Gallery: The Most Cleverly Designed Objects of 2015
Josh Valcarcel01nyt-googlecardboard-1024x683
__[Google Cardboard 2.0](https://www.wired.com/2015/06/inside-story-googles-unlikely-leap-cardboard-vr/)__You only need a few things to experience VR: A high-resolution screen, sensors, lenses, and housing. Your phone provides the first two things. Google Cardboard provides everything else---and it does it on the cheap, in a flat-packable form factor. At Google I/O 2015, the company unveiled an updated design that accommodated a wider range of phones, making Cardboard economical and egalitarian. No wonder the New York Times was able to ship it to 1.3-million people last month.
Map02FM-Tritensil-012-1024x683
__[Tritensel](https://www.wired.com/2015/08/tritensil-spork/)__ Yes this is a “sporf.” Go ahead and roll your eyes, but this updated take on the cafeteria staple is a true design object thanks to a handful of carefully considered choices. MAP projects designed the plastic utensil to be asymmetrical with the head bend at around 40 degrees. This allow people to use their index finger to stabilize the Tritensil as they’re cutting and protect their digits from the serrated edge. We’ll never look at a spork the same way again.
Andrew White03WIRED-MicrosoftWindows10Devices-67-1024x683
__[Surface Book](https://www.wired.com/2015/10/story-behind-surface-books-crazy-new-hinge/)__ It’s been ages since anyone considered buying a non-Apple laptop. Microsoft’s Surface Book changed that, quick. Credit the hinge: the isopod-like piece of aluminum flexes back and forth thanks to four rotational points, allowing the Surface Book to easily, and steadily, convert back and forth both laptop and tablet mode.
Polaroid04PolaroidSnap-04-1024x768
__[Polaroid Snap](https://www.wired.com/2015/09/polaroid-ammunition-camera/)__ Unlike its predecessors, this Polaroid doesn’t use ink cartridges. Instead, it uses inkless printing tech developed by a company called Zink. That means that also, unlike other instant cameras, this one is small enough to fit in your pocket, just like your phone.
Portland State University05espressoinsp-660x440
__[Espresso Space Cup](https://www.wired.com/2015/01/coffee-cup-designed-let-astronauts-sip-espresso-space/)__It takes a lot of science to design an espresso cup for outer space. Researchers from Portland State University designed every curve to encourage the controlled movement of liquid. The corner of the cup, for instance, uses capillary action to guide liquid towards your mouth. It might not look very pretty, but it’s arguably the smartest cup we’ve seen.
Aiaiai06aiaiai-ft-582x409
__[Aiaiai’s TMA-2 Headphones](https://www.wired.com/2015/04/aiaiai-modular-headphones/)__ With its TMA-2 headphones, Aiaiai took the matte-finish minimalism of the TMA-1s and made it modular, allowing you to design your ideal pair of headphones from a range of beautifully crafted parts. Log onto the company’s website, and you can choose from 18 different components---including ear pads, headbands, and speaker units---and combine them to create one of 360 possible permutations.
Leatherman07Stainless-Steel-Tread1
__[Leatherman Tread](https://www.wired.com/2015/02/leatherman-made-amazing-multi-tool-wear-wrist/)__Leatherman’s wearable multi tool might be better in theory than in practice. It’s heavy and a little clunky, but the idea behind it is so damn clever we had to include it. Leatherman turned its catalog of multi tools into bracelet links that, when articulated like a tread, become a handle for your selected tool. It just goes to show how low-tech a wearable can really be.
Pebble08Time-Steel-3up-660x495
__[Pebble Time](https://www.wired.com/2015/03/new-pebble-steel-focused-vision-smartwatches/)__ Yes, the Apple Watch went on sale this year, and no, this isn’t it. Pebble’s been at the smartwatch game for a while, and with the Pebble Time introduced its Big Idea for watch user interfaces: that for all their potential, smartwatches should be designed around time. Rather than build an interface around apps (as Apple did), the Pebble team created a UI that revolves around a timeline. It’s controlled via three new buttons on the right side of the bezel: one to view the recent past, one to see the present, and one to scroll forward, to preview what’s next.
KELLI ANDERSON09popup12-1024x768
Kelli Anderson’s masterful __[This Book is a Camera](https://www.wired.com/2015/12/awesome-pop-up-book-is-also-a-working-camera/)__ masterful is a book that’s a camera that’s also a crash course in optics and the behavior of light. A photo is essentially an imprint of light, but we don’t think about it that way these days: Our phones and digital cameras conceal the relationship between light and the images we see on the screen. Anderson’s book-slash-pinhole camera re-teaches you about the magic of light, in mere minutes.
Zero Energy Furniture10ZEF-table-view1-crop (1)
The __[Net Zero Table](https://www.wired.com/2015/05/table-sucks-heat-lower-ac-bills/)__ is like an air conditioner in furniture form. When a room heats up to 71 degrees, the phase-changing waxy material that’s sandwiched between corrugated aluminum softens and absorbs the excess heat. When the room cools, it re-releases that heat, warming the room back up without using a lick of electricity.
BeeLine11Display-front-on-1024x768
__[BeeLine](https://www.wired.com/2015/10/this-compass-is-made-for-geographically-challenged-cyclists/)__ GPS instructions are damn annoying. And worse, they can be dangerous for cyclists who should really keep their eyes on the road. BeeLine is a glanceable navigation device that doesn’t give you directions so much as it points you in the right direction. It’s more like a compass: Plug your final destination into the BeeLine app, which pairs with Google Maps, and an arrow will appear on BeeLine’s screen. Follow the arrow, and choose your own route from A to B.
Campaign12Campaign-SCN01-Neutral-4K-Still001-1024x768
__[Campaign](https://www.wired.com/2015/08/campaign-furniture/)__ is a furniture company for the age of on-demand services. Its founders—ex-Apple and ex-Honda design engineers—treat sofa design like car design. The midcentury modern-style pieces are built according to UPS and FedEx size regulations—saving customers from forking over an extra delivery fee—and assemble on site, in just a few minutes.
Yumit13yumit-leds
Though the__[Yumit plate](https://www.wired.com/2015/09/an-interactive-plate-that-turns-your-kids-meal-into-a-game/)__ is still in development, we have to applaud its inventive approach to getting kids to eat healthy. The interactive plate is connected to a smartphone app that translates food eaten into points kids can use in video games. Eating veggies is about to became a lot more fun for kids.
Chelles & Hayashi14torch-582x488
__[2016 Olympic Torch](https://www.wired.com/2015/07/brazil-designed-shapeshifting-olympic-torch/)__ The torch designed for the 2016 Olympic games in Rio is an homage to the country in the form of an object. Designed by Brazilian studio Chelles & Hayashi, the torch expands when handed off, revealing five metallic ribbons of color that reflect the country’s natural wonders. It’s not as subtle as 2012’s perforated metal torch, but it is a great example of how an object can reflect a country’s dynamic culture.
