Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

Is it too soon to make a Samsung joke?? Well, I would have said something incredibly clever about how the Burnt Stool looks like it was kept near the Note 7, but let’s not go down that road!

The Burnt Stool’s aesthetic is truly unique because in a world dominated by gloss, matte, metallic finishes, no one ever tried using the burnt finish as an aesthetic detail. The Burnt Stool (aptly named) explores this in a controlled and beautiful way, resulting in a product that looks new yet damaged, and still manages to look beautiful. I just love those gradients, truth be told!

Designer: Alejandro Cantú

Having recently moved into a new home with very high ceilings and not a lot of storage space, I know how important it is to have furniture that has more than one function. My book collection is pretty massive and finding something to display my books that works with the environment has been a big challenge.

Designer, Marc Scimé, had the same thoughts when coming up with the idea of the Huxley’s Ladder Bookshelves. With the dimensions of Width 1830 mm x Depth 560 mm x Height 2340 mm, the Huxley’s Ladder incorporates beautiful, modern, and full functionality into your bookshelves. 6 shelves to store your books, collectibles or whatever you choose, while also including wooden ladders built into the structure for the ability to climb and reach items on the higher shelves.

These bookshelves can be used as a single unit or combined together in any home or office environment. Made of quarter-sawn white oak and satin white lacquer finished high-grade MDF, no wonder this design piece won the 2015/2016 A’Design Award in Furniture Category. Such a fresh concept that I would love to incorporate into my home.

Designer: Marc Scimé

Our modern schedules leave us with little time for lunch which often results in chowing down in the car! The Lunch on the Go: Snack Cup is a cleverly designed, nesting “lunchbox” that takes advantage of your ride’s cupholders so you can avoid the mess.

Load it up with your favorite treats and simply set it in any convenient cupholder. The unit will stay upright and stable thanks to a silicon grip base. Each compartment is specially designed to prevent overspill. Additionally, the compartments and main drink holder are insulated and help maintain optimum temperature for beverages and snacks.

When you’re finished, stack it up, close and take it home to throw in the dishwasher for a quick and easy clean!

Designer: Alexis Michael

When you defrost your freezer, all that precious H2O goes to waste! The ARA system was designed to turn this frost into drinkable water, simultaneously preventing waste and helping to keep your freezer defrosted.

When the sensors detect that less than 20% of water is left in the reservoir, a heater is activated in the upper compartment to melt ice and create water that fills the tank. This way, your freezer stays clean and spacious and you always have fresh water to drink!

Designer: Jimmy David Apolo

You may not see gramophones around anymore, but even if you have, you sure as hell haven’t seen anything like the Infinium. Inspired by the burst of acoustic energy, the player really looks otherworldly. Its organic Luigi Colani-ish style even includes a capacitive touch screen to control playback. The Infinium record player also boasts of FM Radio playback through its drop-shaped speaker on the top… but who cares about sound when you’ve got a music player this incredibly classy!

Designer: Jayneel Shah

MbyM or Mass-Production by Master is a design strategy to help revive cultural crafts, the old ancestor of modern design. Design draws a lot of parallels with indigenous arts and crafts. Artisans could very well have been the first set of design professionals.

MbyM’s first product is a cabinet that explores storage in a very quirky way with its fabric ‘hammocks’ for storage. The ‘Master’ in this case is Master Luca Hong, an expert in natural dyeing and a Living National Treasure in South Korea. The MbyM explores traditional natural Indigo dyeing in this design, with its beautiful gradients on the hand-woven fabric. These natural elements stand proud against the otherwise geometric and ‘perfect’ cabinet. Loving it!

Designers: Nahyun Go, Sua Park & Master Luca Hong.