These are the 397 most inspiring, innovative designs of 2018

Finalist:Graphic Design and Data Visualization

Airbnb Cereal

Airbnb

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Alex Schleifer (VP of Design); James Goode (Managing Director); Tony Hogqvist (Executive Creative Director); Karri Saarinen (Design Lead); Benjamin Wilkins (Design Technology Lead); Derek Chan (Creative Lead); Lucas Smith (Design Tools Manager); Salih Abdul-Karim (Design Lead); Magen McAfee (Editorial Producer); Takahiro Kawaguchi (Experience Design Manager); Sola Biu (Creative Strategy Manager); Ian Rowe (Sound Designer); Jack Hone (Experience Designer); David Hong (Experience Design Lead); Cecil Odom (Design Program Manager); Robyn Weatherby (Project Manager); Anastassia Babanskaia (Project Manager); Michael Smith (Writer); Dalton Maag: Tom Foley (Creative Director); Fernando Caro (Designer); Bruno Mello (Designer); Marlon Brand (Project Manager)

Honorable Mention:Apps and Games

Lottie

Airbnb

See Credits

Brandon Withrow (iOS Software Engineer), Gabriel Peal (Android Software Engineer), Salih Abdul-Karim (Motion Designer), Hernan Torissi (Web Software Engineer)

Honorable Mention:Experimental

Sketching Interfaces

Airbnb

See Credits

Benjamin Wilkins (Design Technologist), Jon Gold (Design Technologist)

Honorable Mention:Workplace

Airbnb office, San Francisco, CA

Airbnb

See Credits

Aaron Taylor Harvey (Environments Creative Director, Design)Brendan Williams (Environments Designer, Design)WRNS Studio: Architect of Record

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

Finalist:Graphic Design and Data Visualization

Honorable Mention:Apps and Games

Honorable Mention:Experimental

Honorable Mention:Workplace

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.

As coal companies fail, the workers are being left with nothing

What price should New York’s congestion charge be?

Is the Gates Foundation putting toilets ahead of human rights?

Meet Shampoodler, the podcast and Twitch superfan who’s the future of fandom in interactive media

Jim Gaffigan goes dark in his new movie, but the darkness was already there

Patagonia enlists teen activists to speak out for Global Climate Strike campaign

Here’s how the design industry is mobilizing for the Climate Strike

These AI-generated people are coming to kill stock photography

The story behind the viral graphic that electrified the climate movement

This is why you need to take microbreaks (and how to do it properly)

3 ways to make better decisions for your career

How these professionals built a successful remote career