We do tend to wander back and forth on the Denki blog,  from games to television, off into uncharted realms of design and then onto toys for a bit.  We’re nosey, as we’ve said before and like the odd and quirky areas, which can throw up fascinating examples of creativity, design and the ongoing ubiquity of ‘playing with stuff’.

This story is awesome for several reasons!

First, it tells of designers applying some creativity to a fairly boring object in order to make it safer.

Secondly, the end result had to be fun and approved by kids (and tasty, capable of holding ketchup and fitting in a bun).

Finally, the designer’s used prototyping AND a Play-doh machine as part of the overall process.

Redesigning the hot dog.  Who knew it could be this much fun – or end up with something that looks like it would actually be eaten IN THE FUTURE!

The team started with a blank slate but eventually decided that – in a tip of their hats to tradition – they wouldn’t radically alter the hot dog’s essence; a meat product, packaged with a bun, that more or less serves as a vehicle to get otherwise unmanageable condiments from plate to mouth.

After experimenting with hollowed-out dogs, dogs with grooves cut into the sides and even some wieners resembling the more complicated organelles of a living cell, they finally settled on the design below.

I’d eat one!  Especially if it was green.

- Brian (@flackboy)