These are the 397 most inspiring, innovative designs of 2018

Honorable Mention:Apps and Games

The Darwin Challenge

Universal Favourite

See Credits

Design and UI: Universal Favourite App engineers: Work in Progress Branding agency: Principals Behavioural economics: The Behavioural Architects Illustrator: Janine Rewell Copywriting: John Kerswell (White Label Words)

Honorable Mention:Products

Complements modular chocolates

Universal Favourite

See Credits

Product, design & art direction: Universal Favourite. Chocolate Production: Bakedown Cakery. Photography: Christopher Morris. Styling: Jessica Johnson

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

Google’s new housing development will get suburban workers out of their cars

Impact

3 ways companies can start embracing the circular economy

Impact

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

Creativity

How ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ is doubling down on the experience economy

Creativity

Surviving the Holocaust felt ‘Good as Hell’: The top 4 awkward music choices during the Emmys

Creativity

Michelle Williams’s Emmys speech calls out workplace inequality for women of color

Co.Design

The biggest hurdle in Ikea’s quest to become a tech company might be Ikea itself

Co.Design

Honorable Mention:Apps and Games

Universal Favourite

Honorable Mention:Products

Universal Favourite

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

Google’s new housing development will get suburban workers out of their cars

3 ways companies can start embracing the circular economy

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

Creativity

How ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ is doubling down on the experience economy

Surviving the Holocaust felt ‘Good as Hell’: The top 4 awkward music choices during the Emmys

Michelle Williams’s Emmys speech calls out workplace inequality for women of color

Co.Design

The biggest hurdle in Ikea’s quest to become a tech company might be Ikea itself

Meet the mastermind inventing fast food’s craziest menu items (Cheetos mozzarella stick, anyone?)

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

Work Life

What I learned about work when I adopted a puppy

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

3 ways to make better decisions for your career