Cool Hunting

The Aphrodite Project: Platforms
We spotted The Aphrodite Project at NextFest last night. Designed to help “sex workers protect themselves,” these Get Smart x Batman (Batgirl?) shoes bring hi tech muscle to the hustle. Designed both for improved marketing—the shoes display video, can flash the worker’s name, number, message, email address or web site and can play music—they also have a number of safety features—an alarm, one-button access...

Luminescent Gravel
Mixing glow-in-the-dark particles with flooring materials, the Dutch company S. Lövenstein BV created one of those no-fuss design fixes that improves safety and convenience. The substance has limitless applications for things like signage or guide strips with the ability to be evenly and seamlessly distributed throughout a surface and masked into shapes and patterns. Integrated with contrasting colors, it serves a purpose in both...

The Future Network: The Magazine
There's something refreshingly compelling about The Future Laboratory's latest publication, simply titled The. A "younger sibling" to their house publication Viewpoints, the quarterly is a straightforward look (read: no cheesy color-themed layouts) at current products, people, ideas and events, serving as a cultural thermometer aimed at an audience of marketers, creative directors, designers and the like. While the unfussy approach of The is part...

Traum Safes
Traum is a line of high-end personal safes with a simple philosophy: “Keep the world out but let you in with ease." These are not artless steel monoliths that give a room all of the atmosphere of a bank vault. Using the highest quality materials these safes attractively strike a balance that would intimidate an evildoer yet still blend in with tasteful surroundings. They...

Q Celsius Tires
For those of us in more extreme climates, Q Celsius is an all season, retractable stud tire, that performs well on wet and dry days. Not only have studies shown that using studded tires in dry conditions negatively affect performance, the loud noise of winter tires on bare pavement is irritating and then there's the added inconvenience of having to change them in and...

NASA Create the Future Design Contest
Roads that produce electricity from the kinetic energy of cars, DNA-scanning ballot boxes to wipe out voter fraud, superbly energy-efficient houses (pictured right) to stave off the impending energy crisis... these are some of the entries vying for the $20,000 prize offered by NASA in the Create the Future Design Contest While the entry date has come and gone, there are literally hundreds of...