If there is a field where new ideas emerge, that is undoubtedly the school.

The objects we find in them aim to boost the creativity of the younger ones, in addition to favoring hygiene and comfort.

But do we know the history of the objects that have been side by side with our little ones throughout generations? Following our review of the designs that have changed the world, today we remember several we can find in schools.

If we look back at the history of design, there are several everyday objects that can be considered real milestones. They are “inventions that changed the world”, due to their capacity to adapt their form to the role they have to play.

Nine months after the appearance of COVID-19, it cannot be denied that the world has changed, and that the health crisis has led to an economic and social change. However, the dire global scenario has also had positive things. One of them is, without a doubt, the enhancement of creativity and innovation.

The international design competition jumpthegap® gives credit to five innovative projects that facilitate the best hygiene and protection against contagion.

We believe that, at this point, there is no need to provide any further information on the impact plastics have on the planet. While half the world is really aware of this problem and tries its best to reduce the use of plastic to the minimum, the other half isn´t and as long as a radical change of attitude is not achieved, plastic will continue being present in our lives.  On an individual level there are plenty of actions we can carry out to try to control –not avoid– the negative effects. Certainly, the most obvious is to separate the waste we generate at home, recycling to the maximum and placing every single thing in the corresponding trash can; but there are other gestures that, no matter how small, add up. 

The current rate of consumption puts the planet at a limit in terms of resource depletion and waste disposal. Scientists have been alerting that the situation is reaching a point of no return, affecting all living creatures and the planet itself on several fronts: climate change, natural disasters, displacement of entire populations, air pollution, invasion of waste dumped into the rivers and the sea, forest fires that will destroy the forest mass, unsustainable crops… and all those effects we already know about. The situation poses different challenges that designers, architects and engineers can and should meet by means of innovation and creativity.  Politics will follow its path, but it is unquestionable that design can greatly contribute to adopting more equitable, responsible and supportive lifestyles

Today no one doubts that the future of product design lies in digital manufacturing, a set of integrated processes that allows you to move from a digital design using CAD software to a solid tridimensional object, obtained from a 3D printer. But digital manufacturing includes not only 3D printing (objects are built up out of layers of metal or plastic) but also CNC Machining (where, typically, shapes are cut out of wooden sheets) and Laser Cutting (where materials like metal are burnt or melted by a laser beam). Any kind of object can be manufactured today: a pencil, a furniture unit, a shoe, a drone and, unfortunately, even a weapon.

The future of architecture and design is closely linked to virtual reality and augmented reality (VR/AR), tools that not only help architects and designers to better conceive space and volume but also to present the project to the customers.

In this post, we will talk about those works that can be used without having to seek the author’s permission, that is, those in the public domain. If a work is in the public domain, it means that this work can be freely used, disseminated and even modified (in the case of some creative commons licenses). If it is not in the public domain, then it is compulsory to request permission and, in some cases, pay to obtain a copyright license.