Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

You’ve got vessels that stack inside one another like Joseph Joseph’s set of Bowls for convenient, space-saving storage, and you have the exact opposite, the Folding Tableware by FangCun Design that instead of stacking inside one another, pile up to become a sculptural piece that captivates one’s attention with its flowing continuous lines, only to be beautifully punctuated by the color gradation of the bowls that have their own jade-like charm.

Yes, these bowls can stack within one another (saving space as a result), but that’s not what you’re going to do, because it isn’t as hypnotic and alluring as stacking them the other way around, now is it?!

Designer: Buyi Zhou (FangCun Design)

It’s small yet powerful. A lot like Napoleon. Or Ant-Man…

Bose’s Soundlink Micro is the smallest standalone speaker created by the company. However, the size is a matter of convenience, it isn’t a limitation, because it boasts of Bose’s signature sound quality even with its small footprint, including a heavy bass that Bose says is unmatched by any speaker its size.

The small Soundlink Micro is Bose’s answer to people who want to take great audio with them outdoors. Its rugged design withstands scratches and cracks while the rubberized outer cover provides a good grip. The speaker comes with a strap at the back too, allowing you to fasten it to your bag, or your bike so you can listen to music hands-free. Even underwater! (Because obviously the Micro is waterproof…)

For people craving stereo audio, you can even pair two Soundlink Micros together for great latency free audio for up to 6 hours on a single charge. Did I also mention it was waterproof?

Designer: Bose

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UPDATE: less than 72 hours left on their campaign!

There’s nothing more flexible and expansive than a child’s creativity. Over the years, education chisels away at it, making the thought process more “within the box”. If you think about it, most toys end up doing the same thing, encouraging kids to think in a linear way, helping them spark interest in a traditional profession (think about the Easy-Bake oven, or Hot Wheels), rather than expand their creative boundaries.

The Bokah was designed to do the latter. Think of it as 3D tools to let a child’s imagination run wild. Designed to be like Jenga meets Lego meets Meccano, the Bokah is as free spirited as the child itself, allowing kids to make whatever their hearts desire, while even allowing their creations to be robust yet flexible! Think of it as the evolution of traditional building blocks. While you can build pretty much anything with traditional blocks, they have their set of constraints… the Bokah eliminates those constraints, allowing you to make anything (rigid or flexible), no matter how abstract!

What makes Bokah so universal is its flexibility. What makes Bokah so flexible is the Bendy. The Bendy is an elastic component that ties two Bokah blocks together. Fitting into the blocks like a ball and socket joint, the Bendy allows the Bokah blocks to rotate, swivel, fold, and even fasten to each other at pretty much any angle rather than a direct fit. This further leads to one being able to make walking human figurines, or galloping horses, or even aliens, because who truly knows what kids are capable of, right?

The Bokah comes in an aptly named Explorer kit, for kids as well as adults. With 4 sized wooden Bokah blocks and a handful of Bendies to unite them, the blocks help kids not just make toys, but make toys that expand their understanding of physics and the boundaries of creation. It’s perfect for adults too, who want to go back to being their young, carefree, creative selves!

Designer: Vinh Phamdo

BUY NOW: $30.00 $42.00

When a Bendy connects two Bokahs, a special joint is created. These special joints bring your creations to life. Unlike traditional building blocks, Bokah’s interlocking joint mechanism lets you create rotating and moving parts.

BUY NOW: $30.00 $42.00

Hubba hubba – I can’t stop looking at that hand shaped tank! But that’s just the first noticeable thing about this ambitious custom BMW R100R cafe racer build by Paul Brauchart and Philipp Rabl of Austria-based Vagabund Moto.

The stripped-down, streamlined design also sports near seamless seat integration to the tank with a built-in taillight, a matching front mudguard and headlight shell, minimalist Motogadget turn signals, and sleek black powder-coated rims. Even more interesting is a leather-clad secret compartment under the hinged seat for keeping accoutrements.

Designer: Paul Brauchart and Philipp Rabl of Vagabund Moto

I’m reminded of how Phil Schiller made a rather important observation at yesterday’s keynotes. The iPhone’s camera is pretty great, but there’s still one thing that it isn’t completely in control of… Lighting. Now while the iPhone 8 and X take care of lighting in their new and improved Portrait Mode, here’s something for the predecessors.

LuMee’s first iteration of smartphone cases featured two strips of light on the front that would illuminate your selfies with a lovely warm glow, making your front-facing camera shots wonderfully illuminated. Social media queen Kim Kardashian even gave it her seal of approval. Now, LuMee Duo adds another strip of lighting that illuminates the back of the phone too, giving you great lighting that’s warm and soft, unlike your phone’s flash. The LuMee Duo case features a button on the back that allows you to activate the front and/or back facing lights. Holding the button even allows you to control the light’s brightness, so you have the perfect intensity for your photos and videos.

The LuMee Duo’s case runs on its own battery, so that it doesn’t steal power from your phone. That also allows it to work independently, letting you use the case separately to cast the light at different angles while the phone films videos or takes shots. It even means you can use just the case as a flashlight while you use your phone to talk to someone!

Designer: LuMee

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As we come to terms with the fact that Intel has shrunk raw computing power into something that literally slides into your pocket, here’s one of the first and foremost products that teams up with Intel’s vision to provide a simple easy approach to computing that involves just swiping cards every time you want to upgrade.

The Nexdock is a hybrid laptop that uses Intel’s Compute Card to turn into a powerful machine with Intel’s magic at its heart. The sheer beauty of Nexdock is in the fact that it can limit itself to the bare minimum and therefore boast of an incredibly sleek design that relies on the Compute Card for its processing power. Basically just a touchscreen, battery, and Compute Card dock, the Nexdock is razor slim, with a thick base that houses a battery, the docking system for the card, and modules that allow you to connect cables and peripherals for the Nexdock. It even comes with a kickstand that allows the Nexdock to stand at any angle.

Not only does this make the Nexdock a laptop that’s as powerful as you want it to be (based on the Compute Card you buy), it also means that you’ll never find it going obsolete. The Nexdock’s life cycle could be as much as five times larger than the life cycle of the average laptop, because hardware upgrades can be done by simply switching Compute Cards… therefore making it a machine that stays with you for longer, and doesn’t end up in a landfill after a newer model is launched.

Designer: Emre Kosmaz (Nex Computer)

Our nose, or even the mammalian nose, is a rather powerful indicator of danger. Animals have their ways of gauging scenarios based on smells, often sniffing out threats that are up to a mile away. The same goes for humans. No matter where we are, we instantly go into code-red the minute we sniff something burning. Be it anything from food to wire, to plastic, electronics, or other objects.

Imagine adding that sensorial experience to another type of threat. Our internet security. What if we could instantly perceive danger if we could smell something burning and immediately know our internet security was at risk? It involves tying our reptilian brain to something much more advanced. Dutch designer Leanne Wijnsma received a grant from the Dutch Cultural Media Fund to research and develop her project, the Smell of Data, in collaboration with filmmaker Froukie Tan. Wijnsma created a scent dispenser and a unique scent that indicates a data breach when released. Users connect their internet-ready devices to the dispenser via WiFi. The dispenser will recognise when the user visits an unprotected website or an unsecured WiFi network or hotspot and will release a puff of the Smell of Data as a warning signal.

The Smell of Data device doesn’t protect you from data breaches, but if paired with a decent security measures, could work towards indicating exactly when data breaches occur… and while being able to smell your internet ‘burning’ may not be the most effective solution, it’s a great example of design for the senses, linking the fight-or-flight part of our brain with a domain that’s very new, very virtual… and while the online security doesn’t necessarily pose a threat to a human’s physical well-being, being secure online is very slowly becoming just as important!

Designer: Leanne Wijnsma