Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

‘Drone’sportation!

Posted: 07 Jul 2016 10:00 AM PDT

Twenty years ago, car sales were driven by something pretty silly and unusual. The Coffee cup holder. Cars with the holders were much more popular than the ones without. Today, we see that trend with a smart-car. Cars with Artificial Intelligence (autonomously driven cars too) are the hot topic, scoring more sales than regular cars. I predict that the future of cars will be driven by drones. Imagine a drone flying over your car, giving you a view of what’s around you. That’s where I think we’re moving, and that’s what AlphaVein is about.

Alphavein visualizes the future of car steering. The dashboard has a drone/robot docked in it. The drone flies out of the dock, through the skylight and above the moving car. The drone can then survey road and traffic conditions, ensuring that the car reaches smoothly from point A to point B. The future ditches the steering wheel, with the drone expertly navigating your automobile for you. Its design vaguely resembles a penguin, which works for me, because I find penguins cute!

The dashboard looks slick and a docking ring in the center dominates its design. The drone enters this ring via a retractable gate and comfortably floats over the magnetic base at the bottom. Neat, eh! How many of you think this prediction’s right??

Designer: Sangmin Lee

The Artistic Wanderlust

Posted: 07 Jul 2016 07:05 AM PDT

People go abroad, take selfies, and come back. Then they just sit and gather likes on Facebook and Instagram. That’s not what travelling is about! Travelling, exploring, learning, these are all personal experiences, and the Transparent World helps you capture these in the form of a beautiful hand drawn travel-map/memoir. The book comes with a detailed map and a translucent sheet overlay. Using stickers and markers, you can pen down your journey, customizing it with doodles, personal info, poems, insights… heck, slip a Polaroid in there too! The point it to use the transparent/translucent sheet to capture a realistic, fulfilling, transparent overview of your travels. Because selfies under the Eiffel Tower are a dime a dozen!

Designer: Alessandro Maffioletti

Buy It Here: $14.99 $20.00

Perfectly Imperfect

Posted: 07 Jul 2016 03:00 AM PDT

What could a ruler, light, and watch possibly have in common? In this case, the answer is IMPERFECTION! The “Reasonable Imperfection” collection of common objects explores the uncommon connection (and surprising functionality) of being imperfect.

Take the light for example – it’s absolutely irregular to our preconceptions about a what a light bulb should be. However, the “slice” taken from an otherwise suitable shape actually makes it more functional. Now, with the cut out section, it can be placed stably on any surface without any external assistance.

As for the watch, the perception is that it runs regularly by mechanical movement. However, what we feel is often different. Sometimes it runs slower or faster, influenced by situations and moods. This watch lets you feel this difference with a bezel which is not concentric. By turning the bezel in the position you want, you can dictate the time (at least visually).

Last but not least… the ruler. A ruler is normally straight, parallel and perpendicular. But in many cases, it is used to create imperfect divisions to a flat plain paper by improvised strokes. This skewed ruler helps to divide a rectangular with slanted lines, creating imperfection by using imperfection.

Designer: JungHoon Lee

The Multifunctional Flexi Funnel

Posted: 07 Jul 2016 12:26 AM PDT

Cut your kitchen work in half and double your space saving with the 2in1 Kitchen Funnel! Not only beautifully simple, it’s also surprisingly versatile thanks to its flexible silica gel material. As fast as you cay say “funnel”, with one easy squeeze, it instantly transforms into a special container for pouring oil, dressings or other liquids. In its compact form, it’s also super easy to store without taking up space!

Designer: Zanwen Li

Old Switch, New Tricks

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 02:02 PM PDT

Designed for the elderly, but pretty much a fantastic idea for pretty much everyone, the Easy Switch isn’t just a clever idea, it has a clever name too! Playing on the double meaning of switch, the switchboard concept comes with labeled switch-pieces that can be alternated in use. The labels not only indicate the use/purpose of the switches (bathroom light, or living room fan), but are also sized differently, reserving larger switches for most-commonly-used scenarios. The switches can be color coded too, making them easy to locate and operate by the elderly. LED indicators also help in indicating if a switch is on or off.

I believe good products must be so instinctive in their use, that they make you lazy. The Easy Switch may be designed for people of a certain age, but the system can be used in any home to provide a simple and intuitive experience! Cuz hey, who doesn’t like being lazy!

The Easy Switch is a Red Dot Design Award winner for the year 2015.

Designer: Shenzhen Newplan Design Co. Ltd.