Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

Well, time isn’t exactly linear… but neither is the Continue Time clock by Sander Mulder. Allowing time to traverse down a path and change angles in a way that helps you read the time, the Continue Time can be read only by allowing your eye to follow the path that the singular hand of the clock takes. Instead of having all three hands pivoted at the same center, the Continue Time has three separate pivots for three separate hands, arranged in a way that makes it look like one large watch hand that bends and folds like a spider’s leg doing a rather intricate dance around the clock in a way that creates a new art-piece every second for the next 12 hours.

It might take a little getting used to, reading the time off the Continue Time clock (the time in the image below should read 03:42:10, by my estimation), but the clock’s design stems more from art and philosophy rather than from plain boring functionality. It shows you that time can’t be split into hours, minutes, and seconds, but rather, hours, minutes, and seconds are just connected fragments of time as a whole. On a side note, I’d probably waste a lot of time staring at this beauty! Call it irony if you will.

Designer: Sander Mulder

Despite its minimalistic looks, the Millstone sharpener is actually inspired by and pays homage to an age-old food preparation technique by the same name. Millstone, which would normally refer to two circular stones used for grinding grain, is used in much the same way. Simply insert the end of your pencil to the single hole on top and twist to sharpen. Shavings are conveniently collected within the unit and easily removed by snapping off the cover.

Designer: Hyo Joong Kim

Roya Ramezani made a rather interesting observation during her time working in Silicon Valley. While the gender imbalance was glaringly obvious, it had its effects on the way women worked in the male dominated environment. Roya noticed that women would often not speak their mind, or would do so sparingly, making use of words that were perceived as self-effacing and hesitant.

Highlighting the difference between one’s actual vocabulary and one’s spoken vocabulary, Ramezani designed the Exponent Keyboard, aimed at empowering women through text. Designed to look like Thomas Hansen’s Writing Ball Typewriter, the Exponent Keyboard allows your hands to circle around the product, making you feel in control… However, its true achievement lies in the fact that above the QWERTY layout sits a set of orange keys that allow you to add more impactful words to your sentences, making your typed pieces of text sound confident and assertive. The keyboard tracks keystrokes and uses its own server to analyze text and suggest more powerful alternatives, allowing you to input words like “Believe”, “Claim”, “Insist”, and “Disagree” into your text at the press of a button.

Empowered text helps build one’s self confidence not just behind the computer, but everywhere else too, allowing women to communicate more freely and have their thoughts and opinions heard in the powerful manner they deserve to be!

Designer: Roya Ramezani

Props to Space X for launching the Falcon 9 during rush hour! It’s got everyone here in Los Angeles re-interested in science! It’s also the perfect time to talk about this otherworldly footwear design by Flávio Mankiewicz. Inspired by Space X with design cues from NASA, it’s futuristic out-of-this-world style in old-school hightop sneaker style.

The shoe is constructed with prime materials such as a lightweight FG leather, an elastic breathable fabric + Ariaprene pack bootie, and a few transparent TPU film pieces. The midsole is composed of EVA foam while the outsole is made from vulcanized rubber. Two characteristic material pieces spread from toe box to heel – these include a silver fabric with a pattern that resembles insulation sheets used in spacecraft construction as well as a lightweight molded rubber that would revolve the kit and provide structure to the footwear.

As for functionality, the upper is crafted to improve support while the ordinary lacing system has been replaced by a simpler, easier to use and more elegant velcro strap. It also sports an embossed US charging flag!

Designer: Flávio Markiewicz

Everyone has felt directionless at some point in their life. This is especially true for young adults as they begin to ponder their career trajectory or vocational interests. This elegant wood-clad tool kit, called “Tul Ket”, explores inspiration in tangible form.

It consists of three different tool kits for three different areas of study: science, logic and design! Tapping in to these areas of study targets three different users: inventors, thinkers and makers. But how can these help one determine their direction? It’s actually more simple than it sounds. Generally speaking, students grow up using the same classic set of utensils and tools in school. By providing them with a variety of specialized tools, they can take notice of their unique preference and make an informed decision based on which set they’re most drawn to.

Designer: Aziz Alsunusi

With the increasing documentation of people’s every move with the likes of Snap Inc. and their spectacles or Instagram stories – people love to capture every minute of their every day, even in the most mundane of cases. It appears to be a trend that’s here to stay and FrontRow has a truly elegant way of doing so – the FrontRow wearable camera is an exciting change from the usual household branded recording devices due to its disk like shape and overall usability.

The camera is a small device similar in shape to an old stopwatch. The camera boasts a staggering 16 hours of battery life with instant transferable content to your smartphone. The FrontRow camera enables live-streaming to your device – making those bike trails, extreme sports and really any live event, a perfect moment to share. To facilitate for mixed usage, the camera comes in two finishes – black for an edgy sports look or white/rose gold for the more luxurious appearance.

This camera comes with a stylish lanyard if you feel like keeping it safely around your neck – alternatively you can opt for clipping it to your jacket pocket or to your bag for a different perspective. What makes the FrontRow camera the gorgeous looking device that it is, is its pleasantly round LCD touchscreen which helps control the device. This screen also gives a picture preview of the recording viewpoint and video playback. This little guy is packed full of smart design features – fast charge USB-C, an indicator LED, a small speaker, a simplified one-button main interface and a rear camera. Weighing in at only 17 grams, the FrontRow camera could be something we may just start seeing everywhere very soon.

Designer: FrontRow

Click here to Buy Now: $399.00

Click here to Buy Now: $399.00