Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

You know, I thought we were done with watches. I’ve seen so many now that are just derivatives of either analog watches, or of digital watches, or even smartwatches that I said to myself, it would be very hard to surprise me. Guess the guys at Division Furtive took that challenge up, because the Type 50 watch is just insane. On first glance, it looks like someone printed the user manual on the face of the watch itself, and you’d probably wonder why in the name of Geneva would someone make something so complicated? That’s where I come handy, with my explanations and all that. You see, the Type 50 isn’t a regular watch. In fact, it doesn’t even have one conventional element in it aside from the straps that go around your wrist. The Type 50 is completely new, completely different. It isn’t Analog, it’s not really conventionally digital (it doesn’t have a screen either). The watch is just a black box shrouded in electronic mystery that tells the time by flashing white LEDs along a printed numeric guide, telling you the time as well as the day, and even the current lunar phase (the LEDs are powerful enough to even double up as an emergency flashlight). If you thought that was different, get this. The watch is powered by a AAA battery (ridiculous!) and gets calibrated by your phone. Wait what? Your phone…literally programs your watch by flashing strobe lights from its screen at it. Like its speaking some alien robot language to it! I’ve got to admit, the Type 50 watch is so unbelievably different and alien, I’m definitely awed by it… but I’m also a little scared of it!

Designer: Gabriel Ménard

Buy It Here: $239.00 $320.00

Divided/By watch is inspired by the natural phenomenon of light and shadow. It applies this relationship to form the simplest way of displaying time.

No dials, no digital interface… instead, the design represents time through elevated contours. A soft woven fabric conceals the mechanism inside simply allowing the user to identify time through the shape and size of the risen contours. This way the time is showcased in the most minimal form – with light and shadow!

Designer: Sushant Vohra

This quirky design will make you giggle but it’s actually quite sensible! The first of its kind, the Lazy Pad was designed for those of us who like to sprawl out on the floor while we play with or work on our tablets, computers or phones.

This unnatural positioning puts a lot of strain on the back, elbows, shoulders and wrists. The ergonomic Lazy Pad addresses this problem by providing a place to prop up that takes pressure off the arms and shoulders, distributing weight across the upper body. Made from nylon, its flexible form is comfy to rest on for those times you just gotta be a ‘lil lazy!

Designer: CoolWares Lab

Shovel designs have addressed the handles in different forms but the design of the blade itself has never been reconsidered. The Stealth Shovel, named for its geometric and sleek shape, revolutionizes the shovel blade with a more effective and easier to use blade and cutting edge.

It features an added top blade that works in tandem with the bottom blade to control the quantity and weight of the content that one lifts when shoveling or moving materials. This means consistent loads and enhanced efficiency for the user. Better yet, it limits the amount of force that one places on the back when lifting loads, therefore reducing risk of injury.

The Stealth Shovel is a 2015 Red Dot Award winner.

Designer: Troy Backhouse

Crazy question. Would we still have trains in the future? Designer Igor Neminov has it all figured out. Not only will we have trains, they’ll be operated by the military, because the military rules everything. There’ll be stations whose architecture look like a fusion of a free thinking free-spirited society with the discipline of the military world. Here’s what Igor imagines the Los Angeles Railway Station will look like in the future.

How about you readers design an amazing train for this station! What say?

Designer: Igor Neminov