Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

Inspired by the imperfections created in the production process, the Mold pendant lamp’s name describes the very heart of the product! It’s a reference to its construction molding method which retains the complete form with no chipping away at the offcuts. In grey or chocolate-colored concrete, it’s a warm addition to the ceiling area in any space.

Designer: Kateryna Sokolova for Ligne Roset

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We’ve seen this idea being thrown around a lot. Everyone wants more real estate on their phone. A tiny screen doesn’t cut it for some people. Companies have tried their best to make use of as much space on the phone as possible for the screen. Take the edge to edge displays of Samsung, or the bezel-less design of the Essential phone and now the iPhone X. Lenovo’s doing some rather interesting things too, with its flexible screen technology. However, here’s a first. The ZTE Axon M dares to do something no phone company has dared to. A phone with dual touchscreen displays. The ZTE Axon M comes slightly thicker than your average phone, and you notice a hinge running down the right edge. That’s because when you open the phone out, you get the added benefit of two touchscreen displays. Although the question one is bound to ask is how much of a benefit is it really?

First of all, I’ll say I like thick phones. They feel reliable in your hand. I always end up putting cases on my phones because I don’t feel secure with a device that’s less than 8mm thin. Given its secondary screen, the Axon M comes at 12.2mm thickness, which I wouldn’t mind, given my affinity for phones with extra body. In fact, in what seems like a very booyah-to-Apple movement, the Axon M even comes with the beloved 3.5mm audio jack. Now to the double screens. The first and most important thing to realize is that Android’s Oreo OS is shifting towards multitasking, and that means two screens could just be the most handy thing ever. The screens run a mirror mode allowing them to both showcase the same content, but you can even have different apps or videos playing on both screens. The hinge even allows you to prop the device onto a table, with one screen facing one way and the other screen facing another way.

On the flip-side, there are some caveats to having two screens, and the first is definitely battery life. Two screens means double the number of pixels, which is bound to take a toll on your battery (and even the processor, eventually). ZTE puts in a Type C fast charging port to help make it less of a hassle. Another problem is the lack of a back-facing primary camera. Since the secondary screen covers the entire back-face, there’s just one camera on the Axon M and it’s a front facing 20 megapixel camera with the flash. I’m guessing you can just turn the phone backwards and use the secondary screen as a viewfinder if you don’t want to use it for front-facing applications. The biggest hurdle however is breakage. I’ve had bad luck with laptop hinges, so phone hinges scare the bejesus out of me. Besides, twice as many screens means twice as many chances of cracked screens. The hinged design of the phone pretty much prevents one from being able to put a protective case on the phone.

The two screens come together to aid multitasking, but what they don’t do is join up to make one seamless screen (like what Lenovo’s trying to do). There’s an evident bezel running across the middle, which can be quite a visual nuisance. Besides, the screens join together to make a square-ish display, which in our 16:9 and 4:3 world wouldn’t be of much use. However, it’s great for typing on if you have big fingers!

The Axon M makes an interesting statement because its success or failure will help us as designers understand consumer trends. We’ve grown from an innovation loving species to a conventional and innovation fearing species. A phone with two displays would have been the coolest phone ever 10-15 years back, but not anymore. While the Axon M does something pretty remarkable, it’s going to be very interesting to see how well it’s received.

Designer: ZTE

When you hear “This Incredibly Simple Packaging Idea Could Reduce Global Emissions” it’s bound to stop you in your tracks and think ‘huh, packaging?’ Mirjam de Bruijn’s project ‘Twenty’ is a wonderfully smart solution to the world’s logistic and packaging crisis. What de Bruijn noticed was that many household products such as dish soap, conditioner, shampoo and several more products are 80% water. If there are 1 million shipments of products each year, 800,000 of those would be of just water, which is a lot of wasted packaging and fuel – if we merely distilled this down to the core product there would be a massive reduction in pollution and costs right?

That is what makes de Bruijn’s project masterfully simple – once you’ve bought your shampoo pellets, you then put them in a reusable bottle and add water. The idea, derived from powdered laundry detergent, asks the question ‘ why can’t other forms of household liquids be sold in their solid concentrates?’ Even the packaging is sustainably sourced – All of de Bruijn’s packaging is constructed with materials that can be recycled, like cardboard, as well as reusable plastic bottles. With the world so focused on the new releases of tech, it’s nice to see a different view of design coming through in the form of sustainable packaging redesign.

Designer: Mirjam de Bruijn

The Koenigsegg Bike 1090 plays with various forms and material choices that make this bike a CMF designer’s dream. Designed by Burov Art, the 1090 teases the eye with its beautiful framework – sneaking out in breaks between the shell of the body, divided by a matte black and some elegant glossy paintwork. The light saddle, escaping from this muscular upper half of the bike makes it look as though the rider is almost floating on air, suspended above the rear suspension.

As your eyes slowly make their way from the front to the back of the 1090, you can’t help but feel there is a distinct split between gorgeous surface design and the visually raw engineering beauty of this two-wheeler. While the low lying handlebars accentuate the sporty form of this great bike, they not only add to its relaxed, sporty look but also add an element of approachability to this bike – making it desirable to lovers of all biking styles. This funky two-wheeler roars cool from all angles. If Steve McQueen were around today, you could imagine you’d find him on this.

Designer: Burov Art

There’s no more perfect time than now to talk about Peleg Design’s Sugar House Bowl. With winter just beginning to set in and snowfall on its way very soon, the Sugar House Bowl takes one of winter’s most popular toys, the snow globe, and plays the product inspiration+association game beautifully by turning it into a sugar bowl that swaps confetti with sugar crystals.

The Sugar House Bowl is delightful, to say the least, because at its base is just an idea that’s creative, fun, and possibly evergreen because snow-globes and sugar aren’t going anywhere soon. Ideal for storing anything from sugar and salt to even lentils, or spices (although nothing beats the color and texture of superfine caster sugar), the Sugar House Bowl is sure to add some fun and festive flavor to your kitchen… and your food too!

Designer: Peleg Design

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In case you didn’t get the memo, concrete is making it big in the design circuit… and it’s being highlighted in the most unusual places. Take for example the Masonic Watch by Aggregate, with its one of a kind concrete body. The Enso does the same thing too. The turntable itself is a rather retro/hipster product and using concrete only makes it more kitschy and cool. With its imperfections, concrete gives a different flavor to a product that has otherwise only seen the use of plastic, glass, metal, and wood. Concrete brings to the product a much needed sense of diversity and a breath of fresh air.

Designed with a simple rounded form that highlights the vinyl disc platter and arm, the Enso comes with a rather integrated form and the only thing breaking it is the walnut wood control panel which juts out to end the monotony and play with one’s visual expectation of continuity. Keeping in sync with the theme of concrete, the wooden panel has two concrete knobs too. What I probably like the most is that the designers try to make it very obvious that concrete doesn’t mean grungy and old-fashioned. The presence of a light strip running around the side of the Enso gives it a futuristic touch, making the turntable look unique and modern both. Plus with vinyl turntables being a massive part of the underground warehouse music culture, concrete may just be the most perfect material selection for its design, I’d say!

Designers: Mikołaj Nicer, Grzegorz Szczupał and Jakub Maciejczyk