I bring you two jaw-dropping products that are innovative and very simple, at least at first sight, since their development was anything but easy. The first is Veti-Gel, something that will soon play a key role in saving lives. This gel is capable of closing open wounds in arteries or even organs, instantly stopping bleeding without having to apply any pressure on the wound.

The second product is Ultra Ever Dry, an incredible material capable of repelling water through the use of nanotechnology. This new product will mean that we can keep any object or surface clean and dry. The best part of the idea is that the product has already seen the light and is on the market.

María Mazariegos from ideas4all

Now that 2013 is still young, what better time to look back at the best business ideas of the past year? That’s just what they thought at business publication Entrepreneur, as they published their annual list with the 100 most brilliant entrepreneurial ideas of 2012.

Businesses have been valued from 10 different industries. Here are the most highly valued new business ideas in each sector:

Technology: Syyn Labs
Syyn Labs defines itself as a “Los Angeles-based organization that fuses the worlds of technology and interactive sciences with artistic mediums to design and construct visually dynamic spectacles that inspire thought and provoke conversation”.

Mobile apps: Geoloqi
Geoloqi  is an app for apps, a tool that lets you add location warnings in any app. Better see their demo.

Food & Beverages: The Melt
The Melt is a quality fast food restaurant that complements its offering with an innovative online ordering service.

Travel: Zozi
Zozi is a business that provides original entertainment activities for people who are looking for something different to do in their spare time.

Health: Tonic Health
Tonic Health is an app for tablets that allows doctors to collect data from their patients in a way that is simple, error-free, fast and fun for patients. The objective is to help achieve more precise diagnoses.

Geek Trends: SmarterComics
Comics for the world of business and entrepreneurs.

Invenitons: Orbotix
A small robot ball you can control from your Smartphone.

Sales: BeachMint
Is a site with celebrity recommendations on services and products from exclusive brands.

Social Networks: RockMelt
Is a cloud-based web browser that you can access from any computer or device.

Music & Art: SoundHound
An app that helps you identify a song you’re listening to by simply hearing a few seconds of the melody. We can also hum or sing to the app.

Here is the complete list.

María Mazariegos from ideas4all

What better way to celebrate World Book Day than by sharing some of the very good ideas suggested by ideators in order to improve the way in which we use, share, and read books, and a whole lot more…

Here they are:

Books you don’t want
A site with book summaries
Spelling and writing books with eco-friendly messages
Libraries. Home delivery.
P2P for used books
Inside book cover
Book vending machines
A container to clean dust off books
Eliminate added tax on books
Erasable books
Books you can listen to =>MP3
A solution for heavy books
Book-crossing or used book exchange in hospitals
Plastic wrapped books for the bathtub
Textbooks divided by school term
Use the carpet from library aisles
Noise measurement in libraries
Limited time for seating space in libraries
Out-of-print books
Books you can read without light

Many ideators have shared good ideas to improve museums and make them spaces that allow visitors greater interaction and offer them an experience that helps to better understand and enjoy art.

Some museums, like the Cleveland Museum of Art in the United States, have already begun upgrading their facilities, integrating technology that helps visitors to get the most out of exhibitions, while having a good time.

María Mazariegos from ideas4all

Do you remember how cumbersome scanners used to be, great hunks of machinery taking up space in office corridors? Well, they’ve gotten somewhat smaller and less heavy, but now a simple idea brings us a portable scanner made of cardboard, to take with us anywhere we go.

Given the name Scanbox, this simple cardboard box has the exact measurements for documents or small objects that can be scanned by any Smartphone with a front camera.

The best thing about this idea is, undoubtedly, the fact that it has been made possible by crowdfunding. It managed to raise over 180,000 $ in kickstarter; a good example that goes to show how the simplest ideas can also achieve a lot of support.

María Mazariegos from ideas4all

We present a new challenge, in which we look for ideas that can extend the life of products we use daily and then throw away without thinking twice. What if we did something with them? We can lengthen the life of many products by giving them new uses.

There are already many examples of how we can give objects a second useful life, with a little imagination and inventiveness.

Here are some examples that will inspire you:
Sprout, a pencil that holds a seed inside it, so that you can plant it when you’re done with it.

Red Leaf Project, paper coasters that also contain seeds that can be planted after they have been used

We even found other ideas as original as transforming an old T-shirt into a belt.

And why not check out all of these inspiring ideas, which you can find in our Pinterest board, “Handmade ideas”.

What are you waiting for? Share your ideas!

A good idea that will vastly improve roads will see the light this year 2013. Its name is The Smart Highway, the winning idea in the Best Future Concept category of the Dutch Design Awards 2012.

Its creator, Daan Roosegaarde, suggests using a new type of paint that, along with new technology, can make use of solar light to illuminate road markings that appear as we drive down the road.  It can also be used to paint marks and signals on the road surface, like with the snowflakes you see in the picture. These would appear only when freezing temperatures are reached, warning drivers of the danger.

But these fluorescent signals painted on roads are not the only suggestion made by The Smart Highway. This project has prepared several phases that will conclude in 2015, and they will also install interactive illumination that lights up when vehicles pass, as well as wind-powered lights.

María Mazariegos from ideas4all

Running to catch the subway can be a dangerous activity if the door closes on you when you’re standing in the middle. This is probably what drove designer Hyun Ju Park to conceive this idea that incorporates timers on subway car doors showing how long ’till the door closes, in green yellow and red digits.


Seen on YankoDesign
María Mazariegos from ideas4all

You may not be familiar with the invention selected by Popular Science as the best of the year 2012, ahead even of the iPad itself.

Groasis Waterboxx is an invention by Pieter Hoff, a Dutch entrepreneur who was struck by the wonderful vision of a drop of dew on a flower petal. Such simplicity made Hoff consider creating something that might collect humidity in the air, like the flower, but on a much larger scale. This would allow us to plant trees in areas that suffer extreme droughts.

Thanks to his invention and its 90% efficiency, trees are growing in the Sahara and in Los Monegros, a desert in Spain. Many countries are already thinking of implementing the waterboxx.

For 270 dollars, you can buy 10 boxes.

María Mazariegos from ideas4all

This idea, designed by New Zealander Ash Nel, gives life to a curious wooden structure: “Hello, I`m a Lost Space” capable of transforming into a chair, table, bench, clothes dryer or a bike stand, simply by modifying its position and adapting it to any space at all.

A very curious idea, no doubt.

María Mazariegos from ideas4all