A wireless charging and smart light that carries a humble aesthetic

If you are like me, then you’ll love the idea of seemingly inconspicuous devices holding smart capabilities. This type of seamless design allows devices to subtly integrate into our lives, without needing to shout about it. This can be said for Pedora, a wireless charging and smart light that carries a humble aesthetic.

There is no denying that this family of products carry the same beautiful design language; soft, friendly forms have been paired with subtle surface detailing to create honest and approachable products. Consisting of two lamps and three charging stations, there is bound to be a product that suits you; whether you are after the gentle, atmospheric glow of a mood light, or the almost-limitless capabilities of a smart light, this range has you covered!

Designer: BKID co for Samsung

Wireless Square Charger & Mobile Pad

Mobile Pad & Light

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Soap Beam: So Fresh and So Clean

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The aptly named Soap Beam might take inspiration from the shape of a soap bar, but it has next to nothing to do with getting fresh and clean. The device is actually a portable projector designed to be used with a smartphone. No larger than a phone itself, the design is easy to tote, carry, and pack. Better yet, it features a simplistic and intuitive interface that makes it possible to plug and play in seconds. Simply hook it up to your smartphone and instantly share your favorite movies, music videos, and photo albums with friends.

Designer: BKID Co for Samsung

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A New Spin on the Speaker

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In a world full of square speakers, the Dial Sound stands out with its irregular round shape. Minimalistic and modern, the form actually harkens back to a familiar fragment of music’s past — the gramophone.

It’s elevated speaker design delivers high-definition audio in whichever direction the user places it. Better yet, it features intuitive controls that include a small on/off switch on the side, a large dial that encompasses the speaker to adjust volume, and hidden LEDs at the front and rear indicate the device’s power mode. Simply give the dial a spin to crank up your favorite tunes.

Designer: BKID co for Samsung

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A Literal Computer Mouse!

We are all guilty of occasionally working a little later than we perhaps should; doing this every so often isn’t always avoidable, but repetitively doing so can have a great impact on a person’s health and wellbeing. This was the reasoning behind the playfully designed, Balance Mouse, as its intention is to assist in restoring the balance between work and home life.

The designers took the literal connotation of a computer ‘mouse’ and embodied its characterful persona into the device! During the day the mouse works like any other computer mouse, letting the user go about pursuing their tasks. However, when the clock strikes ‘home time’, the mouse exits the body and humourlessly rolls away. Not only is this a visual indicator that the work day is over, but its also pretty difficult to use a computer without a mouse!

And let’s be honest, this is quite possibly the cutest computer mouse we have ever seen!

Designer: BKID co

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Undisturbed Focus for Ultimate Productivity

Occasionally while working we can get into a rhythm and begin to power through the task at hand, at which point, we do not wish to be disturbed. However, not being interrupted is far easier said than done when working in a busy environment or a shared office, and a lot of the time it can feel like nothing short of impossible!

The Balance clock is here to provide a solution to this productivity-draining problem and transform the way you work! For the majority of time, Balance will remain in its upright position where the clock will face the user, clearly displaying the time. This is up until they require undisturbed focus, and then Balance’s primary function is unveiled. By placing the device face-down, a light is switched on and emitted through the translucent rear casing. This visual indicator informs co-workers that the user does not which to be disturbed.

Designer: BKID Co

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An Outpouring of Ambience

As you might guess from the name and familiar aesthetic, the Sound Bottle takes inspiration from a surprising source: the water bottle. The minimalistic design features a handsome handle strap and two distinct sections. The lower portion functions as a Bluetooth speaker and emits 360 degree audio streaming wirelessly from your mobile device. The upper section is an RGB LED light that can also be controlled via your smartphone. Ultra-portable and convenient, you can set the mood with music and ambient light anytime, anywhere! Now, if only you could drink out of it…

Designer: BKID Studio

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YD Spotlight: The Delightful Designs of BKID

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BKID Co is the brainchild of BongKyu Song, an award-winning Korean Designer. It’s also one of the only design studios that boasts of having a design language unique to it. You can look at a BKID product and there’s something innately BKID-ish about it. Their human-centered, design-based approach is evident in the work that they do, and each product has a playful quality to it, projecting technology as more docile, rather than trying to look superior. The result is a product that looks inviting to people of all ages, and that looks friendly and ready-to-help, rather than cutting-edge and intimidating.


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The Retroduck by BKID for Wisekids is probably one of our favorite projects. It pays tribute to one of the earliest forms of entertainment, the Cathode Ray Tube Television. An iconic appliance found in almost every home in and around the 60-70s, the TV set looked bulky but beautiful, and who can forget those knobs for adjusting the channel and volume on the side?! Retroduck harnessed that nostalgia with its ability to dock the iPhone into its housing in a manner that turned the retina screen into a retro appliance. BKID’s design of the Retroduck employed a beautiful color palette of red and white, while also keeping things original with the brown and black combo. Soft curves dominated the design, and its plastic build gave it a more inviting appearance than the usual metallic, cold demeanor of the iPhone.

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The Fairy for SK Telecom probably most clearly outlines BKID’s approach to product design and how different it is from the others. Pit the Fairy against the Google Home, or the Amazon Echo Show, or even Apple’s Home Pod and you’ll realize that the Fairy was designed with a character, while the others just played along to the character the AI had assumed. What’s more, the Fairy, with its soft, red, almost plush-like design, looks much more approachable than its competitors, even though it’s just as advanced. Think of it as Wall-e and Eva’s love-child in 2017.

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The Samsung Mouse brings design thinking to something that’s essentially an accessory, and therefore, an afterthought. Mice are usually taken for granted until the minute you realize you don’t have one, or that the one you have isn’t working. BKIDs mouse design for Samsung brings a refreshingly different dynamic to mouse design, pointing out a pain-point that most people have with mice (they’re too bulky), and proposing a solution that is full of dynamism and playfulness, but at the same time doesn’t take away from the fact that the mouse is more than capable of being highly useful when needed. The mouse’s telescopic design feels like it would be the primary reason I’d buy it! The silver and blue color duo go together beautifully, and the arc the mouse forms when opened completely feels solid in one’s hand, allowing it to have mass when needed, and turn into a tiny, pocketable device when folded inwards.

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BKID’s products never isolate the user. In fact they play well to human’s ability to trust and adore things that look ‘cute’ and ‘friendly’. BongKyu Song does a marvelous job of using soft curves, rounded forms, and a vibrant, almost childish, color palette to make products look friendly as they solve problems, allowing humans to bond emotionally with them, and therefore always leaving the users with a smile on their faces… and ultimately, isn’t that what we all want??

Adorable, abiding, artificial intelligence

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Bringing their funky, playful, retro design sensibilities to yet another product, BKID reinvents the artificial intelligence concierge for SK Telecom with their product, the Fairy.

Designed to go head-on with the likes of Amazon’s Echo, Google’s Home, and Apple’s Homepod, the Fairy is probably the first ever AI assistant to enter your home, coming from a national telecom service. Personally, it seems like a great product for a telecom company to truly enter the homes and lives of its consumers.

BKID is perhaps one of the few independent design studios that has its own visual language. All products under BKID’s design umbrella make use of soft forms and extremely well selected color palettes. The Retroduck from a few months follows the same trend. This style works wonderfully for innovative technological products, because not only do they make them beautiful and desirable, they also make them approachable and look friendly, rather than intimidating, allowing consumers to accept new technology and not fear it. For instance, when you talk to the Fairy (what an adorable name for a magical AI assistant), it immediately turns to face you, almost as if it’s paying attention. Companies could truly learn a thing or two from BKID’s design philosophy!

Designer: BKID

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Baby optical mouse, Adult optical mouse!

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I’ll just say that I’m in complete love with this mouse. It does the two things it’s supposed to do, be clunky, and be flat. They contradict each other, right? That’s the problem, really. Mice need to be voluminous so they fit well into our palms. That’s ergonomics. However, if you want to carry your mouse with you in a laptop sleeve, bulky doesn’t work at all. That’s where you need sleek.

The Samsung mouse manages to pull off both those requirements with its compact, telescopic/collapsible design. A matte plastic outer sleeve holds the small electronic mouse module on the inside. This works just fine because plastic feels good to touch (honestly, the metal feel is overrated. I choose comfort over premium) and therefore comes right under your palm while the electronic part slides outwards, manifesting itself under your fingers. The entire design is arc shaped, giving it a definitive curve that allows for easy gripping (bulky), but when the mouse collapses into itself, it becomes half in curvature, almost becoming a sleek, flat, highly carry-able computer peripheral!

Designer: BKID Co.

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