Hasta La Ideas

If you thought your iPhone was protecting your privacy, I have a bridge to sell you. Sure, Apple doesn’t sell your data to third-party data brokers, advertisers, and governments… but it does still collect your data. And hey, maybe Instagram and TikTok can’t track you across apps, but they can still track you on their own app. I’m not fear-mongering, although even if I did, it probably wouldn’t work because you (and I) have made peace with the fact that we’re giving away our data for convenience. There isn’t really any alternative, to be honest, aside from probably the quintessential ‘dumb-phone‘… and renowned dumb-phone makers Punkt have realized that there needs to be a better way. To that end, meet the MC02, Punkt’s first proper 5G smartphone that’s designed with data-security and privacy-protection in mind. It sports a minimal UI that tries not to inundate/addict you, has a built-in international VPN to keep your data from reaching the wrong hands (and even access geo-blocked content), and even runs Punkt’s Apostrophy OS, which individually partitions user data, restricting them to each individual application (so not even the OS can see your entire digital footprint). Your data also gets stored on a cloud server in Switzerland, far away from governments and state actors.

Designer: Punkt

The MC02 isn’t shy about its capabilities. It promises a secure, smarter way of using a mobile device, steering clear of the prying digital eyes that seek to profit from personal information. With over 90% of smartphone apps tracking users across the internet, the MC02 offers a unique choice: a digital sanctuary where user data is stored under Swiss jurisdiction, ensuring GDPR, HIPPA, and PCI compliance, and where a suite of on-device tools—email, calendar, contacts, notes, storage, and VPN—operates free from advertising-based data infiltration.

The phone itself is a marvel of minimalist design and intentional functionality, breaking the addiction cycle with tech while still being fairly modern. It features a 6.7” full HD+ screen, 64MP back and 24MP front cameras, 6GB RAM, and a long-lasting 5,500 mAh battery. But the MC02’s real allure lies in its operating system and ecosystem. Powered by Apostrophy and designed for data sovereignty, it includes a built-in VPN for secure browsing, a suite of secure communication tools, and a Carbon & Data Ledger for monitoring the privacy risk and environmental impact of individual apps.

Punkt takes a step further in personalizing the mobile experience with the MC02’s subscription model. The first 12 months of Apostrophy Services—a suite of security and privacy tools—are included in the purchase price, with a subsequent monthly tariff that ensures users know exactly what they’re paying for: privacy, not ads.

And as for the price of reclaiming your digital autonomy? The €699 ($755 USD) MC02 comes with a clear subscription model for the OS, the first 12 months of which are included in the initial purchase, followed by a $17 monthly fee for continued access to Apostrophy’s secure ecosystem. So, if you’ve ever wished to dial back the digital noise and take control of your tech life, the MC02 might just be the tech equivalent of finding that quiet corner in a bustling café—a sanctuary where your data, your choices, and your peace of mind are all part of the service.

The post This Smartphone Won’t Collect Or Sell Your Personal Data… And It Has An Encrypted VPN Too first appeared on Yanko Design.

US studio SILO has created a sculptural, metal-clad home in North Carolina for one of its principals that is meant to break away from the “suburban-type” development emerging in its historic setting.

The house belongs to Marc Manack, an architecture professor and founding principal of SILO, and his wife, Kallisto Vimr.

After years of living in studio apartments, the couple set out to build a new home in Belmont, a historic neighbourhood near Charlotte’s Uptown district.

Belmont has been transforming in recent years, with suburban-style homes popping up alongside modest dwellings that once served as worker housing for a local cotton mill.

With the Steel Louise project, SILO aimed to create a contextually sensitive house that contributed to the neighbourhood’s “civic life”.

“Our design opposes recent development that mimics suburban types,” the team said.

“Steel Louise is a single-family, urban infill house that reckons with dramatic contradictions between its site’s past and present, becoming a private house with a unique public persona.”

Square in plan, the two-storey home has a sculptural body with a variety of slopes, cutouts and openings. The form and massing respond to surrounding buildings, from the existing mill houses to new, two-storey residences.

Exterior walls are wrapped in white corrugated steel, and a multi-faceted roof is covered with standing-seam metal.

The team carved out areas on both the front and rear elevations to form porches, balconies and recessed windows.

“These voids, clad in black-painted wood slats and panels, are like inhabitable poché,” the team said, referring to the technique of using thick, solid lines in architectural plans to denote non-livable spaces such as walls, shafts, and columns.

The voids help draw natural light into the 2,400-square-foot (223-square-metre) home while also serving as a “moody transition” to the bright interior, the team said.

The home’s street-facing porch was informed by front porches typically found on historic mill houses.

One side of the porch was left open to provide a connection to a neighbouring house. Ample glazing enables views inside Steel Louise, in turn “giving the private house a unique and generous public appearance”.

Within the home, one finds light-filled spaces and an angular, vaulted ceiling covered with slender pine boards.

The ground level holds an open-plan kitchen, dining area and living room, along with a bedroom suite and garage.

A wooden staircase leads to the upper level, where one finds a primary bedroom suite, a secondary bedroom and a small gym.

“Each room is contained by a distinct volume that grows toward light and views,” the team said.

Finishes include concrete and maple flooring and railings made of CNC-milled maple plywood. The kitchen features a black island made of white oak and granite and plywood cabinetry with white-painted fronts.

“Finishes throughout syncopate between light and dark tones, as well as smooth and rough textures,” the architects said.

The team noted that the house was built during the coronavirus pandemic, which introduced many challenges, including supply chain issues. SILO served as both the architect and builder on the project.

Other homes by the Charlotte-based studio include the Mood Ring House in Arkansas, which features multicoloured LEDs on the exterior that are controlled by a smartphone.

The photography is by Keith Isaacs.

Project credits:

Architect and builder: SILO
Structural engineer: IDE

The post SILO creates Steel Louise house for Charlotte neighbourhood with “dramatic contradictions” appeared first on Dezeen.

Given how much of it is exposed for everyone to see, skin conditions can easily become a source of embarrassment or even depression for anyone. This is especially true for diseases that require prolonged treatment where afflicted people have to endure not only physical but also mental and emotional suffering during that period. Those with chronic conditions such as psoriasis might feel forced to cover up those blemishes, which might not be good for treatment. Those treatment options often revolve around the technical aspects of the medicine or the physiological condition of the patient, disregarding psychological effects. This wearable medical patch, in contrast, offers a solution that isn’t just innovative but, more importantly, human-centric as well.

Designer: 3M x Feathm Design Studio

Psoriasis patients often feel more than just the discomfort or pain brought about by their long-lasting condition. They also feel some level of hopelessness and anxiety from living with the disease. Treatments for psoriasis do exist, ranging from ointments to injections, but patients still have to endure the sight of their disfigured skin while that treatment is still ongoing. Worse, they can’t cover up those affected patches of skin, at least not without unfavorable consequences in the long run.

The 3M Psoriasis Prescription Patch design tries to alleviate patients’ suffering by hitting two birds with one stone. For one it’s a medical-grade skin wearable that easily lets people apply the patches in affected places, and although the prototype is shown to have a transparent or translucent surface, it’s not hard to imagine 3M applying its technologies and patents to make the patch seemingly blend with the skin or cover up those areas with more aesthetic designs.

More importantly, the patches can actually administer medicine to the skin, making it trivial to apply the right amount of dosage needed for treatment. In other words, these are patches you will actually have to wear to get better, which will hopefully help increase the patient’s confidence while undergoing treatment. The patches also employ a perforated honeycomb design that makes it easier to tear off sections to match the specific shape of the area that needs to be covered. Perhaps it can even be used to create interesting patterns that call attention to the patch in a more favorable way.

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like a medical patch is something ground-breaking, but it’s an innovation that puts a paradigm shift in dermatological treatment. Rather than just the application of medicine, it focuses on the effects the processes have on the mental and emotional well-being of the patients. And with a disease that everyone will be able to see, it’s even more important to take a human-centered design approach that will not only heal people’s skins but also their spirits.

The post Transparent skin patches promise psoriasis patients better human-centered treatment first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Female Design Council “is an action-oriented, professional membership organization dedicated to providing professional growth for womxn in the field of design,” they write. “The FDC provides business and creative support, guidance, and mentorship while fostering dialogue and spurring action on the difficult issues facing women in a predominantly male industry.”

If you’d like to learn more about the organization before joining, this Thursday they’re holding a mixer at Head Hi, a design- and architecture-focused bookstore in Brooklyn. “You’ll be able to learn more about FDC membership and connect with other like-minded designers and makers.”

Female Design Council Spring Mixer

Head Hi, 146 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn

Thursday, February 22, 2024

6 – 8 pm

The event is open to all, but you do need to RSVP at this link.

The term “lock nut” or “locknut” can refer to two different pieces of hardware:

The one on the left is a nut with a nylon insert, which grips the thread of the bolts to prevent the nut from undoing itself through vibration. The one on the right, often called a conduit locknut, is used for, well, conduit.

This latter type of locknut is often located in tricky-to-reach areas of junction boxes. Klein Tools thus designed their Locknut Wrench with offset bends to make access easier. To further increase access, they made the tool as slim as possible.

The wrenches are sold as a set of three, covering 1/2″, 3/4″ and 1″ sizes, color-coded for easy identification. Embedded magnets hold the trio together. It’s great design, and affordable for tradespeople at $15 for the set.