
First Ever Synapse Design Competition!
A few Synapsters recently held a few design competitions. We were asked to spend a few days thinking about something cool we wish we had. Some competitions were guided by a theme (green technology, transportation, etc), and others were open ended. All were small - just 4 of us presenting to ourselves and two other Synapsters, and all were informal.
Ryan Smith gets props as the first Synapster to win a Synapse design competition!
Ryan's comments on the work:
CapsuleRaft
This concept takes inspiration from the bathtub dinosaur sponges of my youth, and takes it to the next level.
With CapsuleRaft, you'll never be poolside without a float, or riverside with a popped inner tube. Just throw
one pill into the water for a single person raft, or throw in the whole pack for a party raft...watch the pill expand, and enjoy your ride! Watch the clock, though, because these rafts aren't meant to last. Each raft will last a few hours, but after those few hours your vessel will begin to dissolve - without releasing harmful chemicals - and eventually will completely biodegrade.
This technology, once fully developed, could be applied to numerous products designed for short-term use including- but not limited to- nerf-style sporting goods, camping furniture, or maybe diapers? The options are endless, I hope that people will contribute to this post for "blue-sky" methods for which this technology could be applied!
Ryan is an independent industrial designer in the extended Synapse community. He has worked with us on a number of internal and client projects. He is a friendly face around our office as he often works closely with other Synapsters as part of a development team.
Ryan has some more of his non-Synapse work up here and here.