You learn something new every single day. Today I learned a term for an action for which, before today, I did not know the name of. It’s “walnut rolling” and it applies to the spinning of two spherical objects in your hand. You’ve done it before, I’m sure. Designer YuKwang Kang took this action and turned it into an MP3 player. It’s the aptly named “Walnut Player” to the rescue! Spin me some music!
Designer: YuKwang Kang
All eyes are trained at Earl’s Court, London for the announcement of the winner of the Electrolux Design Lab 2010 Competition. However there is a slight hitch and the folks at Electrolux are looking towards you for some help. An august jury has been assigned to pick the winner, but EDL believes in democracy as well. They want You the People to vote for your favorite project. The winner of the People’s Choice will hold value in the eyes of the jury and hence democracy gets to smile!
Voting Open Till: 22nd September; 23:59 CET
Debating with a colleague of mine on what inspires designers, we concluded that since 90 to 95 % of designs (in any field) have already been created, inspiration comes from the ones that already exist. Like I know for a fact that many of you readers come to Yanko Design to be inspired, and during those Random Searches, the Cassette Tape inspired an idea thus the eTape born! Whatever the reason behind it, I love the refinements and in-sync designing. It’s the era of touchscreen and detailing, both of which are reflected in the product.
Designer: Song Han Xin
When the aim is to design something that is eco-friendly with minimum resources and the end product should not be some fancy faff but a real working device; the challenge becomes really tough. Liteon Awards usually have this premise for designers to build upon and this year is no different. Let’s look at the Green’s Voice, a speaker that is powered by paper battery and uses an empty recycled PET bottle for its functioning. An amusing idea that reduces the use of material plus resources and looks equally neat.
Designers: Various
This is the Compass Phone, a device which both asks serious questions of the modern day cell phone and answers with an elegant alternative: itself. This project asks weather mobiles are surveillance tools, digital leashes if you will – definitely a scary thought. In a poetic manner, the Compass Phone acts as a tether to another, using its GPS function to point you in the direction of the person you wish to be near with a compass. On the top, the amount of time it’ll take you and them to meet is displayed.
Designer: Hayeon Yoo
This right here is a wireless speaker system inspired by the works of Charles and Ray Eames. Specifically, it uses the “Eames Quadraflex Speakers” system as a drawing board to create this DIY project. Designer Joel Pirela built a wooden box with an access door in the back, jammed (with care) a bunch of amazing speaker components in there, and created an opening for sound at the front, covered with a black aluminum grill. Painted all in an off-white shade for that “vintage look” and set it right up in Pirela’s house.
Designer: Joel Pirela
That’s what A.M.O.S. Design and A Plus are all about, yes! Designing an entire campus is something I’m sure many architects would dream of. With architecture by A PLUS a.s. Brno and Corian realizations in interiors by AMOS Design s.r.o., Masaryk University Campus was bound to be spectacular! This project spans back over 10 years, being set up and 2000 and the first bit complete in 2005. And now, in 2010, the last parts of this gigantic high-tech building are near completion.
Designer: A.M.O.S. DESIGN s.r.o.
Hip hop is a rich culture that has deep meaning to those who live it. By interviewing DJs, MCs, B-boys and Graffiti artists involved in the hip hop community, designer Vanessa Chew create a series of table pieces called Scratching Beneath The Surface. It’s energetic and expressive, modern and emotive, just like hip hop.
Designer: Vanessa Chew
Airport terminals pride themselves at being these huge structures, that commuting from one end to the other can be time consuming and tiring; especially with a heavy suitcase. If the fun-element in you has not yet died and are up for the quirk, how about suitcase-blading (think rollerblade and scooters) the concourse? Here’s the TITAN High-roller Suitcase, which turns into a kickbike when you pull out the footrest. I think it would be funny to see head-honchos of big companies ride their suitcases for a match, and if I were to pick 2 I’d pick Steve jobs and Bill Gates….who do you think would win?
Designer: Sindre Klepp
The working mechanics of tech gadgets in futuristic movies can really stump me at times, so for my sake, I’m going to try and keep this as simple as I can. The Smart Plus is a combination of a laptop case, projector keyboard and a Smartphone. There is no screen or a dedicated hardrive involved in the setup; the Smartphone itself is the “brains” in this combo. The inside of the case doubles up as a screen and the projector beams images to it or any other surface you desire. All of it together can be used as a laptop, gaming console or a phone.
Designer: Eunggyu Lee
This project goes by the name “Braille Buddy” and it’s created by designer Yasaman Sheri. What this Braille Buddy consists of is a 2-phase educational device aimed at the visually impared, hoping to help them out with the most difficult stages of learning Braille, that being the reading and the writing. It’s a small device with two setups: the Braille Cell and the Braille Keyboard, in place in such a way as to make the transition from one to the other easier than ever before.
Designer: Yasaman Sheri
Have you ever had a set of those gigantic box speakers, the kind your mom or dad had hooked up to their turntable or radio tapedeck, the ones that had heads as big as yours? Did you ever decide that because you totally hated them, you’d get them good by turning the speakers downward, blasting the floor with sound? If you have, you know you get quite a unique sound depending on the materials and density of the surface under your feet. Designer Jm.Jo (Jeongmin Jo) found this out too, and thusly created and brought forth the UFO bluetooth speaker.
Designer: Jm.Jo (Jeongmin Jo)
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It’s the most helpful thing on four legs in your whole house! The puppy dog comes in a close second, losing only because the rolled-up paper you’ve been given is covered in slobber. The project we’re talking about right here goes by the name “Espresso on Four Legs.” And that’s just what it is, a maker up on all fours. It’s a cylinder that appears to float horizontally above your coffee cup. One side has a door for water, the other side has a door for a coffee capsule. On top, a button for short or long.
Designer: Dror Goldblum
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