Hasta La Ideas

Audiophiles are probably always on the lookout for the next great thing when it comes to speakers. You might say they’re looking for the “perfect speaker” if that actually exists. This concept design doesn’t claim to be that and in fact, goes out of its way to call itself “The Imperfect Speaker”. But on the surface, it just might be the next interesting thing if it does get produced someday.

Designer: Arshad Asaaf

If you’re a bit obsessive about things being aligned, smooth, and perfectly measured, then this speaker might give you nightmares. At first glance it is a simple, square speaker but upon closer inspection, the design seems to be quite unique in that it is intentionally created to not be that perfect. It has a wavy, textured surface and it does not seem to be center-aligned although it is not that noticeable if you don’t look at it closely.

There is of course a reason why The Imperfect Speaker is designed that way, although it is not really explained in the concept. It’s probably something to do with making it sound better but it would have been better if that is explained to us, ordinary music or podcast listeners who don’t really understand the acoustics of it all. The concept also shows that the frame of the speaker is made out of silicone while the cover with the circular patterns is made from plastic. Again there are aural-related reasons for the materials which audiophiles probably understand.

The question is of course would you want to get this product if it eventually gets produced and sold to consumers. As with most audio-related products, it would always depend on the sound quality. What most users are looking for would be something portable to listen to your music, audiobooks, or podcasts and it should be something that will enhance the experience. You would not want to listen to something that sounds like it’s being broadcasted from a can.

So if The Imperfect Speaker can give me something with good audio and with its current imperfect design, it’s something that I may want to get. The white and orange minimalist design is also pretty attractive it’s that your thing but they may also be better served by offering other colors for those who are not fond of orange.

The post The Imperfect Speaker may be the perfect speaker for you first appeared on Yanko Design.

If there’s something that this pandemic has taught us it’s that health truly is wealth! We cannot take our health and well-being for granted, and a mindset of preparedness and precaution is extremely integral during such times. The medical industry has been making leaps and jumps in its innovations, to ensure such a brutal pandemic doesn’t occur again. Designers have been coming up with new and improved, life-saving medical designs that not only boost medical care but relieve some of the pressure from our tireless medical force. From a smart fabric with an electrical signal that monitors your health to a Plug & Play wearable injector concept – these designs tackle a variety of problems in the health and medical field. They’re a boon to modern healthcare and a reminder that we cannot take our health for granted any longer!

1. The Pinsoft

While its appearance could easily be mistaken for a fancy meat tenderizer, the James Dyson National Award-winning Pinsoft is an injection attachment that helps people deal with Trypanophobia or a fear of needles. Its terrifying appearance aside, the Pinsoft sits around ‘ an injection, and its multiple round-tipped prongs help stimulate and confuse your skin as the needle makes its way through. The gentle stimulation caused by the prongs distracts your brain since it can’t immediately tell the difference between the prongs touching your skin and the needle piercing your skin. By the time you realize what’s happened, you’re done with your shot!

2. The Dab

Literally the size of a quarter, the Dab is an unobtrusive Holter ECG/EKG that rests comfortably on your chest, constantly reading your heart’s movements. Designed to be minimal, non-invasive, and simple, the Dab tries to bridge the gap between medical appliances and wearables. Its tiny yet classy design sits on your chest via a gel patch, while the electrodes capture your heart activity. The Dab’s dry-electrodes allow it to be used and reused, unlike disposable electrodes that lead to large amounts of medical waste. They constantly measure one’s heart activity (requiring periodic charging via their wireless charging hub), and keep logs of accurate readings, quietly sitting on your chest while you absolutely forget that they’re even there in the first place!

3. Fanny

Designer Abel Szabo zooms in on the problem of wrist injuries to create a rehabilitation product that eases the user through the process of strengthening the muscle and tissues. Dubbed Fanny, this wrist rehabilitation medical accessory is specifically designed for people in the process of recovering from a nagging wrist or hand injury, or ones who keep suffering the same injury due to negligence in the past. Abel also seeks to devise a practical solution for people who either develop tennis elbow or are susceptible to developing it in the future due to the repetitive nature of their task.

4. The Ember Cube

The Ember Cube is a self-refrigerated, cloud-based, trackable shipping box that’s ideal for the cold-chain logistical requirements of medicines and vaccines. Designed to be effective but also be durable and reusable, the Cube is set to offset nearly 3000 tonnes worth of medical shipping containers from entering landfills… in just the first year of its use. The Ember Cube uses the same microprocessors, sensors, and algorithms found in the Ember mugs, but flips the parameters by ensuring the contents within stay cool instead of warm. It uses a vacuum-insulated design, lined with phase-change gel-packs on the inside that help the container’s contents stay 41°F degrees for up to 72 hours, even in warm desert-like climate conditions.

5. Movano Ring

It’s easy to mistake the Movano Ring as a fashion accessory rather than a health tracker, coming in Gold, Silver, Copper, and Black colors. The open-loop or twisted design gives it more personality while also ensuring that it can adjust to any finger size. Movano’s wearable isn’t just a pretty face, though, and it promises the staple features you’d find on larger wearables. That includes measuring heart rate and heart rate variability, sleep, respiration, temperature, blood oxygen levels, steps, and calories. It correlates this data and transforms them into information and advice that most people will be able to understand, rather than having to rely on charts and graphs to try and make sense of all the figures.

6. The Tesla Module Rescue concept

This futuristic-looking machine is a mobile health camp capable of housing medical personnel and space for rehabilitating patients in remote areas. The exterior of this module is inspired by the concept designs of supercars but in a much bigger proportion. The whole thing moves on tank-like treads, making it capable of conquering any harsh terrain or weather conditions given its reinforced structure. On the inside – it is all about comfort, spacious areas, and a luminous environment. There are compact sections that house the beds on the upper section, a private section on the bottom, and storage on the middle half of the module.

7. THERM°C

THERM°C is designed like almost all digital thermometers, held upright with the IR light and sensors at the top to take the measurement. What makes it unique, however, is the graduated ticks on the back of the device, mimicking the same method of measuring temperatures with analog tools, just without the liquid component. Instead of rising mercury or alcohol, LEDs light up that meter. As with most digital thermometers, the design of the THERM°C is meant to be simple to use and doesn’t require a manual. Curiously, there is a switch to change from Celsius to Fahrenheit readings, though it isn’t clear in the concept how these figures will change accordingly.

8. Plug & Play

This personal injector is a small device that can be worn or stuck onto a body part. It helps fulfill a patient’s needs for injections. It’s not for every illness, syndrome, or health condition but only for those who need injections. It boasts a one-step plug-in mechanism so a patient can insert a vial easily. No need for another person to assist you. The Plug & Play will inject the contents of the vial itself into the patient after a single press of the play button. The name Plug & Play perfectly describes what this concept device does. You simply “plug” a vial and then press ‘play’ and it’s done. The simple process lessens the agony and waiting time for those who may be afraid of injections.

9. The Super Stethoscope

Calling it a stethoscope is a bit confusing because it doesn’t look anything like the iconic medical tool. That’s intentional, of course, because of the emotional and psychological barriers that might come with seeing a conventional stethoscope. Additionally, there are only a few things you can do with a stethoscope alone and without training, and most of its other uses require other tools, like a blood pressure apparatus. In contrast, this Super Stethoscope should be all that you need to read a variety of body signals, specifically those coming from the heart. This device would be able to take ECG and heart sound measurements to detect a variety of cardiac disorders.

10. Smart Fabric

Each string of flexible fiber reaches tens of meters in length, containing hundreds of intertwined, digital sensors that monitor temperature changes and store memory. Each digital fiber, for instance, can collect and store information on changing body temperatures, garnering real-time inference for the wearer’s activity throughout the day. In addition to tracking and collecting data on physiological measures, the smart fabric retains the information gathered and “harbors the neural pathways” necessary to understand that data and infer the future activity of the wearer. Thin enough to slide through the eye of a needle, the smart fabric is woven with hundreds of laced digital chips that still remain undetectable to the wearer.

The post Top 10 medical innovations designed to revolutionize modern healthcare first appeared on Yanko Design.

I think the most terrifying millennial issue these days is – a messy wardrobe! It doesn’t matter how hard you try to organize it, how many excessive clothing items you throw away, or how inspired you get by Marie Kondo, somehow your closet always makes it back to the Messy Kingdown. My wardrobe is always a chronic mess, and just when I’d given up all hope of it ever transforming into a visual pleasure, I came across some interesting products. From a hanger that rotates like the hands of a clock to a smart shoe closet to store your shoes – here is a collection of innovative, budget-friendly, and handy products designed to help you meet your closet goals! Not only do these products make your clothes easy to locate, cutting down the time you take to get ready in the morning by half, they also make it just a tad bit more aesthetic. Which of these nifty products can you not wait to try?!

1. Ploud

To give us an intriguing alternative to hanging clothes more seemingly, so they don’t lose their ironing, and are deodorized like the fragrance of the sky by time: Dawn, morning, evening, night; a Korean designer has conceived the Ploud. Ploud is basically a versatile hanger, which allows you to hang clothes in two ways: Hang them as you would traditionally or fasten them conveniently. For instance shirts, pants, coats, dresses, etc can be hung as usual, while the accessories like ties, mufflers, bags, hats, etc can be clipped. This interesting hanger concept is pretty different from a plethora of hangers we have seen and used in our time. This is nothing like the usual plastic, metal, wooden or travel, lingerie, dress, or pant hangers out there.

2. The Samsung AirDresser

The wardrobe has space for six hanging garments and includes a set of weighted hangers for helping pull the wrinkles out of pants. The AirDresser is safe to use for suits, woolen clothes, knits, down, fur, leather, and denim making it super versatile and functional. Samsung also mentions that it is good to be used to clean babywear (definitely a lot of cycles there!), toys, and even bedding. I think the bedding bit is so important because the traditional washer-dryer ties my bedsheet into such knots and we all know ‘entanglements’ aren’t good (right, Smiths?). It also saves water and makes it easier for the elderly to do their laundry! The Sanitize Cycle program uses high-temperature steam which can remove 99% of common bacteria and dust mites.

3. The Hurdle Hanger

Most hangers aren’t really consciously designed because they always play the second fiddle to the most important items in the wardrobe… the clothes. The Hurdle Hanger, on the other hand, is conscientiously designed to make sure it supports and protects the clothes you wear. It comes with a slightly deformed, asymmetric design that gives it strength as well as the ability to hold all your clothes. Its unique form lets you slide shirts and tees into it in a mere second, without stretching the neck-hole. The same form gives the Hurdle its ability to easily hold scarves, as well as easily hang pants from. A larger loop (the c-type hook) on one end of the hanger even supports belts, letting you hang them by the buckle.

4. The ShoeSpace Stacking Shoe Organizer

The ShoeSpace Stacking Shoe Organizer is perfect for organizing your kicks! You can place the organizer inside your wardrobe, or you could hang it on your wall, making your shoes easily accessible and within your reach. You won’t need to maneuver through piles of your shoes or go hunting into shoe racks in search of your favorite sneakers. It stores each pair of shoes separately. You can organize 10 pairs of shoes in a space that is 18 inches high, 30 inches long, and 12 inches deep. You can place multiple ShoeSpaces one on top of the other, creating the ultimate shoe storage section! Quite cool, no?

5. The BUNKE Foldable Drawer Clothing Organizer

The BUNKE Foldable Drawer Clothing Organizer makes picking out your outfit every morning super easy! Tired of sifting through piles of clothes in the hopes of finding that black sweater you love? Well, the BUNKE allows you to fold and lock individual pieces of clothing within it. You simply place your favorite black sweater into BUNKE, fold it, secure it shut, and then place it into your closet. It perfectly organizes your clothing, and also makes them super easy to locate. BUNKE is created from a flexible and compostable type of plastic, hence you can fit it into even the tightest of corners!

6. The Compact Hanger

Look at the Compact Hanger and you’ll notice that the hook is almost recessed into the hanger’s form… sort of like the hanger is shrugging. Drape your clothes over the Compact Hanger and suspend it in your wardrobe you’ll notice two things. A. Your clothes hang closer to the hanging rod, and B. Those 6-8 inches reappear as free space at the bottom of your wardrobe, allowing you to stack boxes, clothes, folders, appliances, or a bunch of other items, increasing your wardrobe’s storage capacity by a cool 10-15%. Designed in Italy (a fact that doesn’t surprise me, considering how design and fashion-centric that entire country is), the Compact Hanger’s defining feature is that shrugged design.

7. The Coat Check Chair

The Coat Check Chair is a winner of multiple design awards, including the coveted IDEA award and the Spark award. Flipping traditional furniture (and wardrobe) design on its head, the chair comes in a stainless-steel frame and even across different powder-coated color options. You can even choose the color of the hanger, giving you the feeling of choosing your furniture’s upholstery! The hangers can be used as seats, or periodically even in your wardrobe to hang your garments. When you’re done, slide them back into the chair, giving them more meaning, purpose, and visibility than they would get somewhere in a dark corner in your stuffy closet!

8. The COMODO Shoe Closet

Meet the COMODO shoe closet that doubles as a pouf to sit on while you wear your freshly cleansed pair of sneakers for the weekend basketball game. The name is derived from the Spanish word “Cómodo” which means convenient and pleasant in Spanish. Design Studio Designer Dot and designer Hyeona Cho have ideated a cool shoe closet loaded with new-age sanitization tech to keep your pair of shoes moisture-free and free from any bacterial or fungal build-ups. The much-wanted appliance comes with HEPTA filter (seen on most air purifiers), UV lamp (for effective germ protection) and scent filter (to make you want to wear those shoes).

9. Laundroid

Chuck your clean, dry, out-of-the-laundry clothes into the Laundroid’s lowest compartment and two robotic hands grab your garments and hold them up against a scanner that uses image recognition and superior AI to determine the cloth type and the best method for folding it. The robotic arms then use a patented process to align the clothes in the correct manner and fold them impeccably, finally storing them in the upper compartment, segregated and ready to wear. A single knob on the top of the Laundroid allows you to set the time by which you need the laundry folded and the bots get to work almost immediately.

10. Emotion Hanger

Jinwook Lee’s Emotion Hanger is a thought bubble in the avatar of a wardrobe accessory. Its quirky design features the traditional triangular apparel-hanging design, however, its hanging hook is styled like a question mark. A question mark that rotates to turn into an exclamation mark when you select an outfit! The way you use an Emotion Hanger is rather simple. All your outfits stay hung and organized in your wardrobe, with the ‘?’ symbol hovering right above them. In the process of selecting an outfit, you rotate the hanger’s triangular element to make the outfit face you. When you find the perfect outfit, the hanger’s ‘?’ effectively turns into a ‘!’ as a sort of exclamation that you’ve found the perfect outfit!

The post Ten handy products to organize your wardrobe first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Water Cabin is a floating home in Seattle’s Portage Bay that maintains the houseboat’s classic nautical personality and the weathered coziness of a cabin.

Wooden planks replace grassy front lawns and piers take the place of sidewalks in Portage Bay, one of Seattle’s larger remaining houseboat enclaves. Stretching from University Bridge to Montlake Park, the floating community is home to plenty of Seattleites searching for an alternative to the traditional family home.

One resident who previously rented a houseboat on Portage Bay enjoyed it so much they wanted to construct their very own water-bound retreat. Looking no further than Olson Kundig, a Seattle-based architecture firm, to get the job done, the Water Cabin is a new residence on Portage Bay that takes on Kundig’s classic cabin architecture.

Designer: Olson Kundig

Defined by a geometric silhouette that exhibits Kundig’s classic style, the Water Cabin’s frame is supported by galvanized steel structures that cradle spacious roof planes and wooden decks. Building the Water Cabin, Olson Kundig and their client hoped to blend interior and exterior spaces throughout the home. Arranged over two levels, the home’s interior spaces are specifically configured to maximize connections to the marine environment.

An open layout allows room for dining, kitchen, and office spaces to occupy the Water Cabin’s bay-level floor. A sliding wooden partition creates another room in the bay level’s office area and a hidden murphy bed reveals its purpose as the home’s guest room.

Throughout the home’s interior spaces, oakwood lines the floors and casework, while cooler silver and black metals help to cool it down. Russian birch plywood ceilings line each room overhead, capturing the natural sunlight of the day and brightening the home.

Just outside, beyond a glass corner and large sliding doors, residents can enjoy an exterior patio built from rich Ipe wood decking. There, large roof overhangs protect the patio’s wood from seasonal elements, allowing for residents to use the outdoor space on a year-round basis. Up top, the Water Cabin hosts the main bedroom where unfettered views of the water can be enjoyed as a cozy lookout. The same roof overhangs that protect the bay-level deck create a deck for the upper level.

Combining the intrinsic nautical elements of a houseboat with the “weathered informality of a cabin,” the Water Cabin’s exterior cladding is lightly stained in knotty western red cedar. Resembling the wild arrangement of trees in a forest, the Water Cabin’s wooden slats are arranged in an irregular pattern. Holding the wooden slats together, galvanized steel and flame-sprayed zinc elements provide support throughout the frame’s perimeter.

Rich, western red cedar panels line the exterior of Olson Kundig’s Water Cabin. 

Floor-to-ceiling glass windows dissolve the barrier between outdoor and indoor spaces. 

Warm oak flooring merges with the exterior Ipe wood decking.  

The Water cabin’s distinct cubic silhouette stands apart from the rest of the bay’s traditional houseboats.

The post Seattle’s floating home community makes room for a new wooden houseboat first appeared on Yanko Design.

Quite the divergence for Brisbane, Australia-based artist Mallrat (aka Grace Shaw), “Teeth” sets a different tone from her other work and also teases her highly anticipated debut LP, Butterfly Blue. This new track is saturated in ‘90s alt-rock and grunge influences, but as Shaw says, “I like to think that if ‘Teeth’ was out in 2004 it would be on The OC soundtrack.” Equal parts gloomy and vibrant, the track pleasingly demonstrates we might not know what to expect from a Mallrat album.