a look back at 2022’s top 10 design products

With the power to transform spaces and enhance the way we interact with our environments and one another, design objects play an integral part in our lives. From quirky lighting installations and sculptural chairs to enliven your living space with a spark of character, to thought-provoking design objects in the public domain, over the past year designboom has seen thousands of captivating submissions directly from our readers.

As we continue our annual TOP 10 roundup before we move into the new year, we handpick the most inspired design stories from 2022.

NANAKO KUME USES GIANT SHARPENER TO TURN WOOD SHAVINGS INTO PENDANT LIGHTS

image © Nanako Kume

Japanese designer Nanako Kume presents her delightful pendant light series made of large wood shavings. Inspired by the scraps left behind from sharpening coloring pencils, she created each shaving with the help of a machine built like a giant pencil sharpener. On the concept behind her project, Kume writes: ‘Since childhood, I was fascinated by the shape and fleetingness of shavings that are made when sharpening pencils. I thought that by increasing the size and thickness of what must be discarded as waste, it would be possible to create new products while maintaining the beauty of the shape.’

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AMBIENCE STUDIO’S REPURPOSED LEGO BRICK LIGHT EMANATES A PLAYFUL KALEIDOSCOPE OF COLOR

image © Ben Glezer

Melbourne-based lighting design studio ambience introduces Linear LEGO Luminaire — the ultimate playful kaleidoscope of color. Made entirely out of repurposed LEGO bricks and plates, the sleek and minimalist fixture emanates light through an opal diffused LED extrusion, which together with the vibrant frame, emanates a whimsical character into its surrounding space. With the attached flex cord, the light can either be suspended from the ceiling as a pendant, or balanced upright on the ground as a decorative sculptural piece.

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KAROLINA KRUSZEWSKA LAUNCHES A SEX EDUCATION SET FOR THE BLIND

image © Karolina Kruszewska

‘Pose’ is an educational sex set for the blind created by Polish designer Karolina Kruszewska in collaboration with sex educator Dr. Dagną Kocur. Developed as part of Kruszewska’s master’s thesis at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, the project offers extensive knowledge about sex positions and identifying anatomical features to help guide the visually impaired in intimate acts. This information is released as 13 audio films on YouTube and 3D-printed figurines depicting the five basic sex positions.

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EPHEMERAL LATEX AND COPPER SCULPTURES REINTERPRET PREHISTORIC VENUS FIGURINES

image © Reddish Studio

During Jerusalem Design Week 2022, Tel Aviv based research and product design group Reddish Studio exhibited their new sculpture project, Venus of Jaffa. The objects, a playful study of forms inspired by prehistoric Venus figurines, were displayed as part of the Go for Broke exhibition which presented a series of curated objects and their stories, centered on the dialogue between archaeology and design. Along this theme, Naama Steinbock and Idan Friedman, founders of Reddish Studio, design these the minimal figurines made of latex and copper as contemporary reinterpretations of their palaeolithic counterparts. The figurines spark new curiosity into the ancient Venus models, while referencing both the prehistoric archaeological finds and the way that they take part in our current culture with their bespoke museum displays.

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KIMU’S PAPER LANTERN COLLECTION FUSES EASTERN CULTURE AND WESTERN AESTHETICS

After a two-year hiatus from international exhibitions, young collective KIMU design is back with the ‘Beauty of Fusion’, a brand-new lighting collection that fuses Western and Asian cultural heritages, philosophies, and lifestyles. The new series is composed of the ‘Rice Ball Collection’ and some extension items from the team’s renowned ‘New Old Light’ concept, such as floor lamps, wall lamps, new tables, and bedside lights. The new products, which feature their distinctive paper lantern style, offer various options for indoor illumination and turn into outstanding yet unobtrusive additions to any environment.

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AGGREGATE CONCRETE AND RAW ALUMINUM FORM INTERIOR SCULPTURE SERIES BY VAUST STUDIO

image © VAUST Studio

VAUST studio introduces ‘total exposure’, a series of seven interior sculptures and objects inhabiting berlin’s architectural influence. The collection presents itself as a story of a brutalist liaison between exposed concrete and raw aluminum, presenting a wide range of objects, including pendants, side tables, vases, and incense burners. The raw texture and terracotta tones of the pieces add a unique warm touch to any space.

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CAST, BLOWN, AND BENT GLASS FURNITURE REIMAGINE SWEDISH GLASSWORK TRADITION IN ‘RAW INDUSTRY’

image © Andy Liffner

On the occasion of the Swedish Design Week 2022, Stockholm-based Designgalleriet presents ‘Raw Industry’, a collection of cast, blown, and bent glass furniture by designers Daniel Enoksson and David Ericsson. Having previously completed a thorough examination of the most basic archetypes, such as the table and the stool, the Swedish creatives have now decided to apply their extensive knowledge to the search for the characteristic appearance of cast glass.

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INSPIRED BY THE 2CV FOURGONNETTE VAN, CITROËN BERLINGO GOES BACK IN TIME

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887 CDs and DVDs MAKE UP THE ‘COMPACT DISC CHAIR’ BY BORIS DENNLER

image © Noé Cotter

Since 2004, Dennler’s work has essentially focused on recycling, and for this project, he re-imagined the use of compact discs as their product cycle has been dying for the past 17 years.‘Physical hardware is gradually being replaced by the cloud, streaming, and USB keys. With the advent of MP3, the 2000s sealed the gradual disappearance of the audio cassette, then of the compact disc. Nevertheless, the vinyl record has managed to survive somehow, to currently experience a renaissance, pampered by a few aficionados,’ he writes.

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THIS 3D-PRINTED STREET FURNITURE BECOMES A ‘SECOND SKIN’ FOR NEW JERSEY BARRIERS

‘U.S.E. — Urban Safety Everyday’ is an experimental furniture piece placed in the Italian town of Lucca. Conceptualized by architect Giulia del Grande and produced by Studio R3direct, the 3D-printed design is made almost entirely from recycled plastic. It serves as a sort of ‘second skin’ for new jersey barriers, transforming them into pleasant and user-friendly objects in the city. Ultimately, the green installation is envisioned to become part of everyday life in the town of Lucca while promoting eco-conscious design. 

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see designboom’s TOP 10 stories archive:

2021 — 2020 —2019 — 2018 — 2017 — 2016 — 2015 — 2014 — 2013