Square peas and family ponchos

Eight drawings of whimsical, wicked and weird inventions from Dominic Wilcox's blog-turned-book, "Variations on Normal".

Posted 8 Dec 14 By Design Indaba Graphic Design & Illustration Creative Work / Lookbook Design Indaba Conference 2015 Comments

Dominic Wilcox has been sharing his "odd yet perfectly logical invention" ideas in a virtual sketchbook, Variations on Normal, since 2009. The fictional inventions the British designer and self-proclaimed "thinkerupper" has come up with include a dual-purpose coffin and accessories that make drinking directly out of a bottle of wine more stylish.

He self-published his first book of drawings in 2012 and earlier this year an updated version with 28 new drawings was launched by Square Peg.

Curator Daniel Charny had this to say about the book: "From funny through ingenious and all the way to sad, Wilcox’s resourceful ideas make for poignant questions on the way we accept the world around us."

Here are eight of our favourite drawings from Wilcox's inventive imagination.

Dominic Wilcox will be a speaker at Design Indaba Conference 2015, which takes place from 25 to 27 February 2015. Secure your seat before 9 December 2014 and qualify for a 10% discount. Book here.

Wilcox's dual-use coffin/work desk for work addicts who "end up dying at their desks".

Wilcox's ingenious and simple hack of a wine bottle lifts a casual tip of the bottle up a notch.

Relief for the clumsy is at hand with these wrist nets that catch falling objects.

The Hill walking shoe soles take the huffing and puffing out of inclines. Wilcox has thought of everything – various options of angles and a reversible design for the descent.

No more chasing peas around the plate with your fork – Wilcox suggests we design genetically modified square peas for easier eating.

Security on a budget: This cost-saving fence design tracks passers-by and moves according to the person's position. We wonder what happens with two-way traffic?