Minimalist stool combines wood and webbing to create a fresh and fun look

We probably don’t always think about how chairs and stools look as long as they’re comfortable. After all, you don’t exactly see their visual design when you’re already sitting on them. You won’t always be sitting on a particular chair all of the time, however, and those moments when these pieces of furniture are empty can have an impact on your space’s overall ambiance. They can make or break the particular theme you’re going for or enhance the atmosphere inside a room. They can even be conversation starters, depending on how distinctive it looks. This stool, for example, might not look like the most comfortable or stable thing to sit on, but it’s hard to deny how it injects a bit of character into an area with its color combinations and raw vibe.

Designer: found/Founded

Compared to chairs, stools don’t seem to be inherently designed for long periods of use. They don’t have backrests or arms to make you feel comfortable, but they do make up for it by making it easy to sit down on one and then get up again quickly. It’s as if this kind of seat was made for more transient and very temporary situations where you just need a few minutes to rest or chat but never to lounge or work.

The KNOT Stool seems to take that image to the extreme. It is flat all around with nary a curved surface or corner that would have made it look more inviting. You can even directly see the layers of wood that make up its parts, giving it an almost brutalist aesthetic if not for the painted surfaces. Two slanted legs make up the entire support, but their thin profiles don’t really inspire much confidence.

It’s probably still a usable stool, but it seems to be designed more for viewing rather than sitting. The three wooden pieces can be painted in the same or different colors, for example. The decorative webbing strap that wraps around the top of the stool’s legs can also come in complementing or contrasting colors, not to mention being made of different materials.

The result is a stool that looks more fun than ergonomic and more decorative than utilitarian. Of course, it might still be possible to sit on it for a bit, or it can be used to hold other objects if you’re not that confident about its stability. Regardless of the purpose it will ultimately serve, the KNOT Stool is clearly not a typical stool, especially in the way it adds a bit of whimsical fun to your interior.

The post Minimalist stool combines wood and webbing to create a fresh and fun look first appeared on Yanko Design.

Apple’s new M1 iMacs show how powerful desktop workstations can still have sex appeal





This year’s first Apple event was just bursting with color, part of which can be attributed to Apple’s latest iMac series, revamped to look absolutely fabulous in their 7 different colors, and that drop-dead sleek avatar that leaves little to be desired.

While this article addresses what the new iMac is capable of, it’s also a testament to how beautiful the device’s design is. Harking back to its G3 days, the 2021 iMacs bring colors back into the mix, with seven deliciously appealing hues to choose from (including the white variant). The iMacs are built to be stunningly thin, at just 11mm in thickness, sport Apple’s flagship M1 chip on the inside, and are redesigned to look and feel so sexy, they make me actually consider switching over to the other side… and at a starting price of $1299, it sort of feels worth it.

What instantly stands out is the iMac’s deceptively sleek design. At 11mm, it’s about as thick as the first iPhone that launched in 2007, showing how far we’ve come in the past decade. Now, this 11mm thick beauty houses some of the most capable computing tech in the world, and it’s powered by Apple’s M1 chip. Fun fact, as pointed out by MKBHD, the iMac actually shifts the 3.5mm headphone jack to the side instead of the back, because it isn’t thick enough to have the jack travel all the way in!

It’s debatable whether a white bezel and a large pastel-colored chin is actually pleasing to the eye, but I personally love this new avatar. Just like the creatives that use it, the iMac is a combination of professional and playful, serious and fun. The device comes in 7 colors, using the same anodized aluminum body seen in the iPods from ages ago, although those materials and technologies have definitely come a long way. On the front, the iMac comes outfitted with a 1080p camera which leverages the M1 chip’s ability to run incredibly powerful ISP (Image Signal Processing) algorithms to make sure the lighting’s always great, the exposure’s perfect, and your face looks good on video, all the time, every time.

Within that large chin lies the iMac’s sound system. Now, there isn’t much you could fit into an 11-millimeter chassis, but Apple’s engineering team manages to squeeze in a lot. It uses not one, but two subwoofer units (facing in opposite directions so they cancel out any physical vibrations) on each side of the display, along with a single tweeter on either side, resulting in a 6-driver setup that creates a massive soundscape, tuned to support Dolby Atmos.

My personal favorite feature is the redesigned charging apparatus. The 2021 iMac brings the magnetic charging connector back, which satisfyingly snaps right into its port. The iMacs themselves only sport Thunderbolt ports on the back (and a 3.5mm jack on the side), leaving a vacancy for the traditional ethernet cable. To make up for this, Apple redesigned the charger block to have its own ethernet port that supplies power as well as internet to your iMac. This incredibly genius move means one less port on your iMac, while also helping reduce the chaos of cables on your table… all while retaining functionality!

With the redesigned iMac also comes a slew of redesigned accessories, including the Magic Keyboard, which, apart from also coming in color variants (to match your machine), also have a dedicated emoji button, and the option between a lock button on the top right, or a TouchID key that lets you unlock your iMac, approve of file transfers, app-installs, and even of payments! Along with the keyboard, the Magic Mouse and the Magic Trackpad get color makeovers too.

The new iMacs start at a pretty modest price of $1299, and come with an 8-core CPU, a 7-core GPU, and that mammoth M1 chip. While some may debate that their new colored avatar makes them look slightly like a toy, to them I say, grab the white iMac and quit whining. With these new colored computers, Apple is really showing how design can delight with computing power as well as CMF. As a pretty harsh Apple critic myself, I can’t help but constantly ogle at these colorful Macintoshes… and while the M1’s performance really speaks for itself, this delightfully vibrant design has enough sex appeal to push Windows users over the fence and have them taking a closer look at these Mac machines!

Designer: Apple

These Colorful Keyboards Add Pizzazz to Your Desktop

When it comes to computer keyboards, they usually come in boring colors like black, white, or grey. And their keys are almost always square. If you’re looking for something a little more vibrant, then you might want to grab one of these colorful keyboards I spotted on Amazon (affiliate link).

UBOTIE’s wireless keyboards sell for about $60, and come in various shades of purple, blue, green, pink, and red. With their circular keys, they kind of remind me of those lipstick displays you see at department stores. You know, the ones that are always missing that one color you’re looking for? Or that’s been worn down to a nub?

If these keyboards aren’t colorful enough for you, each one comes with a color-matched wireless mouse too. The keyboards and mice run on a 2.4Ghz wireless connection and work with Windows or Mac OS computers. While they do make a blue keyboard, they don’t support Bluetooth, so don’t expect to use one of these with your mobile devices.

I suppose if you’re really into fashion and makeup, you could buy all five of these and color-coordinate your keyboard and mouse with your outfit each day. Though for me, that would mean my basic black keyboard is already perfect.

 

This calendar literally makes your days colorful & vibrant

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Yoni Alter’s Perpetual Calendar is pretty simple. It lasts forever, allowing you to simply rearrange the dates, days, and months periodically… and it’s just simply beautiful to look at. Natural ash plywood and wooden dowels make up the base for the calendar, while individual brightly colored plastic cards with cutouts hang themselves on the dowels. What you see through the cutouts are the cards behind them, getting this overwhelming collage of color, while text is usually extremely legible, thanks to the big bold stencil font used on the cards.

Just change the day and date every 24 hours, taking cards off from the front and putting them at the back, and switch the month card every time a new month begins. The calendar lasts forever, working year after year… bringing joy, color, and vibrancy to your life and your day!

Designer: Yoni Alter

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Ideas come and go. The Post-It Extreme goes nowhere!

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There’s always one guy in the office who has no regard for refrigerator or microwave ethics. You need to make sure you write your name on your food or it disappears… or you’re left with a funky microwave because someone heated leftover seafood in it. Next time, you can just leave a post-it note around and know that rules will be followed. Post-It Extreme was made for this express purpose. Meant more for leaving notes that stick longer than for your impromptu brainstorming sessions, the Extreme 3″ x 3″ sticky notes are water resistant and durable. Sporting the same repositionable glue like its predecessor, the Extreme notes won’t crumple or peel off due to moisture, making them perfect for use not only on the outside but even inside the fridge, or in the shower to remind bae to clean up the residual hair after a bath. Avoid confrontation… leave a friendly, durable reminder!

Designer: The 3M Company.

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Colorful SL300 160G SATA 6.0 Gbps SSD

Colorful SL300 160G

Here comes a new SATA 6.0 Gbps SSD from Colorful, the SL300 160G. Coming in 160GB capacity, this slim 2.5-inch SSD (7mm thick) is built with Intel 3D TLC NAND Flash memory chips, a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface, a Silicon Motion IC SM2258XT controller, SMART support, TRIM support, DEVSLEEP support, NCQ support and an MTBF of 1.5 million hours.

Adopting gold-plated printed circuit boards to realize excellent corrosion resistance and stable data transfer, the SL300 160G SSD can deliver sequential read and write speeds of up to 530MB/s and 450MB/s, respectively. The Colorful SL300 160G SSD will start shipping from mid-February for 5,480 Yen (about $51). [Product Page]

The post Colorful SL300 160G SATA 6.0 Gbps SSD appeared first on TechFresh, Consumer Electronics Guide.