Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

Tux seems like it was designed solely to enhance your Netflix and chill sesh! The hybrid appliance combine heating and cooling elements in one compact unit that you can easily store in any studio apartment or micro-living space.

The top section features a hot plate for keeping your pizza, noodles or other food warm. Directly underneath, a drawer opens to reveal a refrigeration space for beverages or for saving leftovers. To save energy, it can detect the exact footprint of the food being stored and only cool that area. Space-saving and easy to operate, it’s the perfect accessory to a movie night or game night with friends!

Designers: Anshuman Kumar & Upendra Shenoy for Samsung

Designer Dejan Hristov calls it the “Tesla Killer” but it is, in fact, still a Tesla! I think what he means is that it aims to replace the current Model S by giving it a few far-out features and a boost in range and power.

Aesthetically, it’s arguably less refined than the existing S and almost appears to have an aftermarket body kit with exaggerated fenders and design details like a continues line break that encircles the entire car. Up top, the roof is an entire solar panel that provides supplemental charging power to the battery system. Under the hood, it sports Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors with a maximum power output 255kw each, producing 1367hp… that’s almost double that of the current top-of-the-line Model S!

For enhanced aerodynamics, it completely ditches the side mirrors for hidden cameras that give a more comprehensive view of surroundings. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the new digital nose. It not only displays the iconic Tesla logo on a screen, but it indicates real-time road conditions to passing drivers. A snowflake might indicate snow ahead while a caution symbol could indicate a crash. It’s a cool twist on the front end that we’d love to see come to life!

Designer: Dejan Hristov

I’m excited and also a little sad to present to you Aurélien Salomon’s vision of the Macbook. Excited because it does such a marvelous job of streamlining Apple’s two product and experience lines (the desktop and mobile lines), and sad because this is purely conceptual.

Following the latest smartphone trend, the Macbook also opts for a charming bezel-less display. Obviously, it has no notch, giving it an edge above the iPhone X, but it looks drop-dead gorgeous. However, it retains the familiarity of the notch with the way the start-bar at the bottom eats into the desktop wallpaper. Rather clever, no? If you notice, the screen is a rounded rectangle too, rather than the boring straight lines most computer screens have. Also, forget the Touch Bar, because this Macbook is the first that comes with a touch display, and a good thing that it does, because Aurélien Salomon’s vision for the MacOS mimics the iOS 11’s styles, allowing anyone who’s owned an iPhone to be able to work their way around the Macbook with ease. See what I meant when I said the concept streamlined Apple’s two product lines?

Yes, it’s sad that this isn’t Apple’s vision, but it’s still rather beautiful and if there’s an Apple Exec out there sitting and looking at this post, I’d like you to take some notes, and give the designer a cookie!

P.S. Brownie points if you can spot the Webcams. Yes. Both of them!

Designer: Aurélien Salomon

The future of motorcycles has been widely publicized recently with the Tokyo Motor Show and various others. As to what direction is the right direction for the future of motorcycles, that’s a little bit more complicated. What I can say though, is that French-based Barbara Custom Motorcycles have taken the liberty to express their vision on the future of bikes and I am all for it. With edgy details and fierce forms, Barbara Motorcycles have driven concepts for bike brands such as Husqvarna, Triumph, and BMW. There is a strict power dynamic between real and fictional here, which is what makes these concepts a delight on the eyes. These bike concepts are cool and feel like something out of this world. If there were a jury that strictly decides the future of motorcycles, I would like to appoint these guys for the job.

Designer: Barbara Motorcycles

Probably the classiest looking tactical pen out there, the Zero Tolerance #0010EB Tactical Pen looks as if a CNC machine performed ballet pirouettes on a block of metal. The wonderful spiral fluted patterns on the pen’s body make it look and feel like a bullet while the matte gold finish makes it look nothing short of sublime. On one end of the pen lies its tungsten carbide tip, which will find its way through the toughest of glass panels, while the other side lies a weather-proof and anti-gravity pen nib, allowing you to write with the flair of an artist when you’re not smashing through toughened glass panels. Machined out of aircraft grade 6061-T6 Aluminum, the pen is corrosion resistant, lightweight, and just a pleasure to hold. Besides, it beautifully marries together the class of a premium writing instrument with the tactical abilities of a self-defence tool.

Designer: Zero Tolerance

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It’s no surprise the Portable Kitchen Hood made its way to the James Dyson Awards. It’s innovative, enriches lives, and looks so much like my favorite Dyson product! The Portable Kitchen Hood by Maxime Augay tackles a problem everyone with small homes has. Smelly, stuffy, dirty kitchens. Where most homes don’t have kitchen chimneys or hoods or even proper ventilation, odors tend to linger on (sometimes fumes too), making the kitchen’s air feel stuffy and unclean.

The Portable Kitchen Hood can easily be placed across a stove or induction cooker. The fan on the inside pulls all cooking air/fumes into the Kitchen Hood’s interior, which runs the air through a stainless steel, grease-trapping mesh and an activated charcoal filter, trapping microparticles of oil/fat as well as purifying the air of dust and odor. The design of the Portable Kitchen Hood is such that it can easily accommodate itself in even the tiniest of kitchens. Its design is big enough to work with the most heavy-duty cooking procedures, while small enough to not feel like a bulky appliance. Besides, it looks stellar, and something Mr. Dyson would be very proud of, so I wouldn’t think twice before putting something this good-looking and functional in my kitchen!

Designer: Maxime Augay

Despite our tendency to look at trains as antiquated, slow-to-grow transportation, railways are actually still less polluting than cars. Not only that, but train systems have had autonomous lines for decades! Still, less and less people travel by rail because it takes longer and is less convenient.

P-trak explores how Amtrak of the United States can stay relevant in the modern transportation landscape. By leveraging the existing US interstate highway system, personal rapid transit (PRT) units would provide service to cities with limited public transit. It’s a more economical and eco-friendly transportation system that combines the accessibility of cars with the environmental efficiencies of railways.

The pods themselves are featured in 2 different sizes with capacities of 20 or 6 passengers. The symmetric design allows each pod to travel forward and backward on the same railway line.Each can navigate entirely autonomously between cities or states, providing customers a faster, more intimate travel experience than traditional railways.

Designer: Tara C Sriram