Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

K-Design Award: Rewarding Creativity First!

Posted: 29 Jan 2018 07:07 AM PST

In just its sixth year, the K-Design Award does something unusually brilliant in the fact that it sets its sight on design thinking, rather than just the final output… rewarding creativity first and then execution. In doing so, it sets the correct precedent by encouraging outstanding ideas that will live on longer than the products that embody them.

Having been initiated in the year 2012, the K-Design looked to reward good design that was backed by a strong concept. Past winners of the K-Design award include everybody from independent designers, to students, to even the likes of large studios and companies like Dell, Elago, LG, etc… and this year you could join those ranks too! The K-Design Award, now in its 2018 leg, is accepting entries (within the Industrial Design and Space Design categories) from all over the world, to create a map of winning ideas that will disrupt 2018 and the years ahead. Don’t believe me? Scroll down to take a look at our favorite winners from the year gone by!

The winners below showcase a beautiful blend of progressive thinking and an execution that makes you fall in love with the product as well as the idea behind it.

Think your project is a winning combination of concept and execution? Enlist your work for the K-Design Award 2018 here!!

YD Handpicks: 5 Inspirational designs from the K-Design Award 2017

01. Heng Balance Lamp by Zanwen Li

The Heng-Balance Lamp remains a hot favorite for the way it breaks the concept of what a switch should look like. The Heng turns the methodical switching on and off of a lamp into a game, paving the way for more products to turn mundane experiences into incredible, interactive design!

02. No-1 Series by Park Jungju

The very antithesis of DIY, the No-1 Series explores an aesthetic where functionality is derived from something that’s designed to feel incomplete in assembly. Designed to look like the plastic assembly kits you’d get with DIY toys, the No-1 Series features an entire range of furniture with its unusual yet functional aesthetic. What’s worth noticing is also the fact that even though each product features multiple parts, they all are united by the “runners” that make them look like single-piece injection-molded products.

03. 2in1 Funnel by Zhang Jiang and Zanwen Li

The effective combination of a funnel and container, this fun-tainer is a dream product to have around. Its silicone shape is easy to work with as well as clean, while the vibrant color adds a dash of freshness to your kitchen. Besides, in both forms, you’re only using the inner surface of the funnel, making sure you always know which surface to keep spotlessly clean!

04. Airblock by Makeblock Co. Ltd.

Drone flying may seem difficult, but Airblocks makes drone building easy! Just by simply allowing you to plug different propeller units to a hub, the Airblocks gives you not just the joy of flight, but of also being able to orchestrate the entire project. What’s more, the modules can even be plugged into a hovercraft base, giving you two toys in one package! The Airblocks showcase innovation from concept, to execution, to even material selection. The blocks come made from expanded polystyrene that are not only lightweight but also impact resistant, letting you go wild with your creations!

05. Smart Net by Ju Young Kim & Chang Choi

The Smart Net is quite fascinating. Not only do its pillars contain infrared sensors, tracking ball movements, its net also contains an optical fiber weave that is capable of displaying scores to the players every time a point is made. Whether net displays the score in the correct orientation to both players (at any time one player sees an inverted image) seems like something of a tiny hurdle, but the idea of bringing interactivity to sports equipment is definitely something we’re going to see more of in the future! Just imagine… Football with goalposts that light up when you score!

Artisanal Audio

Posted: 29 Jan 2018 06:30 AM PST

Listen up, audiophiles – D1 speakers are a must-have for your hipster kit! These handcrafted, made-to-order bad boys are minimalistic yet refined. They’re sculpted into a seamless round cabinet in which the driver is perfectly nested. Basically, they’re made to rest next to your record player but they’ll do fine just about anywhere.

But who cares what they look like when the secret weapon is inside! The D1 sports a unique anti-resonance enclosure unlike any other. It’s vacuum cast into a single solid piece, with uber-thick walls making it structurally rigid to majorly reduce resonance. The result is distortion-free, hifi sound. Better yet, it’s also crafted from titanium so it’s quite light and ideal for audio performance, especially in the midrange. They pack the perfect amount of punch for everything from your Arcade Fire to your Kurt Vile!

Designer: Davide Pietrasanta

A Clock with Interstellar Inspiration

Posted: 29 Jan 2018 04:24 AM PST

As you might’ve guessed from the name, the designers looked to the heavens for inspiration when designing the Orbita clock. It only makes sense considering this is where our perception of time begins and ends!

Minimalistic yet thoughtfully crafted, it features a circular void where hands would be. This represents the vast emptiness of space in the universe. At first glance, this also makes it almost unrecognizable as a clock. The two overlapping discs reflect how our perception of time is created by the rotations of the earth, both on itself (forming days and nights) and around the sun (forming years). This orbital-inspiration is made clear in the round shape of the clock and the turntables’ circular movements in relation to each other.

Designer: TWO O THREE

A Biodegradable Breakthrough for Beer Rings

Posted: 29 Jan 2018 01:12 AM PST

We’ve been promised biodegradable six-pack rings for years now, and yet, no such adoption has been set in place. Fortunately for us, SaltWater Brewery have put their best foot forward and are the first brewery to adopt these rings, and for that, I applaud them. The Eco Six-Pack Ring is comprised of wheat and barley and is fully compostable. Safe to digest, these nifty compostable six-pack rings are not harmful to aquatic life or wildlife.

Although the rings aren’t harmful, it is advised that they shouldn’t be consumed by humans. The company hopes to produce the six-pack rings with by-products of the brewing process – not only is this a nice touch, but it is also incredibly cool. The only concerns from E6PR are if they can produce enough six-pack rings to keep up with the market’s demand. Furthermore, with mass adoption just around the corner, it’s only a matter of time before we begin seeing them holding our Miller Lights together.

Designer: E6PR

The Power to Charge it All

Posted: 28 Jan 2018 09:44 PM PST

If you’re one of those lucky individuals who own more than one high-tech device that you carry around all day – iPhone, GoPro, Airpods, iPad and so on – then Nomad has heard your prayers and answered them gracefully. Conveniently charge five devices at once with the Nomad Wireless Charging Hub. The Nomad Wireless Charging Hub has a wireless top that charges your phone, as well as four extra ports underneath.

Looking somewhat like a router, this wireless charger is the most efficient one of its kind. I never thought I would see a wireless charger and think it looks perfect with more wires coming out of it, but here I am. Thankfully, due to the LED network on the top of the device, one can check if their device is charging and/or fully charged (the LEDs are orange when charging and white when fully charged). But of course, these lights can be a pain during the night. Keeping that in mind, Nomad has included an inbuilt ambient light sensor that dims the lights in a dark room – how considerate.

Designer: Nomad

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A Perma-charged Formula-E Racer!

Posted: 28 Jan 2018 08:00 PM PST

This ultramodern tribute to Le Mans is a low-slung GT with a design language reminiscent of famous names like Pininfarina Modulo, Cadillac Cyclone and the Norman Timbs Special. Like the classics, you can see the same fluid curves and dramatic shaping from tip to tail with emphasis on the fenders and roofline. It also takes inspiration from sci-fi fantasy and robotics, resulting in the use of clean surfaces, layered design and glossy areas in contrast with carbon fiber of the semi-exposed chassis.

It also sports an innovative charging system under the hood that aims to revolutionize Formula-E racing. While current racing platforms are restricted by the need for long recharging, the ELYTRON is equipped with induction charging that keeps it running on the electrified track.

Far out? Yes! But I like how designer Fabio Ferrante put it… “That’s the importance of advanced design. Not just shapes but strong concepts that bring to the table a new recipe, using the ingredients that technology gives to us… with just a pinch of creative thinking.”

Designer: Fabio Ferrante