Hasta La Ideas

From the moment I set my eyes on the Apple Vision Pro, the intuitive nature of its interface struck me. Controlling the device through natural gestures—like tapping fingers together for selection or pinching to zoom—felt like an extension of my own movements, creating a seamless user experience that was truly impressive. “Everything’s all eye track,” I marveled, amazed by the device’s responsiveness, which made every interaction feel intuitive and natural.

Designer: Apple

During the initial setup, the Digital Crown—borrowed from the Apple Watch—brought up the home view with a simple press. The blend of futuristic technology with familiar elements made the icons react as I looked at them, creating a magical experience. This immediate and responsive engagement reinforced the intuitive nature of the user interface. As I explored this advanced technology, I remember thinking, “I haven’t read any reviews on the Vision Pro, and that’s a good thing.” Approaching the device without any preconceptions allowed me to truly immerse myself in the experience.

As I navigated through a demo photo library, the ambient lighting dimmed, focusing my attention on images that transported me to places like Iceland and the Oregon coast, displayed panoramically. “That was so amazing,” I exclaimed, overwhelmed by the vividness and the immersive experience the photos provided.

Viewing spatial photos and videos added incredible depth to everyday moments. Watching a family birthday party captured with the Apple Vision Pro felt as if I stood among the celebrating children, bringing these moments to life. “So no one else can see this except you and me, huh?” I remarked to Avnish, my guide through this journey, who was able to see what I saw through an iPad. This added layer of interaction enhanced my appreciation for the technology as I watched a spatial video shot with the iPhone 15 Pro, captivated by the depth and realism.

The design of the Apple Vision Pro was notably sleek and modern, with a lightweight, comfortable frame suitable for extended wear. The minimal physical buttons enhanced its streamlined appearance, highlighting its advanced gesture and eye-tracking capabilities. A dedicated button for capturing spatial photos and videos added real-world interactions into vivid digital clarity, showcasing Apple’s meticulous attention to hardware design.

Manipulating my environment with a turn of the Digital Crown was particularly impressive. I could adjust my immersion levels from partial to full, exploring digital renditions of places like Mount Hood National Forest as if I were truly there. This smooth transition back to reality, while remaining connected with those around me, showcased the device’s seamless integration into personal and social settings.

Spatial multitasking introduced a new way to interact with applications, allowing me to manipulate windows in a spatial context as if handling physical objects. This dynamic, intuitive approach transformed traditional interfaces into a vibrant, three-dimensional workspace.

The entertainment capabilities of the Apple Vision Pro were striking. Watching 3D movies like “Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” transformed any space into a personal cinema. The high-resolution display and spatial audio created a viewing experience that far surpassed traditional setups. “That’s impressive,” I remarked, blown away by the depth and immersion of the features.

The Apple Immersive Video demo was a highlight, transporting me to the center of the action—flying over landscapes, diving with sharks, and standing on a soccer field. This segment was so engaging that I was left nearly speechless, managing only to say, “That was so amazing.”

An interactive session where a butterfly landed on my hand and a close encounter with a dinosaur showcased the Apple Vision Pro’s unique capabilities, blurring the lines between digital and physical realities. These experiences felt real and tangible, enhancing my appreciation for the device’s ability to create such vivid and interactive moments.

Finally, with the Apple Vision Pro, I got the chance to rehearse—well, more like pretend—to present Apple’s infamous “one more thing” on the stage of the Steve Jobs Theater. It felt so real that I almost waved to the nonexistent crowd! I’ve been to press events there before, but never on stage. The closest I’ve gotten was the last third of the theater.

Photo credit: YouTuber MKBHD demonstrates Keynote on Vision ProMKBHD on YouTube

After the demo—and yes, I highly encourage anyone and everyone remotely interested in spatial computing to visit your local Apple store—I had the option to purchase a brand new Vision Pro constructed right there. The Solo Knit Band, Dual Loop Band, and importantly, the Light Seal are available in size 21W, which fits me perfectly. Apple has streamlined the sizing process in the Apple Store app, which now includes a 3D scan of the face for a customized fit, guiding you through capturing the necessary facial dimensions.

The Apple Vision Pro demo was a breathtaking introduction to futuristic technology that felt straight out of science fiction. Its intuitive interface and gesture controls impressed me immediately, making every interaction feel natural and fluid. While the immersive experience of exploring vibrant, distant locales and engaging with life-like spatial videos was captivating, the demo ended too soon, leaving me eager for a more extended, immersive exploration with the Vision Pro. I’m looking forward to delving deeper into its potential in a longer session.

The post First Time Using the Apple Vision Pro: It Blew My Mind first appeared on Yanko Design.

This might not be Polestar’s first SUV, but it’s surely the first to have an attitude…

Meet the Polestar 8, an SUV concept from the mind of Turin-based Salvatore Ville. A subsidiary of Volvo, Polestar is best known for its pure and minimalist ethos, which reflects in its choice of zero-emission drivetrains, clean designs, and even the use of recycled materials in its construction – however, minimalism has never really been a defining visual language for any car brand. Automotive minimalism is somewhat of a misnomer because people usually like their cars to offer more value for money. Sure, that’s a reductionist way to go about designing a car, but the cleaner a car looks, oftentimes the less eye-catching it tends to be around other cars. Keeping this in mind, Ville designed the Polestar 8 as an SUV that embraces minimalism with a twist – instead of simply opting for clean surfaces, Ville amped up the aggression by giving the car a dominating silhouette. The Polestar 8 looks like the Polestar 3 that went to the gym. It has a wider more brutish stance, a clean design that still manages to look roguish, and an interplay between metallic surfaces and black trims to create a dual-tone effect that gives the car dynamism without being overtly distracting.

Designer: Salvatore Ville

What Ville does really well with the Polestar 8’s design is balance aggression with automotive DNA. The SUV captures the essence of the Polestar brand with its headlights and taillights, the strategic placement of the Polestar logo, and the use of clean surfaces without any major detailing like air intakes. The car’s aggression manifests in the form of large tires, a dominating stance, and those razor-thin rear-view cameras on the side that could cut through wind like a sword.

Around the back, the Polestar 8’s design remains faithful to the futuristic motif. The taillights stretch across the vehicle’s width and height, creating a luminous signature that could double as a motif in a sci-fi film. Here, form follows function in a dance of light, giving the SUV a presence that’s hard to miss when night falls.

The profile of this conceptual Polestar is where the narrative of modern sculpture on wheels truly unfolds. It carries an athletic stance, with a roofline that sweeps back in a coupe-like descent. The absence of traditional door mirrors—replaced, perhaps, by cameras—stays true to the ethos of creating a seamless profile that’s as wind-friendly as it is eye-catching. Large, imposing wheels fill the arches, grounded yet ready to propel this vision into motion at a moment’s notice.

The use of color and materials appears meticulously chosen to reflect light and shadow in a dance that changes as the day grows old. The Polestar 8, with its combination of metallic hues and carbon fiber accents, looks just as much at home in the heart of a bustling metropolis as it does against the backdrop of a futuristic skyline. One can only imagine the interior, likely a cocoon of advanced technology and minimalist luxury—a space where the outside world is both present and pleasantly held at bay.

While the Polestar 8 concept SUV may not be a blueprint for a production model, it stands as a canvas for the imagination.

The post The Polestar 8 is a rugged SUV concept that brings automotive aggression out through minimalism first appeared on Yanko Design.

A large tree lies at the heart of a cedar-clad residence in southern California designed by US studio Brett Farrow Architect, which used various tactics to “meld nature into the home’s ethos”.

Located in the beach town of Encinitas, just north of San Diego, the house was designed to replace a family’s existing ranch-style home that no longer fit their needs.

Brett Farrow Architect, which is based in the nearby town of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, set out to create a new residence that embodied a spirit of place.

“The design of the home is a reflection on the natural environment and climate of coastal southern California,” the studio said.

Roughly square in plan, the new house rises two levels and totals 3,223 square feet (299 square metres).

Facades are clad in Western red cedar that was lightly finished to preserve the wood’s “natural beauty and unique character”. The same cedar is found within the dwelling.

“Exterior finishes were used on the interior to create a pleasant confusion upon entry and a questioning of where the outside ended and the inside began,” the studio said.

Early in the design process, a guiding concern for the team was preserving a large, native Torrey pine tree that had been planted decades earlier and had grown to dominate the site.

“Although majestic in many ways, the tree, unfortunately, put the entire site in shade and made for a gloomy interior in the existing home,” the studio said.

To ensure brighter conditions in the new residence, the team inserted a courtyard into the plan, creating a dedicated space for the pine tree. Glazed walls were placed around the courtyard to bring in sunlight.

The team located the main living space on the upper level, within the tree’s “sunlit branches”.

“This was the first step in a design that sought to meld nature into the home’s ethos and combine it with classic California notions of being able to enjoy outdoor living year-round,” the studio said.

In an unfortunate twist, the pine tree began to lean during the design stage and ultimately had to be removed. The clients opted to plant another tree in its place, and the original design was kept intact.

The courtyard now holds a seven-metre-tall tree called a coast live oak, which was craned into place shortly before the house was completed.

The tree acts as a screen, shielding certain areas of the house from street view and blocking some of the “powerful afternoon sun” that comes from the west.

Within the home, one finds a fluid layout and a casual atmosphere.

The ground level contains a study, two bedrooms, a family room and a garage. The family room opens toward a backyard with a cold plunge pool, swimming pool and casita.

The upper level encompasses the public space and a third bedroom.

Rooms feature a mix of earthy and industrial materials, including wooden ceiling beams and cast-in-place concrete walls and flooring.

Large windows and sliding glass doors – some up to 18-feet (six-metres) wide – were incorporated throughout the home to diminish the boundary between inside and out.

The team used a layering effect to provide privacy while maintaining a strong connection to the outdoors.

“This layering of the home’s functions with courtyards, decks and plantings provide privacy where needed and opportunities to enjoy views out to the Pacific,” the team said.

Other California projects by Brett Farrow Architect include “chiseled” rowhouses near an ecological reserve in Carlsbad and the conversion of a shabby auto shop into a mixed-use complex for working, dining and drinking.

The photography is by Auda & Auda Photography.

The post Brett Farrow designs San Dieguito House to embrace setting in coastal California appeared first on Dezeen.

The Porsche Pepita Edition by Vitra represents a masterful integration of automotive heritage and contemporary design, where each piece fulfills a functional role and also carries a legacy of innovation and timeless design as it finds a place in homes and offices. Vitra’s limited release of iconic chairs, such as the ‘Eames Plastic Side Chair,’ ‘ID Trim L,’ and ‘Petit Repos,’ show the synergy between traditional craftsmanship and modern aesthetics. This houndstooth pattern, a long-standing feature in Porsche interiors since 1965, symbolizes a tradition of exceptional craftsmanship and aesthetic finesse.

Designer: Porsche x Vitra Collab

First introduced in the interiors of Porsche vehicles in the 1960s, the Pepita fabric is a distinctive duotone checkered pattern that resembles abstract four-pointed shapes. It is often rendered in black and white, though it can be incorporated through a specific weaving process that interlaces two contrasting colors to create a visually striking and uniquely recognizable broken check pattern. Pepita fabric has become synonymous with high quality and sophisticated taste.

Initially featured as upholstery in the iconic Porsche 911 models, the rarity of Pepita fabric has increased as fewer manufacturers choose to undertake the labor-intensive production of true houndstooth weaves. This scarcity has made genuine Pepita a coveted element in both the automotive and interior design sectors. Vitra’s reintroduction of this fabric through limited edition pieces revives a classic style and maintains its exclusivity, making it highly treasured among collectors. The combination of its limited availability, storied heritage, and intricate aesthetics solidifies Pepita fabric’s status as a rare and distinctive feature across design and automotive history.

In the 1960s, the introduction of the iconic 911, launched in 1963, exemplified Porsche’s commitment to combining performance with sophisticated comfort. The interior design focused on functionality and luxury, resonating with discerning customers through the use of durable and tactile materials like leather and the stylish Pepita fabric for seat coverings. The clean and driver-oriented dashboard design emphasized ease of use and clear visibility of essential instruments, with the tachometer centrally positioned to align with Porsche’s performance-driven philosophy. Subdued color schemes of blacks, greys, and browns dominated, though brighter colors were also available, reflecting personal preferences and the vibrant styles of the 60s.

The unveiling at the ‘The Art of Dreams’ event in Milan highlights the seamless integration of innovation and design excellence between Vitra and Porsche. The collection prioritizes exclusivity, mirroring significant Porsche models and milestones, such as the ‘Eames Plastic Side Chair Pepita Edition’, limited to 1,963 pieces to commemorate the year Porsche introduced the Pepita option in its 911 model. These chairs are more than functional items; they are collector’s pieces that echo the narratives of their creators and pivotal moments in both design and automotive history, celebrating a rich heritage and the evolution of design.

The post Reviving Elegance in Design – The Porsche Pepita Edition by Vitra Blends Classic and Modern Mastery first appeared on Yanko Design.

While this design of desk doesn’t provide much flexibility for room layout, it is a good example of doing more with less.

Made of rosewood and chromed steel, the vintage furniture site reselling it describes it as a wall desk from 1970s France. Although France was not a resource-poor environment, this design of desk, created with more humble materials and a simpler drawer, would make sense in one that was (for instance, a school in a developing nation). While you’d need battens and fasteners, or L-brackets, to secure the desks to the walls, that cost could be outweighed by the savings on three legs per desk.

This piece may have originally come with a corresponding bracket or cleat, but none appears in the listing.

They’re asking $5,671 for it, which sounds kind of pricey considering both the designer and manufacturer are unknown.