Our future will be populated by objects and solutions designed by the current generation of Industrial Design students. We're happy to report that a number of them are killing it. Here are the best ID student projects we spotted this year.

The Kai entryway bench by Damian Byland, an ex-bike-mechanic turned Industrial Design student at Germany's Basel Academy of Art and Design. Easy to manufacture, low-waste and attractive.

The Private Public Bench by Dafi Reis-Doron, done as an Industrial Design student at the Bezalel Academy of Arts in Jerusalem. "The research question behind this project was how to find privacy in a public area, using objects."

The Sapele Serenade Chair by Jared Teiger, an Industrial Design student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The simple brief: "Design and build an ergonomically considered chair that comfortably fits a range of body types." The chair won a 2023 SIT Furniture Design Award.

This Monomaterial Compliant-Mechanism Scale by Theodore Simon, done as an Industrial Design student at ECAL. "During my previous studies in micro-engineering, my curiosity for the technical nature of production was sharpened, particularly towards the elasticity of different materials. Lari stems from research on compliant mechanisms which make use of that elasticity to provide motion, thus reducing the number of parts, simplifying production and facilitating recycling."

The L Leg Ladder by Charlotte Dubois, an Industrial Design student at ECAL. A climbing ladder for kids, it uses a single repeating component and rope. Great outside-the-box thinking.

Unimo, an open-source wheelchair designed from cast-offs by Winson Cheng, done as a Product Design Student at Australia's UTS (University of Technology, Sydney). "Unimo (Universal Mobility) conceptualises an all-terrain mobility device for disabled communities in rural areas. Targeted to fulfill unmet disability needs through open-source manufacturing, Unimo takes advantage of readily available waste material to showcase a package with unique aesthetics."

The SYT chair by Theda Vollert, done as an Industrial Design student at Germany's BURG (a/k/a the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle). Vollert's documentation of her extensive mockups and prototyping is particularly excellent.

This Haarlem closet-as-drying-rack, by Lukas Bazle and Lukas Stotz, done as Industrial Design students at Germany's Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd. "Our research has shown [that] many people skip putting clothes in the wardrobe and use the clothes directly from the drying rack…. The goal was to create a product that adapts to this behavior."

TetherLock, a tool-tethering system for industrial climbers by Jakob Kohnle, done as an Advanced Product Design MFA student at Sweden's Umeå Institute of Design. The lightweight system of tools have an ingenious tethering method that allows users to quickly swap tools without fear of dropping them.

This Folde rapidly deployable venue seating by Industrial Design students Savannah Black, Ken Kirtland and Chermia Mathis, along with Engineering students Erin O'Hanlon and Seth Thurmond, done at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Incredible documentation and fantastic execution.