Yanko Design » Office

Herman Miller Setu Review

Long Tran — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:49:05 +0000

Lets keep it real. The Herman Miller Setu is priced to sell at $650. It’s no Embody but in this economy throwing around over $1k for a chair is wishful. The good folks at Herman Miller sent one to try out and my bum (cue Brits laughing) and back thank you. The supportive mesh and innovative spinal support really do make the difference. Whatever you do, don’t call it a poor man’s Embody. Hit the jump for my review.

Updated with prototype pics!

So what about this spinal support system? Herman Miller calls it a Kinematic Spine. The rib cage-like design flexes as you lean forward and back. There are no adjustments. They’ve simplified the ergonomic chair into what all chairs should have done years ago when that word first started floating around – it just works. Sit down and it hugs your spine. The mesh doesn’t cut into your skin yet provides plenty of support. Ever sat in a cheap generic mesh chair? They quickly lose their form. You get what you pay for.

Perhaps the most interesting tidbit about the design is the inspiration – the nautilus shell. I have a huge interest in biomimicry and I can definitely see how it applies here. The nautilus shell provides the soft body cephalopod with protection without hindering movement and all in a compact structure that uses the least amount of materials. The technology translates beautifully here since it only makes up a fraction of the structure yet is literally the backbone to the entire design.

As with almost all Herman Miller chairs, there are options galore. I have the basic model which is more than adequate for everyday use. I love how weightless it looks and the slow, soft, cushy feel every time I sink down. It’s impeccably constructed too – no squeaks or creaks.

What we loved:

Bio inspired design
High quality construction
Simplified ergonomics that work
Strong mesh support, no sagging
Only adjustment is vertical height, no other adjustment necessary
Priced to move $650

What could be improved:

Armrests may not work with every body type. Sometimes they get in the way

Designer: Herman Miller (Buy it here)

My Happy Office Beer

Radhika Seth — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:02:39 +0000

It doesn’t hurt to fantasize about guzzling chilled beer while working in office, except most offices don’t have refrigerators (or beer-guzzling policies), and even if they did, you couldn’t trust anyone not downing your can! So how about this personalized locker-style Flip Stacking Personal Fridge for the Office? It’s the sort of mini-fridge (for each employee) that you can stack a-top of each other. Its’ unique L-Shape makes it easy to stack and it uses Thermoelectric technology allowing it to work in any orientation, even upside-down!

On the whole its able to accommodate cans, bottle and items that are up to 10 inches wide, as well as 10 inches tall, but takes up 25% less room than a 10-inch cube! It includes a stow-away shelf, letting the user mod the interiors according to items to be placed. I really dig the door handle though!

Designer: Spencer Schimel

Single Pen Dispenses All Colors

Radhika Seth — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:05:44 +0000

A must-have on any designer’s desk is his marker pen; the more, the merrier! Getting high-tech about the colors and tools is this Braun Markerfool Marker Pen. It’s been designed especially to provide a variety of colors from just a single pen. Kinda like a miniature inkjet printer, that has a touch screen so that you can mix in the CMYK colors and use them. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black! Altho not elaborated, it claims to be an eco-friendly concept, I assume it’s coz you’ll need a lot less pens. Just this one!

Designer: Hai-Ling Zhong

Between Art and Work

Long Tran — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:23:06 +0000

Traipsing along a fine line of an artist’s work area and a craftsman’s work table, the L.O.F.T. Workstation effortlessly balances between the two. It’s shortlisted for a Helen Hamlyn Design Award and can be seen at this year’s 100% Future Show Design London. Quite the achievement – lets take a closer look.

The workstation is an adjustable platform designed to be customized for anyone and everything is included; surfaces, lighting, shelving, screens, boards, etc. Assembly is easy in the IKEA way with cable management too. I love how the design can easily fit in an art studio or home office without compromising the design.
Designer: Maciek Wojcicki Design

Not One, But Two! In One Chair!

Chris Burns — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:01:09 +0000

Presenting an injection-moulded polycarbonate chair designed and made fantastic by Henrich Zrubec, who hails from sunny Bratislava, Slovakia. Zrubec is an interior designer as well as a furniture maker so you know his mind is on the environment as much as it is on the product. What we’ve got here is a chair that makes an environment wild and deluxe. A red and transparent chair which can easily split into two; one transparent chair, and one red!

Zrubec aims to create furniture that pops with unique functionality. In an environment such as this, the post-Eames world, that is, this plastic duo should fit right in.

Will the White Stripes enthusiast in you approve?

Also in vibrant rainbow colors!

Designer: Henrich Zrubec

The Simplest Hammer Clock

Chris Burns — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:05:26 +0000

The simplest lockdown. The perfect form. What kind of minimalism are you into? I’m listening to one of the music mixtapes released in honor of Michael Jackson: this one has a vocals-only track of “Rock with You.” Perfect, wonderful, simple. In the clock you see here, we’ve got a companion in time. The colored circle, the giant nail marking the 12 and holding the clock to the wall, and the two hands of father time. Ow!

As any Paul Loebach can tell you, you don’t need much to make a masterpiece. This set of circles have a home in my home if they’ve ever got the guts to step up. Hammer time!

Hammer Time
8 x 8 x 1 in / 20 x 20 x 3 cm
Spun Aluminum Body, Brass Nail

Nail it in and keep it spinnin.

Designer: Paul Loebach

Lucky Russian Trolly Ticket Cookies

Chris Burns — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:01:05 +0000

Mouthful! Believe it! These cookies were designed by returning Yanko champions at Art Lebedev Studio for the Russian Ministry of Transport. In Russia where bus, train, and trolley tickets run rampant, superstition also flows freely. The Russian ticket trick is the following: when the first three digits added up equal the last three digits, the holder should eat the ticket for good luck! Design has made this luck devouring much less ink-intensive. Yummy lucky cookies!

Here at Yanko, we’re definitely into food. Housing it, preparing it, and most of all, eating it. It’s not often that an industrial designer gets to design the food itself. Here in cookies, (and sometimes in chocolate,) the designer’s mind may roam free.

All you need is a cookie cutter or a chocolate stamp. And maybe a drink of that deadly-looking red liquid down there in picture number three. What do you think that is? These “Lucky Ticket” cookies are simple and wonderful – in the same vein as American fortune cookies. The most significant difference being the luck – all the cookie tickets are winners!

Eat em up!

Designer: Art Lebedev Studio

OneLessDesk Series, Gotta Have ‘em All!

Long Tran — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:20:12 +0000

Even with my RAVE review of the OneLessDesk by Dean Heckler Designs, many of you expressed dismay with it turning towards extreme minimalism at the expense of utilitarianism. People need their printer stands and filing drawers. Now you can get the whole lot via the OneLessDesk Series. That consists of the OneLessDesk, OneLessStand and OneLessFile. Pre-order now for July shipping and in a myriad of colors. Hey, why not be bold and mix & match?

Designer: Heckler Design [ OneLessDesk ]

Clutter-Free Lappie Haven

Radhika Seth — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:39:19 +0000

For centuries my pal LT has been advocating minimalist style for computer tables and I second his choice; Happy Birthday LT, here’s the Mother of ALL minimalist Tables: Bluelounge’s StudioDesk. Why? Coz it has some really spectacular features, lemme elucidate: ALL the peripherals and excess cables get tucked neatly under the sliding desktop surface. This storage compartment can be easily accessed from the top. The long slot across the desktop allows the necessary peripheral & power cables to enter/exit at any point; Clutter-free lappie tables!

In the storage compartment you can stow: Power strips, AC adapters, USB hubs, external hard drives, routers, chargers, and even a MacMini server and more n more cables! This means only a single cable exits the desk to the power socket. There’s a faux leather mat covering the sliding portion of the desktop and guess what; it’s included!

For convenience, the desk comes in a comfy knock down condition and can be easily assembled.
What I really dig is the solid mahogany legs, and soothing White laminate surface.

Designer: Bluelounge [ Buy It Here ]

Surfaces, Surfaces, Surfaces

Long Tran — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:54:55 +0000

I’m sort of a nut job when it comes to minimalism. If I’m going to be a minimalist, I’m extreme. I like surfaces, surfaces, surfaces. Designer Emili Diaz understands my OCD-like vice so his Table 180 suits me to a tee. On the “surface” it looks all clean and unassuming but just underneath are a bevy of panels hiding compartments for every need be it dining or working. This is concept only but I’d like to have one.

Designer: Emili Manrique Diaz