A Look Back on 2021
We’ve come to expect more from our products since the pandemic hit. We want them to be smarter, enable us to take charge of our health, and help us achieve work-life balance, even while working from home. This was a busy year for Whipsaw. Our designs responded to the world’s ongoing needs for medical and scientific innovations and products that make our homes and lives more efficient.
In 2021, we also found new ways to connect with our community. Notably, we launched our podcast, PRISM, hosted by Whipsaw CEO, Founder, and Principal Designer Dan Harden. PRISM was created to illuminate issues affecting the design community and the world at large. We also shed light on a variety of the year’s biggest topics through engaging blog posts, virtual panel discussions, and international exhibitions. We were honored to wrap the year with 48 design awards, including IDEA, IDA, and Red Dot.
Projects
Blumio Blood Pressure Monitor
We harnessed Blumio’s technology which uses small radar sensors to produce instant blood pressure readings into a comfortable, reliable, and durable medical wearable.
Martian Home Cleaning Robot
Martian is a one-armed cleaning robot on wheels that reaches high and low to clean showers, tubs, sinks, floors, and countertops.
Miroculus Miro Canvas Lab Equipment
Miro Canvas is a microfluidics platform that allows researchers to be more productive through its unique fluid sample transport system.
Tile Tracker Line
Tile’s new line of tracking devices now boasts increased finding power and an elegant redesign.
TP-Link Deco Series
Deco is a family of five high-performance mesh wifi products that feature subtle metaphorical symbols to suggest speed, range, and purpose.
WDL Washing Machine
This postmodern washing machine concept challenges every convention of what a washing machine is.
Aristocrat Neptune
Neptune is a futuristic slot machine that offers deep immersion in sight, sound, and space. It is now the hottest gaming machine in the market.
Museum Exhibitions
The European Cultural Centre, Venice, Italy
The ECC’s 2021 “Time, Space, Existence” exhibition featured several of our designs which were used in unexpected ways during the pandemic. More than 450,000 people experienced our exhibit, both virtually and in-person.
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
The Whipsaw-designed Google Trekker was featured in the V&A’s new gallery “Design 1900—Now,” which explores Design’s pivotal role in shaping the biggest issues of our times.
Media
Prism Podcast
We launched our own Design podcast in 2021, Prism, hosted by Dan Harden. In Season One, we had the privilege of interviewing CEOs, academics, authors, founders, and futurists on the past, present, and future of Design.
America By Design
Dan Harden served as a judge on the primetime TV series, America By Design. Our own Skrolla chair was also featured on the show.
Wild Business Growth
In this episode of the popular “Wild Business Growth” podcast, Dan Harden shared wisdom from his own career journey. He touched on topics including finding a product’s ‘It factor,’ using biomimicry in design, and collaborating with Steve Jobs.
Events
Cara Delzer, founder and CEO of the startup Moxxly, and Brady Forrest, head of Business Development for MobileCoin and founder of Highway1, shared how to turn an original idea into a scalable market hit in this virtual event moderated by Dan Harden.
Caroline Flagiello, founder and CEO of Akin, and Fred Bould, design director at Bould Design, examined how to make the most of our realigned values, the work-life blur, and virtual creative collaborations in this virtual event moderated by Dan Harden.
Thought Pieces
Domestic Robots Are a New Frontier for Industrial Designers
Yanko Design interviewed Dan Harden on our eclectic robot designs and what the future holds for this space.
Q&A: Whipsaw, Wearables and Pandemic Changes
Med-Tech Innovation News interviewed Dan Harden and Director of Industrial Design Cole Derby on designing medical wearables for an evolving market.
Interview with Dan Harden, Founder and CEO Of Whipsaw
RoboticsBiz interviewed Dan Harden on the nuances of designing household robots and the opportunities for industrial designers in this niche market.
What Is the Future of the Design Studio?
Innovation Magazine included Dan Harden in its roundup of perspectives on what the design studio will look like post-Covid.
Director of Industrial Design Cole Derby gave his top tips on taking your portfolio to the next level.
Tonal Coaches on the Rise of the Virtual Workout Influencer
Popular Tonal coaches revealed how connected fitness kept people physically and mentally fit in a pandemic.
In Defense of Design Generalism
Whipsaw Senior Industrial Designer Natalie Rowan took readers through her winding design career in this defense of generalism.
Superhuman by Design: A Conversation with Donald Burlock
Author and Designer Donald Burlock offered advice on how to harness creativity, find your value, and positively impact your community.
Awards
IDEA
Bizzy and Martian Robots, Silver
Uber Beacon, Silver
Koniku Konikore, Bronze
Red Dot
Glint Hero
TCL Zoom
Google Trekker
KODA Robot Dog
TP-Link DECO V20
TP-Link DECO X80 5G
TP-Link DECO X20 4G
Spark
KODA Robot Dog
Omnicell Syringe Dispenser
TCL Zoom
WDL Washing Machine
iF
Glint Hero Luminaire
KODA Robot Dog
TP-Link DECO Series
IDA
Bear Robotics Servi, Gold
Cisco Meraki MV Line, Gold
Glint Hero, Silver
Google Trekker, Silver
Koniku Konikore, Silver
Uber Beacon, Silver
Ventir Modular Backpack, Bronze
Good Design Australia
Google Trekker
Koniku Konikore
Chicago Athenaeum Good Design
ARC Chair
Atoms Shoes Packaging
Bizzy Robot
Martian Robot
KODA Robot Dog
Koniku Konikore
Omnicell Syringe Dispenser
TCL Zoom
TP-Link Deco Series
Empatica EmbracePlus
Hisense Projectors
TIME’s “100 Best Inventions of 2021” List
Tonal Strength Training System
Design for Asia Award
KODA Robot Dog
Fast Company‘s” Innovation by Design Awards” Honoree
Koniku Konikore
