Yanko Design

The walking stick gets a minimal makeover

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There’s one aesthetic style that binds most products that are made for the elderly. You’ll notice that all products one associates with the aged, have a vintage style. Walking sticks are seldom made to look minimal or contemporary. Rocking chairs too. You’ll seldom find a pair of futuristic looking bi-focals.

Studio Shiro challenges convention with the ENEA walking stick. Made out of 3D printing, the stick has a contemporary air that makes a style statement, rather than looking like a disability device from a bygone era. The design redefines functionality while celebrating minimalism. It features a 3-axis handle that one can grip firmly (while making sure it doesn’t slip out of your grip). The handle’s 3 pronged design even allows it to be rested vertically on the floor. To make things more interesting, the load-bearing shaft of the stick features an extra projection that allows the stick to balance on the side of desks or counter-tops in a fashion that’s convenient and fun both at the same time.

To keep the stick as light as, if not lighter than its wooden or metal-pipe contemporaries (or should I say ancestors), the ENEA is made using a stress-bearing, porous inner structure, much like the inside of our bones. To achieve this unique construction, the ENEA is printed from top to bottom via 3D printing.

Designer: Shiro Studio

Sarang Sheth
Sarang is the co-editor in chief of Yanko Design. He is a former industrial designer at a Bangalore-based multidisciplinary design studio, working in areas including appliances, FMCG, packaging, technology, luxury, etc. Sarang has written about design and technology for over a decade and has been a jury member on international design awards. He occasionally works on tech concepts featured on Forbes, The Verge, Hypebeast, Digital Trends, SlashGear, Tom's Guide, LetsGoDigital, and Unbox Therapy. Sarang graduated from MIT Institute of Design, Pune.
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