Hasta La Ideas

The first quarter of 2020 included many things for the world to adjust to—specifically one shift: work from home. And just when people thought it could be a temporary practice, it became more and more permanent throughout companies across the United States. With those transitions, remote work became the new normal. Leaders of companies were left with one question when pandemic restrictions loosened up: where are their employees more productive—in the office or at home?

There is plenty of data to back the fact that employees who can work from home are just as—or more—productive. The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago surveyed 10,000 employees, with results pointing to one key finding: people said they thought they were just as productive working from home compared to working in the office.

Remote work is not going away anytime soon. And while you may be getting more done at home, be sure you have a healthy relationship with work. Randy Simon, an expert on work-life balance told TODAY  that a lot of setting yourself up for work-from-home success comes down to boundaries.

Here are some ways to avoid burnout in a remote world.

Create a designated workspace

If you have just started working remotely in the recent past, you may have noticed how convenient it is not having to leave your home but feel like you can never truly leave work because it is now within your home. If that’s the case, think about creating a designated space that’s solely for work. Once you set boundaries for your own space, you should feel like you can separate work and your personal life—physically and then eventually mentally.

Virtually connect with your coworkers

Just because you’re working remotely doesn’t mean you can’t connect on a virtual level with your coworkers. If you just talk with them during weekly meetings, consider reaching out to them to plan a happy hour or a designated time to talk about non-related work topics. While you can’t simply wander over to their desk, small talk and getting to know each other can still exist within your work life.

Allow short breaks for yourself

Have you ever worked remotely and found yourself staring at your screen too long—losing track of time? If you’d been used to taking breaks within the office at one point—or simply getting up to get water or go to get lunch, don’t let work from home deter you from still taking time for yourself. Plan breaks, even if they’re just 10 minutes long. A few breaks a day will help give your mind a rest so you can fully focus once you’re back at your desk.

“Breaks are crucial,” says Cal Newport, author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. “If you’re working day after day and not letting up, you will burn out.”

Put time on your calendar for these breaks if you need to, especially so your coworkers are aware of this special time carved out just for you.  

Schedule time for your hobbies

You shouldn’t just schedule time for breaks—but also make sure you’re not overworking yourself, allowing room in your days or nights to practice a hobby. You are a human being after all, not a robot, and it’s normal to have interests outside of work.

“Without a daily commute, it’s easy to think that we will have so much added free time, but it’s easy to just add that time on to our workday,” shares writer and hobby advocate Betsy Ramser Jaime.

Turn on ambience videos

Working remotely means you’re not in an office and can control your own background noise. If you need extra help focusing and creating a calm work environment, check out YouTube’s different ambience videos—from a cozy cabin to a fall coffee shop to an enchanted forest. Ironically, creating a mood that makes you feel like you’re somewhere else can help you stay more present.

Take vacation (and sick) days seriously

Lastly, don’t forget to use your vacation and sick days when you need to. Just because you’re not traveling to and from an office doesn’t mean you don’t get to take time away from your job. In fact, it’s been scientifically proven that taking vacation days increases overall productivity and well-being. And if you don’t feel well but think you should keep working because you’re home, think again. Your sick days are provided to you for a reason. So use them and be kind to yourself about using them. It will help you maintain better boundaries with work, overall improving your work-life balance.

The discussion on the future of travel has always been open. It’s actually unclear since we still live in a pandemic world. But like anything, there are endless solutions to problems that often arise.

A young Polish industrial designer has recently introduced a design that may be considered by those who believe in carpooling. Mikołaj Nicer teamed up with Ford Europe to complete the design. The project was developed last year with the aim of improving the vehicle interior as a response to the time.

Designer: Mikolaj Nicer

Two years into this pandemic, people around the world are still thinking of ways how to improve everything in their life whether at home, for work, business, or even transportation. Moving from one point to another is still crucial. There are groups that still carpool but with social distancing still being encouraged, it’s important this part is considered.

For commuters, privacy is more important than ever. CLINT is a solution for people who want flexibility. Those who want privacy while still in a cramped space can trust the Clint to give them that.

The CLINT is mainly a special design of a vehicle interior. It includes a separate entrance for every passenger. Every traveler is given the chance to spruce up the space for all your individual demands. The era of autonomous vehicles may still be in its early stages but it can be fun to imagine the possibilities. Commuters can find it helpful they can enjoy the interiors that suit their needs.

The CLINT offers different modes. There is the Social Mode where all passengers can interact. The Pair Mode is for two people. The Privacy Mode is for those who really want to be alone and be separated from other passengers.

Vehicle interior design is promising. It’s being explored these days more than ever. There is a call to go smart and sustainable. But in this world where we’re getting used to not seeing people outside the comfort of our home, a bit of privacy matters.

Mikolaj Nicer’s design for the interior vehicle appears like a futuristic business class seat on your favorite airline. There’s also a small table where you can place your smartphone or laptop—just like inside the airplane.

The future of commuting will soon be transformed with innovations like this. Such give us hope of a future that is mindful of others’ privacy, protection, and purpose.

The post Ford Clint self-driving car concept envisions more private carpooling first appeared on Yanko Design.

Futuristic designs give us a glimpse of what could be in the future. It may be far into that Jetson-like world but we don’t really have to wait for that.

When American fashion designer Matthew M. Williams joined Givenchy as its Creative Director in June 2020, he started introducing different designs that appear futuristic. The most popular from a recent collection is the Monumental Mallow which now comes in all red.

Designer: Matthew M Williams (Givenchy)

The new color is a special release in time for Valentine’s Day. The original versions include brown, black, and cream. The cream version was launched in a high-top design with a mesh sock liner. The new red version doesn’t.

The red sneaker is ready in two iterations: matte and glossy. The slip-on sneakers look sleek and simple in matte, giving off a subtle and minimal look. The glossy variant, on the other hand, looks shocking and loud you won’t be missed when you wear a pair on February 14.

The Matthew M Williams Givenchy Monumental Mallow Sneakers appear to be a silhouette of some sort. The design is sculptural with some added grooves on the upper and curved heels, finished off with a square toe. The black insole is a total contrast but that’s something hidden.

This pair will make you remember the black shadow haute couture gown from Balenciaga Kim Kardashian wore to the Met Gala last year, at least, that’s what came to my mind. This single-piece design is all-red compared to the original version that arrived with black soles.

The red outsole shows off triangle studs allow over for extra grip. The famous Givenchy 4G logo is embossed underneath.

The Givenchy Monumental Mallow in matte is $595 while the glossy version is more expensive at $695. The red Givenchy sneakers are now available—in time for your Valentine shopping.

The post Givenchy Monumental Mallow Sneakers dropping in red in time for Valentines Day first appeared on Yanko Design.

I’m always as interested to learn of the assignments given to ID students these days, as I am to see their work. Here’s a recent brief fielded by Lorcan Looney, a Product Design student at Ireland’s National College of Art and Design:

“Having been implicated in the massive environmental problems we face today, industrial designers now often consciously seek to limit the negative environmental consequences of their work. This requires not only a sense of responsibility for the future of our planet, but also a thorough understanding of the environmental impact of the various choices faced by designers and a strong competence in designing for manufacture (e.g. awareness of how products are assembled and disassembled and familiarity with the specific requirements of different materials and their associated manufacturing processes). This project is about sustainability and how to pursue it, on the one hand, and about the detailed decisions to be made when designing for manufacture, on the other.

“Your task is to re-design a simple consumer product of your choice, in full detail, for a reduced environmental impact.”

Looney came up with a simple design for an electric kettle called Float:

I really like the idea of the float. Yes, it’s an extra thing, and maybe it’s just my failing eyesight or the lighting in my kitchen, but: After seeing Looney’s design I realize that every morning, I squint and struggle to fill my glass coffee pot to the desired hash mark. I think the float would be appreciated by anyone with declining eyesight.

I also like the simple idea of using a Sharpie to mark different levels. While this isn’t necessarily a feature of the product, but more a suggestion of the designer, I do like the thinking. How could we better encourage consumers to make simple changes to products themselves to improve their functionality?

As for designing it to be disassembled, that seems obvious, but I don’t think it’s not commonly done these days because the designer didn’t think of it; I think things are made not to be taken apart because it’s cheaper for the manufacturer to use press fittings and such.

For those of you that have designed consumer electronics, did you, as the designer, have enough juice to insist it be designed for repairability?

Inventions like these always tickle me. These ZaVarge Bedding Clips were designed to keep the corners of a comforter aligned inside the corners of a duvet cover.

Installing them is a bit of an involved process:

I’m not sure I’d want to pierce a down comforter with an awl, and these do seem like a long way to go to solve the problem of a wandering comforter, but I certainly don’t have any better ideas.

No link to buy, sorry; at press time the company’s website was dead, so they’re either a COVID casualty or their server’s down.