News: the Design Museum in London has announced the projects nominated for the Designs of the Year 2013, including the Olympic Cauldron by Thomas Heatherwick, The Shard by Renzo Piano (above) and the Little Printer by BERG. More about Designs of the Year 2013 shortlist announced
Maison&Objet 2013: Spanish designer Héctor Serrano will launch a portable speaker designed to look like the sound icon from a computer at Maison&Objet in Paris this week. More about Iconico by Héctor Serrano for Lexon
London designer Ab Rogers believes this student housing project he recently completed in London could set a blueprint for compact modern living in the city (+ slideshow). More about Scape student housing by Ab Rogers Design
Cologne 2013: French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have come up with a DIY kit for making curtains using a hanging cord that winds up like a guitar string. More about Ready Made Curtain by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec
Bright red columns interrupt a monochrome interior inside this fashion boutique in a Montreal warehouse by Canadian firm Saucier + Perrotte Architectes (+ slideshow). More about Cahier d'Exercices boutique by Saucier + Perrotte Architectes
Cologne 2013: despite its name, this chair by Dutch designer Reinier de Jong is made from old wooden broom handles. More about STEEL chair by Reinier de Jong
Dutch studio Shift has converted a suburban house in the south of the Netherlands and turned it into a dental surgery with a new zinc-clad wing (+ slideshow). More about Dentist with a View by Shift
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