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reNEW Your Charge

I love designs that are misleading. Kinds that look like one thing but actually function as something else. Take the case of this reNEW Solar Battery Charger. It looks like this neat decorative frame that hangs on your window (via the suction cup) or sits pretty on a table. In reality it’s a solar charger for your re-chargeable batteries. Slide the batteries down the back of the frame, into the protective charging pouch, and when it’s all juiced up, pluck it out from the bottom.

Designers: Tracy Subisak, Donn Koh & Herlinda

Eat, Cook and Clean Up, All At The Same Table

The two things that I see common regarding perception of futuristic technology is that products are going to be compact and well integrated. Take for example this futuristic dining table, its designed with all the modern convenience integrated within its belly. Once you sit down, you needn’t get up to make a toast or fetch the coffee, get an apple from the fridge or even wash your dishes. It’s all integrated into the table.

Designer: Petr Kubik

Tulip Toaster Is Really Warm

I’m sure you will recollect the showcasing of Toasters we did on YD recently. While those were the flamboyant, futuristic sorts that bordered on unrealistic strategies, the Tulip Toaster we see here is quite contrary to the. It redefines the cold steel lines with ballistic black finishes that we see in the markets these days. The Tulip tries to break traditional norms by incorporating some warmth into the design. This is achieved by adding a wooden frame inspired by the namesake flower.

Designers: Sergej Kuckir, Hayley Powell, Katherine Whiting, Minas Patsalos & Varun Gujral

Interview with Jon Kolko of Frog Design

Having met Jon Kolko at the Bounce IDSA conference I was pleased as punch to get him to sit down for an exclusive YD interview.  Acting as Senior Design Analyst at Frog Design in Austin and Editor-in-Chief of Interactions Magazine, Jon brings dizzying insights to the worlds of interaction design and its ramifications to industrial design and research.  Click through to our interview after the jump, but also check out some of his excellent talks like the recent Austin Creative Confab or his presentation on design synthesis.

Designer: Jon Kolko

10 Unique Designer Breakfasts

So I hear you all, all of us, love to eat breakfast. Or wish. Wish we could eat breakfast every day. Check it out. Here’s ten amazing industrial design concepts based on that old timey morning ritual. Most of them are basically made for people who’ve got time to eat breakfast, but yes, there are fantabulous designs for those of you who’ve got no time at all! Designers!

Designer: 10 Wild Designers

Wake Up to An Alarming Juice, Toast, and Coffee

Ou de chocolat! The one time I was in France in my life, I stayed at a nice place of lodging just down the street from the Moulin Rouge (no lies!) And in this place of lodging, every morning, we were served toast and a choice of “café, tea, ou de chocolate.” And with the “Wake Up” alarm, that’s just the choices you’ll get. Every morning. Automatically.

Designer: De Dietrich

Best of February 2009

Every month we take a look around and select some of the most interesting designs that was showcased here. Below you’ll find the most popular designs we’ve tracked over the last 30 days – an overview of designs you shouldn’t have missed in February 2009.

It’s All About The Crisp Toast

A kitchen appliance that has been taken for granted for such a long while is the humble toaster. So ignorant are we of its origins that till now it is unknown who invented the first electric bread toaster! No doubt evolved humans have been toasting a slice of bread for a long time now, but almost two centuries ago the deed was done over an open flame. The failed attempt of Crompton & Company in 1893 to commercialize it as Eclipse, led to General Electric’s D-12 claiming the title as the “first commercially successful electric toaster” in 1909.

Toasty Charger

The Toasty Charger by Hyun- A Ko makes each charging session into a breakfast scene, or whenever it is you toast. For me, that’s breakfast. Assuming it can take all varying sizes of lithium ion batteries, you slide one in, push the toaster handle down and wait for it to pop back up again. Granted this is one toast that’ll take a little longer than usual so if you’re not around to see it pop, there’s a handy dandy color coded LED light in the shape of toast for visual reference. Mmm, breakfast!

Designer: Hyun-A Ko

Breakfast Skills with no Spills

Bored of morning talk shows? The daily paper too scary to read lately? How about waking your tired butt up with a good round of breakfast olympics? THE BRUNCH by Ivo Vos is a “series of consumer products that celebrate the mundane.” Test your mortar lobbing skills with this angled toaster/launcher. Or see how your peeing accuracy could improve with this height measuring tea pot.

Designer: Ivo Vos

Best of July 2008

Every month we take a look around and select some of the most interesting designs that was showcased here. Below you’ll find the most popular designs we’ve tracked over the last 30 days – an overview of designs you shouldn’t have missed in July 2008.

Toaster With Looks That Kill

The Nahamer T450 is the first environmentally sustainable toaster. It is 20% faster and uses half the energy of a standard 900W toaster by having close-proximity low-temperature heating elements. If only one slice of bread it inserted then only one side of the toaster is turned on.

Designer: Rob Penny

Put Those Power Hungry Applicances On A Timer

Even when electrical appliances are “turned off” they’re actually still drawing small amounts of energy. You’d be amazed how much energy is wasted in this low power state. JustDrawIt is sort of a home timer for anything that can be totally powered down without affecting functionality. Lamps, microwaves, toasters are some of the most common low power hogs. You have a visual queue as to how much time you have left until power down via a row of LED lights.

Designer: Henry Huang