Yanko DesignSearch results for 'clock' (page 1 of 13)

Embedded In Bed

Radhika Seth — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:57:43 +0000

Satin sheets symbolizing luxury are getting geeky by the day! Imagine integrating a radio alarm clock within the Sheet! That’s the Melted Clock for you: a haptic, touch sensitive alarm with speakers and controls all embedded within your sheet. The three control icons are embroidered on the sheet and relevant to the operating elements on the outside edge of the bed sheet. Use the two in combo to set your radio frequency, alarm time etc. Essentially, you just feel your way through this system; IN YOUR FACE!

The clock segments are thin and hidden underneath the fabric. They consist of silicone and give the emboss feel via a slat of EPS (electroactive polymer, used for artificial muscles). When activated by electricity, the slat expands and lifts up the silicon segment; giving us the embossed numbers of the clock.

Apparently you can even wash the sheet; the silicon segment and the EPS slat are fixed in a small case. The small cases are arranged on a platen. When you want to wash the sheet, you just remove the platen with the clock components.

Did I mention that you need to be a pro at bed-making.

Designer: Florian Schärfer

Remember Your Pants

Chris Burns — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:30:47 +0000

Remember that post I did just the other day? The one about the metal pants. Well there’s more! There’s a whole range! It’s called the “Dual Range” and it aims to take your home to a new level of simplicity and versatility. Explore with me, if you will, six new concepts that do one of my favorite things: cram two things into one.

First, the “Notch” – you already know a little bit about this from the post we had before. It’s a side table and stool with a handy little notch in the middle to hold your book open.

Second, “Notch+,” what the! It’s just basically a smaller, more square version of the Notch, right? Well check it out- the squareness of this situation increases the stackability tenfold!

Third, the “Lean” – a board with lots of notches in it. Each notch is able to hold a whole lot of material, especially made-for-hanging clothing.

Fourth, the “Lean MIRROR.” This is the one I’d want most. Only thing is, I wouldn’t hang a belt on there for fear of scratching the surface with the metal buckle.

Fifth, the “Myriad.” This is a magnetic messageboard, whiteboard for writing, shelf, and hanger system. What else could possibly be crammed!?

Sixth and last is the “Dual Clock” which is such a simply good idea I cannot believe it hasn’t been thought of before. It’s a clock. It’s a messageboard. Write on it, erase it, love it.

Designer: Alex Bradley Design

Keeping An Eye On The Milk For You

Radhika Seth — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:00:17 +0000

If you have a full house, there are less chances of anything staying for long in the fridge. Meaning it will get consumed sooner or later. But if you’re on your own or are the sorts who don’t raid the fridge often, you can very well expect some of the contents to expire before consumed fully. Fresholling here is a handy gadget that you attach to your milk carton or opened bottle of juices, and set the expiry date on them. Like an alarm clock, it ticks off at the end of the set date, ensuring you don’t consume spoiled goodies. You can set time up to a week, but do you really stock old stale stuff? Hmm….maybe I should come and raid your fridge for a change.

Designers: Min-Jung,Kim & Se-Han,Kim

Gadget Friendly Hotel End Tables

Long Tran — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:34:10 +0000

I’m loving these End Table Charging stations by designer Spencer Schimel. It makes total sense. Travelers usually come equipped with loads of power hungry doodads and trying to find a plug to charge them all is a hassle. These tables have built in induction charging plates to juice up any portable device with a lithium ion battery. They even come with a cool touchscreen clock. Meh, I could do without it. I just want the table.

Designer: Spencer Schimel

Music and Time On Your Wrist

Chris Burns — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:05:48 +0000

We’ve evolved from Walkman to iPod (plus whatever else there is, let’s be honest) and from wrist watch to cellphone-held-clock. Now. What would have happened if instead of the clock merging with the cellphone, the clock merged with the music device? We’ve got wrist tunes, contact!

Let’s have a short (or long!) discussion here about the combination of things. As things stand, the most common place I find people hold their time is in their cellphone. On their portable phone! Imagine that. I couldn’t have say, 15 year ago. I wouldn’t have believed you. What if things had gone differently than they have – what if instead, time stayed on your wrist, and music went there too?

This concept is called “Tick Tack Music Watch,” and I’ve got to say it’s pretty cute. Like a bunny rabbit cute. Designer A.Tnokovski plans on marketing it to “teens” and I think he’d be right.

I’m thinking as soon as phone service becomes as “free” as internet service, we go ahead and build that in to Tick Tack 2, and we’ll be in business.

Designer: Apostol Tnokovski

Boy Are You Stressed

Radhika Seth — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:05:53 +0000

I wouldn’t have realized if your watch hadn’t indicted that you’re all stressed up. Like the stress lines on your forehead or the outbreak of pimples are NO indications at ALL! Ok, I’m KIDDING! But really, do we need gadgets and gimmicks to inform of us of our stress levels? Ya-ha, coz we are too reliant on gizmos! My word won’t suffice, so you’re gonna countercheck my claims on something like the StressWatch! A watch that reports the Biofeedback of several body functions.

Functions like the heart rate and the body`s temperature are monitored and displayed as real-time info on the watch. The readings are taken via the lower part of the bracelet and the data gets transformed to guidelines for relaxation.

The guidelines are the well-being waves, visualized on the display, the stress line, displayed on the black bar graph, as well as the heart rate and the body`s temperature, located into the clock face. If the display shows sprinted waves kept in warm colors, and the stress line is completely full, you need to change your breathing and your focus. As you slow down your breathing and find your optimal breathing rate, you will literally see a change of the graphic chart. So the alarming well-being waves transform into smooth one with cool colors and the stress line decreases back to the relaxing indication.

Awesome, I’m hyperventilating at the moment, but no one seems to notice, maybe my StressWatch will!

Designers: Michael Mathis & Gerda Hopfgartner

Wake Up Little Suzie

Radhika Seth — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:08:16 +0000

Aphelion is this concept alarm clock that has a unique snooze function. When the alarm goes off, a ball flies off its cradle to across the room. This also triggers the snooze function. So in essence if you get up and retrieve the ball and place it in its cradle, it’s not like switching off the alarm. It’s like activating the snooze, so in case you hit the sack again, the ball will be triggered off after 10 minutes or so. You need to manually turn off the alarm switch. I only hope the ball is made of soft sponge so as not to damage anything. Cool FM Radio and neat design by your bedside!

Designer: Corey Harris

DIY Grass Clock

Radhika Seth — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:36:43 +0000

Researching for this article I came across the Treehugger post on Ustatic’s Wall Grass Concept. You must understand this concept before you can digest the Hour///Gras Living Wall Clock. Based on Ustatic’s theory that growing grass at home is beneficial, this concept clock encourages you to grow either grass or other suitable plants in a stainless steel and glass body frame and hang it on a wall. The hour and minute hand pass over the patch of grass and trim it via their sharpened edges and help maintain a pre-set level of grass-blade length.

In case you sow wheatgrass, you can consume the trimmings but for any other plant, just dispose of the clippings which pass through the grates at the bottom of the encasement into a slide-out container. On maintenance point of view, a watering basin is located at the top right corner of the frame and Ventilation grills run along the top of the structure.

Point is…do you need a grass patch in your home? If you do, then are you willing to do the labor? The only benefit I see of this clock is if you’re going to grow wheatgrass (or similar); my parents swear by the benefits of consuming it.

Designer: J Yu

Ten Innovative Designs To Help The Sight Impaired

Radhika Seth — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:45:43 +0000

Off late we have seen a flood of designs which bring out ways to make life easier for the sight impaired. A few good examples are the Braun Bell Mug, Touch Color Digital Braille Drawing Board, and The Universal Phone. These designs inspired me to compile a list from YD’s archives, dedicated to the Blind. Here’s a look at Ten Innovative Designs To Help The Sight Impaired.

10) Siafu PC by Jonathan Lucas

Lucas’s design gives the blind a fair chance to explore the world of computers in a limitless way. A conceptual material called magneclay or magnetized liquid possessing limitless morphing capabilities forms the base of this design.

9) B-Touch mobile phone Zhenwei You

B-Touch is an iPhone kinda phone with a Braille interface, voice systems and programs to function as regular phone, navi-system, book reader and object recognizer.

8 ) Bright-F by Lifeng Yu

The Bright-F detects the brightness, saturation, and hue of colored fabrics, thereby allowing a blind person to literally pick his choice of color. It relays the color information via a voice feedback.

7) Braille Label Maker by Soonkyu Jang, Jieun Seo & Seung-un Kim

The Braille Label Maker spins out Braille labels so that one can stick it to the relevant items in a grocery store. A very practical solution to an everyday problem. It can be used for labeling many other items as well.

6) The Visual Assistance Card by Kyle Lechtenberg

A brilliant concept that helps keep confidential information confidential! Like when you use a debit card, you need to punch in some secret numbers, but for the blind folks this could be a problem. The Visual Assistance Card lays on top of the debit/credit card reader and through the use of Braille imprinted on the card, the user is able to keep their personal information private thus increasing their independence while shopping in any store.

5) Braille Interpreter by Hyung Jin Lim

It’s always assumed that if a person is blind, he will know how to read Braille. The truth of the matter is, there could be some sight-impaired persons who don’t know Braille. This Braille Interpreter is for such folks.

4) Braille E-Book by Seon-Keun Park, Byung-Min Woo, Sun-Hye Woo & Jin-Sun Park

EAP is a technology that can dynamically change the surface pattern by way of an electromagnetic signal – simulating Braille text. Thus developing a Braille E-Book doesn’t seem a tall order. Not only will it be easy to carry, but also cut down on the thick Braille Books.

3) Voice Stick by Sungwoo Park

Voice Stick is an advance optical character recognition scanner designed to scan books and read to you in a pleasant voice. It converts texts in books, newspapers, contracts, mail, business cards, etc., into voice information.

2) Swatch Sens by Arnaud Lapierre

Swatch Sens is a ceramic ring clock with the 12 hour point marked with Braille. It has two rings, one for the time and the other to set an alarm. The design is simple and easy to understand, and can be really useful.

1) Rubik Cube For Blind by Zhiliang Chen

This specialized Rubik Cube has six different basic materials: Metal, wood, textile, rubber, plastic and stone. Different textures make it easy for the Blind to comprehend and play a joyful game!

Vintage Nixie Tubes That Tell Time

Radhika Seth — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:55:09 +0000

Scores of you are going to drool over this unique time-telling machine! Called the Nixie Concrete Clock, its full-on retro with shiny orange Nixie tubes in a reinforced rough concrete body and can be wall mounted as well. Inspired by the vintage Z560M Nixie tubes, used in former East-Germany, this one’s got 6 different tubes that keep you occupied with its shimmy looks and time telling techniques. Check out the movies on the Nixie Concrete website and learn more on this fully functioning prototype.

FYI the current time being displayed is 10:23:54.

Designer: Daniel Kurth