The Design blog

Who’s got the time for family dinners these days? We all know that sitting down at table over the dinner has always been one of the best ways for the families to bond and connect. And Turkish designer Fatih Can Sarıöz in keen on reviving this time-tested bonding habit with his special dinner furniture. Dubbed as Kure, it is designed like a flower that opens up to a full-fledged dinning table. Shaped as a sphere when close, it can occupy any corner of the house. And only when the sun sets down, you can bring Kure to life. Fitted with a light source in the center, the base too glows with blue light.

There are numerous cars designed for the future where gasoline wouldn’t be easily available but, none of them can proudly say that the concepts or values used by them are of any significance apparently. It is here where the AirPod supersedes its challengers as it employs an air compressing format which is capable of bringing the pistons into motion, ultimately moving the commuter.

In the world where jostling for vantage points gets intensified, more than ever, portable retail stores seem almost a compulsion. The company – Singapore-based Grandstand PTE LTD – that hit upon Venue VBOX a while ago has hit upon yet another novel concept. This time around it brings home a modular and mobile pop-up nightclub. Tagged ‘Aqua’, this grooving pop-up venue takes party to a location, which is most suitable for business. Made form old-out “transformer” units, the Aqua is mobile and guarantees a dance floor that keeps on rocking, never short of customers or their dancing shoes. The unit comes in shipping containers and as soon as ‘popped-out’ transforms into a two-storey-high structure, with a bar capable of housing as many as 500 guests at a time. The Aqua comes with all the amenities desirable of a modern lifestyle concept, what with its sleek looks, controllable climate and a host of AV equipments.

This sculpted lamp in rich black lacquer can be easily mistaken for just another whim of a budding designer. But Prop’s personality runs deeper than its looks. The triangular heart of the acrylic lamp is formed by three laser-cut pieces that augment the strength of light being poured, without increasing figures of energy consumption. The gloss finish not only adds to the haute appeal of the lamp, but works as a reflecting surface. As the maker, Steve Watson, points out that Prop’s basic instinct is of a lampshade, but yet puts it atop with ideas of low-energy and minimum wastage.

Convertible objects are no longer a big deal in the design world. But the idea of a convertible workplace or structure could be whimsical and some may even rubbish such thoughts. Michael Jantzen’s M-Velope could be a fantasy-movie inspired concept. The transformable structure stands 15′ high, 14′ wide, and 17′ deep and features hinged wooden panels fixed on steel frame. The design owes its durability and strength to Accoya wood and the panels are flexible enough to let you assemble a space for yourself, be it for anything.

Talk about space saving designs, this monobike sits atop them all. Not just that it chooses a single wheel theme, it even houses the entire mechanism inside the wheel, speaking about the enormous ability the designer has. Single wheel bikes apparently lack admiration, but this one would change the way the automotive critics think.

We have seen almost every product getting draped in the eco-friendly attire. It sometimes appears as if designers and technologists are hell bent on delivering an environment safe alternative for everything. The Transparent Surfboard by Atelier Yanagi can open a new ‘green’ arena for sports equipment. The ace-maker of sport equipments is working on a surfboard made out of 100 % recyclable material with no compromise on performance and safety.

With dozens of high-tech yet user-friendly cameras surfacing in the market, almost every Tom, Dick and Harry have mastered the art of photography. But Mac Funamizu intends to make it simpler with his Camera concept. Shaped like sunglasses, Mac has dared to reshape the gadget used for capturing images. However such a sunglass camera can instigate monkey business in public places. Can you imagine some one walking down the street with such sunglasses and capturing images of everybody without their consent? Going by images, there isn’t any difference with respect to looks between original sunglasses and this camera.

Design can compliment utility products like a tea brewing kit to admirable limits but, that can only happen when someone is given a theme as trendy as-design an experience of brewing tea. Ideas alone cannot make you successful, and you need a brain that materializes it successfully and this is what has exactly happened with the Reiki ForU, which makes tea brewing an extremely personal affair.

The future promises to be green as I lay my eyes on the ‘Twirl house’ set up. In contrast to the current urban skyline crammed with concrete sky-scrappers, this sprawling complex stands out for its out-of-the-box design. Architect Julien De Smedt has conceived a futuristic housing complex set up in the lush green landscape. Intending to retain the original flow of the nature, he has visualized the Twirl house set up for the Ao-di site, located on the northeastern coast of Taiwan for NEXT-GENE project. Signifying the need to bring the nature and humans closer, this development makes the best of the nature’s renderings.

We need to be thinking about a stage where no form of gas would be any good, and mobility would face the toughest challenge of its kind. It is themes like electromagnetism which would keep us going. Cars would have to be developed with the ability of self-recharge even when they would pause for a second. Cellogan would be a familiar name in that era as it satisfies all the aforesaid conditions. The use of so much technology would no way mean that the ethical criteria of car design wouldn’t be met with as speed and performance are a promise from the designer.

Seeing a cute little alien on your teapot might not be the best way to kick-start your day, but can evoke mixed reactions from visitor. The UFO teapot features a silvery crème color and is a major shift from the same floral and cartoon-headed fixtures. The guys at NerdApproved suggest that this teapot shows the healthy side of an alien, which are otherwise projected to be skinny extra-terrestrials.

If your obsession for class-apart bikes remains prolific, this Fighter Motorcycle will further fuel the fire. The strength of your vocabulary can easily crumble into pieces in case you tried associating just one word this Fighter baby. Sparks of chauvinism fly from every detail of this motorcycle for the typical machine look is carefully crafted with performance capabilities that have no parallel. Combining the strength of titanium, carbon fiber and aluminum in its skeleton, the bike features a feat of 190 mph along with 64″ wheelbase, 27″H seat and integrated braking system.

Useful products decked with great design and extra functionalities always manage to win over hearts. But a compromise on the basic feature of the product in the light of “designer” quotient cannot be conceded upon. The Fedlar Walkie-Talkie is one such product. With tinkling LED’s on the boundary of this 2-way radio and an embedded compass, the designer has surely lifted up the style podium for walkie-talkies. But absence of GPS capabilities connotes flaws of the design and is not suitable for expedition in weak communication environments.

Ergonomic Designs that adore green-living are the need of the day, and the Wood Station exactly satiates this requirement. It is a weather forecasting device that has been “carved” out of wood, and it even furnishes the time and date at the same time. In a décor where green living inspired products find a place, this one would just quietly find a place for itself.