These are the 397 most inspiring, innovative designs of 2018

Finalist:Design Company of the Year

Studio Gang

Finalist:General Excellence

Polis Station

Studio Gang

See Credits

Jeanne Gang, Founding Principal; Mark Schendel, Managing Principal; Gia Biagi, Director of Urbanism + Civic Impact; Laura Ettedgui, Project Team Leader; Emily Licht, Project Team; Chris Bennett, Project Team; Prajakt Karmarkar, Design Team Member; Corbin Keech, Design Team Member; Alissa Anderson, Editorial Consultant; Sarah Kramer, Publications Director; Claire Cahan, Studio Design Director

Finalist:Space, Places, and Cities

Polis Station

Studio Gang

See Credits

Honorable Mention:Space, Places, and Cities

Memphis Riverfront Concept

Studio Gang

See Credits

Jeanne Gang, Founding Principal; Mark Schendel, Managing Principal; Gia Biagi, Principal of Urbanism + Civic Impact; Chris Bennett, Project Team Leader; Akhil Badjatia, Project Team; Heinz von Eckartsberg, Project Team; Alissa Anderson, Publications Director; Sarah Kramer, Senior Editor

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.

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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

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The Grill

Finalist:Design Company of the Year

Finalist:General Excellence

Finalist:Space, Places, and Cities

Honorable Mention:Space, Places, and Cities

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.

This DIY mask test kit finds that your neck fleece isn’t really helping

David Chang and other chefs say now is the time to fix the restaurant industry’s long-standing inequities

The Gates Foundation is helping back a $3 COVID-19 vaccine

Why New Belgium Brewing is charging $100 for a six-pack of Fat Tire today

Microsoft’s bid to buy TikTok is the company’s brilliant plan to finally make you love it

This new Apple ad is epic vertical cinema by Oscar winner Damien Chazelle

How to decontaminate an N95 mask in an Instant Pot

This artist turned old Allbirds sneakers into a beach chair

SF sex toy designer debuts “build-your-own vibrator” parties on Zoom

As a Latino immigrant, I thought I understood the challenges of the Black community. I have a lot to learn

Will this time of reflection finally get your side hustle off the ground?

It’s time for tech platforms to stop tolerating the intolerable