Monday, June 15, 2009

Yanko Design - Latest Posts

Yanko Design - Latest Posts

Link to Yanko Design

Swarna IDC Degree Show 2009

Posted: 15 Jun 2009 04:25 AM PDT

Besides hosting the usual buffet of seminars and workshops for their Swarna 2009 Degree Show, folks at Industrial Design Centre IIT Mumbai had a spectacular exhibition for their graduating class. Although I got to sift through the Industrial Design, Animation Design, Visual Communication and Interaction Design faculties, I naturally gravitated towards the ID section. Follow me to see the some of the innovative gems I discovered at the show.

G1 Car by Karthik Narayan

G1 or Jeevan in Hindi means life; this car is a hydrogen version that regenerates its own fuel. Mutant algae that produces hydrogen in the presence of light (with oxygen as a by-product), powers this car. A canopy on top of the car is where the algae reside, they do their bit when the car is stationary.

Eco-friendly mobility solution for the future by Amey Dhuri

Urban spaces demand for cars that are compact, have minimal turning requirements and parking space. This eco-friendly car is meant for two people and has some amazing features that address these two issues. The car controls are incorporated within the front wheels allowing either the driver or the passenger to drive the car. The car also boasts of a near-zero turning radius. For parking the car almost shrinks up to half its usual size, thus making it easy to park.

Re-designed Shopping Mall Cart by Dipesh Parmar

Till quite recently malls were a western cultural phenomenon in India. Now that we see dime a dozen mushrooming up at every nook and corner of the city, but there has been a dearth of the perfect Supermarket trolley that addresses Indian sensibilities. This trolley here is quite essentially two baskets and a child-carrier. The top and lower basket both detach to become individual trolleys, however the true beauty is when you use the whole setup together. Since the bottom space of a typical trolley is seldom used, the bottom basket in this one utilizes the space effectively. It slides out on the rails so that you can easily place your purchases in it, without any fuss.

Personal Mobility Solution For the Future by Prajwal Ullal

A biker's bike! Ah the speed-monster gets a chic look and some sensibilities, coz it offers two modes, the highway mode where you can trail-blaze to glory and the city mode where you can't do much speed. Fancy the way the wheels come together in the parking stance, giving it a minimum horizontal footprint.

It was an enriching experience to interact with the students and professors of IDC. The main strength that shone through all the flaws of the show (nobody is perfect) was the communication of ideas and the phenomenal thought process of the teams. The Animation Design, Visual Communication and Interaction Design faculties put up a swell show as well, and I was impressed by the dedication and creative energy.

If I must crib about one thing, then it has to be the lack of better renders by the ID students, their scale models reflected their efforts, but good supporting renders are a MUST!

, , , ,

GenevaSound Medium Review

Posted: 15 Jun 2009 02:10 AM PDT

Audiophiles are a picky bunch. They know what they like and if a sound system isn’t up to snuff - they pass on it without any chance for reprieve. We’ve only reviewed one other $600+ stereo and that was the B&W Zeppelin. There’s a new challenger, one with more awards and accolades than I can count. The GenevaSound Medium is an audio feast for anyone who wants to hear music the way it was meant to be heard. The design is ultra modern in an approachable sense. Hit the jump for my review.

The GenevaSound Medium or ‘M’ for short is a complete, multi-function stereo system in a hand made wood cabinet. There are 4 speakers independently powered by a 100 watt digital amplifier. Measuring just 7.8 inches in height, 14.2 inches in width, and 10.6 inches in depth, the ‘M’ defies its small footprint with incredible sound.

This is the smallest in the range of speaker systems from Genevalab. Even so, the same core technologies from its larger brothers are somehow magically engineered into this tiny cabinet. It comes with a host of iPod dock connectors to fit almost every iPod ever made, a built-in slot loading CD player, and an FM radio turner with presets. The design is superbly minimal; not a single button anywhere. There’s a red LED display right behind the metal grill and a handy remote for digital control. The model I received is decidedly cherry red - the reddest color you could ever get, and oh my it’s glossy too! Normally a color like this can read very toy-like but the soft curved edges give it an air of refinement; the same way a cherry red Ferrari looks sexy instead of childish. The convex center of the grill is just an aesthetic function to figuratively emote the sense of sound dispersing towards you.

The remote controls everything, from power, audio modes, and even more advance controls like treble and bass for a customized listening experience. The bass in the system is ridiculous - in a good way. I swear I could rattle bones with it. In fact I had to turn the bass levels way down so as not to disturb my neighbors. Playing lossless encoded files from my iPod or a CD really helps the system shine. I can’t describe in words how crisp the sound is. It’s remarkable when you can literally “feel” it. Now of course if you don’t have an iPod, any MP3 player with a standard 3.5 mm jack will work. It just doesn’t look as cool.

What we liked:

  • Minimal design in a variety of colors and even materials to suit any taste
  • Priced at $799, it’s superior to the B&W Zeppelin and Bose Sounddock and has a built-in CD player
  • It takes up much less room than other systems of this caliber
  • The all-in-one design is perfect for those looking to escape messy cabling
  • You can hook it up to the TV
  • Handy remote is dummy proof and controls everything
  • FM turner is very clear considering there’s no ugly exterior antenna
  • Slot-load CD player is very fast and loads music quickly, also plays MP3s

What could be improved:

  • Not shielded from iPhone TDMA interference. A buzzing sound can sometimes be heard tho very rare
  • Remote is unable to navigation playlists on iPhone

Designer: Genevalab [ Buy it here ]

No Tags

Touchphone For The Blind

Posted: 15 Jun 2009 12:03 AM PDT

The B-Touch mobile phone takes the iPhone touchscreen revolution a step ahead by incorporating innovate features to make a touchscreen cellphone for the blind. Limitation of senses does not hinder the sensitivity of this phone coz it combines technologies of blind-touch screen (Braille), voice systems and programs to function as regular phone, navi-system, book reader and object recognizer. Take a look at the video after the jump to understand it better.

Designer: Zhenwei You

Back to the Table II

Posted: 15 Jun 2009 12:01 AM PDT

So you know that one movie where the fruit stand comes down from the ceiling? That was neat. Here’s a whole table that does that! It’s the interactive type, all the most excellent things you’d want in a table, recipes, morning calendars, and games. It’s made for meals and parties, and sometimes for along times in the morning. And for easy cleaning! So simple in future land!

Check out the most amazing details on this table of the gods made by Guopeng Liang - it’s called “Levi.table” and the power cord is totally in the wires!

The only thing I need on this is pong. And galactica, and pacman. Or Miss Pacman.

Designer: Guopeng Liang

, , , , , ,

Throw Some Light On Your Speaker

Posted: 15 Jun 2009 12:00 AM PDT

Not to be confused with the conceptual SoundBulb that we so admired, The Sound Bulb Speaker seen here is a speaker shaped like your typical light bulb. Basically we are talking about a LED light bulb that hosts a transformer, a speaker, and a wireless receiver to stream music from your iPod, PC, mobile phone, etc. Featuring a standard Edison thread you can screw this on to almost any holder. It also consists of a protective wire mesh or hood and a translucent frosted plastic shell to support the work-dynamics. Neat idea, but I don't this I'd be using them in my expensive cut-glass chandelier.

Designer: Armada

, , , , ,

No comments: