Yanko Design - Latest Posts |  |
| Posted: 25 Feb 2009 05:40 AM PST As a part of the Inspectorbots series of Wireless Video Inspection Robots, the Delta Unit prides itself at being an affordable surveillance and reconnaissance bot. Its been specifically designed for situations where you would want to call the SWAT or the Hazmat team. Quite like the RC car that you like to play with, the Delta moves ahead and beams back live footage of the hostile scenario to the control center, without putting lives at risk. The unit comes equipped with a pan/tilting camera and can be additionally fitted with sensors to detect various poisonous gasses or radiation levels of the concerned environment. Featuring an aircraft grade, anodized aluminum chassis, this bot can withstand quite a bit of kaboom action. For those willing to fork out $6000 in the name of personal security, Inspectorbots is taking in advanced orders for "select US customers." Designer: Chris Rogers        |
| Posted: 25 Feb 2009 05:08 AM PST Bono…oh Bono! I would do anything for you. I will even humor this cool looking Zik MP3 player that endorses Product Red along with Sony. Funnily, Sony is not even a part of the project, but that doesn't stop designer Harold Terosier a bit. Bluetooth, recycled plastic, docking station, USB, the usual gamut packed into a 3-centimeter pendant player. Designer: Harold Terosier     |
| Eels Inspire This Fish And Chips Joint Posted: 25 Feb 2009 04:49 AM PST Being vegetarian gives me two advantages; I don't care if they don't serve me eels for my dinner and I don't care if this one-time-staple has turned into a delicacy (read expensive). However aquariums and marine life do excite me enough to explore what dear Henrik has envisioned for the tidal weir on river Clyde, Glasgow. His project looks at taking advantage of the two distinct ecosystems that exists due to the change from fresh water to salt water within the river estuaries. Thanks to the favorable environment, the Anguilla (European eel) has made a comeback to the waters of Clyde. Hence he proposes to build a huge observation space, which showcases this elusive fish right from the breeding stages, to how attractive it can look on your dinner plate. On The Threshold, Fish Restaurant And Breeding Facility plans on including a breeding lab, a fresh water aquarium containing glass eels and elvers, a salt water growing vessel containing silver eels, Drying Area, Smoking Pipe, kitchen and restaurant. Designer: Henrik Width Kristiansen     |
| Posted: 25 Feb 2009 01:00 AM PST This is the story of one product evolution from idea, through design, prototype and finally production. You might notice how the idea came, how the initial design was flawed but then solved in prototype. The path from idea to reality is full of branches, some in market position, some in design detail and others in production. I hope you enjoy this story of the little trailer that almost did. Contributer: Zippy Flounder ALPHA TRAILER In the process of walking around the InterBike, trade show I happened upon a booth selling bicycle trailers. These trailers are used for hauling children or cargo, I was surprised at how primitive they were and the high price they were getting. These current units were bent alloy tube and tent fabric giving lightweight but no structure and an appearance of a tent on wheels. I talked to a few people and learned that they were selling a lot of them and the market was growing so I decided that this might be a good market to look into. I borrowed an existing unit from a local dealer, did an analysis of it as well as some testing, and came up with some key features that I felt would provide some real benefits. The use of suspension was a hot button in bicycling then as now and I knew from racing sports cars that an unsuspended vehicle was not only uncomfortable for the passenger but also less stable. I did a simple test with the borrowed unit loading it to the weight of one child and running over a 2×4 to simulate a pothole or rock in the roadway. The result was even more impressive than expected; the trailer wheel jumped up a full 6 inches off the ground and if the pothole were hit during, a turn would cause the trailer and child to flip over. I knew that a 2 inch deep pot hole was not that uncommon even in the city and given that the trailer wheels were outside of the path the bicycle the rider may not even notice one coming up and avoid it. I decided to develop a simple adjustable suspension system for the bicycle trailer with safety and comfort as the key consumer benefits. After looking at and experimenting with a number of systems I decided on a simple trailing arm axle with three elastrometric bands on an arm for the suspension medium and adjustment. This suspension system drove the rest of the product design with its vacuumed formed hull giving better seating and safety as well as fully enclosed wheels. The prototype was built and the initial testing proceeded to validate the safety and comfort aspects. In testing not only would the trailer stay stable and not tip even when encountering a 6 inch deep pot hole but the ride was so comfortable that younger children tended to fall asleep while being towed, something that did not happen in the other trailers. In trial use, other features that could be added made themselves apparent. One of the purported uses of the bike trailers was to go some place with the children and then do something else, like go to the store or park. It was obvious that with my design the inclusion of a caster font wheel would in effect make the trailer a stroller when uncoupled from the bike. This gave far more utility and prevented the bike trailer from being stolen when the riders were away. This added feature required engineering of a new type of universal bicycle attachment that facilitated easy decoupling. This was accomplished in due course with out violating any existing patents and tested. The test group really liked the new features and benefits as well as the automotive look of the product that exuded higher value. The perception was it was safer for the child and much more user friendly for the parents. After considering, approaching the existing trailer companies and factoring in the new design utilized very different production methods I decided to sell the license to the product to a startup company for a royalty and license fee with the agreement that I would bring the product to market for them. This proceeded well even though I had misgivings as to their ability to garner sufficient capital to execute the project properly. The production design began with some modifications to the original design to allow for easy vacuum forming of the product and higher usability of the top. The new top had not only a windscreen but also a bug screen that could be quickly attached as well as a transparent rain cover. This high visibility not only kept the children happy but also gave piece of mind to the parent who could look back and see their child. Production development was almost complete when we decided that we could offer as an option a "jogger" package. This package consisted of a plug in push bar and a plug in 16" front wheel with hand brake supplanting the small castor wheel. The product was now complete and production prototypes were built and readied for the InterBike trade show. The production unit had these features and benefits. FEATURES
BENEFITS
The Alfa trailer was judged to be one of the top 10 most innovative products of the 1993 InterBike trade show and we had many dealers signing up, later the Alfa was also the only bike trailer to be approved for use on public roads in Germany. Production problems ensued compounded by the inexperience of the startup company and their under capitalization. The problems were compounded when the licensing company in violation of its contract with me did not proceed with patent protection allowing competitors to replicate key features into their own products. The net effect was the company folded but many of the key features pioneered by the Alfa are on bicycle trailers to this day, the stroller ability, hard shell body, panoramic view, and suspension and jogger conversion. The following pictures show the evolution of the Alfa from foam core mock up through the final production units as delivered worldwide.     |
| My Car Draws on the Fear of Other Cars Posted: 25 Feb 2009 12:00 AM PST It may be quite obvious, once you view the entire car, that this is a vehicle made for speed. It draws inspiration from a list of flora and fauna, but designer André Lyngra syphons down sources to two: the leopard and the stingray. It sits there, poised for an explosion of power, looking both elegant and aggressive; organic and strong. Behold, the SixNine Performace Car. Its curvatures, pulled from the stingray, are “mixed in this form to increase sculptural value as well as organic expression.” And whose lines, like the leopard, “highlighted in the moment when it is ready to attacks its pray.” Molded in a way that optimizes aerodynamics at high speeds and visuals for high times at the speed track. How to turn! And how fast, you might ask? Alas, I have no statistics to share with you on this project. Unless of course, as in many cases at Yanko, you press the designer (André Lyngra) to move this project forward and actually whip up a real-life working model! Interest breeds grant money y’all. Designer: André Lyngra     |
| Get Korean Chic With The Mashimaro mp3 Player Posted: 24 Feb 2009 06:35 PM PST As a sort of dirty mouthed, toilet humor version of Hello Kitty, Mashimaro takes a spot as one of the iconic cartoon figures in Korea. Enter the ultimate Mashimaro mp3 player, its nine hours of audio-only playback allows formats like MP3, WMA, OGG, ASF, WAV and APE. Not exactly groundbreaking in design and functionality, but you can’t deny the allure of obscure Korean cultural references and the jealousy it will inspire in all your other white friends. Also note the appropriately placed Aux input after the jump. Designer: Soricom     |
| Posted: 24 Feb 2009 10:31 AM PST Future mass transportation has to change if we’re to cope with the number of motorized vehicles doubling to 1.3 billion by 2020. Cars are getting smaller, trains and buses are getting bigger and faster but what about the taxi? They’re the “other” modes of public transport in mega cities like Tokyo. The Taxi Tokyo concept takes theories set forth by Ford Motors about how mass city transport is to work in the near future. Imagine a taxi consisting of a drive unit and separate passenger unit. The passenger units sit at predetermined check points. People get in and set their destination, swipe their card, and wait for the timely drive units to dock and take them on their way. The computer interface even accounts for multiple passengers and destinations. Ultimately the first passenger is the one to decide who he/she lets in. Designer: Eva Marit Toftum     |
| Posted: 24 Feb 2009 10:30 AM PST The Boom Food Restaurant is an amazing concept by where the dining experience is treated like an entertainment venue. World renowned chefs are invited to cook for their guests. Diners buy “tickets” to enjoy the food, theme, music, and even lighting all designed by the chef. There are even spots for live cooking demos by the chefs and even their sous. The restaurant architecture has its own rhythm that oscillates between exuberance and sobriety. It leads you along a path filled with liaisons, sudden changes and explosions in form and texture. A mixed space with elegant details, where the classic French decor has been dissected, dispersed and reassembled, and the furniture, stretched here, truncated there, has its own original composition. The area is divided into four separate spaces: the entrance, the bar for the first half of the show, the main dining room and back-stage are the kitchens and corridors. Legendary elements from classical architecture have been hijacked and placed centre-stage. The great black staircase in the foyer is just an abstraction, an enormous piece of furniture: it doesn't go anywhere. Just some steps to sit on while you wait. The vast LED chandelier above the bar screams tech. The unexpected interplay of luxurious mouldings in the dining area forms a three-dimensional fresco. Boom Food is different in its sleek, contrasting atmosphere. The decor, furniture and black SPKR plates plunge us into the concert hall's muffled, shadowy atmosphere. The discreet, intermittent lighting acts as a metronome. It introduces, directs and follows, training its spotlight on whatever needs to be seen. The introductory notes come with the fire equaliser in the foyer. A visual display, dancing pink flames rise and fall in response to the treble and bass notes of a musical score. The restaurant area is infinitely modifiable. It lends itself to multiple configurations: jazz cuisine, pop rock, a symphony or a private performance. Diners in the “stalls” sit at orthogonal tables on Cabriolet chairs, in conductor black and white. The design was inspired by a period composition, brought up to date. The wood shell is upholstered with white leather cushions and stops at table height so as not to detract from the horizontal perspective. “Circle seats” are slightly raised to convey a feeling of privacy. Their design was inspired by musicians' flight cases. Diners sit opposite each other on two bench seats. Made entirely from acoustic materials, all sound within is hushed for fully-focused comfort. Designer: Studio FRST     |
| This Bike Is Missing Some Tubes Posted: 24 Feb 2009 10:00 AM PST Most bikes make use of two back to back triangles in what’s called a diamond frame to give structure and support to all the myriad elements of a bicycle. This Wire Bike from designer Ionut Predescu instead relies on tensegrity to leverage the tensile strength of Kevlar wire against the compression strength of but two carbon fiber tubes. The end result is a theoretically lighter bicycle where the rider and his seat seems to float against the rest of the bike through the tension of the cables. Designer: Ionut Predescu     |
| Posted: 24 Feb 2009 07:10 AM PST Those fun loving Greeks are at it again. First there was naked wrestling with invading Persians, now the Greek design team known as “GREECE IS FOR LOVERS” brings us this “Tougher Than Leather” skateboard design. Looking right at home riding rails along the Parthenon or down to your local gyro stand, this leather urban luge was originally designed for the “7ply Project” exhibition, organised by Propaganda Rolling Co, in May 2008. And yes, I realize those are Roman numerals and not Greek numbers up there but as the old saying goes: “IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME….” (rimshot). Designer: Greece Is For Lovers Studio     |
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