These are the 397 most inspiring, innovative designs of 2018

Honorable Mention:Apps and Games

NPR app

NPR

See Credits

David Al-Ibrahim, product designer intern; Nadir Alaoui, mobile developer; Libby Bawcombe, senior product designer; Jared Biehler, programmer; Michael Choe, senior iOS developer ; Liz Danzico, creative director; Nick DePrey, digital programming analytics manager; Grant Dickie, web developer; Ijeoma Ezeonyebuchi, mobile QA engineer; Vincent Farquharson, senior interaction designer; Dan Frohlich, senior digital analyst; Sara Goo, digital news managing editor; Bailey Kattleman, mobile product manager; Rick Kercz, sponsorship products designer; Erica Liao, data analyst; Esme Middaugh, data analyst; Tejas Mistry, senior product manager; Steve Mullis, digital news editor; Erica Osher, director of sponsorship products; Stephanie Oura, project manager/scrum master; Demian Perry, director of mobile; Ben Schein, mobile product manager; Michael Seifollahi, lead mobile developer; Mikhail Sinanan, senior mobile developer; Scott Stroud, lead UX strategist; Joel Sucherman, VP of new platform partnerships

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

Honorable Mention:Apps and Games

NPR

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

How to design a system for ethical innovation in tech

In Berlin, there’s now one app to access every mode of transportation

Will there be a market for the coming explosion of electric cars?

Creativity

Finally! Doritos makes a chip bag that cleans your dusty fingers

The fallout from NYT’s Ryan Adams exposé has already arrived

Home Page is being rereleased, like a time capsule from the internet’s early days

Co.Design

This revolutionary fabric could make flying economy less terrible

The major source of plastic pollution you’ve probably never heard of

Can architecture help you live forever?

Work Life

How to ask effective questions

The quest for affordable childcare is crippling U.S. workers

5 reasons why you’re still sleeping terribly