This wearable heat patch is designed to bring relief to menstrual cramps and muscle pain

Posted on by

I

personally love technological advancements when they’re directed toward a product designed for medical or social awareness. BODYLUV’s idea of a smart heat patch, as shown in its concept design, is probably one such idea. It is also the primary reason I’m exploring the design and understanding the thought process behind the idea in this article.

The wearable heat patch is designed to be “attached directly to areas of pain” or where the muscle is feeling strain. The device delivers a combination of heat and subtle vibrations simultaneously to ease pain and discomfort. If you are a woman, you can instantly relate to this project as a help during menstrual cramps.

Designers: Keetae Kim, Wonjae Lee, & superkomma

According to the Korean designers behind the concept, the heat patch is “optimized for women suffering from severe menstrual cramps.” The device comes paired with three types of interchangeable pads. These pads allow the main device to be magnetically clipped to them, and, being ergonomically designed, they fit cleanly to various body contours and areas. The areas that the device has been tailored to include are the neck, shoulder, lower back, and the abdomen.

Coming to the abdomen, women experiencing severe pain during periods can attach the BODYLUV smart heat patch to the lower abdomen or the lower back. The heat intensity and the vibration can be controlled from the onboard buttons on the main unit, and it can help relax muscles and improve blood circulation to reduce pain and discomfort significantly.

As a healthcare device, the wearable has potential applications in athlete fitness and recovery as well. The players can apply the device to their fatigued muscles, and it can, with a combination of heat and micro-vibrations, offer relief. Athletes and women can use the smart heat patch to effectively reduce body tension and experience rapid relief with a targeted approach from the device.

Since you wear it where you need it, the wearable features a soft, skin-toned design, so it blends naturally with the skin and doesn’t feel visually obstructive like some other options we’ve seen. In addition to being visually aesthetic, the BODYLUV wearable patch doesn’t create a bulge when you’re wearing it. The designers note that the standout feature of the device is that you can go about your normal routine wearing it.

Athletes can wear it during recovery, while ladies can go about their chores at home or in the office, wearing it under their clothes. To ensure this, the thin and lightweight device boasts a wireless design. There is no word on the battery capacity or how long it can run on a single charge, but we are assuming more information will flow in when the concept is anywhere closer to production.

The post This wearable heat patch is designed to bring relief to menstrual cramps and muscle pain first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Floor Clock Concept Peels a Square Dial From Its Tubular Body

Posted on by

A metal pipe doesn’t offer much room for a clock face, unless you’re willing to open it up. That’s the idea behind PEEL CLOCK, a standing-clock concept that turns part of its tubular body into a flat, square dial. Rather than hanging on a wall or claiming a spot on your desk, it brings a slim streak of color down to the floor.

The construction starts with cuts near the top of a metal tube, where a section is pulled outward and flattened to create the face. The remaining curve stays behind it, making the connection between the two shapes easy to follow. There’s no separate clock head perched on a pole, although the circular foot and timekeeping mechanism are still additional parts of the assembly.

Designer: Jaewon Yeo

That transformation gives the clock its character without needing much decoration. The long, narrow stem meets a square face, with a short, open tube projecting above it. Two contrasting hands take care of telling the time, while numbers and hour markers are left out altogether. It’s a sparse arrangement, though anyone who prefers precise minute markings might find it a little too spare.

Color keeps all that restraint from becoming anonymous. The orange version pairs its bright body with pale blue hands, adding a small contrast where your eyes need to land. Blue and burgundy alternatives explore the same silhouette, rather than changing its construction. Against a quiet interior, that tall orange line could provide the accent you’d otherwise get from a floor lamp or sculpture.

The freestanding format also changes where the clock might belong. Beside a sofa, it could leave the coffee table free for books and mugs. Near a kitchen counter, it wouldn’t compete with appliances for surface space or require drilling into a backsplash. Of course, the space it saves above has to come from somewhere, since its circular base still occupies the floor.

Around the back, the simple geometry gives way to a small clock movement mounted directly behind the face. It’s left exposed rather than buried inside an oversized enclosure, preserving the thin profile of the dial. That also gives the object a distinct front and back, something worth considering before placing it out in the room instead of closer to a nearby wall.

A wall clock can be moved, too, of course, but relocating PEEL CLOCK wouldn’t mean finding another hook or nail. Its place could change as the furniture does, provided there’s a suitable patch of floor and a clear view of the hands. In a room already crowded with things, however, a dedicated spot for telling the time is still a deliberate choice.

The post This Floor Clock Concept Peels a Square Dial From Its Tubular Body first appeared on Yanko Design.