flameweeder

This little gadget creates random keystrokes and mouse movements on your friends computers when you plug it in to their usb port.

The Journal of Popular Noise is a semi-annual audio magazine inspired by the traditions of pop music, printed periodicals, and the delight of a finely crafted artifact. Limited edition of 300.

I know product designers don’t love people putting their designs in cases, but these ipod/iphone cases from Miniot are probably my favorite.  Made from various types of wood, they’re an awesome counterpoint to the sleek plastic and metal of the product.

Ideo has created this set of cards which explains the methods they use to understand how to design the best products for their users. Having looked at them I think many of the strategies would be useful not just for product design, but also for any sort of group thinking activity.  You can buy them here.

If compact fluorescent bulbs looked like this everyone would use them.  I wouldn’t even put a fixture over them.  This is Hulger’s idea in creating a number of bulb designs that are a needed change from the bulbs that are out there.

I would buy this profanely amazing product.  Its a completely customizeable keyboard.  Each key is actually a transparent plastic housing with an lcd screen underneath (the clear plastic part does the up and down moving so the lcd stays stable).  This lets you reprogram the keyboard to do anything you want, and have that function actually be represented by an icon that is related (rather than having to remember that j gets you the healing brush tool).

This company appears to sell housewares, but their online “store” is pretty sweet.

Tyler you’re going to want one of these:

On top is the visualization of an actual sound using time/frequency/volume as the axes. The designers created the sound with the intention of converting the graph into a chair, which is the second pic. If you go to their website you can hear the sound and see more pics of the chair.

via vvork.

And these dudes at The Quiet Life have some great ones. I may or may not have gone on ebay and bought one of these cameras after seeing this picture…