Yanko Design - Latest Posts

London Tap Water, Now With 100% More Glass

Posted: 19 Sep 2008 09:38 AM CDT

The London On Tap competition posted its shortlist of finalists this past week. The competition sought unique carafe designs that would encourage Londoners to drink plain tap water rather than over priced, over packaged bottled water. To wit, London tap water is 500 times cheaper than the average bottled alternative and involves 300 times less CO2 to process. The featured one here (read: my pick for winner) was done by Matthew Fiddimore and references the Thames with its plunging spout.

On the surface of things, using a carafe to sell water seems about as logical as selling oranges by the merits of a wicker basket. In reality however, we all have a very hard time differentiating a product from its packaging, often subconsciously believe one to be an intimate reflection of the other. This of course makes sense, a Rolex housed in a paper bag on Canal st. is much different from one in an original, velvet lined box with gold trim bought from an upscale jeweler.

It remains to be seen whether any of these carafes can go toe to toe with a plastic bottle and its fancy graphics, but it’s worth a try. For a special gold star, see if any of you can find the carafe that has two uses, one of which has nothing to do with water and is completely inappropriate.

London on Tap

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It’s Tea Time! Sorapot Review

Posted: 19 Sep 2008 07:56 AM CDT

It’s here, we got it and have been drinking tea like there’s no tomorrow - Joey Roth’s Sorapot. How excited was I to open such a beautifully packaged teapot! It’s important to note all the packaging materials are 100% recycled. The Sorapot is a modern teapot, with its architectural shape and simple functionality designed to bring the quiet beauty of tea and brewing tea into focus. How well does it perform? Hit the jump for our review.

The Sorapot is made from 304 stainless steel and borosilicate glass (think Pyrex). Score 1 for Joey since any tea connoisseur knows loose leaf tea should ONLY be brewed in steel, ceramic, or glass. Cheap aluminum based brewers impart a nasty metallic taste, especially to more delicate white and green teas. The Sorapot is so handsome, so well made. It’s extremely robust but I couldn’t help from treating it like a fine piece of china. It’s hefty and makes enough tea for two 8 oz. cups.

There’s a central support rod that screws together to hold the top and bottom ends taught. The steel frame is jointed in the center along the handle. Unscrew to remove the steel frame from the glass cylinder. Place your loose leaf tea inside, then reassemble. Pour water thru the spout and voile!

What we liked

Beautifully constructed steel, glass, and silicone. High grade materials. Hefty and solid.
Steel is beautifully polished.
Not made of cheap aluminum.
The glass cylinder allows you to watch tea leaves unfurl. It’s like a little dance in there.
All metal parts seem to have been treated. No rusting or corrision.
Easy clean up. Just rinse out the cylinder and run water thru the spout to dislodge any tea leaves.

What could be improved

I wish there was hinged cap on the spout - to keep all heat from escaping while brewing.
The built-in sieve works perfectly fine for big loose leaf teas but doesn’t capture small leaf teas like roobis. Many of the tiny leaves passed thru into my cup. Maybe if the diameter of the sieve holes were a tad smaller, it would help without restricting water.

The Sorapot is $200 for the original brushed steel (the one in this review) and $250 for the very sought after mirror polished. I say without hesitation this is well worth the price if you’re a tea lover (I drink 4-6 cups a day). Sure you can find many cheaper stainless steel brewers but I challenge you to find one that looks as beautiful as the Sorapot. This is a teapot I don’t hide in the cupboards. It proudly sits on my kitchen counter strategically placed under cabinet lighting. Congrats to Joey for designing a such a lovely product.

Designer: Joey Roth [ Buy It Here ]

Joey Roth

A Game for the Mentally and Dexterously Gifted

Posted: 19 Sep 2008 07:24 AM CDT

Mobius PLAY is a toy/puzzle by designers Paul Sandip and Suhasini. It challenges manual dexterity and mental concentration. The toy constitutes a continuous mobius ring having its ends permanently joined together and a dual snout magnetic roller. One has to hold the mobius ring in one hand and try to move the magnetic roller along the track. Just looking at it and trying to figure out how. . . is brain teasing me. Beautiful concept - a toy sexy enough to stand as an art piece.

Designer: Paul Sandip & Suhasini Paul

The Webble Review, Footrest for Happy Feet!

Posted: 19 Sep 2008 06:48 AM CDT

We wrote about the Webble Active Footrest by BriteObjects last year. Since then we’ve received quite a few inquires about its purpose and effectiveness. We’re happy to announce the Webble is now market ready and on sale. We’ve been using one for about a month so if you’ve got happy feet and want to know if Webble can make them even happier, check out our review after the jump.

First lets explain what the Webble is since there’s been confusion. It’s a footrest on wheels. That’s the gist of it. How it works, the patented technology inside it, and health benefits are variables that make it more than an ordinary footrest and one that not only looks good but delivers on its promise.

At the core of the idea is the concept of wellness. Webble bases much of its inspiration from decades of research into the physiological benefits of increased leg activity while seated. I work hours on end seated, sometimes without moving my legs. The Webble strangly encourages me to constantly shift them around. To clarify, we’re not talking about restless leg syndrome nor is this a treatment for it. This is about giving your legs something to do. The Webble sits on four wheels allowing smooth movement from almost any direction, given the limitations of the human hip. There are also springs inside to let your feet bounce up and down. The cushion is made of a dense foam or cellulose material, covered in mesh netting.

What we liked

I hadn’t realized it before but sitting with my feet flat and slightly elevated made sitting for hours a little more comfortable. I even noticed a little less strain in my lower back.
The Webble is very well built. Sturdy plastic with an awesome cushioning system.
The wheels move oh so silky on both smooth and carpeted surfaces. The springs have just enough tension in them for a little bounce.
The weight seems to be evenly distributed. It never felt like it wanted to flip over from all the bouncing and moving I was doing.
Big or little feet. This is one size fits all. I wear a size 11 (yes those are my shoes) and my office mates range from a 6 womens - 13 mens (U.S. sizes).
Very sleek. After all this is a design blog. Love the way it looks.

What could be improved

It’s inevitable for a footrest to get quite dirty. Shoes track all kinds of nasty grit and grime. There doesn’t seem to be an easy way to clean the foam cushion with the netting over it. One would have to dismantle the Webble to properly spot clean it.
It’s a bit noisy on hardwood and concrete floors.

Priced at $199 and available in 3 colors (red, black, silver), the Webble isn’t exactly cheap. It may be hard to convince consumers to spend that kind of money on a footrest. It’s key to remember this is a product that follows the “try it” ethos. You’d be surprise how much you’ll like it. Several of my office mates tried it and found it “fun and relaxing”. Even the office dogs liked it. If any of you do purchase one, please let us know what you think.

On a side note, huge congratulations to BriteObjects on finally launching the Webble. It’s always awesome to see concepts make it to market. Good luck guys!

Designer: BriteObjects [ Buy It Here ]

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Make Dinning Delicacies with Ease

Posted: 19 Sep 2008 06:08 AM CDT

The Sook Cut is a three-part concept by Adam Brodowski that makes delicious meals out of ingredients you may not know how to combine. The cutting board (Sook Cut) contains a moisture sensor, scale, and electronic tongue to determine what food is being prepped, then sends that information to the Sook Touch to generate a delicious recipe!

The Sook Touch is a touch sensitive display that lists recipes, detailed nutrional information, and stores a library of ingredients. You can touch and drag ingredients to build custom recipes and save them for upload to website.

The final piece of the puzzle is the Sook Dock. Not only does it charge the Sook Cut and Touch appliances, it also works as an RFID scanner to identify what foods are nearby and add them to the Sook Touch database.

Of course this wouldn’t be an Electrolux design entry if it didn’t embrace how we might communicate in the future. When you’ve finished cooking, the Sook Touch takes a snapshot of your creation, then syncs with a social cooking site. Apply tags and even invite other users to comment and tweak your recipes.

The entire system sounds incredibly complicated. I could never imagine my parents using it but then again, this was designed for the internet generation. It’s quite exciting to imagine a future where foods are so carefully organized and categorized for any consumer to use. Envisage how our foods will be prepared, how it’ll affect nutrition and perhaps the quality of life. Imagine how it could make decent cooks out of even the most kitchen challenged.

Designer: Adam Brodowski

Adam Brodowski

It’s a Bathub. No it’s a Chair. Wait What?

Posted: 18 Sep 2008 03:25 PM CDT

Lounge chairs and bathtubs have one thing in common, people relax in them. Beyond that the similarities end and you wouldn’t think it would be possible to fuse the two but designer Baek-Ki Kim has done just that. Seatub is a concept lounge chair, one that looks like your tub got up, walked thru a “shrink-er-rizer” and relocated in your living room. The inspiration behind it is abstract - the exploration of combining objects with different functions seems as distant as the old adage “apples and oranges”. I have no idea how you sit in it but the legs are so cute and precious.

Designer: Baek-Ki Kim

Baek Ki Kim

Cook Top Vesta for the Small, Tight, and Cramped

Posted: 18 Sep 2008 02:37 PM CDT

Matthias Pinkert must have had me in mind when he designed the Cook Top Vesta, one of this year’s entries in the Electrolux design competition. For people constantly on the go, living in apartments where kitchen, living, closet, and sleeping all seem to blend into one. The Cook Top Vesta is a fold down cooking surface. Flip the top up when not in use to access a prep surface. It’ll also read RFID enabled food packaging to a certain proper cook times and even suggest recipes, if say all you got is a box of dry rotini pasta.

Designer: Matthias Pinkert

Matthias Pinkert

Tapeworm, the Good Kind

Posted: 18 Sep 2008 01:37 PM CDT

Tapeworm is a strip that slides into any roll of tape for an instant tape dispenser. Due to the high yield strength of the material used, Tapeworm returns to its original flat shape despite significant bending and tension. It’s also friendly to you stomach and intestinal track so no worries there.

Designer: Paul Sandip

Paul Sandip

Real Physical Tweets

Posted: 18 Sep 2008 11:50 AM CDT

Microbloggers rejoice, Marc Owens has made a machine that makes it possible to update your status offline. The Receipt Clock’s only function is to keep the time and date and print it out at the click of a button. The slip of paper you receive, plus a thought on your part, and you’ve got tweets that you can paste to the streets.

Do what you wish with your Receipt Clock receipts, I’ll be sticking them to lampposts and electrical boxes.

A moment in time stuck in space.

Receipt Clock’s designer Marc Owens has this to say, “This product allows for a more private interaction with time. The faceless clock only tells the time when the user presses the central button, the clock then prints the time and date on to the internal roll of paper, the result of which is deposited from the front slot so the user can tear it off and keep it. The 'time receipt' also has a series of printed lines which allows space for the user to write a personal message which is significant to that particular moment in time.”

A wondrously simple machine for the note leavers and artistically inclined.

Designer: Marc Owens