Yanko Design - Latest Posts

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• Switches That Barge Out Of The Walls
• Double Crossing Tap
• Bicycle Built For The Dutchess
• How to Present like a Pro!
• Spice Rack Grind Deluxe!
• Another Hygiene Standard Flow
• What Time is it? It’s Time to Refill

Switches That Barge Out Of The Walls Posted: 24 Nov 2009 04:47 AM PST Adding a dash of retro to modern functionality is always fun. Sometimes you get eccentric fashion like these Switchplate Covers that pop inches off the walls. Quirky and appealing all the same, they are ideal for someone like my mom who always has a lack of surfaces to display her crystals and knick-knacks. Designers: Liz Kinnmark & Kegan Fisher [ Buy Stwitchplate Covers for $8 each @ the YD Store ] Switchplate Covers are available for $8 each @ the YD Store

Double Crossing Tap Posted: 24 Nov 2009 03:41 AM PST I wonder why no one thought of this before; what the Cycle-Basin is proposing here is very simple. Depending upon what you use the tap water for, you decide whether the gray water can be recycled or not, and then accordingly use the bottom tap to drain out the water into a bucket or let it go down the drain…literally. If you're cleaning up some veggies, then naturally you can recycle that water for watering your plants. Get the drift? Designers: Jie Hu, Hanwu Lin, Ran An, YuanFeng & Xianjing Zhang

Bicycle Built For The Dutchess Posted: 24 Nov 2009 03:19 AM PST Any woman who gets to ride this beauty called Cannondale Dutchess, is gonna be wearing a broad grin on her face. A classy dame with sufficient innovations to make an impact, this cycle is more than what Daisy could have asked for! Speaking of innovations, here's what it's got: The rear fender acts is a structural part of the frame and allows the carrier to hold up to 50kgs of weight. An arch connects the bicycle from the handlebars to the tail light, enhancing the visual appeal of this traditional Old Dutch bicycle. Quick Facts: The bike in total weighs under 14kgs and this apparently a tradition with Cannondale. Gearing and transmission are fully enclosed, allowing the bicycle to be ridden in formal clothing and at any speed. The hub brakes are self-adjusting to compensate brake pad wear and since the brake lines are integrated into the frame, they can double act as wheel locks by folding the levers into the handlebars. Adjustable handlebars allow for different riding positions and can be folded together for easy storage or used for locking the bicycle securely to a fixed object. Both the headlamp and the taillight are integrated. The concept also contains a modular luggage solution, kickstand and a pedal assist, but these were not yet incorporated in the prototype. Credits: in collaboration with bicycle manufacturer Cannondale. Movie and Pics by Eelke Dekker Designer: Wytze van Mansum Wytze’s graduation project for Cannondale from Eelke D. on Vimeo.

How to Present like a Pro! Posted: 24 Nov 2009 01:23 AM PST One skill many designers should often work on is presentation. Designers of all levels can always benefit from a little more jazz in their presentations. Don't know about you guys, but imagining my audience naked never worked for me!  The thing to note about presentations is that it is not just about standing up in front of an audience or spending nights rehearsing, presentations are really all about communication. It is about getting your point across in a clear and concise manner. Here are a few tips that can help improve your technique and hopefully also make you a much better communicator. 1. Stand Depending on the size of the audience or even the size of the room, it is a lot more impressive if the presenter stands. It denotes expertise, authority and shows your audience that you take the presentation seriously. Even in design critiques with small groups of designers, standing makes a difference. Another thing I really like about standing is that it allows you to be closer to the screen or focal object. While you are there, you can take the opportunity to point directly onto the screen to highlight points. Being that close to the content makes you a lot more engaging. That being said, try your best to avoid those laser pointers. It sometimes comes across as cold and may alienate your audience. If you need to point at a large screen and you are not tall enough, walk towards the projector source and make a "shadow puppet" with your finger. 2. Eye Contact Good eye contact is one of the most important things to in a presentation. It engages the audience by allowing them to feel as if you are talking to them and not to your note cards or the floor. It also allows you to control the flow of the presentation by judging their reactions or responses. Though important, this is also one of the hardest things to do and requires a lot of practice. One trick I’ve learned to help the discomfort is to look between someone’s eyes or focus on one eye rather than both. The worst case is to look over the top of the audiences' head and below especially if there are women in the audience! 3. Know your content Nothing breaks the flow of a presentation like a presenter that does not know their stuff. Two things happen as a result. The presenter either hems and haws or drones on and on. Get to know your content well and become the expert. 4. One slide per point When creating or constructing your presentation, try to keep your slides succinct. I will often go as far as using one slide per discussion point. Oh by the way, please “design” your PowerPoint background and type? We are designers after all. 5. Use stories to engage your audience Instead of telling jokes to break the ice, one thing I like to do is to elaborate key points by telling stories that put the audience right in the action. It is also a good way to break the flow of technical segments or if you sense that you are losing their attention. 6. Style Here is one element that will go along way in making your presentation memorable. Give your presentation a dash of style, your style preferred. I like a simple casual style, like positioning myself closer to the audience, sitting on the table or stage, or not using a microphone. Some presenters don’t use slides but only images, some use their hands a lot. I’m sure you can come up with something interesting that you would be comfortable with. 7. Speak slower and clearly Sometimes we forget that the delivery of the presentation is also just as important. I have found that if you dial down the rate of your speech and focus on clarity, you will make a much better impact. It also helps you to think, as sometimes people tend to speak faster than they think. Another thing to note is the sound of your voice.  If your voice is naturally high pitched – try slightly deepening it. The best way to find out is to record your voice and listen. 8. Timing and Pacing A presentation running on a good rhythm has good timing and pacing. Be fully aware of the time you are taking at different intervals of your presentations and spend more or less time depending on the impact you want to create. Mixing it all up also helps manage monotony. Also take note of the total presentation time you have and plan your delivery accordingly. Decide upfront if you want to be interrupted during the presentation or to leave questions to the end. If you can think on your feet then it does get audience participation up. If you are not that confident, do announce to the audience that you will only be taking questions at the end. This brings us to the next point. 9. Anticipate the questions It does help calm the nerves; if you anticipate all the possible questions your audience may ask you during your presentation. It is also great for credibility. 10. Practice Finally practice, practice and practice! Take the effort to rehearse either privately, in front of a mirror or with your team. If you don’t have the time, I find it useful to run the entire presentation in your head and visualize your lines. At the end of the day though nothing beats real practice. ———- Brian is a multidisciplinary industrial design leader that goes under the pseudonym of “The Design Translator”. He muses about the art of design leadership and the business of strategic industrial design over at his website Design Sojourn. He often laments the lack of good soy mochas and Italian pizzas (with Rocket and shredded Parma ham) in Asia.

Spice Rack Grind Deluxe! Posted: 24 Nov 2009 12:15 AM PST It’s not called that. Spice Rack Grind Deluxe is what I’m going to be calling MY spice rack. The one you’re viewing here is called the “Vue” system. It’s one of those things that I know you love more than anything else: a spice rack! Only this time, the rack isn’t just a rack. The rack is the proud holder of seven, (count them!,) seven container/grinders for your entire needs-grinding spice fantasy life! This rack was inspired by “one of nature’s most elegant forms, the cocoon.” Each container is called a “pod” can be either glass or stainless steel. Each pod has it’s own individual grinder for super fresh spice. Each pod is held up by a magnetic-assisted hook system. Each pod is super elegant. The grinder is made up of three parts: the cone, the rubberized overmold, and the stainless steel grinding teeth. The cone is for funneling, the rubber is for grip, and the teeth are for griding to shreds. Designer: James Kershaw aka JKersh

Another Hygiene Standard Flow Posted: 24 Nov 2009 12:10 AM PST From Docta Ecological Consciousness. What! What! Representing the flexible bathroom environment. Word up. Really though, look at this bathroom. It’s called “Another Bathroom” and it’s designed by Felipe Ribon. It’s just fabulous. The questions it asks are how we could keep high hygiene standards in a flexible bathroom environment, and ALSO enjoy it with ecological consciousness? Harsh limits! EDITORS NOTE: *I always try to write an interesting title to a post. This one seemed to turn into a rap lyric so I kept on boppin for the first few sentences. Here’s how we do it. Here’s how Felipe Ribon’s bathroom does it. A series of textile basins and a line of variable flow faucets. You can see the textile basing being stretched by the shirtless man below onto a basin that’ll collect water. Its plain to see a bunch of the benefits. But there’s more to it than what meets the eye. The fabric used in this project is nano-technic. They’re bacteria free, waterproof, removable, cleanable in the washing machine. There are 3 areas where this system is applied in this WC: 1. A wall basin for washing the face and head. 2. A platform basin to wash the upper body. 3. A cabinet basin to wash the entire body (the bath-looking green one). In addition, there are several low flow faucets that reduce water consumption and can be taken apart and washed in the sink or dish washer. There are four different faucets. 1. Geode: the largest, variable geometry, adjustable head for 3 different types of water jet. 2. Savonnette: the hockey-puck looking faucet, designed to fit in the palm. 3. Sprinkler: the tiny mushroom, jet mist for moisturizing the skin. 4. Stylet: the pen sized faucet, precise and intimate, generates very strong jet of water for accurate cleaning, good for teeth for example. Not for the once-a-month laundry family! Designer: Felipe Ribon

What Time is it? It’s Time to Refill Posted: 24 Nov 2009 12:01 AM PST Marty! It’s time to turn your clock back upside right. This is a wristwatch that’s got two titles. Alternates, if you will: one is “Liquid Time” while the alternative is “From Nowhere to Nowhere.” And as you may have guessed, this wristwatch has a clever little take oh how the 5th dimension TIME works. Liquid Time utilizes two LCD screens specially crafted to fit the watch as well as some very clever typography (yes, numbers count, too!) Check out the images below to see how each number fits special into the watch. Then decide if it’s going to match your tshirt and jeans combo. Designer: Andy Kurovets

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