LiberNovo Maxis Gives Bigger Builds the Chair They Actually Deserve

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The ergonomic chair market has grown considerably over the past decade, with brands competing on lumbar support, adjustability, and build quality. For most people, the options are plentiful. For taller and broader users, though, the experience often tells the same uncomfortable story: seats that run out before the knee, backrests that stop short of the shoulders, and headrests that hover just out of reach.

LiberNovo’s answer to that gap is the Maxis, a chair that doesn’t try to stretch an existing design to fit bigger frames. It’s been built from the ground up with larger bodies in mind, carrying the slogan “Built for Bigger Builds” with some conviction. Everything from the seat platform to the backrest geometry has been re-engineered around what someone between 5’10” and 6’7″ needs from a chair.

Designer: LiberNovo

Click Here to Preorder Now: $10 deposit unlocks $30 discount on balance payment. Hurry, deal ends on 16th June.

The most immediate difference is the seat itself. At 52cm deep, it supports the full length of the thigh rather than cutting off too soon. That might seem like a minor detail, but anyone who’s worked long hours on a seat that runs out before it should know exactly how quickly that discomfort compounds. The reinforced frame also supports up to 399lbs.

The fit story continues further up. The neck support covers a wider vertical and horizontal adjustment range, so it can actually reach where taller users need it rather than floating somewhere above. The armrests are custom-sized with more span and travel than standard chairs allow. Their slightly curved shape also helps prevent the waist compression that straight-edged rests tend to cause for bigger frames.

This becomes more concrete in the upper half of the chair. LiberNovo says the Maxis back frame expands to a 430 mm shoulder span and a 520 mm waist width, giving bigger builds fuller contact instead of leaving pressure concentrated in narrower zones. The headrest is just as deliberate, with 140 mm of vertical travel and 120 mm of horizontal adjustment, plus a U-shaped design intended to support the neck more naturally.

What keeps the Maxis from feeling like a bigger version of an ordinary chair is how the backrest actually behaves. The Bionic FlexFit Backrest is designed to move with the body as posture shifts, rather than holding rigidly to one position. That’s the core idea behind LiberNovo’s Dynamic Support System, which maintains alignment through movement without needing constant manual readjustment.

The recline system follows a similar logic. The Maxis locks into five preset positions, from 105 degrees for focused, upright work up to 160 degrees for near-flat recovery. The stops in between cover the varied moments a long day actually involves: a video call, a longer solo session, a quick pause. Having distinct positions makes switching between them quick and intentional rather than endlessly fiddling with them.

The Maxis comes in three versions built on the same reinforced frame. The Manual keeps things simple with a physical dial for lumbar adjustment. The Electric adds motorized lumbar control alongside OmniStretch, a stretch-and-release cycle designed to relieve spinal compression after prolonged sitting. The Airflow builds on that with active seat ventilation, using a centrifugal fan embedded in the cushion to keep things cool and dry.

LiberNovo Omni Pro

OmniStretch and the Airflow ventilation both address the fatigue that builds gradually over long sessions. OmniStretch extends the lumbar support upward and gently releases it, creating a stretch-and-release motion intended to help relieve compression from prolonged seating. The ventilation system addresses heat accumulation in the seat cushion, helping the chair stay more comfortable through longer sessions. Both features treat comfort as something that has to hold up across a full day.

The Maxis launches alongside two new additions to the broader LiberNovo lineup. The Omni Pro brings motorized lumbar support, OmniStretch, and active seat ventilation to the standard-size Omni platform, making it the performance-oriented choice for users who don’t need the larger Maxis frame. The Omni SE takes a more stripped-back approach, pairing the same ergonomic architecture with a manual lumbar mechanism for a simpler, set-and-forget setup.

LiberNovo OmniStretch

LiberNovo opened the Maxis pre-order period in the US on May 12 at 7:00 PM PDT, with the official launch set for June 16 at 9:00 AM PDT and the first release window running through July 31 at 9:00 AM PDT. During that pre-sale stretch, orders qualify for super early bird pricing, with discounts reaching up to 44% in the US. A $10 deposit also unlocks a $30 discount on orders of $1,000 or more, along with a free 1-year extended frame warranty and access to a three-tier premium gift package for qualifying purchases.

What the LiberNovo Maxis gets right is treating a larger body as the actual design brief, rather than an afterthought dealt with by scaling up existing dimensions. Every adjustment range, support angle, and contact point has been calibrated around that focus. For taller and broader professionals who’ve spent years on chairs that never quite fit, that’s a meaningfully different sitting experience.

Click Here to Preorder Now: $10 deposit unlocks $30 discount on balance payment. Hurry, deal ends on 16th June.

The post LiberNovo Maxis Gives Bigger Builds the Chair They Actually Deserve first appeared on Yanko Design.

Adidas Just Squared the Stan Smith. It Actually Works.

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The Stan Smith is one of those shoes you either already own or have owned at some point. Originally developed as a tennis shoe in 1965 under the name Adidas Robert Haillet, it became one of Adidas’s most recognizable silhouettes of all time, outlasting trends, entire aesthetic movements, and decades of fluctuating fashion without ever really trying. It’s clean, it’s white, it’s unmistakable. So when Adidas announced the Stan Smith SQ, a version with a deliberately squared-off toe, the reactions were predictably split between “finally” and “why would you do that.” I land firmly in the first camp.

The square toe has a longer history than most people realize. Evidence of blunt-toed footwear dates back over 1,700 years, with roots in Japan, and the style resurfaced periodically over the centuries, including in Victorian women’s shoes and later through rodeo culture, where square toes were practical for balance and foot movement. In the modern era, Martin Margiela made it a high-fashion statement with his square tabi shoes, and that influence never quite went away. Now, with brands across the spectrum embracing exaggerated silhouettes and unconventional geometry, the square toe is very much back in serious conversation. Adidas didn’t just chase a trend here. They attached it to one of the most recognizable shoe silhouettes in existence, which is either a genius move or a bold gamble, probably both.

Designer: Adidas

What makes the Stan Smith SQ work is that Adidas knew where to stop. The rest of the shoe is essentially untouched. You still get the glossy white leather upper, the signature Three Stripes perforations along the side, the green heel tab, and yes, the actual photograph of Stan Smith on the tongue. The update is a single, precise edit: one geometric shift that changes the entire energy of the shoe without erasing everything that made it iconic in the first place. That kind of restraint is harder to achieve than people give designers credit for. It’s easy to overhaul. It’s much harder to know which one thing to change.

The squared toe box introduces a sharper, more structured profile. It makes the shoe feel less sporty and more fashion-adjacent, which is clearly the point. For a sneaker that has spent decades straddling the line between athletic and everyday wear, the SQ version leans confidently toward the latter. It reads as intentional in a way the original can’t always pull off, given how casual and effortless its default vibe tends to be. Put the Stan Smith SQ on with a clean outfit and it doesn’t just blend in, it actually finishes the look.

There will be people who find the square toe awkward, and I get it. Rounded toes are familiar. They feel safe, anatomical, expected. The square version asks you to commit to something a little more deliberate, a little more fashion-aware. It’s the kind of shoe that signals you’ve thought about what you’re wearing, even if the rest of your outfit is as simple as jeans and a white T-shirt. That’s not a bad thing to communicate.

At $130, the Stan Smith SQ is priced in line with the original, which is worth noting. This isn’t a luxury reimagining or a limited collector release. It’s a widely accessible design update dropping in the classic white and green colorway for Summer 2026. That accessibility matters. It means the square toe gets a real audience beyond the fashion insiders who already knew the Margiela reference. It puts the idea in front of people who just want a good shoe that looks considered, and that’s a much broader and more interesting conversation to be part of.

Whether you’re a sneakerhead, a design enthusiast, or just someone who likes footwear that looks like it was chosen on purpose, the Stan Smith SQ makes a quiet but confident case for itself. Not every update to a classic needs to be revolutionary. Sometimes the most interesting design decision is a single, deliberate line drawn somewhere it hasn’t been before.

The post Adidas Just Squared the Stan Smith. It Actually Works. first appeared on Yanko Design.

This $129 Floating Pen Doesn’t Just Write. It Spins for 30 Seconds

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Most pens are designed to disappear into the background of your workday. You toss them in a drawer, lose them in a bag, borrow one from a colleague, and replace them without thinking too hard about it. The Levitating Pen 3.0 operates from an entirely different premise. It hovers an inch above its base at a 60-degree angle, bobbing gently in place, spinning for up to 30 seconds when you twist it – as if the act of writing deserved a little more theater than we’ve allowed it.

That sounds like novelty until you spend a moment with the idea. Then it becomes clear that the point is not just that it floats, but that it changes the ritual around one of the oldest tools on your desk. A pen is still one of the few objects you reach for when a thought feels too quick, too rough, or too personal for a keyboard. When the act of picking it up becomes intentional rather than automatic, the writing changes a little too.

We have optimized so much of work life for speed that wonder now feels almost unprofessional, as if delight has to justify itself through productivity before it earns a place on a desk. The Levitating Pen 3.0 makes a quiet argument against that. It suggests that not every useful object needs to look anonymous, and that a tool can still do its job while reminding you that imagination has practical value too.

Picture it at 8:30 in the morning, before your inbox has fully ruined the day. Your notebook is open, coffee is still hot, and the pen is hovering in that slightly unreal way that makes your workspace feel less like a holding area for tasks and more like a place where ideas might actually happen. You reach for it, feel the small satisfying release of the magnetic hold, jot something down, and return it to the pedestal. Then it settles back into that floating posture again. You are not just putting a pen down. You are returning an object to its stage.

It Started at Earth’s Axial Tilt. Now It’s This.

The original Levitating Pen was angled at 23.5 degrees – a deliberate nod to Earth’s axial tilt, the angle at which our planet leans through space. It was a quiet piece of philosophy built into a physical object. The 2.0 refined the writing experience. The 3.0, now angled at a more commanding 60 degrees, is where the design reaches full architectural confidence. The stand evolved from a base to a stage. The visual language moved from clever to commanding.

That kind of refinement matters because novelty has a short shelf life. Either an object matures into something with conviction, or it remains trapped as a trick. Three iterations over several years is how you tell the difference.

Aerospace Aluminum, Titanium, and One Very Deliberate Trick

The pen is built from aircraft-grade aluminum, titanium, and brass — each material earning its place. The aluminum keeps it light. The titanium gives the body a satisfying density. The brass houses the magnetic architecture that makes the whole illusion work.

The floating effect suspends the pen one inch above the pedestal at 60 degrees, as if frozen mid-motion. Disturb the air around it and it bobs gently in place. That small movement is what gives it life – hypnotic enough to interrupt a thought spiral and reset your attention without ever tipping into gimmick.

The revised pedestal is taller than previous versions, giving the levitation more visual breathing room. The pen’s long, seamless silhouette cuts a sharper line in space than a conventional writing instrument ever could. It resembles a small spacecraft – a comparison that would sound ridiculous if the object did not actually deserve it.

And it still writes. Rollerball with a Schmidt cartridge, fountain pen with a fine 0.5mm nib, or a 2-in-1 that lets you swap between both. The writing experience is precise, not performative. The floating posture gets your attention. The ink earns it.

Why $129 Is Actually the Honest Price

A well-made metal pen already pushes into premium territory on its own. Add a thoughtfully designed stand and you are not far from this number – except most pen-and-stand combinations do not share a visual language, a magnetic levitation system, or the kind of presence that changes how a desk feels when you walk past it.

What you are paying $129 for, with the Levitating Pen 3.0, is the convergence of writing instrument, kinetic object, and desk sculpture into a single resolved piece. For someone who wants their workspace to say something more specific than “functional,” that distinction matters. This is for the founder who still sketches ideas by hand. The architect who cares how an object rests when it is not being used. The designer who believes tools shape attention. If that sounds specific, it is. The specificity is the point.

We spend so much of our lives surrounded by objects that do their jobs and disappear. The Levitating Pen 3.0 does something rarer. It performs its function while changing the atmosphere around it. A good pen records ideas. This one makes room for them.

The post This $129 Floating Pen Doesn’t Just Write. It Spins for 30 Seconds first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Hangzhou Prism by OMA Is the Mixed-Use Landmark China’s Tech Capital Deserves

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There’s a centuries-old Chinese proverb that goes: ‘above, there is heaven; below, there is Suzhou and Hangzhou.’ OMA’s newly completed Hangzhou Prism doesn’t just reference it — it builds toward it. Peaking at 106.5 metres in the heart of Hangzhou’s Future Tech City district, the Prism has arrived as one of China’s most formally daring mixed-use structures.

The project, led by OMA partner Chris van Duijn and project architect Michael Hadjistyllis, broke ground in 2019 and has been years in the making. Commissioned by Xinhu Real Estate Group, the 43,000-square-metre building departs entirely from the logic of the conventional tower. Rather than stacking a cluster of residential volumes in the usual fashion, OMA collapsed them into a single, porous structure — what van Duijn describes as a “three-dimensional village for young professionals and visitors.”

Designer: OMA

The form is immediately arresting. Two radical oblique cuts slice through the building envelope, giving the Prism its angular, asymmetric silhouette and creating cascading terraced lofts with sweeping views across the city. The projecting cubic balconies that line these oblique facades give the structure texture and depth, so the building reads differently from every angle — less like a static object, more like something mid-transformation.

At ground level, the geometry opens up. A large void punctures the flat facades, giving way to a publicly accessible atrium that connects directly to the adjacent park. This base-level square is designed for events, community gatherings, and everyday movement — the kind of activated ground plane that high-rises in China rarely prioritize. It’s a meaningful gesture in a building that could have easily turned inward.

Programmatically, the Prism holds a remarkable amount within its singular form: a 20,000-square-metre hotel, 10,000 square metres of residential units, 5,000 square metres of office space, and 8,000 square metres of retail. The brief is dense, but the architecture handles it without feeling overcrowded. The mixed-use stacking is intuitive, each program finding its natural vertical position within the building’s tapered volume.

Future Tech City is home to companies like Alibaba and NetEase, and Hangzhou is actively positioning itself as one of Asia’s most important innovation corridors. The Prism lands squarely in that ambition — a building that signals civic intent as much as commercial function. Van Duijn put it plainly: “The design of the Prism shares this ambition to innovate.” For OMA, it’s another sharp proof that bold formal moves and genuine public utility don’t have to be in conflict. The Prism earns its skyline position.

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This Kung Fu Panda LEGO Build Lets You Recreate the Po vs Tai Lung Fight Yourself

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Tai Lung might be the best villain DreamWorks Animation ever put on screen. Not because he’s the most powerful, or the most menacing, but because his grievance is genuinely sympathetic. He trained his entire life to receive the Dragon Scroll, was denied it by the master who raised him, and then spent years chained in a mountain prison nursing a rage that was, arguably, justified. The film never quite lets you root for him, but it absolutely lets you understand him, which is a far harder thing to pull off in a children’s animated movie.

That moral complexity makes him a fascinating subject for a LEGO build, and Memorph’s 1,300-piece Ideas submission leans right into it. The set captures Tai Lung mid-lunge, all coiled fury and airborne menace, with removable Chorh-Gom Prison chains that let you display him in either his fighting form or his captive one. This is a MOC (My Own Creation) with a genuine point of view, and it shows.

Designer: Memorph

The scene is set against a dojo facade that earns its place in the composition. Curved terracotta roof tiles, an ornamental barred gate, warm tan walls trimmed in green and red, and a red-bordered display base that frames the whole courtyard like a stage. A small bowl of dumplings sits at the bottom of the steps between the two fighters, a nod to Po’s legendary appetite that is easy to miss and completely delightful when you do. The overall silhouette, two large brick-built figures in dynamic combat poses against a detailed architectural backdrop, reads immediately and confidently, even from across a room.

Po himself is a genuinely fun engineering challenge solved well. His belly is rendered as a single large smooth white sphere element, which captures the character’s rotund silhouette without resorting to awkward stacking. He carries his bamboo staff in one hand and a bowl of dumplings complete with chopsticks in the other, and his arms, wrists, legs, and neck all articulate, meaning you can cycle through kung fu poses to your heart’s content. The traveler’s hat, a wide dish piece in light tan, sits perfectly over his expressive brick-built face. “Po was a really fun character to build,” says Memorph, and you can feel that enthusiasm in every considered detail.

My favorite part of the whole build, though, is Tai Lung’s alternate display configuration. Detach him from the main scene, clip on the Chorh-Gom Prison chains, and suddenly you have a completely different piece of storytelling on your shelf. The gray chain-link elements wrap around his torso with just enough dramatic tension to evoke that mountain prison sequence, and his articulated tail curls behind him with the kind of coiled, barely-restrained energy the character radiates throughout the film. Memorph has said that Tai Lung’s face was the most challenging element of the entire build, and the result justifies every iteration. The orange accent tiles at the brow, the layered white and gray fur geometry of the head, and the overall aggressive posture all land exactly where they need to.

Memorph’s Kung Fu Panda: Po vs Tai Lung Showdown is currently gathering votes on LEGO Ideas, the community platform where fan-made builds compete for the chance to become official retail sets. Submissions that reach 10,000 votes are sent to LEGO’s internal review team for potential production consideration. With [VOTE COUNT] votes on the board, this one has runway to work with. Head to the LEGO Ideas page and cast your vote here!

 

The post This Kung Fu Panda LEGO Build Lets You Recreate the Po vs Tai Lung Fight Yourself first appeared on Yanko Design.

Claude Mythos 5 and Fable 5 Officially Launch

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Claude Mythos 5 and Fable 5 Officially Launch Comparison chart showing Claude Fable 5 outperforming GPT 5.5

Anthropic’s latest AI models, Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5, mark a significant step forward in artificial intelligence development. As highlighted by Nate Herk, these models belong to the new Mythos class, which introduces distinct capabilities tailored to different user needs. Claude Fable 5, included temporarily in subscription plans like Pro Max and Enterprise, […]

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