Cool Hunting

The 4th Bin Design Competition
The 4th Bin tackles the e-waste recycling problem by proposing a massive infrastructure shift using design thought up by you. Sponsored by Valiant Technology, the international competition is putting the call out to all creative innovators to submit logo and bin designs. Eventually, the goal is to put the bins in buildings across the country so that businesses and individuals have a place to...

Umbra x Pratt 2009 Design Competition
by Tisha Leung Now in its fifth year, the Umbra/Pratt Design Competition proved once again that the collaboration is a natural fit, with the winners showing off their clever prototypes at this year's ICFF. The competition, open to undergraduates and graduate students in Pratt’s Industrial Design program, focused on the theme Need vs Want, challenging designers to create meaningful and compelling products that would be...

Minimal Design Tea Accessories
Design firm Minimal is adding modern style to the tea industry with their sleek kettle and gadgets, which the World Kitchen recently honored at their Tea-Off! design competition. Created to promote innovative thinking and critical problem solving, the competition focuses on the role of design as a fundamental value for the kitchen and housewares industry—the perfect challenge for Minimal, a studio that balances high...

Best Magazine Design Finalists
The impending fear of the end for print magazines seems to have only inspired publishers to prove everyone wrong by refining and, at times, redesigning their pages. This year's finalists for best magazine design, announced by the Society of Publication Designers—or SPD— are some of the best we've seen. While some of the usual suspects were rightfully chosen—like Wired, W, GQ and Dwell—the SPD's...