Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

This backpack fits inside your pocket!

Posted: 09 Feb 2018 11:57 AM PST

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I think the guys at Matador have a shrink-ray. After the pocket blanket, they’ve managed to shrink a 20-liter backpack into something that’s literally the size of a stress ball. The Droplet XL bag puts a serious ultralight waterproof bag (for your wet beachwear) into a drop shaped silicone case that can fit into your pocket, or even be hung on your regular backpack with the carabiner clip provided. Designed exclusively for the beach, the Droplet is ideal for when you want to have complete control over how wet or dry your objects are. The two-way waterproof bag can keep water out, letting your clothes stay dry, or keep water in, allowing you to stash your wet clothes inside without them dripping anywhere. The drop-shaped silicone case (reinforcing the waterproof aspect rather beautifully) comes with a slit that you can easily pull your bag out of and shove it back into. And with its ultra-lightweight material, you’ll barely even feel like you’re carrying a second 20-liter backpack with you!

Designer: Chris Clearman (Matador)

A Whale of a Razor

Posted: 09 Feb 2018 10:10 AM PST

This cool set of shaving machinery is called Wisely and it aims to add a little bit of sensible style and convenience to your bathroom kit. Designed for comfort and control, its handle is ergonomically designed to enhance precision for its five-blade system which does a great job of getting rid of stubble. It’s also perfectly angled to lay flat without the blades contacting the counter surface, ensuring they stay clean and sharp. Replacement cartridges are safely kept in a handsome container you can even take with you are on the road. In a charming blue color scheme, it also adds a pop of color to your countertop!

Designer: hs² design studio for Wisely

Tessellated technology

Posted: 09 Feb 2018 06:00 AM PST

Not ideally the first thing one would picture in mind upon hearing the words Honey Strip, but all in all this product is rather fascinating. Using the Honeycomb structure’s spatial efficiency along with electricals to create a modular power strip, the Honey Strip lets you plug individual points into one another to create an extension board that not only fits your space requirements, but also looks like an interesting work of art rather than one of those ugly store-bought power strips.

Made of independent hexagonal units that can plug into one another, and also let you plug your gadgets, appliances into it, the Honey Strip is infinitely customizable. It even comes with these halos around the plug-points that give off a warm light when on, allowing it to serve as a patterned ambient light too, aside from fulfilling your power needs!

The Honey Strip is a Winner of the K-Design Award for the year 2017.

Designers: Jinhwan Kim & Hyein Lee.

Your Last-Mile Made-Easy

Posted: 09 Feb 2018 02:30 AM PST

Designed to maximize your last-mile commute, the Praxis bicycle is both aptly named for the axis on which it conveniently folds down to half its normal size and after the famed cycle components brand. Unlike many other folding designs, it features a quick-release system that triggers multiple section of the bike to collapse at once, reducing the total amount time it takes to go from a full riding position to its most compact form. This is especially convenient for users who transition between riding and public transportation as part of their daily commute. Better yet, that shrinking capability makes it incredibly easy to store or tuck away once you’ve arrived. With a cool shaft transmission and throwback three-spoke wheels, it’s not half bad to look at either!

Designer: Onur Uslu

An Unidentified Lighting Object

Posted: 08 Feb 2018 11:25 PM PST

This far-out floor lamp takes on the familiar shape of a playful UFO! Called the Alien Torchere, its exaggerated legs and fluid shape are reminiscent of ones you might see in retro science fiction flicks. Decorative blue inlays inspire the imagination and look like windows for curious creatures inside! They also emit a cool blue light when the lamp is switched on. In contrast with its otherworldly form, its material composition is natural and organic in raw wood that’s polished to extraterrestrial-like perfection!

Designers: Dmitry Grigoriev & Alexey Zudin

When Coffee and Mechanics collide!

Posted: 08 Feb 2018 04:06 PM PST

Essentially the most simplified version of a french press, the Newton is effortless because it uses a Type 2 Lever to reduce the amount of effort needed to extract every single bit of goodness from your grounds. This rather fresh looking device sits on any table-top or even wall-mounts, not letting a small or cluttered kitchen stop you from getting your daily fix. The steps are pretty simple too. Start with a nice hot cup, place and press your coffee grounds into the lower chamber of the Newton. Screw the lower chamber into place and pour hot water into the upper chamber before pulling the lever up. Then delight in the hipster routine of pumping the water through the grounds and out the bottom into your toasty hot coffee cup. The entire process is fun, non-electric, and effortless.

The Newton uses high-quality seals, piston design, and a leverage system to give you 8-10 bars of pressure. Depending on how hard you press down on the lever, and how coarse or fine your coffee grounds are, you should be able to perfect the art of making coffee that’s a 100% product of your work. Plus, its unusual wood, black sheet metal, and orange anodized aluminum color combination will definitely add a splash of energy to your kitchens and your mornings!

Designer: Hayden Maunsell

YD Spotlight: The Organic Ornaments of Fitchwork

Posted: 08 Feb 2018 02:00 PM PST

I guarantee you will never find work more incredibly intricate and ornate than those by Travis Fitch. Truly pushing the boundaries of design, art, science, nature, mathematics, and technology, Travis Fitch (under the moniker Fitchwork) creates some of the most mind-numbingly beautiful objects. Completely embodying Charles Eames’ quote, “The details are not the details. They make the design.”, Fitchwork’s creations empower designs through repetitive details, creating patterns you’ll rarely (if not never) have seen in man-made designs. Using art and geometry in a way that makes it feel like Mother Nature meets 3D printing, Fitchwork’s products utilize a unique design process combines user customization with new fabrication technologies to create distinct and personalized items. With a wide variety of patterns that combine geometry with organic design, Fitchwork creates products that are molded but look woven. Each of the patterns is scalable, and products, ranging from ornaments to home decor, come in both ceramic and metal variants. I could go on about how unreasonably beautiful these designs look, but I’d rather let the work speak for itself. Scroll down to witness some of the most awe-inspiring design details your eyes will have ever seen.

Designer: Travis Fitch (Fitchwork)

A post shared by Travis Fitch (@fitchwork) on Oct 6, 2017 at 3:05pm PDT

This paddle strays away from tradition

Posted: 08 Feb 2018 12:00 PM PST

The thing with game equipment is that you can’t radically push the design to be better because it offers a competitive advantage. There’s a reason the racquet, or the football is shaped the way it is. It isn’t to make the game easier, it’s to present a challenge. However, I’d like to believe there’s still an opportunity to redesign these products, even if just for recreational playing. Take a look at the table tennis paddle for instance. I for one (as a self-proclaimed amateur) don’t know which way to hold it. Additionally, for a game that can go on for hours, the paddle isn’t particularly ergonomic, with its cylindrical handle.

Coconut Paddles V2 challenges that. In its second iteration, the V2 gives the table tennis paddle a radical grip makeover that doesn’t just encourage you to hold it the right way, but even dramatically improves your strokes, and its non-cylindrical design means it’ll never slip out of your hand in the middle of a game. The unusual shape even allows you to (and this may be purely recreational) spin the paddle around your finger, like you would a revolver before putting it back into a holster… although a little theatrics only makes the game worth watching, no?

Designer: Coconut Paddles