The Boast

Give your iPad's sound an eight-decible boost with a simple clip-on

The iPad’s rear-facing speakers are considered by many as the device’s only real design misstep, doing little to enhance the overall listening experience. Created as a simple solution for the iPad 2 and new iPad, The Boast mimics the act of cupping one’s hand while holding the tablet to reflect sound in a positive direction. Currently on Kickstarter, the clever little tool uses safe neodymium …

Austin Beerworks

Texas' design-minded craft brewery

When considering the average beer can design, images of wide mouth tops, color-changing graphics and loud patriotic motifs come to mind. As an exception to the in-your-face branding that saturates big beer, Texas-based Austin Beerworks is as focused on design as they are with creating award-winning craft beer. Launched in June 2012, the young brewery worked closely with Helm Workshop to establish a sharp, pleasant …

Concrete

The material's many forms explored in a beautiful monograph from Phaidon

From the Pantheon to the Hoover Dam, concrete has literally shaped the civilized world as we know it. Although once referred to as “the cheapest (and ugliest) thing in the building world” by Frank Lloyd Wright, concrete’s adaptive properties have propelled it to the forefront of many design movements from brutalism to modernism, being used in some of the most monumental structures the modern world …