These are the 397 most inspiring, innovative designs of 2018

Honorable Mention:Social Good

Changing the nature of work for first responders

Aerial Applications

See Credits

Joe Sullivan, Project Sponsor and Solution Requirements, Aerial; Jeff Brooks, Project Sponsor and Solution Requirements, Aerial; Julia David, Business Analysis, LDS; Archana Mahalingam, User Experience, LDS; Jerilyn MacLaren-Hall, User Experience, LDS; Courtney Villanova, Visual Design, LDS; Dave Pfeiffer, Visual Design, LDS; Jeremy Thompson, Digital Architecture, LDS; Dan Brady, Digital Architecture, LDS; Hemant Patel, Digital Architecture, LDS; Nathan Sullivan, Technology, Aerial

See past winners: 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012

All Stories In Innovation By Design

Co.Design

Design will kill marketing, says Ikea’s former design chief

Marcus Engman is leaving Ikea to run a consultancy that convinces companies to spend their marketing budget on what matters: design.

Co.Design

Dyson’s latest product is a $550 hair curler

After six years and $31 million in development, Dyson is launching the Airwrap, a device that creates ringlets using a bit of aerospace-inspired physics.

Innovation By Design

Meet Krewe, the eyewear brand that New Orleans (and Beyoncé) built

The five-year-old brand’s founder is focused on giving back to his native New Orleans and putting it on the map of fashion-forward cities.

Innovation By Design

There’s even a Warby Parker of towels now

Weezie wants to shake up a mundane industry with design.

Innovation By Design

What the healthcare industry could learn from Lyft and Airbnb

The sharing economy is built upon service and interaction designs that engender interpersonal trust. Healthcare organizations could learn from it.

Innovation By Design

The future of web design is less, not more

Low-Tech Magazine’s new website is solar-powered, which means it goes offline in cloudy weather.

Innovation By Design

This building’s giant sundial shows how much energy it’s making

It’s one of the most efficient buildings in the country–but its most unique design feature might be the 40-foot-tall installation in the atrium.

Innovation By Design

Dieter Rams wants Silicon Valley to stop

In Gary Hustwit’s highly anticipated new documentary “Rams,” the legendary industrial designer indicts the world he helped create.

Innovation By Design

This long-lost Eames design is being produced for the first time

In the 1940s, radio companies rejected the Eameses’ designs as being “too modern.” Not anymore.

Innovation By Design

Sick of midcentury modern? Here’s where to buy today’s best design

Skip the spindly leg sofas and knockoff Eames chairs, and try these shopping destinations instead.

Impact

Unable to afford IVF, millennials turn to hopeful grandparents

Impact

Cargo ships are big polluters. Can they go back to using sails?

Impact

This 22-part plan is how can we feed the world by 2050

Creativity

Our favorite Twitter reactions from this year’s Emmy nominees

Creativity

I’m at the T-Mobile. I’m at the Taco Bell. I’m at the combination T-Mobile and Taco Bell

Creativity

This new podcast studio wants to put modern L.A. stories in your ears

Co.Design

Suspicious of Google’s reCaptcha? Here’s a popular alternative

Co.Design

See the world’s oldest emoji in this new archive of 650 ancient symbols

Co.Design

The seriously scary problem with the black plastic all around us

Work Life

How do I hire a leader who is part queen bee, part worker bee?

Work Life

This ‘career accelerator’ helps applicants get dream tech jobs—for a cut of their salary

Work Life

Honorable Mention:Social Good

Aerial Applications

All Stories In Innovation By Design

Design will kill marketing, says Ikea’s former design chief

Marcus Engman is leaving Ikea to run a consultancy that convinces companies to spend their marketing budget on what matters: design.

Dyson’s latest product is a $550 hair curler

After six years and $31 million in development, Dyson is launching the Airwrap, a device that creates ringlets using a bit of aerospace-inspired physics.

Meet Krewe, the eyewear brand that New Orleans (and Beyoncé) built

The five-year-old brand’s founder is focused on giving back to his native New Orleans and putting it on the map of fashion-forward cities.

There’s even a Warby Parker of towels now

Weezie wants to shake up a mundane industry with design.

What the healthcare industry could learn from Lyft and Airbnb

The sharing economy is built upon service and interaction designs that engender interpersonal trust. Healthcare organizations could learn from it.

The future of web design is less, not more

Low-Tech Magazine’s new website is solar-powered, which means it goes offline in cloudy weather.

This building’s giant sundial shows how much energy it’s making

It’s one of the most efficient buildings in the country–but its most unique design feature might be the 40-foot-tall installation in the atrium.

Dieter Rams wants Silicon Valley to stop

In Gary Hustwit’s highly anticipated new documentary “Rams,” the legendary industrial designer indicts the world he helped create.

This long-lost Eames design is being produced for the first time

In the 1940s, radio companies rejected the Eameses’ designs as being “too modern.” Not anymore.

Sick of midcentury modern? Here’s where to buy today’s best design

Skip the spindly leg sofas and knockoff Eames chairs, and try these shopping destinations instead.

Impact

Unable to afford IVF, millennials turn to hopeful grandparents

Cargo ships are big polluters. Can they go back to using sails?

This 22-part plan is how can we feed the world by 2050

Creativity

Our favorite Twitter reactions from this year’s Emmy nominees

I’m at the T-Mobile. I’m at the Taco Bell. I’m at the combination T-Mobile and Taco Bell

This new podcast studio wants to put modern L.A. stories in your ears

Co.Design

Suspicious of Google’s reCaptcha? Here’s a popular alternative

See the world’s oldest emoji in this new archive of 650 ancient symbols

The seriously scary problem with the black plastic all around us

Work Life

How do I hire a leader who is part queen bee, part worker bee?

This ‘career accelerator’ helps applicants get dream tech jobs—for a cut of their salary

If President Kennedy hadn’t been killed, would we have landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969? It seems unlikely.