Palette Offers a Modular, Lego-like Device for All of Your Input Hardware Needs

Palette buttons can be re-arranged and customized by the user.As any artist, designer or...

By An Xiao Mina - January 17, 2014

A New Prize for Design and Social Impact

The Leveraged Freedom Chair, a wheelchair optimized for rural terrain. All images courtesy Icsid.As...

By An Xiao Mina - December 16, 2013

A Museum of Mobile UX Practices

"Good artists borrow. Great artists steal."These words have been attributed multiple times to Pablo...

By An Xiao Mina - December 13, 2013

From Shenzhen to San Francisco: HAXLR8R's Third Demo Day

Calvin Chu pitches Palette at the HAXLR8R Demo Day in San Francisco. All event...

By An Xiao Mina - December 3, 2013

A Case for Coding

Hacking away at San Francisco's Freespace, a pop-up space for artists, designers, developers and...

By An Xiao Mina - November 25, 2013

A Car for Distracted Driving

Driving, as we all know, requires complete and total attention. When operating a...

By An Xiao Mina - November 18, 2013

Evernote's Digital/Analog Bridge and the Death of Skeuomorphism

Image via evernote.com. At first glance, it seems natural: when designing notepad software, why not...

By An Xiao Mina - November 14, 2013

Collaborative Simplicity: A Tour of Square's New Office and Products

Photos courtesy of SquarePhotos courtesy of SquareThe first time it happened, I took time...

By An Xiao Mina - November 12, 2013

A Self-Stabilizing Spoon for Hand Tremors

One of the most devastating experiences of diseases that affect motor abilities is the...

By An Xiao Mina - November 11, 2013

Designing for the Apocalypse: 'News From Nowhere' at SAIC's Sullivan Galleries Critically Examines the Near Future

The premise of Desert Island Discs, one of the BBC's most popular radio programs,...

By An Xiao Mina - November 11, 2013

Fire Up this Portable USB Charger for Your Off-the-Grid Power Needs

At this point, any observant tech ethnographer knows that no one leaves their home...

By An Xiao Mina - November 7, 2013

Crowdfunding a Billboard for a Social Message

While the Internet has given us a great deal of control over our media...

By An Xiao Mina - October 8, 2013

A Crowdfunding Site for Cities

By An Xiao Mina - October 2, 2013

A Peripheral Light to Guide Your Bicycle Ride

One great thing about smartphones is that they present a readily-accessible map and GPS...

By An Xiao Mina - October 1, 2013

Can a GIF-Like Web Site Teach Typography?

Arial or Helvetica?Typography is one of those underappreciated art forms outside of the design...

By An Xiao Mina - September 25, 2013

A Time-Lapse Video of the New SF Bay Bridge

Eight years later and the Bay Bridge is finally up. As the much-neglected stepsibling...

By An Xiao Mina - September 24, 2013

How Monitoring Can Affect User Experience

Image CC BY-SA Michael CochlanOne of the simplest but most impactful design decisions inside...

By An Xiao Mina - September 23, 2013

Electric Bikes: Is It Really Time?

An electric bicycle parked in Shanghai. Image CC BY-SA Lars Plougmann.Here at Core77, we've...

By An Xiao Mina - September 19, 2013

A Self-Contained Making Space

The Microfactory is designed for small spaces and can even work on a desk....

By An Xiao Mina - September 17, 2013

Take a Peek at MESH Norway, Oslo's First Coworking Space

Photo by Kjetil Hasselgård In a city like Oslo, which is officially the most expensive...

By An Xiao Mina - September 16, 2013

An Open Courseware Series of Textbooks for Design

A screenshot of the Interaction Design Foundation siteA solid design education is an excellent...

By An Xiao Mina - September 11, 2013

Cafe Sounds Anywhere You Go

Another day, another design, another multi-hour stretch to focus focus focus on your design...

By An Xiao Mina - May 3, 2013

Notes from the Field: Solar Panels in Rural Uganda

Around California, I've been seeing more and more solar panels. Solar panels installed subtly...

By An Xiao Mina - May 2, 2013

Mentoring Rising Tech Talent in Uganda's Capital

Ivan Mworozi delivers the winning pitch for E-Ride, a new mobile rideshare program being...

By An Xiao Mina - February 20, 2013

Where Are the Design Apprenticeships?

Core77 Design Awards 2012 Student Notable for Educational Initiatives Retail: Retell. Recycle. Rethink.In the...

By An Xiao Mina - January 30, 2013

Apps for Close Friends

In the world of tech design, bigger seems to be better. The more people...

By An Xiao Mina - January 28, 2013

Me Yourself with 3D Printing

The first batch of Mixees arrive from the printer. All images courtesy of MixeeMe.Custom...

By An Xiao Mina - January 1, 2013

Core77 2012 Year in Review: Designing Nostalgia

Image via WikipediaAs we look to 2013, it's a common practice amongst designers to...

By An Xiao Mina - December 28, 2012

Custom Lights for Circadian Therapy, Wearable and DIY

Travel a lot? Keep weird hours? Sleep is a common problem for designers, especially...

By An Xiao Mina - December 19, 2012

Solitaire.exe Finds Its Physical Roots

It's hard to imagine, but it really wasn't that long ago when we stared...

By An Xiao Mina - December 18, 2012

Notes from the Field: Technology in Rural Uganda

Continuing from my earlier scattering of field notes, in this post, I want to...

By An Xiao Mina - November 29, 2012

Notes from the Field: Design Observations in Uganda

I've been living in Kampala, Uganda, for the past month now, and it's truly...

By An Xiao Mina - October 30, 2012

Designing for Nostalgia--Is the iTypewriter Part of a Larger Trend?

Image via Austin YangThe iPad, as they say, is the ultimate consumer machine. Deprived...

By An Xiao Mina - September 6, 2012

The Busy Trap? Get Creative by Getting Idle

A few weeks ago, an intriguing New York Times blog post started making the...

By An Xiao Mina - September 5, 2012

A Community-Owned Map Accessed via Mesh Networks

Only accessible via a local wifi mesh network, the Red Hook version of Tide...

By An Xiao Mina - September 4, 2012