Design
Happy Toys by Usuals
Product news: Dutch brand Usuals has crafted a set of handmade wooden toys out of branches from a hazel tree that grows on the family farm of one of the designers (+ slideshow). More about Happy Toys by Usuals
Product news: Dutch brand Usuals has crafted a set of handmade wooden toys out of branches from a hazel tree that grows on the family farm of one of the designers (+ slideshow). More about Happy Toys by Usuals
Icelandic artist and director Harald Haraldsson turned a wall of bookshelves into a fractured and futuristic backdrop for this music video (+ movie). More about Love With You music video by Harald Haraldsson
Dezeen archive: we've noticed a lot of black cropping up in architecture and design lately, so we've created an archive of all the black houses on Dezeen. See all our stories about black houses »
More about Dezeen archive: black houses
Japanese studio MDS has completed a countryside retreat with south-facing rooms in the foothills of the Yatsugatake mountains (+ slideshow). More about Yatsugatake Villa by MDS
News: developers are building a private city on the outskirts of Guatemala City as a safe haven from the crime-ridden capital. More about Developers building crime-free private city outside Guatemalan capital
Product news: design studio Ryan Harc has created a series of modular stools that fit together to create different pieces of furniture. More about Tea stool by Ryan Harc
This week the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas included a car that drives itself, a vibrating fork that warns dieters when it's time to stop eating (above) and the unveiling of the Pebble smartwatch. Scroll on for more highlights from Dezeen plus our Dezeen Music Project track of the week. More about This week on Dezeen
Famous brands including Heinz, Marmite and Levi's have produced limited editions of their products with no brand names on the packaging for London department store Selfridges. More about No Noise de-branded design at Selfridges
A car that drives itself through traffic jams and does the parking for you was showcased alongside shape-shifting OLED headlights by German car brand Audi at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. More about Driverless cars and OLED headlights by Audi at CES 2013
Japanese architect Kengo Kuma built this temporary hut using cedar, ETFE plastic and magnets to pay tribute to a humble dwelling chronicled by Japanese author Kamono Chomei over 800 years ago (+ slideshow). More about Shimogamo Jinja Hojoan by Kengo Kuma and Associates
Dutch designers Waarmakers have created sustainable rubbish sacks for discarding unwanted items in good condition, in the hope that they'll be picked up by a new owner instead of ending up at a landfill site. More about Goedzak by Waarmakers
News: Zaha Hadid's planned extension to a centre for studying Middle-Eastern culture at the University of Oxford is set to begin construction later this month (+ slideshow). More about Zaha Hadid's Oxford college project to start on site
A gigantic yellow giraffe pokes its heads out from the roof of this nursery and childcare centre in Paris by French studio Hondelatte Laporte Architectes (+ slideshow). More about Giraffe Childcare Centre by Hondelatte Laporte Architectes
Product news: London designer Benjamin Hubert will launch a ceramic lamp for French brand Ligne Roset at Maison&Objet in Paris and imm cologne in Germany next week. More about Container lamp by Benjamin Hubert for Ligne Roset
The Barcelona Pavilion filled with junk from its basement (above), a vibrating fork and an A-Z of architects all feature in this week's Dezeen Mail, which also includes the latest news, jobs, competitions and reader comments from Dezeen.
Read Dezeen Mail issue 134 | Subscribe to Dezeen Mail
More about Dezeen Mail #134
News: in 2012 the total number of skyscrapers constructed around the world failed to increase for the first time in six years, says the annual report from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, revealing the continued impact of the global financial crisis that started in 2007. More about Skyscraper construction stalled in 2012
White walls are sandwiched between the exposed concrete ceiling and floor of this minimal hair salon in Kobe by Japanese designers Sides Core (+ slideshow). More about Jeté hair salon by Sides Core
Product news: the Pebble smartwatch, the project that raised the most money ever on crowd-funding platform Kickstarter, has gone into mass production and is set to begin shipping on 23 January. More about Kickstarter record-breaking Pebble smartwatch goes into production
Royal College of Art student Gabriele Meldaikyte has designed a set of interactive exhibits for a museum of iPhone gestures (+ slideshow). More about Multi-Touch Gestures by Gabriele Meldaikyte
A wall of digital animals that distract children on their way to surgery is one of the interactive installations presented by designer Jason Bruges in this movie we filmed at our Designed in Hackney Day. More about "The pieces wouldn't be anything without the people who interact with them" – Jason Bruges