Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

Innovative Illumination!

Posted: 17 Nov 2016 11:25 AM PST

Do you remember the Liter of Light campaign started in the Philippines that converted sunlight into a lamp for slum interiors? Well, that campaign got a pretty sweet design upgrade! The Play & Lighting lamp is a wind-up lighting device for the third world that fixes onto a bottle, not just becoming a lantern, but also doubles up as a toy. The lamp component comes with a handle that charges when you rotate/twist it. The genius behind it is that it uses its toy-ish charm to get children to play with it and swing it around, therefore charging the lamp. A minute’s charge yields 10 minutes of light, allowing a child’s playtime to illuminate the entire house for hours… and taking inspiration from the Liter of Light, just fill the bottle with bleach+water and you’ll have yourself an incredibly bright lamp to light up the entire house!

The Play & Lighting (P&L) secured a Student Design Award at the iF Design Awards in 2016.

Designer: Sanghoon Yoon

An e-Trike for Muscle Training

Posted: 17 Nov 2016 09:00 AM PST

The CERO tricycle goes far beyond fun! This adaptable e-trike is particularly useful for users with physical impairments who desire greater mobility, more exercise, or a supplement to physiotherapy.

Designed for those with medical conditions resulting from spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, and more, the design can be utilized in physical rehabilitation programs intended to help the patient regain strength and motion in impaired legs. During 20 minutes of cycling with the CERO each leg is bent more than 500 times. Even when the user’s legs can barely move on their own, the passive movement can help to improve blood circulation in the lower extremities.

Users can adapt CERO to different leg lengths and find the most comfortable leg angle by inceasing and decreasing the distance between the pedals and the seat. The low center of gravity, seat with back support, and front steering give the rider a safe and secure feeling. The seat height, backrest height/angle, and the crankset’s position are all adjustable. The back, neck, shoulders and wrists are almost completely released from burden thanks to this special cycling position.

For individuals with stability problems or a variable energy level, there are three options available for ride style. Users can ride the trike by just pedaling, ride it by pedaling with electric pedal support, or with 100% electric power assist with variable speed levels.

Designer: Tamás Túri

Hovering H20 Headgear

Posted: 17 Nov 2016 07:30 AM PST

They say that being underwater is the most meditative experience in the world. Shutting out all the external sound while suspended in water can be therapeutic, instantly calming you and lowering your heart rate and stress levels. That said, most humans can’t stay underwater for more than a minute or two, or they need gear to breathe underwater.

Flothetta is a simpler solution that gives you the experience of floating, without actually being underwater. The Flothetta’s floating cap allows the wearer’s head to stay suspended above the water while the rest of the body floats on the surface. The helmet’s design is incredibly simple. It has a foam lining, allowing it to maintain buoyancy. The helmet can be used independently or even with the floating thigh straps to keep your body horizontal. The Flothetta eliminates the fear of drowning because you’re on the surface of the water rather than under it, while allowing you to float/meditate for long hours… why, you could work up a beautiful tan too!

Designer: Flothetta Design

Buy It Here: $79.99 $105.00

Tick Tock Toothbrush

Posted: 17 Nov 2016 04:52 AM PST

What good is brushing your teeth if your toothbrush isn’t in tip-top shape?! Dentists suggest replacing your brush every three months for you to effectively maintain your dental health. The “Three Months” brush takes the guess work out of remembering to do this.

A circle on the hands is filled with a special ink that reacts to air after the protective film is removed. After 1 month, 1/3 of the circle turns blue, after two months, 2/3rs will turn blue. Finally, when 3 months have passed, you’ll be alerted by a complete blue circle, signaling that it’s time to replace!

Designer: QiChong Wei

Soar in Style

Posted: 17 Nov 2016 12:10 AM PST

Aeronautics has informed watch design since the 1930s and this concept by Germain Baillot is no exception despite its modern time-telling functionality. Unlike flat-faced pilot watches, this alternative timepiece features a vertical tourbillon.

The watch indicates the time by hour and minute markings on the outer rollers, while the center roller displays the major time zones. The crowns on each ends unscrew to adjust the watch (Hour/Minute and GMT). Whether you’re an aviator or just want to look like one, you’ll appreciate its masculine, turbine-like form and classic leather strap that has the appeal of a nicely broken-in bomber jacket.

Designer: Germain Baillot

The Gravity-defying dishwasher!

Posted: 16 Nov 2016 01:22 PM PST

Here’s some food for thought. The top-load washing machine came long before the front-load washing machine. It was effective, easy, and people still use it today. Why has the dishwasher not seen that evolution? Dishwashers are all front-loaded, which seems natural, but means the door needs to be absolutely water-tight and as a designer, that doesn’t come cheap. It also means you need a considerable bit of space to open the dishwasher.

Mohsen and Behzad’s vertical dishwasher solves those two problems. They tackle the more obvious problem of space in today’s cramped apartment with a novel design that opens upwards. The door lifts upwards to display an entire rack that can be loaded and then inserted into the washing cabinet. The vertical design means waterproofing comes easy, and it also solves an additional problem of bending downwards to load and unload the dishwasher. Incredibly simple, or simply incredible? Or both?!

Designers: Mohsen Jafari Malek & Behzad Taheri.