Tag Archives: analog

Sidekick Notepad is a simple writing tool for the digital/analog hybrid workers

Posted on by

Over the years I have learned to embrace a digital + analog hybrid workflow process. While most of my work goes straight to the computer, tablet, or mobile phone that I’m working on at the moment, I still like having a pen and paper with me at all times to jot down things I’m thinking about or things I need to do. There’s something therapeutic about writing it down rather than just typing it out so products that can give me that convenience are always welcome.

Designer: Cortex

The Sidekick Notepad is basically a writing pad where you can jot things down while having a meeting or while doing your normal, every day tasks. It is designed to fit either above or under your keyboard and is meant to be your “sidekick” if you’re like me that sometimes likes to put her to-do list on paper rather than on pixels. There’s a section to put the date, a huge section for notes, and then on the side, there’s a to-do list section with checkboxes so it’s easier to tick things off.

It’s not meant to be like a journal where you keep it even after the tasks or notes have served their purpose. It’s a tear-away kind of pad where you can just tear it off and then throw it (or compile it somewhere else if that’s your thing). You can also scan your notes for posterity and then save it on your preferred notes app. It doesn’t seem to have a dedicated app that can automatically scan and store things for you so you have to do it the manual way.

The Sidekick Notepad has 60 pages of Munken Lynx paper so if you run out, you’ll have to buy a new notepad since it’s not refillable. The cover is made from something called “Extract”, a paper made from recycled coffee cups. This adds another layer of things that I love so this product seems to be created especially for people like me who still can’t let go of the analog stuff.

The post Sidekick Notepad is a simple writing tool for the digital/analog hybrid workers first appeared on Yanko Design.

Kodak Super 8 film camera revival is finally happening but there’s a huge catch

Posted on by

The Super 8 film camera has become an important part of photography history, particularly when it comes to cinematography. The distinctive design of the camera and its unique format inspired many amateurs who would later become industry veterans, and that legacy is fondly remembered and even commemorated in a 2011 movie bearing the camera’s very name. Not long after that film was released, Kodak, whose name has become closely associated with the camera, announced a new version of this beloved camera that sticks true to its unique analog experience while adding a few digital conveniences. Almost 8 years later, that camera might finally be ready to roll, but it seems that very few fans will actually be able to get their hands on it.

Designer: Kodak

The Super 8 camera can probably be credited for giving birth to home movies that are now made using smartphones. Making motion picture cameras more accessible to the masses helped aspiring moviemakers get started without having to burn through their savings. Although Super 8 cameras are actually still available today, they are already considered vintage by today’s standards, especially because of their use of physical film. That said, a faithful Super 8 successor won’t be able to win hearts unless it also stays true to that format and medium.

That’s exactly what Kodak was going for when it revealed plans to upgrade the Super 8 camera back in 2016 at CES. It would still be a film camera like its predecessors, but it would add a few convenient features taken from digital cameras. The new Super 8 would also retain the same basic shape, especially the gun-like pistol grip that has become iconic of the camera’s design. There’s an addition of a top handle with an integrated run button for more difficult angles. It does modernize the aesthetic, though, adopting a more industrial appearance with plenty of flat planes and sharp angles. It is a look that’s both fresh and new yet still unambiguously Super 8.

As for those modern conveniences, it sports a 4-inch LCD swiveling viewfinder, similar to all video cameras today. It comes with a detachable wide-angle 6mm 1:1.2 C-mount lens, so you can actually use any other C-mount prime lens or adapters, depending on what you need. There’s an SD card reader for recording audio directly into storage, as well as a micro HDMI port for connecting an external monitor. Ironically, despite all the new hardware, the camera still charges with an old and slow micro USB connection. And yes, it still shoots on analog film, so you’ll need to make sure to have a stock of KODAK’s Super 8 cartridges at hand.

Given how long ago the announcement was, there were perhaps some doubts about whether Kodak would actually be able to pull this off at all. The good news is that Kodak has finally opened up sign-ups, with shipping expected to start next month. The bad news is that, in addition to limited availability, the price tag for this new Kodak Super 8 film camera is a whopping $5,495, more than twice the announced SRP back in 2016. This immediately puts it out of the reach of all but the most dedicated collectors, a rather disappointing U-turn for a camera that originally catered to amateurs and aspiring moviemakers.

The post Kodak Super 8 film camera revival is finally happening but there’s a huge catch first appeared on Yanko Design.

This striking cyberpunk watch concept is ironically analog at heart

Posted on by

Thanks to a certain video game and its recent animated Netflix tie-in, the cyberpunk style has become trendy again. Industrial designs mixed with glowing neon colors portray a vision of the future that is a little too bleak for comfort but almost realistic in its probability. As a genre, cyberpunk is set in a dystopian future where technology has advanced significantly but has left human morality and evolution behind in its dust. Many product designs and concepts today that tap into that style try to convey the spirit of this age through various gimmicks, many of them as advanced as the technologies they try to represent. This watch, inspired by the Cyberpunk 2077 game, however, bucks the trend and embraces one of the oldest yet most sophisticated ways to tell the time.

Designers: Michael Szczególski, Bartosz Wyżykowski, Piotr Blicharski, and Jacek Morawski

If you were to design a cyberpunk-themed watch, you would most likely try to implement it through digital and electronic components, perhaps even as a smartwatch. After all, it’s so much easier to style screens, implement advanced features, and even emit sounds using modern components. In stark contrast, this Cyberpunk 2077 watch concept doesn’t have anything digital, an ironic idea yet almost perfectly fitting considering the confusing mix of old and new that cyberpunk is famous for.

Instead of an LCD display, the watch works pretty much like an analog watch, except it trades typical hands for rotating discs that have marks for seconds, minutes, and hours. Its beating heart is a real-world 9015 Miyota automatic caliber, whose ruby movement is used to represent the cybernetic eye of an emblem on its back. The watch wraps around your wrists using silicone straps that, while mundane, are more faithful to the fictional world of Cyberpunk 2077 than more “advanced” materials.

1

Since the watch is pretty much a mechanical one dressed up in a cyberpunk style, its personalization options are limited. Instead of changing watch faces as you would on a smartwatch, you can only swap out interchangeable fronts and backs to match different characters from the fictional franchise. That still leaves the door open for plenty of customization, especially when you consider these parts can be 3D printed easily.

Unfortunately for Cyberpunk 2077 fans, this watch remains a concept, even if it was designed with the game’s creators’ input. It’s definitely an attractive and unique twist to the typical cyberpunk-themed timepiece, one that could potentially satisfy even lovers of mechanical watches. It does show that just because it looks cyberpunk doesn’t mean it has to be complicated, though the beautiful simplicity of this watch’s design is itself almost contradictory to the usual mess of the genre.

The post This striking cyberpunk watch concept is ironically analog at heart first appeared on Yanko Design.

Slope is an analog writing tool and organizer that takes your note-making to the next level

Posted on by

As someone who loves combining digital and analog elements in my workflow, you’ll even find my desk filled with my laptop, tablet, various notebooks, and of course the ubiquitous sticky notes. So you might say my workspace can become a little cluttered. While this works for me (well at least most of the time), there might be people who would prefer a less messy space and go more minimalist. While just using your desktop may be the key, there are still times when you need to write down things and normally, stick notes are the way to go.

Designer: FluidStance

But if you want to try and eliminate more disposable paper products in your life, there are tools out there trying to help you declutter. The Slope is a “personal desktop whiteboard with pen” that you can slot right in between your monitor and your keyboard. So yes, it is simply a magnetic dry-erase whiteboard but instead of being on your wall or on the side, it is right in front of you and angled in such a way that it is perfect for your list-making or reminder-listing writing needs.

It is made from bent steel sheet and is powder-coated so it’s pretty smooth and easy to use as well as giving you a premium dry-erase surface. It is also magnetic so you can attach your whiteboard markers if they’re magnetic. If not, there’s a space at the top to place them as well as space at the back to store your separate eraser. There’s a silicone phone holder if you need to have your mobile device in front of you and there’s also an opening in it so you can place your charger.

If you’re not using your keyboard, you can slip it under the sloped whiteboard so you can have space to eat or for your other stuff while taking a break. It’s a simple enough thing to use although I would prefer it if there was a way you could save what you were writing into the cloud or if you could digitize it if you need to save what you wrote. But as an analog tool, it’s something interesting for the desktop users out there who have a separate monitor and keyboard.

The post Slope is an analog writing tool and organizer that takes your note-making to the next level first appeared on Yanko Design.

This nap timer concept marries simple analog controls with a digital display

Posted on by

Most of us probably like taking naps during the day. Some people might even find it necessary to get through a tiring workday. There are studies suggesting that even a 20 to 30-minute “power nap” can be beneficial to productivity, though the problem is getting that amount of time right without undercutting or overspending. We have alarm clocks for that, of course, including the ones that can be found on our smartphones. Despite the proliferation of these general-purpose utilities, there’s still something to be said for a specialized tool dedicated solely to counting down the minutes until you wake up. Especially when said tool is a beautiful throwback to the past with some modern conveniences thrown in as well.

Designer: Andrea Senatori

We have plenty of timers and clocks around our house or, at the very least, in our pockets. Most probably use their smartphones for anything that needs counting down or up, while some might have a separate alarm clock beside their bed, set to ring on one or a few specific times in a day. A dedicated nap timer, however, offers simplicity and ease of use. There are no other functions to worry about or other timers you might get confused with. Simply set the timer when you want to take a nap, and that’s it.

It doesn’t get simpler than what the Spot 2 concept brings. It has one purpose and one purpose only, to ring an alarm after a specified period of time. Its controls are dead simple, too. There’s one large dial to set how long the timer goes and a smaller one for controlling the volume. These are presented as analog controls, so there’s absolutely no ambiguity in how they work.

This mix of analog with digital has both aesthetic and psychological aspects. The latter brings back familiar physical controls, putting the power back under our fingertips. At the same time, the nap timer looks interesting and attractive, especially with the ongoing trend to create retro-looking products. It isn’t all old-school, of course, with a monochrome display that prominently shows the timer as well as other details like the date, time, and even the temperature.

The Spot 2 nap timer concept is simple yet effective in conveying its purpose in an interesting yet easy-to-use manner. The dials leave little to the imagination in how to control the device, while the digital display distills information down to only the most essential parts. After all, when you’re body’s craving a short nap, the last thing you want to do is fiddle with your phone or alarm clock and have your brain too distracted or too engaged to sleep.

The post This nap timer concept marries simple analog controls with a digital display first appeared on Yanko Design.

This digital diary design adds an analog and retro twist to journaling

Posted on by

As someone who’s a huge fan of journaling, I’m always on the lookout for things that can help me in my journey, whether it’s analog or digital. For the past years, we’ve seen products and devices that are trying to be a little bit of both. And there are people who enjoy both kinds of journaling as well so you know that there’s a market for that. Just in case you don’t know anything about journaling, you can probably recognize it by its more old-school name: diary.

Designer: Seongmin Ha, Hanyoung Lee

This concept called Dear my diary is a great combination of analog and sort-of digital. Some people who journal like the idea of actually writing down their thoughts and feelings but the problem is storage. You’ll have to scan each page and save them on a cloud to be able to “save” a copy of your journal entries. But what if you could combine both? So the designers came up with something that lets you write in an analog manner but also lets you store it digitally.

The device looks like a classic computer but instead of a keyboard, you get a small, erasable slate where you can write your journal entries. These are then saved into a tiny disk, designed to look like the floppy disks of olden times but much smaller. It’s not indicated how much megabytes or gigabytes storage each of the disks have, what format these will be saved in, or if you’ll be able to access these files on other devices.

The Dear my diary also comes with a printer, in case you wanted to print out your journal entries and post them on your cork board or on your other analog, actual journal. The disk is inserted into the printer and you’ll be able to have a printed copy of what you wrote on the slate but on a specific format that the printer has. It looks like one of those thermal printers that you use for labeling and well, printing stuff.

I still don’t have an idea how this diary device will actually work in real life but I am very much intrigued. Given that I keep both a digital diary and an actual journal, I am definitely the target market for something like this.

The post This digital diary design adds an analog and retro twist to journaling first appeared on Yanko Design.

Using natural objects like stones, this Application Programming Interface communicates with any software

Posted on by

Palpable is an Application Programming Interface (API) that merges modern-day technologies with the charm of an analog interface.

While there are many differences between today’s generations, the shift from analog devices to touchscreen has to be the most striking. While our parents are busy figuring out how to watch Netflix on the smart TV, we’re out buying vinyl records and old-school stereo systems.

We grew up on touchscreens and devices that kept all of our sources of entertainment in one place, but holding actual records in your two hands or turning the volume knob to full-blast on the stereo still charms us. Merging modern technology with the tangible sensation of analog devices, a team of designers created Palpable, a modular, analog interface that can communicate with any software.

Each module that comprises Palpable carries its own function and the inputs of each module are assigned to an Application Programming Interface (API), or base grid. Depending on the software that the user would like to control, different modules are designed to cater to that software. For instance, a sliding module is lengthy by design and allows users to control home appliances like light dimmers. Then, a rotating module might be used to control an entertainment system’s volume.

Whichever appliance needs controlling, Palpable comes with a slide, rotate, push, and turn module. In order for appliances to register each module’s operation, users must attach each module to a magnetic base grid. This is the main control panel for Palpable users, where they can access each module and control its corresponding appliance. Modular by design, the base grids can even be attached to each other to enlarge control panels.

Designers: Maxime le Grelle, Vladyslav Hreben, Max Shpak, & Roman Kravchenko

Each module provides a different function for the API, allowing users to rotate, slide, turn, and push when appropriate.

The team of designers outfitted each module with a unique rock to give it an organic appeal.

The post Using natural objects like stones, this Application Programming Interface communicates with any software first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Custom Pac-Man Synthesizer Looks A-maze-ing

Posted on by

You know what? I’m surprised that they never came up with a vaccine for Pac-Man Fever. I mean, I’ve had it for nearly four decades, and it’s not getting any better. I suppose if you’re still a Pac-Man fan like me, you might want something like this sweet Pac-Man-themed synthesizer by Swedish artist and vintage gadget fan Love Hultén.

The custom-built synthesizer is done up in a vibrant color scheme inspired by Namco’s classic maze game. The customized Korg Minilogue synth has Pac-Man yellow keys with orange sharps and flats. Its case has a Pac-Man logo and ghost artwork straight from the game’s original arcade cabinet, and there are other little details like cherries on the keyboard and a pair of blue ghosts with light-up eyes being chased by Pac-Man. Check it out in action and give it a listen in the video below:

Surprisingly, this isn’t the only Pac-Man synthesizer that Hultén has built. He also created a custom synth with a yellow case and blue keys, presumably on Opposite Day.

If you love the retro-modernist look of these pieces, be sure to check out Love’s Instagram page and website for more awesome custom electronic gear.

This DIY watch-making kit’s latest design lets you build new mechanical timepieces with your own hands

Posted on by

In all fairness, what the Swiss watchmakers do is incredibly difficult, but the Rotate Watches give you a small taste of what it is like to assemble your own timepiece together. The all-in-one watchmaking kit comes with everything you need, from the watch parts to even the tools you’d require to assemble, maintain, and repair the watch. For obvious reasons, the mechanical movement comes pre-assembled, given how critical that part is and how intricately it’s built… but you do get to put the rest together, sandwiching the movement between the two metal halves, laying in the sapphire glass display, and finally fixing the straps to your watch. You even get to fit the watch hands onto its face, giving you quite the thrill of playing a real horologist!

Founded by a group of artisans and tinkerers dedicated to keeping analog alive (and a woman-owned, minority-owned business based in Los Angeles, California), Rotate Watches package the experience of building your own timepiece. The watches come in a variety of styles with leather as well as metal jubilee straps, and each watch also has its own difficulty rating, from moderate to complex! The kit contains everything you’d possibly need, from the watch parts to tools like pliers, pry-bars, tweezers, screwdrivers, glue, and even nitrile gloves to help you assemble your masterpiece without creating a mess. Your purchase also gives you access to a complete watchmaking guide on Rotate Watches’ website, technical support from Rotate’s team, and a lifetime warranty on your timepiece. Each unit is quality-checked before shipping from Rotate’s Los Angeles facility, and you can even ask them to engrave 2-3 characters (preferably your initials) on the watch upon purchase!

Designers: Jennifer Zhang and Rebecca Lee of Rotate Watches

We were awed by Rotate’s DIY kit when they first launched as a Kickstarter campaign. Following a very successful crowdfunding effort, the company’s now established its practice in LA, selling a variety of watch styles. Showcased here, is the Galileo, with its golden body and radial-brushed blue watch-face.

For obvious reasons, the mechanical movement comes pre-assembled. Given how complex some of these movements can be, often ending up with hundreds of small parts that have their own specific purpose and require expert knowledge, the movement comes pre-built. As co-creator, you get to put the rest of the watch together, understanding its materials, assemblies, and details along the way. It also helps you build an appreciation for analog watches that smartwatches can never match!

The kit contains everything you need, from watch parts to even the tools and equipment you’d require to put your haute horologerie together. At the end of the assembly process, Rotate hopes that you inherit an interest and affection for watches, and you even form an emotional bond with your timepiece that goes beyond just picking a wristwatch from a display case and wearing it. With Rotate’s watches, you end up involving yourself in the watch’s creation, forming a strong bond with your masterpiece along the way.

The watches are available in 5 styles [from Left to Right] – Eiffel, Wright, Edison, Galileo, and Newton, each with their own unique design, assembly, and difficulty level.

A turntable that doubles as an analog clock is a space-saving way to evoke nostalgia!

Posted on by

Nostalgia permeates throughout any room with a turntable or analog clock. But nowadays, any song from any artist can be played with the touch of a button. Hardly anyone who owns an analog clock looks at it before looking at their iPhone. Turntables and wall clocks seem to be technologies of the past, but still, we savor the crackly, crisp sound that comes from spinning records and we adorn our walls with mounted clocks because they bring us back to a time from our younger years. While all of this is true, turntables and analog clocks are a type of technological hardware that is just as reliably functional as it is sentimental. Joonho Sung designed the Vinyl Clock in order to bridge the constant functionality of a clock with the retro sound and lure of a turntable.

When turntables aren’t in use, they have a tendency to just take up space. They have no purpose other than to play music, so by turning it into a dual-functioning house product, the machine operates on a round-the-clock basis, pun intended. The final product is a stand-up record player whose cartridge doubles as a second-hand for its other purpose of telling and keeping track of time. By incorporating a removable axial cap, the design’s clock can be deconstructed in order to transform into a turntable. Once you select the record you’d like to play, it’s easy to reconstruct the clock back to its practical display. Manually-automated control dials for both volume and time are positioned just above the Vinyl Clock’s speaker for easy, fine-tuning. Through a simple transference of duties, the product’s epitomic function is to play your favorite records, using the clock’s second hand as a cartridge, while also providing you with the time of day – no longer will your turntable not be in use.

Just like the time, music is always around us, and with the popularity of turntables only increasing, a music player, that doubles as a multi-functioning design piece, makes for the perfect marriage of yesteryear’s appreciation for music with today’s innovative design energy. Joonho Sung created the Vinyl Clock in order to remind users of how precious parlor music once was, while also acknowledging the expectations of today’s vinyl listeners. The Vinyl Clock bridges value and manual labor with innovation and contemporary design so that the records can keep on spinning.

Designer: Joonho Sung