A bicycle shop in Altlandsberg, Germany advertises their goods with a wall of around 120 bikes mounted on the building’s exterior in lieu of a sign.

I’ve been watching BBC’s The Genius of Design and it has totally re-educated my perspective of the Industrial Design profession. The genius of design is in offering solutions to a problem in such a way that they don’t compromise on our routine habits. The other aspect of designing that I understood was that it’s not wrong for designers to try and improvise an existing solution, with their own perceptions. Usually I disregard a design submission that is very similar to a published post, but this time around I want to bring out the two and spark a debate on the design challenge.

Problem:

The clothes iron is a fantastic invention and the technique dates back to the ancient Chinese people using pans filled with hot coals to iron out clothes. With electricity and modernization we moved on to regular and steam irons. However one situation remained constant with the advent of new technologies – burning clothes due to carelessness.

Solution:

One solution that we recently saw was the Roly Poly Iron designed by Wonkook Lee. It worked on the rocking principle where weights in the handle pulled back the iron into a standing position, when not in use. A simple enough idea that was worth exploring!

Designers: Sangyong Park, Jungmin Park & Sunwoo Hwang

Love (!) the Puzzle Board by Ooms Dutch Design Studio. Minimal, beautiful, functional. $26

How cute are these piggy banks by Ladies & Gentlemen? Called the Chalk-it-to-me Piggy Bank, each bank was cast with a pigmented ceramic that creates a surface that can be customized with chalk. The bank comes with a cork stopper for easy access to the funds inside. Two chalk sticks and a wiping cloth are provided with each pig.

Patrick Sung has designed Universal Packaging System (UPACKS), a conceptual packaging system that forms to whatever it is that you’re shipping. Although it bends around your package, it is designed to be sturdy and strong. The idea is that no one box fits all. Often times, packaging is wasted to fill and pad empty space in boxes.

This iPlunge stand squishes into the back of your iPhone or iPod, keeping it upright for easy viewing. Available for pre-order at Perpetual Kid.