Hasta La Ideas

Android tablets come in a variety of sizes and prices, making them easily accessible to a wide range of people. Although they have been in the market for years, only a notable few have reached iPad Pro status, especially when it comes to being an important part of creatives’ workflows. There are, of course, some Android tablets, like Samsung’s top-end line, that come with all the bells and whistles you’d need for working on the go, but navigating Google Play Store for noteworthy, not to mention safe, apps can sometimes be a daunting prospect. Product designers on Google’s side of the fence need not fret, though, as we have here five of the best apps that can let you exercise your creative juices anywhere you have your tablet or even phone with you.

Infinite Design and Painter

Designers don’t always think within confined spaces when brainstorming or sketching out ideas. Although most are used to the boundaries imposed by physical paper, many probably wished they had an infinite canvas to explore ideas with. That’s impossible to pull off in the physical realm, of course, but there’s little reason you can’t do so with apps.

This infinite canvas is the cornerstone of Infinite Studio’s twin apps, Infinite Designer and Infinite Painter. As their names imply, each caters to specific audiences and needs. Both, however, have some features in common, like that infinite canvas, as well as a configurable user interface you can move around to fit your workflow. Both apps are also free to use with in-app purchases to unlock some functions.

Infinite Designer works with vector shapes and lines to create forms that you can tweak with fine precision. It has some features created specifically for designers, like text tools and perspective guides. Infinite Painter, on the other hand, is designed for those with more artistic inclinations, especially those that need to create their own brushes for painting textures.

Designer: Akash Kumar

Designer: Peter Sakievich

Concepts

Just like Infinite Design, this app’s name clearly screams “concept design.” What started out as an iOS-exclusive eventually made its way to both Windows and Android, giving designers a new and powerful tool to give a visual form to their thoughts. And just like Infinite Canvas, Concept’s key feature revolves around its infinite canvas.

Concepts‘ drawing tools mostly revolve around vector shapes as well, but it has a larger set of brushes that would make artists also feel at home. Ever since day one, the app’s designer focus has been a selling point. Concepts’ implementation of its color wheel as a COPIC wheel is definitely still a unique feature.

Concepts does have a rather unusual pricing scheme that might put off some Android users. It’s free to use with a number of features that can each be unlocked with separate in-app purchases. However, there’s also a monthly or annual subscription option that delivers even more, which can be handy for those really knee-deep in using this app.

Designer: Yael Arama

Designer: Rafael Alvarez

Sketchbook

Just like Adobe, Autodesk doesn’t need much introduction among designers and digital creatives, especially those who depend on CAD software for their living. At one point in time, its Sketchbook was even regarded as the de facto drawing app on mobile devices in the absence of Photoshop. Sketchbook is now its own company, but it didn’t lose any of its capabilities. In fact, it might have gotten more.

All of Sketchbook’s features are now available to all users, absolutely free of charge. Those include dozens of brushes that each can be customized to fit a designer’s needs. Symmetry tools, rules, and guides help give some structure to sketches, and blending modes let artists exploit a large number of layers as much as the device can support.

One of Sketchbook’s key strengths has always been its simplicity and cleanliness, with the UI quickly getting out of the way once you put the tip of the stylus to the screen. Even the tool icons are designed to look clean and minimal, helping to reduce the cognitive burden when using the app.

Designer: Robert Kiss

Designer: Sketchbook

Clip Studio Paint

With Photoshop landing on iPads just a year or so ago, the chances of it arriving on Android are slim to none. While there are a few that have tried to fill in the gaps, Android sadly doesn’t have a household name like Procreate, at least not yet. Fortunately, designers have plenty of other options available, especially when they need painting tools more than photo editing ones.

Clip Studio Paint is actually one of Photoshop’s biggest competitors in the digital illustration space, and it is now available on all the major platforms, including on Android phones and tablets. It is actually one of the go-to solutions of illustrators and comics artists because of its wide array of tools specifically designed for those use cases. These same tools are, of course, also useful in sketching design concepts or preparing final illustrations for presentation.

The one catch to Clip Studio Paint’s powerful arsenal is its rather confusing pricing scheme. Although there’s a free trial available, further use of the app requires a subscription that differs according to platform or type (PRO vs. EX). New owners of Samsung’s Galaxy phones and tablets, however, do get some special treatment with a 6-month free trial unavailable to other brands.

Designer: Andre Pelaes David

Designer: Prentis Rollins

Krita (Beta)

Almost all the apps above except Sketchbook come with a price, whether hidden or explicit. Free apps get a lot of flak because many of them are cheap in price and quality. That’s not to say there are no exceptions, and Krita is definitely one of them.

On desktops, Krita has become a strong contender in rivaling Photoshop for artists and designers. It has a strong set of tools for digital art creation, including an animation feature. Krita is also “free as in speech,” in other words, open source, with a thriving community of artists and developers making it grow at an astoundingly fast pace.

Although already well-established on Windows, Mac, and Linux, Krita is a newcomer to Android. It’s still available only in a beta release, but it is quite usable in its current state. More impressively, Krita on Android nearly has all the same features and capabilities as the desktop version, something that Adobe has yet to deliver for Photoshop on iPads.

Designer: Chou-Tac

Designer: caseyclan

Bonus: Noteshelf

Sketching and creating concept art is really only one part of the design process. A lot of it also happens with words and other media. Some designers still keep a physical notebook around even if they do a lot of their work on computers and tablets. If you want to go all out on digital, though, Noteshelf offers a decent analogue to your analog notebook.

With Noteshelf, you can add your sketches and PDF documents to your notes for a particular concept you’ve been working on. You can handwrite your notes as well and even record audio while doing so. Noteshelf will sync the two and will replay your handwriting stroke by stroke as you play the audio recording. All of that for $4.99, no hidden costs included.

Designer: alexa

Designer: kate

The post Top 5 Sketching Apps on Android for Product Designers first appeared on Yanko Design.

How about a Batpod riding on tank tread wheels for The Batman movie that’ll portray the vigilante as a motorhead building his own set of wheels in the secret underground Batcave?

The ruthless vigilante, Batman eventually evolved into a superhero with a strict moral code and a sense of justice. The rides that the superhero relies on for his good deeds have also evolved over the years. Remember Christopher Nolan’s Tumbler Batmobile which was highly militarized for the right reasons. The escape pod integrated into the Tumbler (yes the Batpod) was equally impressive. So why shouldn’t the future Batpod two-wheeler be militarized for added spice?

Designer: Fang E

Even though director Matt Reeves is vouching for a more realistic approach for the Batmobile and Batcave for the upcoming “The Batman” movie slated for March 4, 2022 release, I would totally be rooting for a Batpod with tank treads. Just like the one pictured here. Created by Fang E (aka. Fang Yi) who was already impressed with his dystopian world two-wheeler, has crafted another digital masterpiece that is the perfect fit for the redesigned Batcave Matt has hinted for the upcoming Batman – right in the heart of the secret underground railway that exists in New York.

Christened the P.64 Lancehead, this cool militarized two-wheeler has that definitive edgy Batman influence. The sharp aesthetics and the Batman-like drape on all sides are absolutely dope for the vigilante’s fans. The concept vehicle is imagined to be powered by an electric gas turbine engine – so one can expect that deep sound matching Batman’s personality. To overhaul the dark character of the superhero who’s been a loner all these years, the bike could be the ideal accomplice with its multi-colored options too. Just imagine the Batman riding this dapper machine in blue and yellow or unicolored matte orange skin!

The post Electric Batpod is a turbine-engine powered ride with tank tread wheels that sits in Batman’s underground cave first appeared on Yanko Design.

In the past couple of years, the definition of the office environment has drastically changed. We are more rooted to our seats than ever before as the digital work age transports us into a new era. A good, comfortable office chair can instantly increase productivity, thanks to the comfort it guarantees. But to fill the void for a comfortable seat with a more adaptive and less space occupying option, a designer has envisioned an ergonomic stool that will adapt to the user’s body movement during long periods of sitting.

Designed to guarantee comfort and instantly increase concentration and physical fatigue, the Axis stool is, according to the designer, the first ergonomic stool created from sustainable materials. The stool is intended primarily for the demanding needs of a flexible office environment, for which, it is made lightweight and stackable – two essentials of a modern office where space comes for a premium.

Designer: Florian Blamberger and Alexander Knorr

In addition to its ergonomic design, sustainability is at the Axis’s core. The seat is made from injection molding bio thermo-polymer, which makes it a biodegradable and recyclable seating unit for the greener offices of the future. To create more impact with little mechanical intervention, the entire stool – the base and the seat – are held together using a single screw. The convenient manufacturing makes it possible that the specially engineered seat on the top can tilt in any direction so the users don’t feel the pressure while leaning from one desk to another. The base and the seat are placed inches apart from each other to allow 360-degree tilting without friction between the two components.

Axis is by virtue then, comfortable enough to let you work efficiently for long hours, albeit a backrest. The firm base of the stool keeps it sturdy on the ground, its lightweight structure permits it to be stacked up after use, while the eco-friendly construction ensures the stool can be completely recycled at the end of its life cycle.

The post Green offices need this 360-degree rotating ergonomic stool that is recyclable by design first appeared on Yanko Design.

Before the pandemic took place, cooking was a chore I completely avoided! But now, I honestly find it quite therapeutic! The pandemic, and all the free time that came along with it, somehow awakened my inner chef! I’m sure a lot of other inner chefs were brought to life as well. And with the third wave slowly encroaching upon the world, it may be time to deep dive into cooking once again! Especially with the right kitchen tools and appliances, cooking can be a fun and effortless process. The right products can reduce your prep time in half, make the little cooking tasks much easier, and help you with tedious and complicated techniques. From a kitchen appliance that turns a This collection of kitchen appliances promises to transform cooking from a Herculean feat to an approachable and enjoyable process! Let your inner chef take over with the help of these innovative and nifty designs!

1. The Reencle

Designed to effectively compost and break down food waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer, the Reencle is a compact, quiet, odor-free kitchen appliance that puts your food waste to good use; although that shouldn’t give you an excuse to waste more food! Hoping to put that waste into good use so it doesn’t end up in a landfill creating tonnes of CO2 and Methane as it decomposes, the Reencle is an at-home solution that helps efficiently break down food in a way that turns it into a rich compost that benefits the planet instead of harming it. Microorganisms inside the Reencle’s inner chamber break the food down in roughly 24 hours, creating a compost that can be used in gardens, backyards, indoor planters, or even be disposed of, so it doesn’t harm the environment.

2. CASO’s Kitchen Ecostyle

Kitchen scales come in all shapes, sizes, and designs, both the analog kind as well as more modern digital ones. In almost all cases, they take the same rectangular or circular plates that can take up precious shelf space. Digital scales, of course, also require power to function, mostly from batteries. CASO’s Kitchen Ecostyle throws all that down the drain, so to speak. You might not even recognize it as a kitchen scale because of its unconventional design. It looks almost like a fat rectangular compass or protractor, with one leg that fans out to the side. This creates a gap where you can securely place a bowl that is too big to balance on the scale’s closed-form safely.

3. Smeg-inspired Toaster

A piece of home decor and a kitchen appliance, Smeg products tend to give kitchens a whole lot of personality. Gutiérrez Rincón’s toaster design maintains a simple control panel in a similar fashion to related Smeg products and gleams with a polished finish reminiscent of 50s household appliances. From its base, Gutiérrez Rincón’s toaster is conceptualized with stainless steel legs that slightly raise the toaster from the kitchen counter. Rounding out its short-legged base, a reflective red aluminum finish gives the toaster a bright, energetic profile. Along the side, users can find the toaster’s control panel that features a sliding knob that allows users to change the timing of the toaster, while small buttons give users options to heat, defrost, power off, or toast.

4. On2Cook

The idea behind On2Cook sounds so simple that you’d probably be left wondering why no one has thought of it before. It basically combines two of the most common methods of cooking, namely stove or induction stove, and microwave, to cut down on the time that food needs to cook. It offers the best of both worlds with almost no drawbacks, or at least that’s the premise. Conventional flame or induction cooking cooks the food from the bottom and outside, which leads to the familiar brown color that stove-cooked foods have. The microwave part, on the other hand, cooks from the top and starts from the inside, yielding in a more evenly cooked and often moist dish.

5. Carnerie

Turner designed Carnerie – a conceptual device that will let you grow your own meat in the future! Cultured meat is the process of growing meat from cells extracted from animals. Many experts believe that cultured meat offers us the opportunity to produce meat with significantly reduced environmental impacts and without slaughtering animals. The technology is being rapidly developed across the world and is beginning to be introduced to some high-end restaurants but there has been discussion about whether one day we may be able to grow our own meat from animal cells in our own kitchens. Carnerie is a ‘grow your own meat’ device for around twenty years in the future. It is controlled by an app, whereby the user is able to order cell capsules from local farms in order to grow a variety of different types of meat. This conceptual, speculative project is designed to help us visualize what this future scenario could be like and whether it’s a future that we would buy into.

6. The JIA Inc. Rolling Mortar

Inspired by the Chinese ceramic tea mortars from the Tang Dynasty, this pestle + mortar combo brings modernity and sensibility to a century-old practice. The mortar comes in the form of an elegant, U-shaped porcelain bowl, whereas the pestle is a solid wooden oak wheel. Instead of punching and grinding the spices or tea herbs, you simply place them in the oblong bowl and roll over them with the wheel. The wheel possesses an extremely ergonomic form, making it easy to grip, and allowing you to grind your herbs via an effortless rolling motion. The process was formulated to ensure that none of the spices fly out of the mortar while you grind them… with the added benefit of being an extremely quiet one too! No annoyed neighbors because you decided to make some pesto for lunch!

7. The Gevi

A 2021 winner of the Red Dot Design Award, the Gevi rubbishes the notion that a coffee machine needs to look like a large, bulky, boxy appliance. The 2-in-1 coffee grinder and brewer are visually separated into their two parts. The appliance comes with a base platform that has its own dedicated weighing scale to help you weigh the beans before you add them to the grinder. The grinder comes with a bean hopper on the top to feed the beans in, while commercial-level 60mm flat steel burrs help create a consistent grind of your beans (while anti-static measures help prevent particles from sticking/clumping). The dose consistency from beans to powder of the appliance is around 0.2g.

8. Kara Pure

Meet Kara Pure, a water dispenser that basically turns air into drinking water. Designed by Cody Soodeen, Kara Pure wasn’t created in a void — Soodeen grew up in a town where the drinking water was contaminated by a strain of bacteria that had health implications for the people who consumed it. Unfit drinking water isn’t particularly rare nowadays, with groundwater tables either being infected/polluted or being entirely depleted due to overconsumption and a lack of accounting for climate change. While Kara Pure is clearly built keeping a pretty inevitable future in mind, it’s important that Soodeen and other people like him perfect the technology now, rather than later.

9. Bev

To create different cocktails, Bev works on a disposable pod system quite similar to Keurig and Nespresso. Created in partnership with Bartesian, Black + Decker plans on releasing as many as 40 different beverage pods with pre-mixed juices, bitters, and syrups that just need to be popped into the appliance. Once a pod is loaded, you can select how intense you want your cocktail, and Bev does the rest, mixing the ingredients together and dispensing your final cocktail directly into a glass. The entire process takes all of 30 seconds, and yes, Bev even comes with a mocktail setting for people who don’t drink.

10. GoodHome’s Trash Bins

GoodHome’s trash bins are comprised of three different sections that help make sorting trash simple. While each household can assign different types of waste for each bin, a typical household would allot one for recyclables, regular trash, and then food waste for compost. To provide enough storage capacity while maintaining a compact size, GoodHome merged those three different compartments to create a one-stop shop for all of your trash needs. The different modules can also be configured to meet your spatial needs. Each trash bin is made from stainless steel for a simple, modern look that’s also impact-resistant to maximize the product’s shelf life. Then, when it’s time to take out the trash, users can lift the bin’s internal container to gain access to the garbage bag’s liner.

The post Kitchen Appliances designed to unleash your inner chef and achieve your MasterChef dreams first appeared on Yanko Design.

For our latest lookbook, we’ve collected ten homes from the Dezeen archive that were self-designed by architects and designers including John Pawson, Sarah Wigglesworth and Alan Maskin.

From a two-storey apartment in New York City to a second home on the grounds of a former 17th-century farming complex, these homes offer interior inspiration and insights into how architects and designers take advantage of their knowledge when designing spaces for themselves.

This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous lookbooks feature interior home courtyards, modernist living rooms and spacious kitchen extensions.

Villa Timmerman, Sweden, by Andreas Lyckefors and Josefine Wikholm

Designed by Swedish architect couple Andreas Lyckefors and Josefine Wikholm, Villa Timmerman is a home in the south of Gothenburg, Sweden.

The couple developed the site into two separate properties, one of which would be sold to fund the build. Lyckefors and Wikholm created identical floorplans and lined the exterior of each home with a decorative timber lattice.

Inside, the architect-couple added ash panels across the walls of the ground floor to create a streamlined and peaceful wooden interior.

Find out more about Villa Timmerman ›

Little House/Big Shed, US, by David Van Galen

As per its name, Little House/Big Shed is comprised of a main cabin that houses the living areas, and a smaller volume which is used by US architect David Van Galen as a studio and guest quarters.

Van Galen wrapped the exterior of the structures in Corten steel panels, while windows and architectural features were trimmed in cedar framing the alder and Douglas fir trees outside.

Inside the home, an open-plan interior features plenty of wood-detailing and neutral hues have been combined with colourful details, like the warm red sofa at the centre of the room.

Find out more about Little House/Big Shed ›

Logan Pavilion, US, by Eric Logan

This self-designed home by Eric Logan of CLB Architects was originally built for his family in 1997. Logan renovated Logan Pavilion in Wyoming in 2021, adding a steel gabled roof and a new open-plan kitchen.

The low-lying structure boasts an open-plan living arrangement under the newly added corrugated cold-rolled sheet steel roof that was left exposed throughout the living areas.

The house’s slight industrial feel is underlined by its oiled concrete floors and engineered-wood wall panelling.

Find out more about Logan Pavilion ›

Home Farm, UK, by John Pawson

Built within a 17th-century farming complex in the Cotswolds, British designer John Pawson converted the former farming building into a family home for himself.

Pawson fitted out the home with minimalist furniture and employed a simple material palette of elm, lime plaster, and concrete. His own taste influences all his projects, he told Dezeen.

“I think of myself when I’m designing houses for other people,” he said. “I guess people come to me because maybe they like what I do.”

Find out more about Home Farm ›

Stock Orchard Street, UK, by Sarah Wigglesworth

Architect Sarah Wigglesworth completed an overhaul of her RIBA Sustainability Award-winning Stock Orchard Street home in London to renew its energy efficiency and age-proof its interiors.

The house was designed to try out green technologies and unusual building materials and has insulation made from straw bales and walls made from materials including sandbags, recycled concrete and railway sleepers.

Its warm, light interior shows how beautiful sustainable architecture can be.

Find out more about Stock Orchard Street ›

Suspended Patio House, Tel Aviv, by  3322 Studio

Designed by the founder of 3322 Studio for himself and his family, this concrete home in Tel Aviv accommodates the changing needs of the founders’ young sons.

It is arranged around the voids in its boxy concrete frame and boasts a large open plan design across its three storeys. The voids in the frame allow light and air to filter and circulate through the multiple levels.

In the open-plan living space, full-height glazing connects the interior with the outdoors.

Find out more about Suspended Patio House ›

Kew Residence, Australia, by John Wardle Architects

Clad in Victorian ash across the floors and ceilings, architect John Wardle of John Wardle Architects designed this Australian home for him and his wife with the aim of creating a “cocoon.”

In the cosy living room, Wardle added spaces that could be used to better display his art collection, including wooden shelves and wood plinths.

Find out more about Suspended Patio House ›

Agate Pass Cabin, US, by Alan Maskin

Olson Kundig Architects principal Alan Maskin renovated and extended a 1938 beach cabin in Washington State to function as a personal retreat.

Maskin added a first-floor extension to the cabin, which was fitted with floor-to-ceiling windows at the gable end providing views out to the nearby water. The interior retained its original Douglas fir panelling, while Glulam plywood lines the walls across the new extension.

Find out more about Agate Pass Cabin ›

New York apartment, US, by Harry Nuriev

Grey tiles and purple carpeting cover the walls and floors of this New York City apartment renovation by Crosby Studios founder Harry Nuriev and partner Tyler Billinger.

Nuriev and Billinger used bright purple and muted grey colours, geometric shapes and textural materials to add their own personal style to the two-storey NoLita apartment.

Find out more about the New York apartment ›

Casa SS, Chile, by Pablo Saric and Cristian Winckler


Casa SS is a single-storey home located 85 metres away from the coastline of Canela in Chile. Designed by architects Pablo Saric and Cristian Winckler
 for Saric and his young family, the home adopts a minimalist style.

Vertical slats of blackened pine clads the exterior while the interior is blanketed in white with minimalist, clean finishings. Large glass sliding doors flank the length of the kitchen and dining area and open up to connect with the dramatic coast.

Find out more about Casa SS ›

This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing modernist living rooms, original hotel bathrooms and spacious kitchen extensions.

The post Ten self-designed homes by architects and designers appeared first on Dezeen.