Tag Archives: Accessories & Fashion

Travel accessories designed to perfectly assist you on your post-pandemic vacations

Posted on by

I love traveling! And although I may not be able to do much of it during this pandemic (although travel is opening up slowly), that doesn’t stop me from daydreaming about it or planning my next vacation in my head. My travel bucket list is brimming to the top with exotic holiday destinations. And, as any experienced traveler (not that I am one…YET) will tell you, having a set of handy and trusty travel accessories is essential! These are the nifty little products that can help you out in the most impromptu and sudden of situations, and you’ll never regret having packed them in your suitcase. So, we’ve curated a bunch of travel-friendly designs that we think you will absolutely need in your travel kit when you’re jet-setting across the globe next! From an incredibly rugged 8TB SSD that can travel to remote locations to TWS earbuds that can translate 40 languages– these handy tech products are sure to make your next vacation much more comfortable and easier.

1. LAMBOGO

An SSD that’s waterproof doesn’t really cater to someone who uses it in an office, and an SSD that has a fingerprint scanner may not matter to someone who uses it to dump videos from a DSLR or a drone. By that yardstick, LAMBOGO knows exactly who its audience is. Designed for the great outdoors, this rugged, waterproof, wireless SSD comes with up to 8TB of storage, has an internal fan to keep the drive and circuitry cool when you’re not in the cushy environment of an air-conditioned office, and lets you wirelessly preview and share files between your devices. LAMBOGO comes with a card slot and a single button interface for quickly dumping data from your DSLR and Drone, and lets you easily preview your files on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or even desktop and edit them on third-party apps… without connecting wires.

2. The Timekettle M2

There are two main components to any conversation – talking to a person, and listening to the person talk to you. It’s only natural that earphones designed to facilitate conversation would embrace those two parts, right? The Timekettle M2, in that regard, isn’t your standard pair of TWS earbuds. Sure, they’re meant for listening to music and podcasts or giving commands to your phone’s voice AI, but their prime feature is the ability to foster a multi-lingual two-way conversation by allowing two people to wear one earphone each as the M2’s onboard translation engine seamlessly fills in the gaps. The earphone case’s design revolves around that very aspect, with a design that splits right in two, so you can hand one half over to someone you’re talking to, almost like you’re breaking bread with them.

3. The Qterra Craft

As portable as an ordinary Starbucks travel mug, the Qterra Craft is designed to give you coffee so fresh you’ll feel like it was brewed right inside it… and you’d be right! The Qterra Craft is a pretty clever little device, giving you the freshest coffee or tea—even while you’re traveling—by simply brewing it on the spot. The mug comes with a lid that holds tea leaves or coffee grounds in a telescopic Q-Brew Basket that extends downwards into the vessel when the lid is twisted. Fill the vessel with piping hot water and twist the lid just minutes before you actually want your beverage. Then twist the lid when you’re done and the used leaves or grounds ascend back into the lid, secured with an air-tight seal. Effectively, your freshly brewed coffee just requires two twists… but there’s one more twist to come!

4. The Seventh Generation Beam

Seventh Generation’s goal is to limit harmful chemicals and they use plant-based ingredients, scents made from real ingredients, and no synthetic fragrances/dyes in their products. It encourages the importance of wellness is in our personal care, household products, and generally in our everyday lifestyle. The concept demands we expand our understanding of what nourishes us without harming the planet through beautiful and innovative design. The aim is to create 100% plastic-free packaging. The challenge is to rebrand a traditional product line and redesign the packaging system to be fully sustainable while utilizing no plastic or bioplastic. Biomaterials like tin, wood pulp, plant cellulose, food waste, grass, algae, and mushrooms are being considered.

5. The Loop Pillow

The Loop Pillow redefines the archetype of a U-shaped neck pillow. Its infinitely adjustable loop design lets you tightly or loosely wind it around your neck, and gives you the right amount of lift near your shoulder to rest your head. The pillow’s innovation lies in the fact that it isn’t designed like a pillow… if you personally ask me, it reminds me of the neck rings worn by the Ndebele tribal folk in Africa, albeit MUCH more comfortable. The pillow’s flexible design lets you adjust it in a way that’s useful for all sorts of sleeping positions, be it with your head resting forwards, on the sides, or even the back. The Loop Pillow comes made from a thermo-sensitive memory foam that molds perfectly to the contours of your neck, and a moisture-wicking, breathable outer cover that keeps your neck and head dry.

6. The C3PO canteen and the R2D2 stainless steel travel cup

The year 2022 marks 45 years since Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope appeared on the silver screen, and nearly half a century since George Lucas introduced us to two of the most beloved robots to ever grace pop culture. To celebrate that momentous occasion (along with the 40th Anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back), Corkcicle debuted an entire collection of Star Wars-inspired barware that’s sure to geek up your kitchen! While the collection spans all of Star Wars’ memorable characters, our eyes instantly fell in love with the C3PO canteen and the R2D2 stainless steel travel cup – two pieces of drinkware that don’t just go together functionally, but they even honor their references in size and proportion!

7. Agile Travel Adaptor

Agile Travel Adapter provides a safe interface to plug all your gadgets into a power socket, no matter where on the face of the planet you are. International travelers who’ve gone through the frustration of figuring out which plug type fits where will appreciate the user-friendliness of this world’s first 2 AC Outlet 45W travel adapter. The freedom of fast charging electronics is a considerable time-saver. For example, Agile can charge your Macbook entirely in just an hour! That functionality is a lifesaver when you need to charge up your phone, tablet, or laptop with a flight to catch.

8. The RAYCONO

The air purifier + deodorizer was originally envisioned for pet-owners, although it works just as easily in regular homes, kitchens, offices, basements, smoking rooms – basically anywhere plagued by strong odors and bad air quality. Designed to be tiny yet efficient, the RAYCONO relies on two cutting-edge technologies to help improve air quality and freshness – Hydroxyl technology, and Plasma purification. The two technologies work in tandem to help destroy microorganisms and organic compounds that make air unhealthy and smell bad. Hydroxyl technology emits oxidizing ions that travel in the air and target bacteria on any surface. The ions target the hydrogen within the bacteria and attach OH ions to them, turning them into water vapor molecules while killing the bacteria. The plasma technology, on the other hand, uses a plasma chamber concealed within the RAYCONO to purify the air by breaking apart microorganisms using plasma. An internal sponge helps trap these microorganisms and particles too, and can easily be rinsed in water and reused.

9. The WAATR

A perfect companion to your camping trips, outdoor excursions, daily commute, or just your in-home hydration, the WAATR’s 4D Purification™ turns water from any source into safe, great-tasting water. The magic almost entirely lies in the bottle’s cap, which comes with its modular purification system that uses UV light to kill germs and swappable filter cartridges that let you choose between regular pure water, pure water that’s been mineralized for great taste, or pure water that’s slightly alkaline to help you hydrate faster. Just push the cartridge of your choice into the bottle cap and the WAATR becomes a handy little travel bottle that gives you pure water no matter where you go.

10. The Esino

The Esino is the ultimate travel gadget-kit that allows you to snap multiple modules to a central battery pack, turning it into an iron, an electric shaver, an electric toothbrush, a fabric shaver (for removing lint and pilling), or even a UV disinfection light. The modular set is perfect for travel (although it can be used at home too) and creates a compact universe of useful products that are easy to carry around with wherever you may be. The idea behind the Esino Go is a pretty interesting one. All your gadgets require batteries, so why not make the battery a hub around which you could build an ecosystem of products? The Esino Go comes with what’s essentially a 5,000 mAh battery pack enclosed within an ergonomic handle-shaped form.

The post Travel accessories designed to perfectly assist you on your post-pandemic vacations first appeared on Yanko Design.

These innovative + exciting product designs are the ultimate winter essentials for you

Posted on by

Winter is by far my favorite season of the year, as the temperature drops, my excitement rises! Chilly nights followed by frosty morning, cozy naps in bed with blankets wrapped around me, and cups of hot cocoa – it all sounds like heaven to me. As blissful and beautiful as winter can be, it can also be harsh on our bodies and our lifestyles, if we don’t equip ourselves for it. So, we’ve curated a bunch of super interesting and handy designs to get you through this winter season…in style! From a coffee table that holds an electric fireplace to a super cute cup warmer that heats your drink, and charges your smartphone – these innovative product designs are the ultimate winter essentials for you. They’ll transform this winter season into a breeze!

1. The Noori V02 AIRY

Boasting an enameled steel construction, the Noori V02 AIRY is a multifunctional outdoor grill, pizza oven, rocket stove, and a fire pit – all in one! Not to mention, it’s probably one of the best-looking grills I’ve seen in a long time, it’ll be the perfect visual accessory to your backyard. The grill consists of six refractory concrete internal plates. These plates + an AIRY cylinder make up the grill’s innovative AIRY system (which also gives the product its name). This basically means that to set up an open fire, you simply need to remove a few refractory plates from within the AIRY cylinder, which instantly exposes the flames, creating the mesmerizing flame dance we all love to watch in an open fire! Much like its predecessor the Noori V02 AIRY also features a pizza disc, allowing you to not only bake up some pizzas but bread as well.

2. Hearth

Designer Max Burton designed a coffee table appropriately named “Hearth.” At first glance, it looks like a stylish but normal table with a black tabletop and a shuttered base. Even in this dormant state, it already functions as a beautiful centerpiece for people to gather, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Twist that tabletop clockwise like a giant dial, and the slanted fins at the base open up, revealing the electric heater inside. The twisting motion might remind some of a more advanced thermostat, and it almost offers the same capability. Once opened, the Hearth sucks in air from hidden ducts on its underside and then blows heated air out the fins, warming the entire room evenly in all directions.

3. Mujjo’s Touchscreen Gloves

Mujjo Leather Touchscreen Gloves

Mujjo Leather Touchscreen Gloves

Designed to match the aesthetic seen on Mujjo’s leather iPhone cases, the gloves sport a similar all-leather look along with a fold-over closure that’s marked with the brand’s familiar slant line, created by Mujjo co-founder Remy Nagelmaeker. The gloves sport a design that’s an instant classic, thanks to its use of full-grain Ethiopian lambskin leather with a uniform bold black aesthetic. The snap closure around the wrist elegantly secures the gloves on your hands, creating a snug fit while also keeping cold air out so your hands remain warm at all times. A cashmere layer helps keep your extremities toasty while providing an unmatched level of comfort, although the highlight remains the nanotechnology-infused leather which works almost like a second skin, letting you use your phone just like you normally would… with any part of your hand.

4. The Breez Desktop Hand-Warmer

If you’ve ever tried to text in the cold, you know that your fingers tend to lock because of the low temperatures… so imagine trying to type on a keyboard in the cold. Whether you’re working or gaming, the Breez desktop hand-warmer keeps your fingers toasty as you clack away at the keys of your USB or wireless keyboard. The horizontal radiator design uniformly warms your hands as you type, covering the entire keyboard so there’s never a cold zone near the Numpad.

5. 005G

005G is a neckwarmer designed by Xiaoming for cold winter mornings when hitting the snooze button is all too tempting. As the seasons change, our bodily needs do too. With winter quickly approaching, the cold, dry air has us shopping for winter accessories like weighted blankets, moisturizers, and steam inhalers. Despite having the heater turned all the way up to stave off the cold, an extra blanket or pair of fuzzy socks always brings just the right amount of coziness. Industrial designer Xiaoming is bringing coziness to this winter season with 005G, a neck warmer that drapes around your shoulders just like a warm towel.

6. The Quanta Vici

With the ability to comfortably warm up to a wonderful 130F, Quanta Vici’s gloves and socks help perfectly cap off any winterwear outfit, ensuring that your extremities don’t end up feeling cold while your body feels warm. The apparel is app-controlled, charges via USB-C, and has a battery life of anywhere between 6 and 50 hours. Additionally, the gloves come with capacitive touch-sensitivity, which allows you to use your phone with the gloves on (you won’t be able to use the fingerprint unlock, obviously), while the socks have compression ribbing, anti-blister cushions, and arch support to make them comfortable over long hours. Both the gloves and socks are designed with a ventilation mesh too, to promote breathability and comfort over prolonged wearing, and are designed to be anti-slip too.

7. Vollebak’s Indestructible Puffer

Vollebak’s ‘Indestructible Puffer’ is exactly what its name says it is. And the puffer owes its indestructibility to the ‘single strongest fiber known to man’, Dyneema. Dyneema is said to be 15x stronger than Steel. If you’re ever headed to the coldest place on Earth, this jacket’s got to be in your hand luggage. The Indestructible Puffer can withstand temperatures as low as 140 degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, the cold only titillates the puffer. As the temperature drops, the jacket goes into Hulk mode, gaining strength as it gets colder.

8. Dadaism J’s cup warmer

There is nothing that meets the pleasure of a steaming hot coffee or tea while working. You get an extra kick to stay productive for a few more hours. However, there are times when you tend to forget and that hot beverage is left to become a cold brew sitting on the table. This is where a cup warmer like the one conceptualized by designer Dadaism J comes into the equation. The functionality of this cup warmer is to keep your compatible cup heated from the bottom to ensure the beverage inside remains at a particular temperature. This ensures you don’t have to sip on cold brew when your mug should have had a piping hot beverage.

9. The Delivery Jacket

With these winter months getting colder and more treacherous, keeping dogs and puppies with shorter hair warm is a top priority for dog owners. In fact, 40% of dog-owners based in the U.S.A. bought some item of clothing for their dog. If you’re looking to upgrade your’s pup’s wardrobe for the new year, the collection of dog jackets from Between Two Naps features some other fun options, like headpieces topped with pillows and puppy-themed, plush racing helmets. The Delivery Jacket, however, is their upcycled option, which comes one-of-a-kind, with a cropped body and elasticated underside. Their design features classic packing labels embedded into the jacket’s fabric that includes random words such as “sleep,” which help the store owners track outbound shipments.

10. The flo

The flo is a desk fan that is portable by nature. The fan’s facade is actually covered – no more hurting your finger by occasionally poking into the blades. The fan can be regulated using a temperature dial at the back of flo – allowing you to easily switch between heating and cooling functionalities. One of the better functionality of the design is the use of a filter, that purifies the air being thrown at you, rather than having the dust from your fan blades being thrown at you. The fan also uses a simple USB-C cable to stay charged at all times. Flo’s aesthetics are simple, yet minimal, making it an easy to own and use piece over the years. And given how it works for all seasons – it reduces the storage space required for the off-seasons.

The post These innovative + exciting product designs are the ultimate winter essentials for you first appeared on Yanko Design.

Innovative product designs to provide you with the ultimate bathroom experience

Posted on by

We may not pay attention to our bathrooms very often, but the truth is they’re the little alcoves we spend a substantial amount of our time in, carrying out our personal activities. It’s probably the only time we’re ever truly alone, and bathrooms are like our own personal zones. Hence amping up our bathroom with essential accessories and handy product designs is quite important. These little products can make a huge difference in our everyday bathroom experience. They not only help us carry out our personal and grooming activities even more easily, but they also help us take care of ourselves and our washrooms a little better! From an unconventional weighing scale designed to look like a set of tiles to a smart eco-friendly shower with a pressure-sensitive floor panel – we’ve curated a whole collection of innovative and functional bathroom accessories for you!

1. Air Spa

BDCI Design designed ‘Air Spa’…a body dryer! The tall vertical appliance blows out air to dry your body after you take a shower. Air Spa also protects your body from external temperature and humidity and maintains your body temperature. So, you know those few minutes after a shower when you’re feeling super cold before you wipe yourself down with a towel? Well, Air Spa completely eliminates those dreadful few minutes. It also eliminates the tedious task of adding your towel to the laundry and washing it.

2. Smart Shower

Designer Natasha Jadhav decided to create a ‘Smart Shower’. This shower is truly smart, interactive, and not to mention aesthetically pleasing too! Jadhav struck the perfect balance between aesthetics and functionality with this design. Jadhav’s smart shower consists of the actual shower on the ceiling of the bathroom, a sleek white console that holds panels, and a hand shower, as well as a pressure-sensitive panel on the floor.

3. The Tiles Weight Scale

The Tiles Weight Scale looks like a panel of your quintessential ceramic bathroom tiles. They aren’t made from ceramic, which means they aren’t slippery, and the white panel has an LED display that shines through the material, activating the moment you stand on it. That way, it serves its purpose wonderfully when it needs to, and blends right into the bathroom’s decor when not in use! With a glossy, tiled design, the product fits perfectly into the contemporary bathroom, looking more like functional decor than an appliance.

4. Lucere

Lucere mimics that perfect vanity-lighting experience without racking up an electricity bill. It features a pair of portable lights that attach directly to your bathroom mirror to give you bright, bi-directional light without casting sharp shadows. The Lucere comes with a mount that adheres to your mirror, allowing you to magnetically snap the lights on or off whenever you need them. Both the lights come with touch-sensitive on-off switches and the ability to set them at your desired brightness using simple +/- controls. The lights charge via a standard MicroUSB cable and last for 3 hours on medium brightness.

5. The Shower Scrubber

While Konjac sponges aren’t new (the internet’s absolutely littered with them), the Shower Scrubber unlocks its true potential with its design and the various infusions. The large guitar-pick-shaped design comes with a honeycomb texture on one side, inspired by Casamera’s waffle-textured towels. The honeycomb texture helps gently massage and pamper the skin (especially around the face), open the pores, and more importantly, is incredibly effective at building up a lather. The other side, however, is a textural contrast, as the sponge comes with particles of walnut shells suspended within the surface, offering an exfoliating experience that’s great at removing dead skin on your body to reveal shining, supple, radiant skin underneath.

6. BrushPro

Designer Geraldine Tong wanted to change our perception of toilet cleaning tools while also solving related issues like its environmental impact and the clutter it creates in our bathrooms. Her goal was to create a brush that didn’t cause more landfill waste, took minimal space, reached the narrow areas, and of course, look visually appealing – so she designed BrushPro in collaboration with Lam Soon Singapore, and the mission was accomplished. This redesigned toilet brush lets you switch out brushes while reusing the main body which reduces a lot of toxic waste. BrushPro is extremely convenient to use compared to its forerunners. The extendable handle allows you to reach narrow spaces without having to perform advanced yoga poses on the floor and minimizes your direct contact with the dirty brush.

7. K-25 Smart Bath

Design similar to our breakfast favorite waffle comes with a load of benefits. The waffle texture gently exfoliates your skin, while the waffle honeycombs help the towel easily absorb all the water in one quick pass. It also dries itself twice faster, thanks to an airy weave and breathability. Being surprisingly lightweight, but feels thick, fluffy, and soft to the skin. Great for the hair too, as it soaks all the moisture quickly eliminating the frizz. The towels are generously sized, so you can easily wipe your entire body with them, and comfortably wrap it around your waist when you’re done.

8. The BBalance Mat

Combining the bathroom mat and the bathroom scale into one product, the BBalance Mat will tell you your weight while keeping your bathroom floor dry… but it does more than just that. Outfitted with a body-composition scale, a posture analyzer, and even a sensor to recognize your footprint (so it works for all the members of your house), the BBalance Mat gives you an in-depth analysis of your health just as you step out of the bath. The mat immediately recognizes you as you step on it, calculates your weight, body composition, BMI, posture, and balance, giving you a comprehensive look at your body’s stats from day to day. Oh, and since it senses your feet, it’ll also tell you which shoe size you are, just as a nifty little added benefit!

9. JoyFous

JoyFous takes the existing shower curtain and gives it a much-needed design upgrade. Made for 3-walled bathtubs (where the 4th wall is usually occupied by a curtain), JoyFous is a nifty, slim, retractable screen that’s easy to pull out and retract before and after your bath. It’s a much more convenient alternative to the shower curtain that’s clumsy and doesn’t stop water from leaking out onto the bathroom floor… and it’s a whole lot cheaper than those frosted glass partitions, and it isn’t breakable or fragile too! Working much like retractable blinds that you pull downward, JoyFous operates sideways, creating a neat privacy-partition while you bathe or just laze in your bath-salts solution with some candles and bubbly… and its unique water-dam feature keeps the water inside your bathtub, so you don’t step out onto a soaking wet and slippery bathroom floor.

10. The Kohler Moxie Showerhead

Kohler seems to have taken a massive liking to bathroom singers with its new showerhead. With a halo-shaped design, the Kohler Moxie Showerhead allows you to fit a wireless speaker into its negative cavity, giving you a luxurious Kohler-worthy shower with handpicked (or rather voice-picked) tunes to accompany you as you bathe. Now the Moxie isn’t a new product. Kohler released the quirky showerhead+speaker combination in as early as 2012, but the new update (to be showcased at CES2020 next week) allows Moxie to communicate with Amazon’s Alexa voice AI, allowing you to ask it to play songs (or karaokes), brief you on the news, or order you some more shampoo. The Moxie speaker is detachable and docks right into the torus-shaped showerhead using magnetic action.

The post Innovative product designs to provide you with the ultimate bathroom experience first appeared on Yanko Design.

Top 10 bicycle accessories trends of 2022

Posted on by

If in this era of pollution, pandemic, and panic, you aren’t already a bicycle person, it’s high time you convert into one! Bicycles are slowly becoming people’s preferred means of transportation. People are ditching the fossil fuel consuming and air pollution causing automobiles for the more eco-friendly option of bikes! Not only are bicycles a boon to the environment, but they also promote good health and ensure we get our daily dose of physical exercise done. In fact, you can even upgrade and amp up your bicycle with some fun and functional accessories! From an ingenious folding helmet to a multi-functional bike lock that doubles up as a taillight and tire inflator  – these accessories are the perfect sidekicks to your bicycle!

1. reTyre

“You’re used to changing your shoes and jacket to match the location or weather. Why shouldn’t you be able to do the same with your bike?” reTyre’s zippable tire-tread system gives your city bicycle the versatility to work off the road too. A simple zipping mechanism allows you to add a secondary, tougher tread on your tires, letting you go from riding on smooth asphalt to traversing through tough terrain. No matter the speed, the distance, or the condition, reTyre’s selection of treads make it the only set of wheels your bicycle needs… and in turn making your bicycle the only bicycle you’ll need too. reTyre’s special bicycle tire comes with a zipper lining and a selection of treads or skins that you can clad on your existing tire. The original tire works great on asphalt, and the wide variety of skins allows you to ride your bicycle on mud, gravel, rocks, or even snow.

2. Folding Helmet

This minimalist helmet keeps things as intended without sacrificing the shape and design. Nor does it make things complicated as far as function goes – thereby, making it a perfect accessory for emergency situations in a wide array of fields. Designed by Tokyo-based R&D Mak, the intuitive design of the folding helmet falls flat like flat-pack furniture. It’s basically a helmet that you can squeeze like a burrito for keeping in backpacks, drawers, or closets. The simple pull mechanism to unfold it is the simplest I’ve seen thus far. To squeeze it to a compact form, just pressing the button on the rear section does the trick.

3. Omnilock

Omnilock multifunctional Bike Lock is a unique bicycle accessory that performs double duty as a bright taillight and tire inflator as well. This multiple utility of the accessory means – the rider has less to worry about – if he/she is an avid bicycle user. Someone who likes to pedal to the mountains or spend a whole lot of time going for extended bike runs in the morning for fitness. Safety is another important thing that the bike lock addresses as the taillight adds another layer of visibility for motorists to take note of when on the go. That means the bike lock sits right under the saddle when in commute, and when you need to park it, simply take out Omnilock and lock the rear wheel.

4. Vento

Inspired by his desire “to reinvent the ways we use and produce energy,” on small-scale levels, Vento is not merely a bicycle light, as Bestenheider describes, but “a power plant, a way to question energy consumption, and an object to connect like-minded individuals. Vento is a mindset.” Composed of four main components, Vento is like a miniature wind turbine. Constructed from recycled plexiglass and aluminum, Vento’s microturbine harvests wind energy while the bicycle is in motion. Then, the energy is converted into electricity through electromagnetic induction that takes place in the turbine’s generator. The bicycle light’s battery then stores this energy and the LED bulb generates light. While moving in your bike, the wind is always whipping past you, so the light will always work when needed. Positioned conveniently right between the handlebars, Vento also features on/off and blinking switches for day use.

5. Garmin Bicycle Computer

This Garmin bicycle computer takes a detour from the design language for the brand’s current line-up of Edge GPS bike computers for bicycle riders. Industrial designer WuShuai has thought of a refreshing design for the next Garmin computer for your ride to next get stranded on any hiking trail. His design has a more contoured aspect to it, the convex display is a telltale indicator of the fact. Being a bike enthusiast himself, Wu wanted to create a softer design language for a future Garmin Edge product. However he himself admits that the screen is more susceptible to breakage in this new form if there is an accidental fall. That’s a story for another day if this design is referenced by Garmin for consideration.

6. The LingMou

Meet the Lingmou intelligent portable air pump designed by Yifanzi J for awkward situations on unknown roads. Keeping in mind that motorists need to keep a check on their vehicle’s air pressure levels in all the tires, the portable air pump is a must-have without any questions. Tire bursts on freeways account for accidents, and no one wants to jeopardize their, as well as other motorist’s lives, do they? This proposed concept design is meant for Generation Z who like things as simple and time-saving as possible – not to forget the styling quotient.

7. Ray

Cha Hongkun, a designer from China has pondered over tweaking the design of a portable light to an extent where it addresses an even wider array of activities. Cha calls it the “Ray” – an outdoor accompanying portable light with a never before seen form factor. It’s essentially a wide strap that can be hooked onto your bike, backpack, or anything one can think of. It goes without saying – Ray is an outdoor essential accessory that’ll never let you down. The ease of use and portable credentials make it one accessory I would want in my absolute essentials for a trip anywhere. The portable LED light can be charged with a USB-C compatible power bank or via a wall outlet. What’s got me hooked on here is the cool choice of colors the designer has penned for Ray.

8. Airban

Christened Airban, the urban bike helmet aims to take on the unavoidable air pollution crisis. The advanced helmet sucks polluted air, filters it, and then beams pure air onto the fixed face shield that’s at a slight distance from the face. As the rider keeps moving forward, the air passes through the front vents on the front and enters the air channel. Simultaneously air is drawn from the rear via a small brushless fan that projects the air to the breathable position. Air entering the Airban helmet from both these channels is filtered through the HEPA filter which removes 99.97% of 0.3 μm particulates. The activated carbon layer eliminates any smoke, odors, or other pollutants – therefore, beaming the rider with clean air even in the most polluted environment.

9. NASA-inspired Airless Bike Tires

No one wants a flat tire while mowing the lawn or playing golf and the chance for a flat tire is far higher in places like construction zones and building demolition sites. It makes sense that some vehicles prioritize airless tires and some don’t, but what about bicycles? The Q, popular science and DIY YouTube channel, asked the same question and looked no further than an old PVC pipe and some nuts and bolts to answer it. Before constructing his airless tires, The Q was sure to pick a PVC pipe that had enough density to support a rider and ride well on different terrain. Settling on a ½” thick PVC pipe, The Q then sliced the PVC pipe into two-inch wide rings. From there, the DIY YouTuber connected all of the rings into a single link after drilling three holes into each and joining them together with nuts and bolts.

10. The BUCK

This bicycle has a super cool accessory attached to it! The BUCK electric bike has a laptop stand that elegantly conceals beneath the bike frame when not in use. The moment you need to perform an important task – just park the bike, swivel the laptop stand in position and your mobile standing workstation is ready. You just have to slide it out of the bike frame’s section and attach it to the saddle which can be moved to a 90 degrees position to give up space for the stand.

The post Top 10 bicycle accessories trends of 2022 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Sleek Laptop Stands designed to eliminate bad posture + boost WFH productivity

Posted on by

To be honest, I could not survive without my laptop! It stores almost everything I hold sacred, and I need it for various purposes – from work to leisure. And most of us do spend the majority of our day working on laptops, and hence maintaining a consistently high level of productivity and efficiency is extremely integral for our work routines. However, spending hours on our laptops can cause immense strain to our hands and neck. And this is where laptop stands come in! The right laptop stand offers ergonomic angle adjustments and helps us work in a posture that does not cause physical pain and strain on our bodies. From an ultra-thin laptop stand as slim as a credit card to an e-bike with a concealed laptop stand – we’ve curated a collection of ergonomically designed and highly functional laptop stands that can help you work in the most comfortable position possible, in turn boosting your work productivity and efficiency!

1. The MOFT Z

The MOFT Z was designed keeping the original MOFT brief in mind but was made to push limits. It does come with the ability to prop your laptop at three angles, but that’s not all. The MOFT Z even transforms your sitting setup into a standing one, elevating your laptop up by as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters). The MOFT Z does this using an innovative Z-shaped folding system along with its signature PU and fiberglass material which allows the laptop stand to have a high strength to weight ratio while being thin enough to slide right into a Manila envelope. The MOFT Z was designed to be used independently, without being stuck to the back of your laptop (like the original MOFT). Slightly larger than a sheet of A4 paper and at nearly half an inch thick, the MOFT Z can be kept on your desk, stored in a drawer, or a shelf, among folders.

2. The MetaStand Pro

Measuring 0.1 inches, the MetaStand Pro might easily be the contender for the slimmest laptop stand in the world. However, thanks to the power of origami, it can hold the weight of your laptop or tablet, angling it for a comfortable working experience. The MetaStand Pro offers the ability to prop your laptop or tablet up at a variety of angles for ease of use. Using a clever origami-inspired design, it offers a mix of slimness and strength, letting you place your gadget at as many as 4 different angles comfortably without breaking a sweat.

3. PILLR

Like most laptop stands, PILLR elevates your work machine to a higher level, allowing you to view your laptop screen at a much higher, more natural angle, preventing neck fatigue. Unlike most laptops stands, PILLR, however, doesn’t look like a badly designed accessory that hides behind your expensive laptop. With a minimal, sculpture-esque design, PILLR looks pretty darn good even without the laptop on it. Its strong presence gives it the appeal of a desk sculpture, and once you place a laptop on it, the PILLR enters a functional mode, elevating your laptop to reduce neck pain and boost productivity.

4. The FLIKK Laptop Stand and Sleeve

FLIKK Laptop Stand by Jexter Lim

The designer came up with this idea after observing the irking drawbacks of traditional laptop stands. Most of them don’t provide the desired elevation and the right viewing angles. Also, they are very complicated to deploy, which mars the whole purpose. This prompted Jexter Lim to plug all the gaps that spoil the user experience and function of the accessory. The laptop stand gives you the desired viewing angle for a comfortable working regime anytime, anywhere. The goodness doesn’t end there, as it seamlessly transforms into a laptop sleeve to head to your next destination without all the bulk of a traditional laptop stand.

5. The MOFT

Desks can’t be carried around where you go, and stands are usually either bulky or heavy, given that they need to support the constant weight of the laptop plus your palms, making both solutions portability-unfriendly. The MOFT grasps that design brief almost perfectly. Thin as a coin (barely 3mm in thickness) and light as a pen, the MOFT sticks to the back of your laptop almost like a cover of sorts. When folded, it sits flat against the back of your laptop (thanks to hidden magnets), practically indistinguishable and invisible, and when deployed/unfolded, uses a clever bit of structural engineering to support your laptop in not one, but two angle settings. Channeling Dieter Rams’ principle that Good Design must be Invisible, the MOFT sits flat on the back of the laptop.

6. The RLDH Alto Standing Desk

The RLDH Alto Standing Desk is a thoughtful flat-pack accessory designed keeping in mind your multiple needs if you can’t invest in a height-adjustable desk. It is simple to carry and disassemble, with the option to adjust the height of your keyboard and mouse tray, giving it the flexibility of use with your laptop. Yes, this stylish yet functional standing desk is tailored for use with your laptop – virtually transforming your table into a standing desk when the need arises. Its flat-pack and lightweight (weighing just 6.5 lbs) nature give you the freedom to tuck it away when not needed or even to take it along during travel for remote work regimes.

7. g.flow laptop stand

Arguably, grape lab’s g.flow laptop stand is better than most other laptop stands on the market. It ticks all the boxes as an effective product but also as a sustainable product. It’s clever, lightweight, and comes in packaging that can be used as a stand too! g.flow is just an amalgamation of a lot of good ideas into one great product that does its job with 100% effectiveness and 0% negative impact on the environment. The g.flow is basically a tray made from folded recycled paper. Relying on origami tricks, the paper is stiff enough to hold up to 11 pounds of weight (enough to take the weight of your laptop and your hands too) thanks to the origami folds which not only give it strength but also create multiple channels to boost airflow and cool your laptop better. The ridged paper is specifically angled for easy viewing and typing so that you get the benefits of a cooling pad as well as a prop stand, while the device comes with a small lip on the front to keep the laptop from sliding down.

8. HUB-OX

Designed to be portable and compact, HUB–OX initially comes as a lightweight, palm-sized USB-C hub, which splits into two halves, both equipped with plenty of charging slots, HDMI connections, and ethernet ports. HUB–OX is compatible with MacBook Pro models that have four USB-C ports, generally any MacBook Pro from 2016 or any of its succeeding generations. When HUB–OX is split in two, users can plug the USB-C chargers into all four of their MacBook Pro’s ports, lifting their laptops to an angle of 7.7° to keep them charged and at eye level for the rest of the day.

9. The Triyards Laptop Stand

The Triyards Laptop Stand borrows a clever trick from a product we’ve been using for decades. Inspired by the thin-yet-effective kickstands found in most keyboards, the Triyards Laptop Stand sits flat against your machine, adding a mere 0.2 inches of thickness. Made from durable aerospace-grade aluminum, the stand adheres to the back of your laptop using a non-harmful 3M glue strip and comes with two fold-out legs that allow you to easily prop your laptop up, angling it in a way that helps it stay cool while angling the keyboard in a way that makes it easier to type. It comes with rubber legs, too, to make sure your laptop doesn’t slide around or damage the surface you’re working on.

10. The BUCK electric bike

The BUCK electric bike has a laptop stand that elegantly conceals beneath the bike frame when not in use. The moment you need to perform an important task – just park the bike, swivel the laptop stand in position, and your mobile standing workstation is ready. You just have to slide it out of the bike frame’s section and attach it to the saddle, which can be moved to a 90 degrees position to give up space for the stand. On the design front, the bicycle has a very neat minimalist look draped in white color with contrasting black sections. Since the bike is meant for the odd leisure too on rough roads, the active suspension and the high riding position are well suited for the same.

The post Sleek Laptop Stands designed to eliminate bad posture + boost WFH productivity first appeared on Yanko Design.

These Apple Watch cases offer shockproof protection and a bumper to keep your watch safe

Posted on by



Colors is a line of new Apple Watch protective cases from SwitchEasy that comes in four different colors so users can give their Apple Watches completely new looks.

While most of us can’t purchase a new smartphone every time we get bored of the one we have, getting a new case for it sometimes does the trick. The same could be true for Apple Watches. Plenty of people turn to new watch bands to give their Apple Watches a proper makeover and now there’s a line of Apple Watch Protective Cases called Colors that switch up your Apple Watch style so you can keep it exciting.

Designer: SwitchEasy

Click Here to Buy Now!

Colors, a protective case design for Apple Watches from SwitchEasy, comes with four different cases and colors. Available in black, abyss blue, starlight, and army green, each one of the different colors has its own energy and gives your Apple Watch a whole new personality.

Each case is compatible with the Apple Watch strap lock design and comes with screen-raised-edges to ensure total, shockproof protection. The cases are also easy to strap into place. Following a similar assembly method to traditional iPhone cases, users just slide their bare Apple Watch into the Colors case and it locks into place.

Considering all of the available colors, when combined with Apple Watch bands, new color schemes can give your Apple Watch a completely new look. In addition to its easy installation process, the Apple Watch cases from SwitchEasy are compatible with charging and Apple’s Health app, which means you can take blood and oxygen levels and charge your Apple Watch without changing your routine.

The post These Apple Watch cases offer shockproof protection and a bumper to keep your watch safe first appeared on Yanko Design.

Tiny ceramic planters that can be pinned create fun, customizable planters for WFH offices

Posted on by

Flora is a WFH wall accessory that combines an organizational cork pinboard with hanging planters molded from jesmonite.

With WFH orders sending us to the far reaches of our bedrooms-slash-offices, there’s never been a better excuse to accessorize. New designs for organizers, stationary, and desks have redefined what working from home could look like.

Designer: Préssec Design

Over recent years, designers have created multifunctional WFH appliances by integrating elements like hidden storage units and organizers into appliances like chairs and desks to make the workday at home feel just as efficient as it feels in the office. Today, designers from Sydney-based Préssec Design have developed Flora, a wall garden system that combines a cork pinboard with hanging planters.

Molded from jesmonite, Flora features specks of color for a modern take on terrazzo, a form of composite material originating in 16th-century Italy. Conceived as a passion project during the lockdown, the designers at Préssec Design first made Floria from concrete casting. Once they achieved their desired look for Flora, they turned it up a notch and gave jesmonite a try.

The team of designers chose to work with jesmonite to give the wall garden system a seamless look like each planter was bulging from the corkboard. Merging each planter with the wall behind it, Préssec designers looked to thumbtacks to latch the planters’ corners to the corkboard. These thumb tacks are made up of different colors for users to customize the look of Flora.

While jesmonite gave Préssec designers the chance to experiment with the overall look of Flora, maintaining the concrete casting’s crisp edges was a challenge. Following periods of research and prototyping, the team of designers settled on a silicone mold for the jesmonite casting.

Explaining their process, Préssec designers describe, “It took a lot of experimenting with the ratios of the different aggregates but we got it to a point where we maintained the structure and kept the crisp edges of the design.⁠”

The post Tiny ceramic planters that can be pinned create fun, customizable planters for WFH offices first appeared on Yanko Design.

‘Question Mark’ hanger cleverly captures the dilemma of not knowing what clothes to wear!

Posted on by

Absolutely unverifiable studies show that we spend 10 full years of our lives wondering what to wear. No, that almost certainly isn’t true (or so I hope), but everyone relates to the problem of spending long periods of time staring at a wardrobe and wondering… “What do I wear??” before having a Eureka moment and choosing the perfect outfit. The Emotion Hanger perfectly captures that internal journey!

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! It’s a quirky little detail that adds a wonderfully expressive touch to a mundane product… and in doing so, makes selecting outfits more fun, and the hanger more meaningful!

Designer: Jinwook Lee (THIS IS Design Studio)

The post ‘Question Mark’ hanger cleverly captures the dilemma of not knowing what clothes to wear! first appeared on Yanko Design.

Sleek and innovative MacBook accessories that are the best upgrades for your laptop in 2022

Posted on by

I honestly cannot do without my MacBook, probably because it is one of my most prized possessions! It contains basically everything I hold important in my life – from work documents to memorable pictures from even ten years ago. And not to mention, I do end up spending most of my day, typing away and working on my MacBook. Since it is such an integral part of my daily and work routine, I’m always looking for ways to elevate my MacBook. I love innovative and nifty gadgets that function as the perfect sidekick to my MacBook, helping me boost up my daily productivity and efficiency. Here, we’ve curated a few of our favorite MacBook accessories that’ll promise to level up your already awesome and beloved MacBook. From a tiny 20W power bank that can recharge your iPhone, iPad, and MacBook to a laptop sleeve that doubles up as a sleeve – these are must-have accompaniments to your MacBook, and the best investments of 2022 for Apple lovers!

1. Magic Bar

Extending the Cupertino company’s idea of selling various accessories separate from the primary product, a designer has introduced us to the idea of a Magic Bar, which is nothing but a portable Touch Bar that can be used externally with any Apple (presumably) peripheral. As the renders suggest, this portable toolbar with significantly similar features as the ill-fated Touch Bar, complies with a recognizable design that would align horizontally as the keyboard. And when combined with the new iPhone may be, it could allow smart home shortcuts always in reach.

2. The Pixy Mini

Touted as the most powerful power bank for its size, the Pixy Mini is this pocket-friendly, granola bar-shaped power bank with a capacity of 5,000mAh and a 20W power delivery, making it capable of recharging practically any portable gadget you’ve got on hand… even your laptop. What’s so impressive about the Pixy Mini is its deceptively small size. Tinier than a credit card, and hardly bulkier than a Zippo lighter, the Pixy Mini was designed to be carried around… but not even in your backpack, rather in your pocket. Outwardly, it looks like any other power bank, with a USB-A port and a USB-C port on either side, and 4 LED indicators that tell you how much power the Pixy Mini’s battery has.

3. The FLIKK Laptop Stand and Sleeve

FLIKK Laptop Stand by Jexter Lim

The designer came up with this idea after observing the irking drawbacks of traditional laptop stands. Most of them don’t provide the desired elevation and the right viewing angles. Also, they are very complicated to deploy which mars the whole purpose. This prompted Jexter Lim to plug all the gaps that spoil the user experience and function of the accessory. The laptop stand gives you the desired viewing angle for a comfortable working regime anytime, anywhere. The goodness doesn’t end there, as it seamlessly transforms into a laptop sleeve to head to your next destination without all the bulk of a traditional laptop stand.

4. The HybridDrive

The HybridDrive is a lot like if your external hard drive and your USB hub had a love-child. Think of it as the one, true, all-powerful accessory to your MacBook or your iPad Pro, or even your Android phone. Armed with a two-piece design that can plug into each other, the HybridDrive is like the Yin and the Yang of computing accessories… the Yin being extra ports, and the Yang being extra storage. Compatible with most USB-C devices, the HybridDrive offsets your need for multiple hubs, dongles, and drives. With a multiport on one end, an SSD on another, and a USB-C interface connecting the two, the HybridDrive bridges the gap between your portable devices (laptop/tablet/phone) and your desktop – in the sense that it gives you extra ports and expandable storage… something most desktops have in common.

5. HUB-OX

Designed to be portable and compact, HUB–OX initially comes as a lightweight, palm-sized USB-C hub, which splits into two halves, both equipped with plenty of charging slots, HDMI connections, and ethernet ports. HUB–OX is compatible with MacBook Pro models that have four USB-C ports, generally any MacBook Pro from 2016 or any of its succeeding generations. When HUB–OX is split in two, users can plug the USB-C chargers into all four of their MacBook Pro’s ports, lifting their laptops to an angle of 7.7° to keep them charged and at eye level for the rest of the day.

6. The SuperTank

Sixty minutes is all that it takes for the SuperTank to power-up and be ready for deployment. This 27,000 mAh portable charger with dual USB-C PD (100W + 60W) and dual USB-A ports, has the potential to quickly charge MacBook Pros and many other devices. What this means to people on the go, is that they don’t have to worry about carrying excess wires, multiple power plugs and compatible sockets, when they are out of home or office. One super charge, and this battery pack will last you for seven whole days, making you wish that your lover could last that long!

7. The Nano II

The new Nano II chargers use what Anker calls its “GaN II” technology, the company’s second-generation version of the gallium nitride-based components. The Nano II offers a 20% increase in working efficiency, which loosely translates to smaller chargers and lesser heat generation. Their compact size is made even more portable and convenient thanks to the folding pins (on the 45W and 65W models), allowing you to chuck the charger in your backpack or even put it in your pocket.

8. The RLDH Alto Standing Desk

The RLDH Alto Standing Desk is a thoughtful flat-pack accessory designed keeping in mind your multiple needs if you can’t invest in a height-adjustable desk. It is simple to carry and disassemble, with the option to adjust the height of your keyboard and mouse tray, giving it the flexibility of use with your laptop. Yes, this stylish yet functional standing desk is tailored for use with your laptop – virtually transforming your table into a standing desk when the need arises. Its flat-pack and lightweight (weighing just 6.5 lbs) nature give you the freedom to tuck it away when not needed or even to take it along during travel for remote work regimes.

9. Multi-purpose Dongle

This Dongle truly empowers iPad Pro users into connecting pretty much anything to their iPad Pros. With one USB-C port at one end, and a WIDE variety of possibilities at the other, the latest dongle lets you connect everything from a LAN cable, to a pair of headphones, to memory cards, to even iPods (Hallelujah!) “With the dongle’s multi-purpose design, there’s something for everyone”, says Jonathan Ive, to which CEO Tim Cook adds, “We believe this is truly the best iPad Pro and MacBook accessory we’ve ever built. We can’t wait to see how the dongle helps users in their day to day tasks”. The dongle even comes with a proprietary cable technology that ensures that the dongle’s multitude of wires don’t get entangled, and is available in a wide variety of colors.

10. The MOFT Z

The MOFT Z was designed keeping the original MOFT brief in mind but was made to push limits. It does come with the ability to prop your laptop at three angles, but that’s not all. The MOFT Z even transforms your sitting setup into a standing one, elevating your laptop up by as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters). The MOFT Z does this using an innovative Z-shaped folding system along with its signature PU and fiberglass material which allows the laptop stand to have a high strength to weight ratio while being thin enough to slide right into a Manila envelope. The MOFT Z was designed to be used independently, without being stuck to the back of your laptop (like the original MOFT). Slightly larger than a sheet of A4 paper, and at nearly half an inch thick, the MOFT Z can be kept on your desk, stored in a drawer, or a shelf, among folders.

The post Sleek and innovative MacBook accessories that are the best upgrades for your laptop in 2022 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Sustainable designs created by this upcycling product designer transforms your trash into solutions

Posted on by

Forget recycling. Upcycling could be the next trend that creates new things out of old ones and save more energy at the same time.

We are probably all familiar with the idea of recycling, where certain materials are broken down to be remade into something new, usually related to the original composition, like how paper becomes recycled paper or aluminum comes become ingots. That process, however, doesn’t always work for kinds of things, and many more products end up in landfills when they could still be put to good and often unrelated use. That’s why a young product designer in Hong Kong is trying to kick off a new way of thinking that turns throwaway materials and objects into something useful and perhaps even a bit surprising.

Designer: Kevin, Cheung Wai Chun

Based in Hong Kong, Kevin Cheung describes himself as an “upcycling product designer” and distances himself from the more common concepts of recycling. In fact, he labels recycling as “downcycling” because of how the process breaks down materials rather than using them as-is. While it’s still a big step forward when it comes to sustainability, Cheung tells the South China Morning Post that the entire process still consumes a lot of water and energy in the long run.

In contrast, upcycling actually uses a material’s properties and incorporates that into a new product. Leftover felt carpets from the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, for example, are turned into a protective pouch for laptops or even comfy slippers. Coffee bean bags made from heavy-duty jute fabric can be turned into tote bags that tell the whole world your love for the drink.

You might be expecting that Cheung regularly scours waste stations and garbage dumps for materials to use, but that would actually defeat the purpose. Reusing rubbish from those sources would actually take more time and use up water, which is what upcycling is trying to avoid. Instead, the designer goes directly to the sources of these throwable objects, like companies and stores that don’t give a second thought to what they toss out. Cheung’s inaugural upcycling product, the Boombottle, uses plastic bottles from medical clinics.

More than just the environmental benefits, however, Kevin Cheung’s upcycling push also carries with it some human elements. Wallpapers that spark memories or come from other countries can turn into wallets that accompany you wherever you go. Jeans become smartphone cases that not only give a warmer and more tactile feel to an otherwise cold object but also fade in unique ways over time. Each object becomes more than just a product for use but a book that tells the story of the humans that have encountered it.

The post Sustainable designs created by this upcycling product designer transforms your trash into solutions first appeared on Yanko Design.