Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

EES is a versatile line of wearable products focused on oriental healing techniques for athlete stress and pain relief. The collection consists of a flexible magnetic healing pad that can be placed around any limb or muscle, a massaging wrap for soothing aches, and pressure clips for restoring qi energy. Using time-tested methods such as acupressure, reflexology and acupuncture, they aim to help users lower tension and reduce negative pressure with targeted alleviation rather than pills and topical solutions. Available separately or as a group, they’re a great addition to your fitness recovery practices that you can toss in your gym bag and use just about anywhere.

Designers: Fabiana Valletta, Maria Franco & Valentin Haack

Arthur C. Clarke said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” and truth be told, that’s what the Livin Shower valve feels like. Imagine walking into your shower to the perfect water temperature (every time), and not having to fiddle with the dials and knobs. All you do is bathe, cleanse, decompress, and have a great experience.

The Livin Shower valve takes care of literally everything for you. Set the temperature you want to bathe at and the Livin does the rest. You can even set your own profile on the shower’s companion app, saving your preferences along with those of the rest of the family. Alternating between shower profiles to bathe is literally as simple as switching between Netflix accounts. The valve comes with a touch-sensitive rotating knob that lets you select your profile or even custom temperatures. It doubles up as an iPod’s jog-dial too, letting you control music playback, because what good is a shower without some shower singing?!

Livin was built out of the simple reason that finding the ideal shower temperature was a monumental waste of time and water. What Livin does is bring automation in to reduce our need to fiddle with mechanical knobs to find that sweet spot. In turn, it uses its automation to tie in other value-adding services too… music playing just being one of them. The Livin is also designed to measure your water usage and save as much as possible. It autonomously gets your shower running till it hits the right temperature and stops it until you step in. The Livin also makes stats like shower time and water quantities visible to you after each shower right within the Livin app. Giving you the power to customize your shower routine to save water, the Livin can help save close to 2000 gallons of water per year per household. But let’s be honest… the idea of stepping into a shower with the perfect water and the perfect music every single time is definitely a life worth getting used to, isn’t it?!

Designer: Livin

Click here to Buy Now: $299.00 $599.00

Skip all the hassles to take a shower. Plug in (or say, “Prepare my morning shower” to Amazon Echo or Google Home) and get notified – “Your shower is ready.”

Livin Shower warms up your shower and pauses the shower stream once the water temperature reaches the target so you can walk in and start your shower right away with just a press of a button. No more guessing how much the valve needs to be turned. Also, you can pause and resume your shower with one click.

Connect to your favorite music apps like Spotify or Apple Music and listen to your shower playlist to make your shower the most relaxing moment. You have full control to play, pause or skip songs.

Because everyone has different preferences for many aspects of showering, Livin Shower remembers each one and provides a personalized setting. You can create up to 10 profiles and each profile activates preset shower temperature, favorite music, and connection to other devices. Each profile owner may track their shower temperature, water usage, and duration of the shower.

Click here to Buy Now: $299.00 $599.00

Don’t be fooled by the name, BRICK’s only aim is to lighten your workload and ease your stress level! This handy desktop gadget serves a few different purposes every office worker can appreciate. Combined into one minimalistic unit, the design features an analog clock for telling the time, an organizer for holding utensils and a white board for planning your day.

The white board is especially nifty for anyone who isn’t dependent on their digital calendar or those who simply enjoy more obvious reminders. Whether its a errand list or a simple memo, it’s located right next to the clock feature so you can instantly compare your to-dos to the current time! DO want!

Designer: Ha-Young Lee

The guys at PDF Haus are pros at breathing new life into old products and this one’s a perfect example. They’ve taken 20th century inspiration from a Super 8 camera (the Minolta XL400) and put a modern spin on it with revamped functionality. Aesthetically it still has the that same simplistic, vintage vibe with a couple of minor enhancements like pure white cladding and ergonomic controls.

Aside from style, its other cool features include a pistol-type handle (that’s now entirely optional) for shooting live action. ISO, IRIS (F), and shutter speed can all be adjusted manually with a simple rotation of an oversized command dial.

Designers: Jaewon Choi & PDF Haus

The process of attaching the handle and anti-slip accessories on the camcorder.

You don’t always need AI and motion detection to dissuade burglars. A simple Grip-lock is enough to make them want to rip their hair out while they regret trying to steal your two-wheeler.

This is the Grip-lock. It’s basically a physical barrier that makes motorcycle theft a literal pain in the a**. It snaps around your bike throttle and your brake stick in a rather inconspicuous manner, and can only be opened using a key. The Grip-lock’s purpose is two-fold. A. Preventing the throttle from being turned, so you can’t really accelerate or drive the motorcycle, and B. it presses down on your brake too, so you can’t really wheel the motorcycle away too.

Using a combination of reinforced nylon with hardened steel rods on the inside, it’s easier to give up than to break the Grip-lock. Made with an adjustable design, the Grip-lock works on everything from motorcycles to scooters, quad-bikes, and even snowmobiles. Plus, with its 10-year warranty, you can save some cash and skip the insurance!

Designer: Grip-lock

Click Here to Buy Now

Click Here to Buy Now

The Torq rejects the idea that a powerful product can’t look elegant (ever seen an elegant drill machine?). The Torq explores a simple aesthetic with pleasant looking design details, and binds them together with a fun product experience.

Completely 3D printed from steel, the matte black Torq cracks walnuts with ease. Just place them in the concavity marked by the design detail and twist the key down. Like a vice grip, it slowly begins exerting pressure on the nut, finally cracking it (without bursting it open like other nutcrackers). What I find truly remarkable about the Torq is its production process. 3D printing isn’t the most ideal process for parts that withstand load or stress, but the Torq does so with ease. Its 3D printed nature also enables it to be thinner and lighter than a cast metal product… besides I see the 3D printed lines as a textural detail in themselves!

P.S. If you’ve seen an elegant drill machine, drop us a line!

Designers: Josh Owen & OTHR.

Huawei’s response to the tape-over-your-webcam phenomenon is nothing if not very James-Bondian. Hidden discreetly in your keyboard, right between f6 and f7, is a bogey key. Press it and the key rises above the surface to reveal a webcam pointing at you. Press the camera down and you’re protected from people remotely hacking into your camera and your life.

The physically moving webcam would ensure you don’t have a camera pointing at you without you knowing what’s happening. When the camera docks into the keyboard, it doesn’t film anything (or rather, anything of consequence). What this also enabled Huawei’s MateBook X Pro to do is follow the rising trend of obliterating bezels around screens. Removing the webcam from the top of the screen, the MateBook X Pro as a result, has a 91% screen to body ratio, with the upper half having a bezel only at the bottom end (where the hinge begins).

However, there are a few complaints that the camera, while looking super cool, captures you from a rather unflattering angle. I believe the term “nasalcam” was coined for this purpose. A small price to pay for protecting your privacy??

Designer: Huawei

Image Credits: Vlad Savov