Over the years we have been fascinated by the alternate takes on Mies Van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair. It never gets old, although it’s sometimes overused. It’s been too often “softened” by professional furniture designers who create safe versions for safe modern interiors. These we ignore. We are interested in the non-safe iterations.
Buy it Here: Opulent Items
This week is an orgy of the hottest and latest concepts and products coming out of Japan. We’ll be at 100% Tokyo but over at Tokyo Designer’s Week, JVC is showing off their Sound Garden concept. In an effort to show - you can be green while having a bad ass sound system, JVC created modular multi-directional speakers and subwoofer powered by an internal amplifier. It’s also made of totally renewable, sustainable materials as summarily represented by the cute little bonsai.
Designer: JVC
Ah wind chimes. They can be so relaxing or excruciatingly irritating. It wouldn’t be so bad if they served a functional purpose but thanks to some innovative Korean designers, tomorrow’s wind chimes will ring for a purpose. It’s called Tinkling, an slick ultra-modern wind chime that rings whenever you receive a digital message (email, voicemail, text).
Designer: Lufdesign
TeaFix, the quintessential British-ness kit offers all the comfort one needs on a long journey. Like one of those plastic tear sheets found in model making, each set comes with a China cup/sauce, utensils, tea bag, and 3 lumps of sugar. But WAIT! It’s not a proper cuppa tea without a doily!
Designer: Iain Jones
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Most of us know someone who has suffered from breast cancer, and may have unfortunately had to have a mastectomy because of that. When women lose a part of their body that has always made them feel beautiful, they tend to lose a certain sense of confidence and femininity. In honor of Breast Cancer Survivors, I want to introduce to you, Lumitact.
Designer: Stephanie Choplin
It’s one part modern and 2 parts whimsical. The Flaque Table technically only has 3 legs, all with different shapes. It’s a bit kitsch but he sleek lines and elegant wooden table top brings it back on the side of modern. However just as it’s trying to look all serious in your room, “X” marks the spot in one of the corners, as if there’s treasure buried in that leg. Hmm, I wonder. . .
Designer: Luis Porem
I’m always amazed at the dexterity some servers are gifted with; 2 plates of food and 8 cups of drinks all delivered without a hitch. I can barely get out the door with 3 cups of coffee so I usually force a co-worker to come with me. Pick-Cups have uniquely designed handles that make them easy to hold 4 in each hand. Just slip a finger into each slot and like a boiling ball pinch to keep them all snug for transport.
Designer: Jung-Woo Baik
We received entries from all over the world. Poverty is a difficult problem to diagnose let alone solve but nonetheless as designers we can address different aspects of poverty and hope by dealing with each point in the problem, we can begin to collapse the systemic process and give back the dignity every person deserves. We judged based on concept, cost to implement, and deployment. Thank you to all the entrants for your hard work. Hit the jump to see the winners.
If you thought your premium mouse had a lot of buttons, check out the Glide Keyboard from Weston Boege. Resting on low friction pads, the keyboard slides around your desk picking up the movement through an optical sensor mounted underneath. The keyboard also integrates traditional mousing controls into the moulded palm rest that grips your hands as they move. Can’t say it’s a bad idea, although I can see having trouble typing when half the keys are fused together.
Designer: Weston Boege
Break it down, pack it up, take it out, put it up. Easy to store, easy to construct and deconstruct. Coat hanger for those who love a good simple on-the-go hanger system that’s nice to peek at too. And with a name like “Saturn”, you know it’s… a midsize car? What- No way! But it holds like 3 or more coats, totally.
Designer: Barber Osgerby
Designers have been tackling radiator design alternatives almost as long as designers have been tackling radiator design alternatives. The fact is; the traditional radiator is simply not attractive and has a bit of a bad attitude (all that hissing and whining). The “Ciussai Radiator” gives a new twist in home heating. Ingenious in its simplicity, this design can be wrapped around a pole, shoved under a mattress, suspended from a nail or draped across the floor.
Designer: Stefano Ragaini & Giorgio Di Tullio
On Monday I introduced our future robot masters’ future robot dogs, but today we get a glimpse of their autonomous tripods that will take embarrassing party pics of robots doing keg stands. But until such time as they attain sentience, the non-human-killing Biopod from Morteza Faghihi uses a unique positioning and stabilization structure to adapt to uneven surfaces and ease height adjustment. At first glance it might seem overwrought, but I’m assuming there is a lot of utility that manifests only with use.
Designer: Morteza Faghihi
Explore the best of YD. Our Archives are full of wonderful concepts from all over the world. Go ahead, don't be shy!
Great ideas often are simple executions. The Perfect Perch by James Chu is one of those ideas. Originally conceived as affordable seating for college students, the Perfect Perch has grown to become so much more. After the initial reaction of realizing “it’s just cardboard,” it’s become quite useful in the most unexpected situations.
Designer: James Chu
or maybe I would…"
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