Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

Telling Time Through Tints!

Posted: 09 Jan 2018 08:30 AM PST

The 12-hour clock is possibly the most common wall clock in the world. It finds itself in every household, on a wall in the living room or bedroom, above your television or on your bedside/study table. It breaks your 24 hours into two halves, better known as day and night. However, the 12-hour clock doesn’t tell you when it’s day or night. It just tells the time.

The Dusk will tell you the time, but through its design, will also tell you the time of the day. Sitting on your wall like any conventional clock, the Dusk’s clock face comprises two discs of polarized acrylic glass. The polarized discs rotate with time, turning darker as the polarization begins to kick in. Completing one full rotation every 24 hours, the discs go from transparent to opaque based on their orientation with respect to the polarization direction, forming an ever-changing canvas behind the hour and minute hands to tell you much more than just the time.

Transparent/light during the day, and turning dark around sunset, the Dusk clock tells you the time while hinting at the am/pm too, using light and dark colors to indicate the color of the sky at the time of the day. While it tells the time like most conventional clocks, it acts almost as a window into the outside world, letting you visualize the sky going from dawn to dusk and back… a natural phenomenon in an unnaturally beautiful and simple timepiece!

Designer: Lu Yicong

Click here to Buy Now: $60.00

The dimension of Dusk is bound to the Golden Ratio. So common throughout nature’s form – ferns, flowers, seashells – the harmony of the Golden Ratio arises from its unique capacity to connect individual parts of a whole so that each retains its own identity and yet blends into the greater pattern of a single whole.

Click here to Buy Now: $60.00

You’ll Hyperventilate for this Hypercar

Posted: 09 Jan 2018 08:00 AM PST

The Lumen electric supercar is polarizing. It’s only natural to try and compare it with that which we are familiar, but to do so seems unfair for such a beautiful machine! (I’ll leave it to you to comment and tell us what you’re thinking!)

Let’s work inside out, shall we? Under the hood… well, under the hood is space for luggage! It’s powertrain consists of a central battery located in the base that powers the electric motors located at the axles. This frees up space in the trunk and hood for cargo. Its range approaches 250 miles on a single charge not including supplemental power by its regenerative braking system. Clad in aluminum, carbon fiber and leather, the interior is far less showy than the loud exterior aesthetic and despite its compact size and roadster styling, it actually features a sliver of a backseat for a total of 3 passengers + driver.

As for the exterior, the most notable features are exaggerated wheels fenders, a dramatic retractable spoiler and surprising half-suicide doors. While they seem like superfluous details for dramatic effect, they each serve a purpose. A massive air intake at the nose feeds the cooling systems and A/C while side intakes direct air to the large wheel arches to cool brakes. It also uses a front splitter with side blades to control the air on the sides of the car. It’s impossibly low and its wide body is designed to hug the ground. With this in mind, the unique doors make it possible to exit and enter easily. The active spoiler changes position depending on the driving characteristics set by the driver.

Designer: Sebastian Gómez

Clever Composting for Kids

Posted: 09 Jan 2018 05:10 AM PST

Introducing, Fytó – a kid-friendly way to bring awareness to food waste! Tapping in to kid’s enjoyment of smartphones, this thoughtfully designed composter gives little ones a window into the growth cycle of plants while they simultaneously learn about the value of food.

The upper section of the design features an opening where kids can feed their seedlings with food scraps. These are processed into nutritious compost by earthworms (an added bonus because kids love worms!). The entire process is made visible thanks to a clear 360 degree dome. By growing a fruiting or vegetable plant, kids can literally turn their food waste into food! Better yet, they can immerse themselves in the process with a dedicated smart app that provides growing tips and educates them to the chemistry and biology involved along the way.

Designer: Clara Fessler

Tea for Three

Posted: 09 Jan 2018 03:00 AM PST

Designed for modern microliving, the Double Compact Tea Maker does just as the name suggests. It’s been reduced to the bare essentials without sacrificing functionality to accommodate small households of 1, 2, or 3 people with limited kitchen space.

The “pot” actually consists of two internal pots. The infuser and the teapot are located inside of the water pot. The advantage of this twist in design is that it provides a better brewing experience by eliminating the possibility of accidental overturning and drip. Furthermore, it heats the pot in all direction to ensure an even brew.

The most important part of the project is the innovative brewing method. The tea maker directs the water to the inside of the pot tanks to the inverted conic structure inside the steam top where it is boiled. In just twenty minutes, the tea pot will fill with water. This gradual filling brews the tea in a tasty way without burning it or tainting the taste. Not only function, its glass-on-glass design is almost artistic and sculptural, meaning you’ll be happy to leave it out on your countertop!

Designer: Aybike Eser

Kohler Konnect is One Kool Kustomer

Posted: 08 Jan 2018 10:00 PM PST

CES is a wonderful time of the year, filling our techy heads with more exciting and enlightening products than one can possibly test out. One company to keep an eye on is the ever impressive Kohler, who this year have announced their new smart home products with ‘KOHLER Konnect’ – introducing voice-command technology into the bathroom with Amazon Alexa. At CES, Kohler is showcasing; Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror, Sensate kitchen faucet, DTV+ showering system, PerfectFill kit bath and Numi intelligent toilet with a PureWarmth toilet seat.

“Voice services and connected devices have become integrated into every facet of the home – with the notable exception of the bathroom, until now,” said David Kohler, President, and CEO of Kohler Co. “We provide thoughtful design and technologies that offer convenience and functionality to enrich your personalized experiences, making them easier, more comfortable, and more enjoyable. Whether you’re getting ready for work, helping your children through their evening bedtime routine or simply in need of some personal relaxation, KOHLER Konnect is the next evolution of our leading-edge kitchen and bathroom innovations that help make these everyday moments better.”

Looking closer at some of the products Kohler are releasing, the Verdera® Voice Lighted Mirror is one of notable mention. The Vedera comprises of a motion-activated wayfinding nightlight for safety and convenience, and highly efficient LED lights for makeup application, grooming, and skin care. An industry first, the Vedera has Amazon Alexa built-in with Kohler Konnect syncing up all other devices/products in the Konnect range. What that means is by walking into the bathroom, one can run the bath, listen to the news, turn on the heat and a handful of other applications without having to lift a finger.

The voice assistant add on to these bathroom products are a real game changer. With the new and improved PerfectFill bathtub and DTV+ showering system, Kohler has given us what we have always wanted in the back of our minds. Imagine confidently walking away from a bath and coming back to it when it’s perfectly filled at the perfect temperature? Or how about having a completely customized shower experience? Users can now adjust water temperature, control showerheads, and body sprays, music, lighting, steam and shower duration with voice commands. Bliss.

Touchless Response® technology provides hands-free flushing, while the warming feature of the PureWarmth™ seat and a guiding nightlight make your bathroom experience more comfortable.

The Numi® intelligent toilet with KOHLER Konnect offers a foot warmer, personal cleansing bidet, heated seat, ambient lighting and even your favorite tunes.

The Sensate® faucet with KOHLER Konnect is your virtual kitchen assistant. Just say the words to receive measured amounts of water and other hands-free help.

Charging Cable, Begone!

Posted: 08 Jan 2018 09:00 PM PST

It’s 2018 and plugging phones into wall-sockets is finally old-school. The new solution? Docks. Wireless or not, a dock looks much classier than a bunch of wires scattered around your desk. Made out of wood, and with a rather appealing faceted finish, the Combo sits on your desk like a throne for your iPhone and Apple Watch. Compatible with iPhone 5 onwards, and with all Apple Watches, the Combo allows you to route your charging cables through it, while your devices rest on the wooden block in a manner that looks almost as if there’s no cable visible. A magnet holds your Watch in place while the iPhone dock comes with a premium wool-felt backrest to make sure your phone gets the scratch-free comfort it deserves. Meanwhile, the Combo rests against your desk using micro-suction tape, allowing you to dock as well as un-dock your devices naturally with a single hand. Buh-bye charging cable. You won’t be missed!

Designer: Oakywood

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Toyota’s latest is an entire mobility service platform

Posted: 08 Jan 2018 05:08 PM PST

CES only comes around once a year, and that’s simply not enough time. While it is here, let’s talk about what it has to offer. Hot off the press is Toyota’s New Mobility Ecosystem and Concept Vehicle just released at this year’s CES in Las Vegas.

The e-Palette Alliance is a new ecosystem for mobility-powered businesses. As Toyota says, “As an emerging provider of mobility hardware and services to business, Toyota is focused on creating new and attractive features for partners that help them to expand their value chain and improve customers’ lives.” Toyota plans to leverage their Mobility Services Platform in order to build an entirely new ecosystem for mobility-powered businesses. However, let’s not forget the complimentary e-Palette concept vehicle that helps the alliance truly come to life.

The e-Palette Concept Vehicle is an automated, electric vehicle purpose-built for MaaS. The best part about the e-Palette concept vehicle is it’s open plan interior design layout – enabling the vehicle to be outfitted with purpose-built interiors suited down to the ground with the user’s needs. Alleviating any ambiguity of the ‘will it/won’t it fit?’ Whether its parcel delivery, ride sharing, or on-the-road e-commerce, the e-Palette concept is flexible to answer the needs of their customers and come in three sizes, these concept vehicles are sure to deliver.

What’s fascinating are the different applications – a fabrication lab, an e-commerce shop, temporary hotel and even a pizza maker…the e-Palette is crazy, and I think I speak for everyone when I say I love it! A true game-changer, this really does have to be seen to be believed.

Designer: Toyota

LG’s new Jack-in-the-box 4K projector!

Posted: 08 Jan 2018 02:00 PM PST

Turn the hand crank on a jack-in-the-box and the lid bursts open to reveal the human-shaped toy inside. LG’s projector was designed pretty much the same way, except the lid opens to reveal one of the world’s best 4K Ultra High Definition projectors on the inside.

The HU80KA Projector, as it’s called, is groundbreaking not only because it massively shrinks the footprint of 4K projectors, but it does so in a format that looks completely a class apart. This isn’t a projector you’d mount on a ceiling to mask its ugliness. You’d want it to adorn your living room floor because the HU80KA sits majestically like a beautiful black block capable of projecting over 8 million pixels (at 150 inches) of awesomeness on any wall. The projector comes with USB, Ethernet and HDMI ports, along with wireless connectivity and even packs two 7W speakers for stunning audio to accompany the stunning video. What’s more, unlike most projectors that aren’t designed to be moved or shifted, lest the intricate parts inside get displaced, the HU80KA comes built with a handle that lets you carry your 4K from room to room, or even to parties because with this gorgeous piece of tech and its eye-poppingly incredible and immersive video projection, you’re sure to be invited to a lot of parties…

Designer: LG Electronics