Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

Think submarines. What’s the first image that comes to mind? Is it that dark elongated World War 2 styled sub gliding through the water? I can guarantee you never had anything in mind like Project Neptune, the offspring of a Triton and Aston Martin partnership. A truly beautiful and awe inspiring design, Project Neptune explores the elegance, sophistication and truly sleek appearance that Aston Martin have embedded in their DNA.

It’s not all Aston Martin of course – Project Neptune has the diving and aquatic expertise of the Triton master craft. Aston Martin Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman and his team have potentially leaked about dipping their current car designs into other fields of luxury transport such as submersibles saying “we have used forms and proportions that express the same devotion to design, engineering and beauty that shape our cars, such as the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar project.” Does this mean there are more collaborations and partnerships to come? I feel this may not be the last time we see Project Neptune with an investment likely to be made in the further development of this submersible.

Designers: Triton & Aston Martin

A light bulb went off in the minds of 3 designers and the idea was that it’s time to rethink the light bulb. Designed as a reminder that we are destroying 78 million acres of our rainforests every year, part of this new lightbulb design is actually manufactured from charcoal taken from burned rainforest. It’s a beautiful yet bittersweet reminder that we must do something to protect these climate stabilizing lands from destruction.

Designers: Mitja Schneehage, Michael Wilde & Sofia Christidou of Light of Hope

In the best way possible! You visit the restroom, wash up, and then go to dry only to have hurricane-worthy winds blast the water off your hands and onto you and your clothes! All when you were just trying to get clean in the first place! How does that make any sense?! Don’t get me wrong – touchless hand dryers have done wonders for hygiene but improvements can still be made!

The Suction Dryer addresses this problem with an innovative system that both blows and sucks to ensure that all of you stays dry and not just your hands. The compact, circular unit can be conveniently mounted on any wall. Simply place your hands inside and they’ll be dry in seconds – better yet, with air that you can rest assure is bacteria and allergen free thanks to a built-in filtration system.

Designer: Cho Buhyun

The future of wearables has arrived and my goodness does it look well. Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (GATP) have been working on the future of wearables for quite some time now, trying to bridge that gap between textiles and technology – which for a while seemed more like a chasm. GATP have now officially bridged that gap with Project Jacquard – a denim jacket with conductive yarn. GATP began developing Project Jacquard over two long years ago with the god’s of denim, Levi’s. Now after all this time, a final release of the futuristic wearable is here with touch-activation clothing.

The jacket’s technology is located on the left arm cuff, which comprises of a removable and rechargeable pebble-like body of tech, connected to the jackets embedded/conductive yarn. What makes the Jacquard a smart wearable is the interactions – completely programmable by the user. Currently there are only three commands available to the user to execute – brush in, double tap, and brush out. These can be used to do such things as pause/play music, answer phone calls and a small handful of other requests.

This is truly a fantastic breakthrough and undeniably an exciting time for technology however, one must bear in mind that Project Jacquard is still in it’s infancy stage – with the rumour that the jacket can only be washed a maximum of 10 times before the conductive yarn loses its integration. Don’t let this deter you from the excitement surrounding the future of textile wearables, as this is only the beginning of something great.

Designers: Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects Group & Levi’s

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Whiskey tumblers are a cool glass to sip from. There’s no way one could walk around with one, sipping on whiskey without giving off that smoldering James Bond look. What you didn’t know is that according to Norlan – the wide opening of the glass diffuses the aromatics of the whiskey too widely, fading and flattening out the unique aromas of the spirit away from the nose. Whereby using nosing glasses – used for sampling – often concentrate the shape of the vapor in such a way that they tightly focus it, causing the ethanol to punch into the eyes and nose. Both of these glasses are given their form directly due to their function right? Norlan’s latest whiskey glass ‘VAILD’ creates a unique experience unlike anything else you’ll find.

Made from hand-blown borosilicate glass with a matte black exterior finish – this glass is just screaming out to be touched. The VAILD is an elegant design that any whiskey connoisseur, of any level, should have. Unlike it’s previously released, fully hand-blown borosilicate glass – the matte black exterior creates a dazzling interior reflection that’s almost hypnotic. The fascinating shape of the VAILD is by no mistake, the shape of the inner walls – which angle inwards as they rise up the inside of the glass and then flare back out again preventing your nose from touching the nose. The height and diameter of the aperture puts concentration of the aromatics to the nose. All the while, diffusing the ethanol away from the nose, fantastically improving the taste of your whisky. The Norlan Glass VAILD is a beautiful and unique product that even if you’re not a whiskey fan, you can certainly appreciate its class.

Designer: Sruli Recht of Norlan

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Welding is something that will always look cool from the outside looking in, but what’s not cool is the the high UV/IR radiation and the toxic fumes produced during the manual welding process. Manual welding according to Janis Beinerts – the creator of the Falcon welding mask – it is estimated that in the USA alone there will be a shortage of 300 000 welders by the year 2020. This is somewhat due to the harsh conditions that a welder has to go through. Beinerts’ Falcon welding mask is a breath of fresh air when it comes to safety equipment. Falcon tackles the issues with current welding helmets – heavy weighted, small view angle and a poor air flow system. Not only this, the Falcon is connected to the user’s smartphone and the welding apparatus itself, given control to the user over conditions and allowing instant communication amongst the other co-workers in case of emergency or to put in that pesky lunch order. Through various prototyping and user-testing, Beinerts has developed a strong solution to the dangers seen with existing equipment. I hope this is just the beginning of what could possibly be a range of safety equipment across the construction workforce.

Designer: Janis Beinerts