An Old Simple Gadget Made New By Biomimicry

The thumbtack, or 'drawing pin' as it was first named by the British, was invented more than a century ago.  It  is so simply designed, it's hard to think of how it could be improved... unless you happen to stick a few fingers into a box of these pins to try to pick one out just one from the pack. Ouch! 

Designer Toshi Fukaya was determined to make the pins just a bit safer!  He redesigned the thumbtack using a biomimetic model: a cat.  Cat claws, to be specific.

Biomimicry Pins, a re-designed thumbtack by Toshi Fukaya: image via yankodesign.com

A cat can expose or withdraw his claws, and so now can Fukaya's new biomimetic design of a thumbtack that, by the way, was the winner of a 2011 Red Dot Design Concept award. Covered by a hollow silicone sheath, the pin is not exposed until it's pressed onto a hard surface like a board or a wall.

Biomimicry Pin, a re-designed thumbtack by Toshi Fukaya: image via yankodesign.com

Prototype of Biomimicry Pin, a re-designed thumbtack by Toshi Fukaya: image via yankodesign.com

Prototype of Biomimicry Pin, a re-designed thumbtack by Toshi Fukaya: image via yankodesign.com

There you go! A redesigned thumb tack, made safer by biomimetic design. 

source: Yanko Design