Yeah, not even going to try to pronounce that one.

Last Saturday, the FlexVaas won the Best Consumer Product at the Dutch Design Awards. The four-component vase system has three different tops that can be swapped to accommodate different types of flowers. Simple, slick, and looks good.

High five to Vij5.

So simple.

French designer, Aïssa Logerot, has finally found a useful solution for all those Asian soup spoons I have clogging up the crannies of my utensil drawer.

It’s pretty straightforward, Chopsticks Plus One is a combo chopstick caddy, soy sauce bowl, and wonton spoon without the long angled handle. Now if he only made them stackable.

Design protoypes in Myanmar. Which is cooler?

One of our 2009 CPX exhibitors, 3brick Design, created an affordable, better stove for rural villagers in developing nations. They’ve just launched a blog sharing their thoughts on applied design thinking.

…This interview reminded us that when designing for the developing world, it’s still important to create irresistibly cool products that people will want to own and use.   To understand what makes a product cool or uncool for our user, we must be mindful that coolness changes across cultures, genders, and user groups.

Cool in context. We like it.

–Tom

Thank you to all of the amazing exhibitors, attendees, and organizers of the 2009 Cool Product Expo. This year, the CPX welcomed its largest attendance so far — nearly 1300 people came to the Stanford campus to the see the remarkable innovations demonstrated by our 51 exhibitors. All of us at the Stanford Product Design & Manufacturing Club were thrilled by the enthusiastic  response from the community. It was fantastic to see executives, entrepreneurs, students, artists, engineers, designers, and families exploring the expo together, seeing  firsthand how  design expands what’s possible.

We’re already jazzed thinking about cool in 2010. See you next year!

For a recap, check out coverage from CNET, Stanford Business Magazine, FindMBA.com, and the Stanford Report.

As you know, we’re on-site at Stanford’s Cool Products Expo (CPX), showing off (what else?) Xhibitr!

We’ve been meeting so many intelligent, dynamic and creative individuals and teams at CPX today. We’re incredibly proud to be a part of this conference, and we’d like to extend our gratitude to the organizers of this conference.

Below are a few photos of some of our favorite companies that showed their stuff at CPX. Enjoy!

[cpx.xhibitr.com]

We’re thrilled to announce the remarkable exhibitors that will be presenting at this year’s CPX. Each will be showing off a cool product that you won’t be able to find on the market — yet. Even in difficult times, smart design is helping them do more with less.

See what cool design looks like, from plug-in hybrids to prosthetics for the developing world to telepresence robots. It’s free and open to everyone. Tell your friends and come by the CPX at the Stanford Arrillaga Alumni Center this Wednesday from 12p-6p to play with the future.

23andMe
3Brick Design
3Prong Power
Adolph Consulting Services
Aerobie, Inc.
Alite Designs
Anybots
B.Minima
Blackbird Guitars
California Cars Initiative
Catapult Design
ConXtech
Cooliris
Cyclute
D.light Design
Dante Beatrix, Inc
Development by Design
D-Rev
Driptech
Elliptigo Inc.
Embrace
Evernote
Green Gears
Green Harvest Technologies in cooperation with Ziba Design
HandMe
HighLite
Jaipur Knee Project
Joby
Karven Holdings LLC
Klutz
Logitech
Lunar Design
MagnoGrip Inc.
MINIWIZ S.E.D. Co., Ltd
NeuroSky
Nila
Obscura Digital
Pianistica
PlantSense
Plug-In Supply
Psyleron
redmark
Speck Design
Stanford PRN
TacDial
Taco Lab
Think Gum LLC
Tieks
Visible Energy
Volkswagen
Xhibitr
Yahoo! Inc.

Industrial design magazine Core77 recently held its Greener Gadgets Design Competition, asking designers from all over to submit their designs for green products. And, as anyone who has followed Xhibiting knows, we love green products.

While the Top 50 entries are all to be admired for their style and their ability to make a positive impact in the world, one in particular caught my eye in terms of sheer ingenuity – meet the PowerHog:

This adorable concept, which took second in Core77’s contest, was developed by six designers (Mathieu Zastawny, Mansour Ourasanah, Tom Dooley, Peter Byar, Elysa Soffer, Mathieu Turpault) and is very simple – teach kids about the cost implications of energy use by requiring them to put money into a piggy bank for their energy consumption. Not to mention, it gives parents some level of control over how much their kids use their electronics.

Very cool – I hope they’re successful in marketing it!

[Xhibiting]

I still have a few more years before having to worry about diapers and pacifiers, but the urban hipsters of the 90s are getting married and having kids of their own. While it’s still cool to be trendy and laid back, these young parents are looking for ways to adapt their grown up lifestyle while staying connected to their youthful culture. That’s where Diaper Dude comes into play.

The Diaper Dude Messenger Bag is a diaper bag meant for a real man (yes, we’re including you in that statement)! Perfect for any on-the-go Dad, this bag comes with all the space and features you could ask for. Its main compartment is nicely designed to hold diapers, a changing pad and anything else that may be necessary for your little one. The three front pockets provide ideal room for wipes, food, utensils and even aspirin (you’ll definitely need this). In addition to these features, this papa-pouch also comes with its own changing pad, cell phone holder and key ring. Heck, Mom could even use it!

While I don’t think I’d ever use one myself, I’m loving the variety of innovation emerging around technology. But otherwise you can grab one from yourself for $97.99 at ThinkGeek.

[via CrunchGear and Xhibiting]

Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year. As a non-biodegradable, they are rapidly polluting the environment and the world is taking notice. 60BAG has developed a new type of bag that biodegrades over the course of 60 days.

60BAGs a breakthrough advance over the so-called “green bags” produced with polypropylene material, as well as the thick plastic bags given away by most clothing retailers. 60BAG is a great commercial opportunity for the companies committed to supporting an eco-friendly lifestyle.

[via Xhibiting and Core77]

The Cool Product Expo is all about finding and showcasing great examples of innovative, and sometimes very stylish, design. One of our exhibitors this year, Xhibitr, shares a similar mission, and we’d like to welcome them as the Stanford Product Design and Manufacturing Club’s first guest bloggers. We’re looking forward to seeing the great finds they have to share. Welcome, guys!

Have you spotted a cool product you want to get your hands on? Drop us note!