design opportunities to design and construct the perfect chassis and the rider, who muscles the motorcycle around the tight and twisty tracks.