Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

Best of Modularity

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 10:26 AM PDT

In the modern age, ‘modular’ is the buzz-word in interior designing and has trickled down to many home elements like modular-storage, modular-beds, modular-kitchens and now – modular refrigerators. Designed to be a sustainable appliance, the Addition by Heewoong Chai is a multi-type refrigerator system that up-sizes on demand. Based on the assumption that your first fridge comes home when you move out as a singleton, and your requirements increase when you marry and then expand your family with kids in tow, this fridge makes clever use of being modular by allowing you to add components like water purifier, oven etc. making it a holistic solution in the kitchen.

A typically good-quality make fridge lasts you for several years without a hiccup, so adding more modules as per requirements is quite sensible. What I love about the design is the clever use of technology via an app, to help control key features like temperature vs content and status on the food item stored – example: expiry date, freshness etc. In essence, each module can be temperature controlled individually, thus creating various customized zones for the food within.

Another cool inclusion is the ability to change the door orientation – what I mean by this is that you can change the hinges to open the fridge from the left or the right side.

Seek design, agile functionality and innovative in approach, the Addition Refrigerator is an appliance that’d like to see in-market soon.

Designer: Heewoong Chai

It’s 2018. Stop Paying for Bottled Water.

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 06:56 AM PDT

Even if you dispose of one… Just one plastic bottle a week. That’s 52 in a year (without counting soft drinks and other beverages). I could get into the maths of how many bottles that would be per person per year (300 billion bottles, if you’re curious) but just think about something else too. Aside from the 300 billion bottles (approx) that get used and thrown each year, quintals of crude oil are mined to create the plastic which gets treated, pelleted, shipped, molded, shipped again, filled, branded, packaged, shipped for a third time, and finally sold to consumers who, within not more than 10 minutes consume the product in its entirety. This process right here is one of the fastest and most dangerous cradle-to-grave instances of all.

It may seem outwardly cheap to buy a plastic bottle, but that plastic travels miles to get to you and then travels miles after you’re done… and what you don’t always realize is that you’re paying for a commodity that’s essentially free. That’s what triggered the process of designing the rOcean. The rOcean is your key to not buying and throwing 52 plastic bottles away per year. Not just a water filter, but also a carbonator with the ability to flavor, the rOcean gives you pristine still water, flavored electrolytic water, or fizzy sparkling water, depending on exactly how you want it.

The rOcean’s proposition is to basically replace one’s need to buy any form of bottled water ever. Water is free and always should be, so think twice before you shell out a big buck for that sparkling water you love so much, or multiple small bucks (is that a thing?) for the regular mineral water you drink to stay hydrated. rOcean was designed to purify and prepare water the way you want it. Its submicron carbon block filter renders any kind of water drinkable, filtering 75 different contaminants. Its carbonation unit fizzes up the water inside the device, rather than building pressure within your drinking bottle. This means you can use any sort of bottle you want with the rOcean or even drink sparkling water from a glass. Designed to be sustainable throughout, it comes with a reusable, dishwasher friendly flavoring pod which can be replenished each month via rOcean’s environmentally friendly refill packages, or with your own recipes.

Sported on the front of the rOcean is a UI that’s incredibly universal and user-friendly. Sliders allow you to choose how carbonated or flavored you want the water, and two buttons on top let you decide whether you want a bottle-full or just a glass-full of the water of your choice. The rOcean goes another step further in convenience, allowing you to talk to it via your smart speaker, letting you ask for a glass of water and instantly be served with one. To make sure the experience remains streamlined even in the long-term, the rOcean can even auto-order carbonation cylinders, or filter replacements the minute they finish, so the only time you lift a muscle is to drink a glass of refreshing and tasty water you’ve been served! I’d say that’s much more convenient than buying a bottle of still water or Perrier every time you feel thirsty… for you as well as the planet.

Designer: rOcean

Click here to Buy Now: $179.00 $349.00

Click here to Buy Now: $179.00 $349.00

A Bowl Sans Hands

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 12:00 AM PDT

Sometimes all it takes is a simple tweak to an ordinary design to make it usable for a person with physical restrictions. The Arm Use Basin, a recipient of honorable mention from the Red Dot Awards, is a great example of how a minor transformation of an ordinary object can go a long way to transform someone’s life.

Usable as a normal mixing bowl, serving vessel or other containers, its “wings” are specially adapted for those with one or more amputated arms. Unlike other bowls which can be cumbersome or even dangerous to use without hands to stabilize, its side extensions are easily supported with one or two forearms. It’s a minimal yet thoughtful shift that makes it possible to carry or hold and mix completely independent of others!

Designer: Zhongyang Zhang

The Swiss Army Knife of Suitcases

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 07:00 PM PDT

Designed with the intention of making traveling a far less stressful experience, ESCAPE makes all previous suitcases suddenly feel almost prehistoric!

Air travel is renowned for being a long and monotonous process often caused by the extensively long waiting times. However, due to its completely flush top the user is able to use ESCAPE as a mobile desk, allowing them to work comfortably anywhere they choose. They needn’t worry about their laptop running out of charge as each wheel packs an electric generator, which together can provide more than enough power to keep the user’s devices charged!

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ESCAPE’s features; compartments for digital devices, toiletries, on board essentials and even a suit have been seamlessly integrated into the compact design. All this is wrapped up in a highly hydrophobic material, ensuring they are protected from the elements!

Designer: Frederic Gooris

Click here to Buy Now

The world first and only patented electric generating spinner wheels. Provide a light and smooth rolling experience while providing continuous power to the 8000mAh detachable power bank. At a regular walking speed, it can provide power similar to a 1A wall adapter. These wheels are equipped with a suspension system that not only protects the wheels from hard drops but also makes going through rough terrains smoother.

On the road and have a lot of catching up to do? In an airport without a lounge to clear the unread mails undisturbed? No worries. Choose a quiet corner and set up your office in the blink of an eye.The top surface of ESCAPE is completely flush so are free to work comfortably, anytime, anywhere.

Passport, boarding pass, name cards, wallet, power bank, keys, frequent flyer cards, pen, sunglasses, phone… Thanks to its unique construction, ESCAPE has an easy-access top compartment that helps you keep your essentials organized in one place that’s easy to reach. Being on the road just became so much more pleasant.

No more squeezing your hand through the tensed zipper of the front pocket of your trolley! A simple magnetic door gives you easy access to your magazines or books without unlocking the main compartment.

A dedicated compartment protects and helps to keep your digital devices like laptop, tablet and chargers organized, yet easy to access. During security check-up there’s is no need to open the whole carry-on: simply unlock the TSA lock to partially open the zipper and slide your devices out.

The toiletry case always overthrows any packing strategy. No more! ESCAPE utilizes the space between the wheels which proved to be just the right size. We tailored a niche in the base that snugly fits the toiletry case, leaving you a main compartment with lots of space and easy to pack.

View Your Phone Differently

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 05:50 PM PDT

A phone which is perpendicular to your eye line is never going to offer you the ultimate viewing experience and you aren’t likely to stare directly down on your phone as it lies on a horizontal surface. This is exactly what conventional wireless charging forces you to do, thankfully the designers of ‘Tilt’ identified this problem and have engineered a solution!

The top of the speaker allows the user’s phone to wirelessly charge in a conventional manner, but if the user is to place their phone to one side, the whole product tilts. The asymmetrical lip on the top section of the device holds the phone in place, allowing for a much more comfortable viewing angle!

This isn’t Tilt’s only party trick however; when it is turned over it can be used as a Bluetooth speaker, and due to its compact and portable design, it can be taken with the user wherever they go!

Designers: Hyunsoec Kim & hs2 studio

An entire watch made from sapphire?

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 02:00 PM PDT

The reason the Bell & Ross BR-X1 Skeleton Tourbillion Sapphire Watch looks so spectacular is because rather than opting for the regular stainless steel body with sapphire crystal glass on the front, the watch itself comes made entirely machined from sapphire crystal.

It therefore not only looks incredible with its skeletal, bare-basics look, tilt it just a bit and the sapphire crystal’s refractive index creates a beautiful diamond-like glimmer around the edges.

Painstakingly machined from a solid billet of sapphire (which is a task in itself since sapphire is so brittle), the BR-X1’s entire body is transparent, exposing the BR-CAL.288 hand-wound skeleton tourbillon movement on the inside. The mechanism drives the two hands located at the 12 o’clock position, balanced by the beautiful flying tourbillion complication at the 6 o’clock position. The entire body, given its crystal construction, is made to be anti-reflective, so not only can you read the time easily, you can admire your watch just as easily too! That’s if you’re one of the 8 people who got their hands on this extremely limited edition piece.

Designer: Bell & Ross