Protecting better than conventional cases or edge bumpers, this “active dampening” unit acts like an airbag for your portable handheld gadget, springing to action as it heads toward the concrete sidewalk or hardwood floor below.

Award-winning German mechatronics design student Philip Frenzel designed the ADcase with four “legs” that auto-detect a phone’s fast motion, flipping out to slow it down upon impact. The protrusions can then be tucked back in for repeated use.

Currently a prototype, its popularity has already leant the innovation success in crowdfunding leading toward commercial production — the extra depth added by the attachment will also optionally house additional battery and a charger.

“Our vision with ADcase is a smartphone case that combines maximum protection with elegant design,” said Frenzel + Mayer Solutions, “a case that is so smart that it even makes a difference whether it’s in your hand, in your pocket, or in free fall.”

“While the case briefly takes on an alien, octopedal appearance when in active protection mode, it is designed to be slim and unobtrusive during regular phone use. It adds 0.6 millimetres to the rim of the phone and 4.6 millimetres in a card-sized protrusion on the back.” All in all, a pretty small price to pay for something that could save you the cost of a replacement device.

Inspired by the winding, cyberpunk-worthy passageways of modern-day Tokyo, these bookends invert expectations, shaped themselves like books but carved out to reveal city-based stories.

Most sculptural book-bracketing devices stand out as different from the volumes between them, but these read like novels set at either end of a shelf. Within the voids, detailed solids populate the urban landscape, from architectural elements right down to weeds and grit and grime.

Japanese designer Monde designed them as individual works but also to work in pairs, curving around and creating an implied scene. Hidden from view, this suggests thin passages behind your books — the result: a temptation to take volumes off the shelf for further exploration.

For anyone who has traveled the alleyways of Asia, from China to Japan, these will feel both dark and adventurous but perhaps also cozy and familiar at the same time. Monde also crafts other miniature urban scenes, but there is something special about these ones, sandwiched between walls that set creative limitations (but also create opportunities for cleverness.

Back in the 1600s, long before science fiction authors dreamed up digital e-readers, this Jacobean traveling library was making the rounds, housing dozens of small books in a larger book-shaped case. Bound in leather like a large folio volume, it is thought to be one of the first of its kind.

The handcrafted wooden shell was purpose-built to house a collection of littler volumes that could in theory be swapped out for different journeys, much like loading up a modern device with novels or other entertainment.

Located at the University of Leeds Library, this case is presumed to have been commissioned by a lawyer and politician named William Hakewell in 1617 as a holiday gift (as the recipient’s and giver’s coats of arms are both found on the case). The case is quite compelling — it looks a lot like a book upon casual inspection — while the contents are neatly arranged in similar-looking bindings.

The gift included classics by Ovid, Virgil and Cicero among others, spanning a range of philosophical and theological subjects. Hakewell commissioned several similar cases over the years, which would also have facilitated trades across collections of friends if they were so inclined. Each case also contained a list of original books that came with the commission, which in turn have numbers corresponding to the list

Solving a series of long-standing issues associated with taking out the typical fast food trifecta, this clever carrying case is a useful alternative to Happy Meal boxes, bags and cupholders that work better for cars than people traveling on foot or by bike.

The solution is more subtle than it might first appear – yes, it solves the timeless question of how to hold a drink as well as a meal, but it also separates out the warm foods (french fries and hamburger above) from the cool drink (soda or shake suspended below), then unfolds into a ready-to-eat spread. Thin cardboard makes the entire container easy to collapse as well.

Customers can hold the package in their hand or slip it over the handlebars and continue cycling unencumbered. Targeted initially toward markets in two bicycle-friendly cities (Copenhagen, Denmark and Medellin, Colombia), the company is also looking to give these a go in Amsterdam, Holland and Tokyo, Japan.

For now, it is a trial redesign that is as much about marketing toward young urban bikers, but if the packaging is sound there seems to be no obvious reason for McDonalds not to ultimately deploy these around the world (and for other fast food chains to follow suit).

Two student designers have seen the future and building toward it with a flexible, foldable, affordable and recyclable cardboard desk that support the weight of a whole person but can also be built in minutes without any tape or connective hardware. The desk has an adjustable height factor allowing it to be used while you are standing or seated.

From Refold creators Fraser Callaway, Oliver Ward, and Matt Innes: “the way we work is changing. We are more mobile and more connected than ever before. We have the ability to do our jobs from almost anywhere at anytime, but our workspaces have been slow to reflect this.”

Standing desks, its New Zealand-based designers argue, are healthier and more interactive than conventional sitting types – they raise energy levels and encourage group collaboration, idea sharing and more. Of course, a fringe benefit: standing desks require no chairs, so this becomes a one-piece furniture solution, further simplifying the design problem.

Created in three sizes for different heights and body types, these desks could be deployed “for schools, creative studios, pop-up stores, mobile offices, or disaster relief.” Since the desks can be adjusted up or down, you could also theoretically carry two and use one to sit in, too.

The material is 100% recyclable, using digital fabrication rather than conventional die cutting for greater precision and overlapping vertical with horizontal oriented cardboard fluting, laminated together to provide maximum structural support. Pieces can also be replaced individually, such as the top should the surface become worn or damaged during transit or usage.