Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

Furniture That’ll Hurt Your Feelings

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 09:30 AM PDT

This collection of satirical seating is sure to give you the giggles! They’re aptly named ‘Uncomfortable Chairs’ and each has been modified to bring you back to a place of discomfort, pain, and heartache. More artistic expression than they are practical seating solution, they’re a playful reminder that no matter what you’ve been through, you’ve still managed to land on two feet.

Dumped: lets you relive the experience of being dumped. You’ll think you have support, but before you know it, you’ll be sitting on the ground, not knowing what’s happened or how you can fix it.

Stabbed: brings to mind all the times you may have been stabbed in the back. The chair looks inviting – but when you plop yourself down, don’t be surprised with the pain you might feel.

Tipped: helps you remember that you can’t keep it all together all the time. You may try your best to balance, but you’ll tip over the second you take your mind off the task at hand.

Designer: Jack Marple

Home Is Where The Car Is

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 05:45 AM PDT

The SYMBIOZ is like nothing we’ve seen before. The idea of combining transportation and living spaces seems like something absurd to fathom. Toying with this idea, the SYMBIOZ is an extension of the future – connected – home. Renault has mentioned the SYMBIOZ to be “an extra mobile, modular and multi-purpose room”. SYMBIOZ is a representation of what Renault envision for the automotive industry in 2030, with an all-electric, autonomous car.

The look and charisma of modern-day architecture – exposed steel infrastructure, oversized windows and sharp lines – lends its style to the SYMBIOZ. It’s this appearance that allows the SYMBIOZ to seamlessly integrate with the home of tomorrow, where “the car becomes a new mobile, multi-purpose living space for the whole family and can be used—open or closed—more fully, even when parked.”

The SYMBIOZ doesn’t skip a beat. The interior of the vehicle, designed by Aleksandra Gaca, is breathtaking. Gaca took Renault’s vision and translated that into the 3D woken fabric called ‘bloko’ as seen on the seats inside both the SYMBIOZ and the home itself. The inside of the SYMBIOZ is quite homely and inviting, as expected, with a layout of 4 armchairs and a small coffee table to compliment the space.

Designer: Aleksandra Gaca of Renault

Messy Eaters get a Seat at the Table too

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 03:20 AM PDT

The words ‘pop-up’ and ‘booster’ have never been used in the same sentence before. Until now. The pop-up booster for Bombol is the first fold and store away booster seat for toddlers.

Babies are ALWAYS moving around; they can never sit still. One can only begin to imagine the strenuous safety standards a booster seat must have to meet when in use, and the pop-up met them all. Its ready for use whenever and wherever it’s needed. It is the most portable booster seat on the market and it’s suitable for almost all chair designs.

The pop-up is comprised of an origami structure which is incredibly strong and safe. How strong? The pop-up met both the international safety standard for boosters and even the standard for adult furniture, which meant pounding it with a 75kg weight over 20,000 times – and it still didn’t break!

The worst part about booster seats is the cleaning. However, with the pop-up, a quick wipe and the booster seat is good to go. The booster is covered with a non-toxic, stain and odor-proof finish. On top of this, the shoulder straps are designed to be removable, making the cleaning process a lot easier. Not only this, the straps have an element of elasticity in them to self-adjust to the child’s movement and size.

And the icing on the cake – the pop-up booster comes with a seat cover to prevent those never-idle shoes from dirtying or damaging the seat material. Pop-up booster appears to tick all the boxes, it’s a shame it doesn’t help kids to eat their greens!

Designer: Frederic Gooris for Bombol

The Power of Rhythm

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 12:40 AM PDT

Studying rhythm is beneficial to us in a variety of ways which we don’t even notice. It creates more neuron connections, improves our moods, and trains our brains unknowingly. The R/M AI System is a different type of wearable tech that aims to train your body and mind to stay in rhythm for a variety of applications.

The design consist of a headband and wristband equipped with highly sensitive movement sensors that work in tandem with your smartphone app. They work in tandem to send tactile, audio, and light feedback to the wearer in order to stay in rhythm. Let’s say you’ve been traveling and are experiencing jet lag. The system can help you get back into routine by keeping light on your eyes and coaching you to stay awake or keep moving until it’s the right time to doze off in order to reset your sleep cycle. If you’re a professional swimmer, you might wear just the wristband so it alerts you when you’re falling behind pace. The same can be used for a musician who struggles with natural rhythm sensing. The possibilities are endless!

Designer: Theming Zhou

Eastern Western Cutlery!

Posted: 20 Sep 2017 04:00 PM PDT

A great product experience is usually a result of two things. A great concept, and great execution. That’s what Lekue’s Twin One cutlery set is. The very idea that two pieces of cutlery can naturally lock into one another and become a third entirely different piece of cutlery is an ambitious one, but Lekue executes it brilliantly, creating a winner set of eating instruments.

Designed for two different cuisines, the Twin One can be used individually as a fork and knife. The plastic construction makes it easy to carry and maintain while being able to work its way through any food, including meat. However, when you make the switch from occidental to oriental cuisine, the fork and knife interlock, becoming a pair of chopsticks that have their own spring mechanism, making it easier for the chopstick novice to use. The chopsticks can be gripped and operated like a pair of mini-tongs. The fork and knife interlock and snap together, so that they don’t fall apart. The choice of polymer and a clever bit of detailing+engineering on the knife allow the chopsticks to have a spring action that lets you stay true to the cuisine by eating its food the desired (traditional) way and not using a spoon… or worse, your hands!

Designer: Lekue

BUY NOW

BUY NOW

A tea brewer from the mountains

Posted: 20 Sep 2017 02:08 PM PDT

The mark of a good cup of tea is in its color. The correct hue is indicative of a well-timed brew, achieved by steeping the water and tea leaves for a precise amount of time. Under-brew it and you have a weak cup of tea (which no one likes), over-brew it and the leaves start releasing tannins, making your tea darker and imparting a bitter taste to it.

The Trickle is a completely analog tea dripper. By virtue of its design, Trickle times your brew, allowing your tea to steep for exactly the correct amount of time. Based on the type of tea leaves used, and the quantity, the Trickle can be set to calibrate your brew by the minute, allowing fresh, precisely brewed tea to drip into your cup. The base of the Trickle has three different sized holes. The larger the hole, the faster the steeping time. When you place the tea leaf-separator plate in, it blocks any two given holes, allowing the third free hole to be used for the dripping process. Just place the leaves in one compartment and pour hot water into the other and the Trickle does its magic, allowing the water and leaves to intermingle while only the freshly brewed and strained liquid comes gently pouring out.

As marvelous as the Trickle is, its manufacturing is even more fascinating. Designed as a quality product made by indigenous craftsmen, the Trickle was created to give employment to the Chundharey craft community, native to Sikkim, India. Each piece is made from locally sourced and naturally treated ‘dhar’ wood, which is turned on lathe machines that are powered by force generated by mountain river water. Handcrafted to precise calibration, it demonstrates fine craftsmanship from the mountains, and uses no electricity in its production!

Trickle also comes along with a specially designed cup, available in both wood as well as stoneware. The cups are designed to capture the tradition of drinking tea in the mountains while holding the cup with both hands… fulfilling a two-fold purpose of enjoying your brew as well as gathering warmth from the cup!

The Trickle tea-dripper will be put on showcase at the London Design Fair from the 21st to the 24th of September at the Old Truman Brewery by IMBYOU, the UK based design-retail outlet.

Designers: Kalyani Tupkary, Echostream for La