Industrial Design | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/industrial-design/RSS feed for Industrial DesignenThu, 02 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000This Massive Collection of More Than a Million Tools Tells the Striking History of Jewelry Making in Americahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/this-massive-collection-more-than-million-tools-tells-striking-history-jewelry-making-america-180988428/Before computers and A.I., beautiful trinkets were formed with a combination of hubs, dies, finesse and force. Kevin Potter has perhaps the world’s largest assemblage of themThu, 02 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/this-massive-collection-more-than-million-tools-tells-striking-history-jewelry-making-america-180988428/With an Experiment in Their Basement Photo Lab, Two Brothers Created a Paint That Outshines Them Allhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/experiment-basement-photo-lab-brothers-created-paint-outshines-them-all-180988093/In the 1930s, the Switzer brothers stumbled onto a way to mimic fluorescence. That led to Day-Glo, which has been making the world a brighter place ever sinceTue, 17 Feb 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/experiment-basement-photo-lab-brothers-created-paint-outshines-them-all-180988093/Appreciate Awesome Architecture With These 20 Photoshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/appreciate-awesome-architecture-with-these-15-photos-180983402/No passport is needed for this virtual tour of beautiful buildings around the worldFri, 15 Dec 2023 15:05:37 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/appreciate-awesome-architecture-with-these-15-photos-180983402/College Sophomore Discovers New Origami Pattern That Could Be Used to Build Telescopes and Satelliteshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/college-sophomore-discovers-new-origami-pattern-that-could-be-used-to-build-telescopes-and-satellites-180987226/Based on the work of a student at Brigham Young University, origami theorists have unlocked a new set of patterns that could change space explorationMon, 25 Aug 2025 18:39:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/college-sophomore-discovers-new-origami-pattern-that-could-be-used-to-build-telescopes-and-satellites-180987226/How Do You Wear a Gown Made of Glass? Marvel at the Eye-Catching History of This Unlikely Fashion Trendhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-do-you-wear-a-gown-made-of-glass-marvel-at-the-eye-catching-history-of-this-unlikely-fashion-trend-180986998/In the 20th century, actresses and royals alike donned delicate dresses woven with spun-glass threads. More recently, celebrities have sported impractically fragile handbags on the red carpetTue, 22 Jul 2025 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-do-you-wear-a-gown-made-of-glass-marvel-at-the-eye-catching-history-of-this-unlikely-fashion-trend-180986998/Could This New Wearable Device Reduce Heat Stress in Construction Workers?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/could-this-new-wearable-device-reduce-heat-stress-in-construction-workers-180985689/Architecture students at the University of Hong Kong invented a cooling apparatus that attaches to a construction helmetWed, 18 Dec 2024 15:07:52 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/could-this-new-wearable-device-reduce-heat-stress-in-construction-workers-180985689/Could Eelgrass Be the Next Big Bio-Based Building Material?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/could-eelgrass-be-the-next-big-bio-based-building-material-180985203/On the island of Laeso in Denmark, one man is reviving the lost art of eelgrass thatching and, in doing so, bringing attention to a plant that has great potentialMon, 07 Oct 2024 17:52:44 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/could-eelgrass-be-the-next-big-bio-based-building-material-180985203/Forty Years Ago, the Mac Triggered a Revolution in User Experiencehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/forty-years-ago-the-mac-triggered-a-revolution-in-user-experience-180983623/When it was introduced in 1984, Apple's Macintosh didn't have any striking technological breakthroughs, but it did make it easier for people to operate a computerFri, 19 Jan 2024 18:06:07 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/forty-years-ago-the-mac-triggered-a-revolution-in-user-experience-180983623/An Abandoned, Industrial Ruin Bursts With New Life in Delawarehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/abandoned-industrial-ruin-garden-wilmington-dupont-crowninshield-180981544/Thanks to a few horticulturalists with an eye for history, a garden lost to time peeks out from the creeping vinesFri, 17 Feb 2023 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/abandoned-industrial-ruin-garden-wilmington-dupont-crowninshield-180981544/Here's What Really Happens When You Flush a Toilethttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-what-really-happens-when-you-flush-the-toilet-180981278/Using lasers and cameras, scientists visualized the plume of tiny, aerosolized particles ejected from commercial toilets during flushingTue, 13 Dec 2022 21:09:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-what-really-happens-when-you-flush-the-toilet-180981278/