Yanko Design » Mac-Funamizu

Disco Lights For USB

Radhika Seth — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:09:44 +0000

Getting back to his roots, Designer Mac Funamizu takes inspiration from the Japanese Soma-Toh or a revolving lantern for this gimmicky Funny USB Memory Stick! Involved here is a transparent USB memory stick with alluring lights to represent facts. Example: no lights = empty stick; pink light = images stored; blue = documents & green = movies. And when the lights fill up the tube, it simply means memory is full. A delightful design, which is a tangent from the Swarosvki and gilded ones presently in the market.

Designer: Mac Funamizu

Button Up A Watch This Winter

Radhika Seth — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:05:50 +0000

Its winter and just when your hands get warm and cozy in your gloves; you get this itch to see the time. In a normal situation you would just ask someone else for the time and ignore the watch on your wrist (under the gloves). But I’m not here to relate a normal situation! Allow me to introduce you to the idea of a Button watch. A teeny-tiny clip-on that clips to your jacket or bag and tells you the time on a need-to-know-basis.
Click the face once and it displays the time and date on the glass face for a few seconds.

Solar battery panels harness electricity for the display. (Sunny days in winter are few and far between, but in summers you could wear this for the fad-quotient).
Many of us depend upon our phones to note the time, and since touchscreen phones act weird with gloved fingers, this button watch would be a cute solution.

Designer: Mac Funamizu

This Floater’s for the Eye

Chris Burns — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:36:50 +0000

Sometimes you’re looking around and you get a speck of something in your eyeball sight line. It goes all over with your eye as you move your glazzies about! This is sort of like that, only it’s a cellphone. Designer Mac Funamizu totaled the amount of time he’s got his cellphone sitting on his desk for all to see to be 80% of his day. Lots of time for aesthetic beauty and interactive loveliness. This phone aims to please.

Focusing on the time the phone isn’t living in a pocket or helping a head communicate only adds up to 20% of Funamizu’s day. Other than that, it’s desk time. This phone is named “Floater” after the surfing maneuver. Don’t be dunking it in water anytime soon though, not H2O safe!

Floater A sits still on the table unless there’s a call, at which time it nods or rotates.

Floater B doesn’t move in the same way as A, instead having a supporter on the back to make the oval body stand nicely on a flat surface. Sliding the supporter the other way reveals a physical keyboard.

Designer: Mac Funamizu

Mobile Phone Concepts “Floater” from Mac Funamizu on Vimeo.

The New Clarity

Chris Burns — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:36:19 +0000

The Mac. He is back. He’s clear again. He is so clear this time, you’ll just want to get out the windex just to see if the glass is actually there. Two concepts. One is a phone, the other is a desktop computer. Made with the real intention of creating something straight out of a sci fi for the greater good of your eyeballs and future humanity.

Mac is one of those fellows who, for two main reasons (amongst quite a few others,) continues to hit hard on the online publishing circuit with his amazing designs. ONE: because his designs are so innovative, they’re on the verge of “you are a crazy person.” TWO: because not only does Mac do nice design, he does a LOT of it. This guy is a workaholic.

What have we got from Mac today? A phone and a desktop computer.

First, the computer. You’ll notice the clarity instantly, I’m sure. This computer is called “Zafiro” – it’s made of glass and has a round rim. It’s made to work as a home version of the giant Precrime computer seen in the film “Minority Report.” You’ll remember the glass I.D. cards slipped in the side of the monitor. In addition, the keys on the keyboard are made of “deformable metal” which flattens out when not in use.

And the phone. Look at that thing! It’s called the “Cobalto” and it’s also made with deformable metal. It has the option of forming keys or working flat like modern “smartphone” screens already do. This phone has the same ability to project 3D holograms from a 2D surface that at least one Mac design has had in the past.

NOTE: Cool beans! The phone, Mac informs us, is going to be on a Russian TV show that happened upon his designs through his website. I hope we can feature that feature right freaking here soon!

Designer: Mac Funamizu

Future Mobile Phone Concept from mac_fun on Vimeo.

Don’t Duck Around This Player

Radhika Seth — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:26:24 +0000

Quack Quack! Ok I won’t kid around this time, but I think Mac Funamizu has matured pretty much in his design sensibilities. The CD player is called Quackie, but the concept looks decent enough for the tweens who endorse stuff like the Mickey Mouse MP3 players. Quackie is thus: There’s a round body that rolls and a black speaker. The speaker is attached to the body at the axis and it rolls around the body. Simple functions of play/stop/next/back and volume up/down are included.

To pump up the volume, you roll the body so that the “beak” opens up; shutting the beak powers-off the system. Click the black speaker once to skip to the next song and click it thrice to go back.

Wow Mickey n Donald…a winner team!

Designer: Mac Funamizu

Holograms Can Be Fun

Radhika Seth — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:28:20 +0000

Hologram technology may still be in a full bloom, but that doesn’t stop some designers from conceiving fun ideas to play around with. Like a kid in a candy store, the 3D Desktop Concept is perfect for computer-freaks like me. Natural hand movements across the black curtain to crumple and discard documents, or type out a virtual page akin to a typewriter; this concept has virtual holographic goodies by the dozens! If the idea is too overbearing then switch off the embedded tiny projectors and use this as a desk lamp!

Some features:

A browser window can be resized by actually “pinching” and dragging the tab at bottom right.
It would be fun if a document could be made as if you were using a typewriter. The curled paper hologram comes out of the keyboard.
Touching the 3D objects will be possible by dragging, throwing, resizing, etc.
By pressing the mouse body downwards, the cursor sinks (goes deeper) on screen. When you release it, it goes back to the default position (front).

Designer: Mac Funamizu

Black, White Or Combo

Radhika Seth — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:23:09 +0000

Veteran at YD, designer Mac Funamizu has given us many techie ideas to dwell on in the past. This time around he’s come up with a non-techie solution for those who are fussy about the kinda pepper they use. There is a difference in the Black and White peppercorns, which is why this Black & White Peppermill. Color-coded as the namesake, just load the peppercorns into their respective compartments and use one hand to grind the seasoning over your food.

Grind Black, White or both together…..as per your taste! A cute little salt shaker in the center completes the spice family.

Designer: Mac Funamizu

No Tangible Screen For this Mobile Phone

Radhika Seth — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:00:23 +0000

Are you over the iPhone 3G S and Palm Pre? Good, coz I got to get you prepared for the future. In ten years from now, there probably will be no war amongst manufacturers with regards to display; coz there simply will be NONE! Holograms will replace the screens! Trou Hologram Mobile Phone relies totally on 3D holograms being projected in the vacant display area. Tiny projectors line the inner surface of the hollow and bring to life the many aspects of the technology. Imagine seeing 3D maps of a particular area or your girlfriend’s hologram when she calls!

Designer: Mac Funamizu

Music On Your Wrist, On The Go

Radhika Seth — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:10:54 +0000

The Impossible Mac is back again to amuse us with his futuristic concepts. Here we find a transparent music player that slaps onto your wrist. Don’t want it clear; just opt for an image or color graphics instead and use it as a wrist-gear. Teamed with earphones that bring the “concert performance” to your ears, the trip sounds bombastic! I did mention futuristic right? To justify that Mac includes a built-in mic that helps locate and play a song on your playlist, once you hum the tune into it.

A heartbeat sensor and compatibility with your mobile phone round up the features. However you got to give it to Mac for coming up with such unique, and sometimes improbable designs…you can’t stop a man from dreaming big!

Designer: Mac Funamizu

Fold Your Phone Like Never Before!

Chris Burns — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:05:21 +0000

With “WILD FOLD.” Yes, it is the Mac Attack. Who else would go so wild? I ask you that. Here Mac Funamizu takes the idea of the Samsung Flexible OLED and applies it to several conceptual phones. How small is too small? Certainly we’ve tested the limits with certain fruit-related-mp3-players of late, correct? And how much fold is really necessary? With Mac, we will always know how far is too far!

Peek at the several concepts below, and view the video that is Mr. Funamizu’s source of inspiration. I love it when a new bit of technology comes out and people RUSH to bust it all apart with ideas!

Creation is progress!

Video is of the Samsung Flexible OLED at the 2008 FPD International.

Designer: Mac Funamizu