This year had its fair share of provocative stories, from a proposal for a gigantic space blanket to an installation that saw Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye sunk in a Danish fjord. For our review of the year, digital editor Karen Anderson looks at the 10 that were the most polarising. More about Dezeen's top 10 controversial stories of 2018
A device that turns street lights into floatation devices and a washing machine designed for long-haul truck drivers are among our pick of the best designs presented by graduates from the Middle East at this year's Global Grad Show in Dubai. More about Eight designs from Middle Eastern graduates at Dubai Design Week
Japanese artist Yuri Suzuki has released an acid house record and corresponding video protesting Brexit and the rise of anti-immigrant mentality. More about Yuri Suzuki and Pentagram drop anti-Brexit acid house album
Design studio Swift Creatives has come up with a smart cooking system called Sous Swift, that uses a sous-vide water bath to prepare restaurant-quality food with minimal effort. More about Swift Creatives' cooking concept makes sous vide meals as easy as microwaving
Graduate show season is always a highlight in the design calendar and 2018 was no exception. For our review of the year, design reporter Gunseli Yalcinkaya selects 10 of this year's standout student projects, from a portable protest toilet to a portable cooking set. More about Dezeen's top 10 graduate design projects of 2018
Creative agency Anti has produced a custom font called Optician Sans by adding to the ten letters used in historic optotype eye test charts. More about Optician Sans is a font that completes the eye test chart alphabet
Dutch designer Marije Vogelzang has installed a vending machine outside her studio in Dordrecht, where visitors can buy porcelain tableware and other products relating to food. More about Marije Vogelzang's secret vending machine dispenses tasty and tasteful goods
The first steak grown in a laboratory from cow cells as a meat alternative has been developed in Israel, and claims to have a texture and flavour similar to conventional meat. More about World's first lab-grown steak is made from beef but slaughter-free
Modular sleeping pods made from easy-to-assemble wooden panels are providing temporary accommodation for homeless people in London. More about Wooden sleeping pods by Reed Watts made available to homeless people in London
Tokyo-based design studio Nendo has updated the humble ballpoint pen, with a more ergonomic design called bLen, for Japanese pen manufacturer Zebra. More about Nendo rethinks the ballpoint pen to be more comfortable and reduce rattling
French duo Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat, the co-founders and directors of New York's WantedDesign fair, have received France's Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for promoting the country's design talent in the US. More about WantedDesign founders awarded for bolstering French-American cultural exchange
Designers experimented with unusual materials throughout 2018, from innovative new products to waste. Design editor Augusta Pownall picks out 10 of the best for our review of the year. More about Dezeen's top 10 innovative materials of 2018
American audio brand Bose's latest product is a pair of sunglasses that let the wearer listen to music, make calls and access augmented-reality experiences. More about Bose launches Frames sunglasses that are also headphones
In this movie, architect Sarah Izod explains how she drew from the children's book Where the Wild Things Are to create an other-worldly ceremony for the inaugural Dezeen Awards. More about Sarah Izod creates "strange nocturnal forest" for Dezeen Awards ceremony in London
The medal handed out to Nobel Prize winners at the first awards in 1901 is the inspiration behind Stockholm Design Lab's rebrand for the prestigious awards. More about Stockholm Design Lab creates "timeless" visual identity for Nobel Prize
French designer Loïc Bard has crafted a set of wooden furniture and matching tableware, all with rounded edges "inspired by the sense of touch and the human body". More about Loïc Bard designs "sensual" burnt-wood Bone furniture and utensils
Danish design studio Flensted Mouritzen has created a running mould machine that makes sculptural plaster objects with mottled surfaces. More about Flensted Mouritzen adapt heritage plaster technique to make sculptural Revolve objects
After being diagnosed with Crohn's disease, designer Teddy Schuyers decided to focus on redesigning the ostomy bag that many sufferers have to wear to improve both their performance and appearance. More about Teddy Schuyers' Guts proposes redesigning the ostomy bag for sex, sport and everyday life
Paw-shaped cutlery pieces appear to be attempting escape from their sculptural base, as part of this design that LA duo the Haas Brothers created for art collector George Lindemann Jr. More about Haas Brothers create animalistic silverware for George Lindemann Jr
Autonomous vehicles could flash messages signalling their next move to nearby humans, using a system patented by US transportation company Lyft. More about Lyft patents notification system for self-driving cars to communicate with pedestrians