Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

Link to Yanko Design

The Uber of the Air

Posted: 12 Jan 2018 10:51 AM PST

The future of urban air taxi is closer than you think, this is according to Bell Helicopter. Imagine coasting along in the sky while masses of people are stuck in the gridlock of traffic below. This is the proposition by Bell who is showcasing their future air taxi concept at CES right now.

With a full suite of connectivity technologies such as video calling, Wi-Fi, artificial intelligence and wireless charging, passengers of Bell’s Urban Air Taxi will have the option to fully maximize their airtime. The user has the option to finish off those last minute meeting notes, video call that important someone or just bask in the magnificent surrounding view. The design Bell’s Air Taxi looks as though it’s part of a Hyperloop design entry, and it certainly has me excited. Given the taxi quality of this air travel vehicle, I wonder why Bell chose to have four forward facing chairs and not give the back row their own control panel in the rear and face the back row towards the rear. Design choices aside, Bell’s Air Taxi is sure to be swamped at CES, be sure to check them out!

Designer: Bell Helicopter

bell_air_taxi_01

bell_air_taxi_02

bell_air_taxi_03

bell_air_taxi_04

bell_air_taxi_05

bell_air_taxi_06

bell_air_taxi_07

bell_air_taxi_12

bell_air_taxi_09

bell_air_taxi_10

bell_air_taxi_11

A Headband Aimed at Getting Better Sleep

Posted: 12 Jan 2018 10:15 AM PST

philips_smartsleep_09

If you have trouble sleeping, odds are it’s because you openly stared at that small block you carry around in your pocket all day shining a bright light into your eyes just before you nod off. However, if you’re one of the lucky few who doesn’t do that, Philips just came out with a new headband that plays white noise to help your brain get to sleep. Aptly named the SmartSleep, this headband has a funky design, one that definitely makes it distinguishable.

By attaching sensors to the user’s forehead, SmartSleep is able to detect the user’s brain activity, thus recognizing when you’re falling asleep and when you have entered a state of sleep. The band will play a pattern of white noises which should enable the user to reach a state of REM and produce a well rested and better night’s sleep.

Albeit this thing may look a bit funky and is sure to frighten your partner when it’s the first thing they see in the morning, it may be worth it for a sound night’s sleep. Showcased at CES, the SmartSleep is definitely something worth checking out if you’re fortunate enough to be there.

Designer: Philips

philips_smartsleep_07

philips_smartsleep_02

philips_smartsleep_01

philips_smartsleep_08

philips_smartsleep_03

philips_smartsleep_04

The Dreamer’s Fidget Spinner

Posted: 12 Jan 2018 06:48 AM PST

Cobb walks past the dining table, to the backyard where his children, obscured from view, are playing with each other. Just as he enters the backyard to greet his children possibly after years, he spins a metal top on the table and walks off into the distance towards his offspring. However, if you’ve seen the movie I’m talking about, you’ll know that once that top starts spinning, your eye doesn’t for one moment shift off it. Even till the very end of the movie, when the top falters for a slight bit, increasing everyone’s tensions, you can’t stop looking at the spinning metal object… and that’s what makes the end to Inception probably one of the most nail-biting curtain calls in movie history. And every bit of credit goes to how Christopher Nolan transfixes your gaze on and makes you obsess over a spinning metal top.

The top you see here is possibly the most iconic top design ever, after the Beyblade. It’s now a symbol of being mature (the top doesn’t look like a child’s toy), while still being in touch with your young, dreamer side. If the top’s design and its presence in pop movie culture wasn’t fascinating enough, the Infinity Levitating Top makes it even more magical!

The Infinity Levitating Top is fascinating to look at, whether it’s spinning or not. The top comes with a levitation base that allows the spinning artifact above it to float magically, a finger’s width above the spinning surface. It uses a clever orientation of permanent magnets and electromagnets to enable the top to levitate, and even spin while floating off the surface. Start by spinning the top on the base-platform, and then just slide the platform away and the top spins magically, magnetically in the air for up to 45 minutes! Available in three variants, the Infinity Levitating Top comes made out of three materials that have differing weights. Ranging from the lightest, Aluminum, to Steel, to the classy, heavier, burnished Brass, the tops make a great addition to your work-desk, allowing you to maintain productivity through focus, while enchanting you with its interactive nature and innate beauty.

The Infinity Levitating Top is calming and helps build concentration. Its therapeutic spinning relaxes the most frayed nerves, and acts almost like hitting a refresh button on your mind. Spinning the top in mid-air is an experience in itself, and watching it spin or even being around it while it spins for close to an hour feels almost meditative. Oh, and odds are it might just be the coolest and most awe-inspiring thing to ever sit on your desk.

Designers: Adam Stager & Caili Li

Click here to Buy Now: $125.00

infinity_levitating_top_01

infinity_levitating_top_02

infinity_levitating_top_03

infinity_levitating_top_04

infinity_levitating_top_05

infinity_levitating_top_06

infinity_levitating_top_07

infinity_levitating_top_08

Click here to Buy Now: $125.00

Be a Chef Show-Off

Posted: 12 Jan 2018 04:42 AM PST

rec_01

Take your social food sharing to the next level with REC, the range hood that goes well beyond simple ventilation. An evolution of Samsung’s smart home product line, it’s designed to both teach and help others be taught.

First and foremost, the wall-mounted unit differs from other bulky hoods with its ultra-slim profile. This flat panel design also makes it possible for a screen to be integrated into the outward facing side. Here, users can follow new recipes with step-by-step video tutorials displayed directly over the stove. The touch-screen interface allows them to easily navigate through the recipe. Furthermore, they can share their own favorite recipes with a built-in camera system that follows their movements throughout the kitchen. Using the dedicated social sharing app called RECipe, they can browse and replicate other people’s secret family recipes or build their own following with how-to videos and yummy tutorials!

Designer: Seong ik Yoo

rec_02

rec_05

rec_layout

rec_06

rec_07

rec_08

rec_09

The Snap Bracelet is Back!

Posted: 12 Jan 2018 02:00 AM PST

女の子 勉強 手元

1980’s kids, prepare to freak out! I’ve never been so excited about the reemergence of a long lost fashion accessory. Designer Yuhei Imai calls it a Wemo for “wearable memo” but some of us know it simply as a snap bracelet!

While we used it as a playful school yard weapon and wacky wardrobe accessory, the Wemo has a more thoughtful purpose. It provides a quick and easy method of relaying information in a variety of situations. During emergency rescues or in hospitals, personal can write a patient’s condition, allergies and other vital info on the bracelet and snap it on to their wrist in seconds. Workers in farms or in warehouses can make notes or write tallies directly on their wrist to save time and help them remember important details. Others, like construction workers or carpenters can use the one with dimensions printed on it for quick measuring. The possibilities are endless!

Better yet, the multicolored bracelets looks great paired with a pair of LA Gear shoes, as an accessory to your neon spandex with a t-shirt, or while you play Oregon Trail!

Designer: Yuhei Imai

one chinese worker assembling production at line conveyor in china factory

Farmer woman hand holding rice

Drip on the background a hospital corridor concept

女の子 勉強 手元

snap_06

Close up of rusty hammer and tools on old grunge wood background

snap_08

snap_09

snap_10

snap_11

snap_12

snap_13

Sony’s RX0 is the Napoleon of cameras

Posted: 11 Jan 2018 08:00 PM PST

Announced back in August of last year, the highly anticipated RX0 has finally been showcased at CES. Combining the best characteristics of basically every camera on the market, the RX0 boasts forty times the normal frame rate, a 1.0-type Exmor RS CMOS sensor, wide-angle 24mm9 ZEISS lens, and a tough, rigid body that is waterproof down to 10m/33ft. Designed to look like an action camera, but to put most flagship cameras to shame, this compact-yet-mighty, Napoleon-esque camera is designed for a new wave of creative and filmmakers with new desires.

Enough about the specs, the RX0 is gorgeous. Weighing in at just 3.9 ounces, this little fella is very much a rugged ‘point-and-shooter’. It even comes with the spattered texture you seen on high-end camera bodies, indicating its premium, professional build. It’s as though a GoPro ate all the other cameras, absorbed the best traits from them and then took a bunch of steroids… I guess? This is definitely a unique addition to the Sony camera lineup, and although it’s not meant for the masses, it certainly has its well-deserved place there.

Designer: Sony

Click here to Buy Now

sony_rx0_01

sony_rx0_02

sony_rx0_03

sony_rx0_04

sony_rx0_05

sony_rx0_06

Click here to Buy Now

Imagine never losing your TV remote again

Posted: 11 Jan 2018 05:00 PM PST

doki_remote_01

Everyone is quick to replace the hardware around our homes which is fine until our phones go missing! Whether you’ve left your phone in the car or it’s fallen down the side of the couch, controlling everything from your smartphone might not be the best idea. Estab Han designed a remote control that couldn’t possibly be replaced by a smartphone, the Doki.

Doki follows three principals set out by Estab; the remote must be operational without needing to see it, it needs to be more functional than a simple software interface, and it needs to be quick to find. Manifested from the design language used on a tree ax (also where the product gets its name – Doki being the Korean word for ax), Doki has a protrusion on the rear of the remote, which prevents it from sliding down between the cushions. Not only this, Doki has an LED located on the top of the device which will illuminate every 30 seconds, enabling the user to find the remote in a moment of need.

Designer: Estab Han for weekend-works

doki_remote_02

doki_remote_03

doki_remote_04

doki_remote_05

doki_remote_06

doki_remote_07

doki_remote_08

doki_remote_09

Putting your watch where it matters

Posted: 11 Jan 2018 03:00 PM PST

The Apple Watch puts a lot of things on your wrist. A timepiece, a phone, a music playback device, a fitness tracker, etc. While it’s great that the Apple Watch can do all those things, the fact that it’s called the Apple Watch very well means it has a location constraint. It needs to be on your wrist. A decade ago, I’d look at my wrist if I wanted to know the time. Now I need to look at my wrist to answer calls, read texts, play music, monitor my fitness… that sounds inelegant, and Edgegear’s Switch band tries to change that.

Not a drastic change, but a tiny one that makes a world of a difference, the Switch Band puts your Apple Watch right above the web of your hand. Meant to provide easy access to your stats during fitness training or activities, the Switch Band puts the Watch at a place where your eyes can simply see your watch screen without having to turn your wrist over. The Watch still pulls your health stats just fine and while doing so, trades the obvious solution of having a health tracker in a place where a watch should be, for something slightly unconventional, but dramatically better. To make things better, the Shift’s construction uses Viton, the same material used in Apple’s Watch bands to give them a longer life-span, and it’s more than capable of letting you mount your Garmin Fenix 3 or Suunto or even your Pebble on it…

Designer: Edgegear

BUY NOW

shift_band_apple_watch_1

shift_band_apple_watch_2

shift_band_apple_watch_3

shift_band_apple_watch_4

shift_band_apple_watch_6

BUY NOW