San Francisco studio Lapka has imagined a range of health-related modules that would fit onto the Project Ara smartphone – for which Google unveiled the latest prototype last week (+ slideshow). More about Health-monitoring components designed for Google's Project Ara modular smartphone
Hungarian pianist Gergely Bogányi has redesigned the grand piano to improve the quality of the sound produced, resulting in an unusual sculptural form (+ movie). More about Musician Gergely Bogányi offers a curvaceous take on the traditional grand piano
Product designer Andre Fangueiro has created a small pebble-shaped device that uses ultrasonic sound waves to clean clothes (+ movie). More about Dolfi is a tiny ultrasonic washing machine for delicate clothes
Dutch costume designer Lisa Louwers turns unwanted fur coats into soft toys as a tribute to the animals that the material was taken from (+ slideshow). More about Refurbeasts project aims to rehabilitate "taboo" fur coats
News: Google has unveiled a new prototype of its modular smartphone with swappable components, which the project's design head Gadi Amit says will allow users to "be the designer of their own phone" (+ slideshow). More about Google takes next step towards Project Ara modular phone launch
Viennese design studio Labvert has produced a glass fragrance tester for fashion house Dior to replace the slips of card normally used when sampling perfumes. More about Labvert's glass fragrance tester for Dior prevents mixing of scents
Canada's Alleles Design Studio has developed a collection of prosthetic leg covers designed to add a human silhouette and a variety of patterns to mechanical artificial limbs (+ slideshow). More about Alleles Design Studio turns prosthetic limbs into a fashion statement
CES 2015: San Francisco designer Yves Behar has unveiled a "sculptural" television with a curved screen for Samsung at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (+ slideshow). More about Yves Behar mounts Samsung's curved TV on a pedestal
Brooklyn studio UM Project has created a collection of colourful mallets for the shop at the newly reopened Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York. More about UM Project designs multi-material mallets for Cooper Hewitt's museum shop
Dezeen's design editor Dan Howarth picks 10 of his favourite gadgets from this year, including a fish that steers its own tank and a vaginal activity monitor. More about Dezeen's top 10 gadgets of 2014
News: Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka has created a see-through case for the latest Firefox smartphone from telecommunications company KDDI. More about Tokujin Yoshioka designs transparent smartphone for KDDI
Lebanese studio Najla El Zein Workspace has created a set of "pleasure tools" by pairing marble with materials including fake eyelashes and gold fingernails for tickling, stroking, scratching and more (+ slideshow). More about Sensorial Brushes by Najla El Zein Workspace are designed to stimulate the skin
American firm Choi + Shine Architects has created tube-shaped lighting modules that assemble into three-dimensional arrangements using magnets. More about Modular lighting system by Choi + Shine Architects sticks together with magnets
Design Miami 2014: Copenhagen studio KiBiSi claims to have designed the first lightweight cargo bicycle tailored to the needs of city commuters, for Danish manufacturer Biomega. More about KiBiSi launches cargo bike for urban commuters
This simple rack made from just six components, by Swedish designer Karl Mikael Ling, is designed to simultaneously store and show off a bicycle in a small apartment. More about Karl Mikael Ling's Pincher rack offers "a simple way to showcase your bike"
Designers at Italian research studio Fabrica have collaborated with artisans to create a collection of nine one-off objects for online design platform L'ArcoBaleno. More about Fabrica designers create nine unique objects for L'ArcoBaleno
To avoid spillages at the dinner table, San Francisco duo Superduperstudio has shaped these wine glasses so they rest at an angle when knocked over (+ movie). More about Superduperstudio designs "spillproof" wine glasses
Berlin designer Yoske Nishiumi has created new canopy patterns for the asymmetric Senz umbrella, which keeps its shape in gale-force winds. More about Senz windproof umbrellas receive graphics by Yoske Nishiumi
The research wing of Chinese web services company Baidu is developing a smart bicycle called Dubike that can generate its own electricity, in collaboration with the Industrial Design department at Tsinghua University (+ slideshow). More about "Chinese Google" Baidu designs a smart bike fitted with data-generating sensors
This kit launched by Belgian designer Laurence Humier includes sets of containers filled with materials that children can mix together to learn simple chemical reactions. More about Laurence Humier's Alchemist Matter Kit teaches children basic chemistry