I'm a Stanford product designer who has always wanted to start my own non-profit, impact-driven makerspace.
Here's my growing collection of inventions and engineering projects - let me know if you make any of them yourself!
No problem is too big or small for me – if you are looking for a creative solution for a pain point in your life, I'd love to hear from you & help. Reach out to me at team@akshaydinakar.com .
I'm an entrepreneur, inventor, & violinist.
Welcome to ADDesign, my creative studio.
Explore products above, browse my lab projects below.
Inventions
Armor : a secure, analog medical record on your wrist for health emergencies in environments without internet.
Beatclipse : a cosmic-themed loveseat that transforms into an eclipse when the heartbeats of users sync up.
Frictionless : a spinning foot massage robot.
Glowbes : adorable, pocket-sized orbs to keep you company in the dark.
IV Stand Base : protecting patients from foot injuries and ankle bruises.
Jellyfish : a nanosuction LED lamp that sticks to any wall or ceiling in your room.
Kulick : an LED-themed remix of the Iron Man suit, complete with lasers & an in-built speaker system.
Moonwalk : a haptic prosthetic sensor for individuals with nerve damage.
Prankster Lantern : a glowing hedron to fool your friends.
Stradavinci : a prosthetic designed to help musicians bow a stringed instrument, simply by flexing their toes.
Terrain : a shape-shifting surface, responsive in realtime to location-pressure input.
Vibraflow : the first modular, fully-customizable, 3D-printed electric violin.
Writing
I love writing books & blogs about design, entrepreneurship, & creativity.
Here's some of my work:
Creative Current : 50 Ideation Techniques to Spark Your Lightbulb. (Amazon)
Intentional Living : A guide to using the design mindset to improve your living space & community. (Amazon)
Will You Play With Me? : A children's book on empathy & inclusivity for individuals with disabilities. (Amazon)
The Top 30 Things I Learned at Stanford : Snippets of knowledge & golden rules from my undergraduate experience, from the perspective of a designer. (LinkedIn)
Tasting Clouds : My mini-book of original poetry. (Amazon)
The Exhibition : A handpicked original short story from my collection. (Short Story)
On the personal side :
I'm now a Californian, but I had an incredible midwestern childhood and am a happy product of Kansas public schools. If I'm not in design-studio mode, you'll likely find me sketching architectural blueprints, recording classical/pop/rnb electric violin, writing short-story mysteries, hanging rim on the basketball court, cooking really spicy Asian food, or going on an urban adventure (check out these concrete slides!).
A few notable initiatives I've led in the past:
• Chameleon Design Firm, a design consultancy where I worked on a dozen mechanical / brand design projects throughout college, along with 5 other designers.
• NYO-U, the first open-access music education platform for aspiring classical musicians, which I founded in partnership with Carnegie Hall.
• The Stanford Flashmob Orchestra, a group that serrendipitously performed arrangements of pop songs and other well-known tunes to spread delight.
• FroSoHappy, an organic movement within college dorms to spread happiness.