Tag Archives: magnetic

Magnetic Levitating UFO Bluetooth Speaker

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This is for sure one of the coolest speakers we’ve seen. It’s literally floating. Or least the top half is. If you can bet the bottom part to float too, call us, we’ve got a proposal for ya, probably not that illegal. This Levitating Bluetooth Speaker uses the magical and mysterious power of magnets (how do they work?) to make the speaker float in mid-air. Meanwhile it can also spin around like an alien carousel full of little aliens riding cows around in a circle. Why do aliens like cows so much anyway?

So the speaker, yeah, the speaker connects to your phone or whatnot (probably your phone though) via bluetooth and pumps out that bassy bass with 5W audio drivers. Feel the earth move under your feet, because this speaker won’t feel the earth at all since it’s floating. There is a rechargeable battery in there since we’ve yet to develop anything better. Perhaps some actual aliens could help us out a bit on that front? Please? We’ll give you more cows.

This speaker looks pretty sleek, and has a modern look with it’s glowing light. It’s an instant party, just like aliens like to do. Party with cows. You can also just use the UFO top part on it’s own with the base, but what fun would that be?

Magnetic Levitating UFO Bluetooth Speaker

This magnetic wireless charger plugs directly into unused bedside sockets to save space

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Wireless chargers come in all shapes and sizes, but most of them are designed to be placed on some horizontal surface like a desk or table. Even those that use magnets to keep a phone in place vertically or at an angle come with stands that only work on such flat planes. That’s not really surprising, considering that most charging times happen on work desks or bedside tables. In some cases, however, beds might have sockets right beside the headboard, especially in hotels. These sockets mostly remain unused or, at the very least, are used by only one wired charger. This pocket-sized gadget concept can change that story and open up that socket for more devices, including your phone, which will be sticking to the wall magnetically while it charges.

Designer: Qian Qingyun

A socket beside your bed is convenient for plugging a charger, but most will probably only have one charger for a single device. There are multi-device docks available to solve that problem, but those can also take up space on that same table. There’s also the problem that you can’t carry that dock with you on your travels, so that bedside socket remains underutilized or, worse, unused.

MAGEPAN is a concept for a small box that frees that socket from those limitations. It’s small enough to pack inside your bag or even stashed in your pocket. And while it was designed specifically with the bedside socket in mind, its design lends itself well to other purposes. In a nutshell, it’s a magnetic wireless charger whose body plugs directly into a power socket, removing the middle man of a long cord. While that might not make sense in normal cases where such sockets are far away, hotel rooms are filled with such facilities that don’t get used that much because of their location.

You simply plug MAGEPAN into a wall socket and then stick your phone to it. As long as it uses magnetic wireless charging similar to MagSafe, you shouldn’t have to worry about it falling off. The wireless charger is even compatible with Apple Watches, so you can have a bedside clock with the smartwatch’s nightstand mode while it charges hanging on the wall. The charger even has a handy night light that will keep you from groping in the dark.

You might think that having a wireless charger blocking a wall socket is a waste, and that would be true if not for MAGEPAN’s other feature. With two USB-C ports coming out of its bottom, it practically acts as a dock that lets you plug in other devices that don’t support wireless charging. The only difference is that this dock doesn’t take up any space on your bedside table but makes efficient use of a socket you probably would have ignored otherwise.

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This rewritable notebook lets you write over and over again like a whiteboard

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Many aspects of our lives have become digitized, and writing and drawing are no exception. Many of us use some sort of digital tools for keeping up our schedule, taking notes, brainstorming new ideas, or sketching. Even though digital tools offer great convenience, there is something about old-fashioned writing with pen and paper that inspires creativity in us. The designer behind notesX believes writing down your thoughts and ideas with pen and paper is the best outlet. However, traditional pen and paper may not necessarily be economical or ecological since the traditional paper cannot be reused. notesX is like a combination of a whiteboard and a notebook, providing great reusability and customizability with the familiarity of a paper notebook.

Designer: Hidehiko Fukushima

Click Here to Buy Now: $59.25 $79 (25% off at checkout). Hurry, sale ends Sept 6th.

This innovative notebook utilizes small magnets to bind the pages, the front cover, and the back cover. Since the papers are not glued or sewn together like traditional notebooks, you can easily add, remove, or move pages around as much as you like.

You can even take a page out from the bundle and stick it to metallic surfaces like a fridge door or a magnetic whiteboard. The front cover also has pockets to hold cards and small pieces of paper, things you’d usually stash inside a normal paper notebook.

The notebook’s special papers aren’t actually made with paper. Instead, they use synthetic resins and natural minerals. While the material offers a high-quality surface for writing from the get-go, its special property is that it can erase marks easier than you could when using a pencil. You can write with erasable pens like Pilot’s FriXioin series and then erase what you wrote by rubbing a plastic eraser that usually comes with these pens. You can also use wet wipes to erase a larger area or simply rinse the page down with water when you want to erase everything on it.

The pages themselves are minimal and bare, but there is a faint blue grid on the paper that acts as a guide without distracting you from what you’re writing. The synthetic paper also prevents glaring when taking photos of a page, making it easy to detect the edges of the page when you want to digitize it. This way, you can keep a digital copy of the page before you erase its contents. With this, you have an immortal and infinite notebook, allowing you to rearrange and reuse pages as much as you need.

The notebook has an elastic pen holder that can accommodate any pen with a diameter of 9mm to 15mm, regardless of whether it has a clip or not. A rubber band also keeps the notebook from opening accidentally, similar to those on notebooks like Moleskine. Beyond offering this basic function, this rubber band brings a philosophical aspect to the notebook. Almost like a ritual, the act of removing the rubber band to open the notebook commences your creative activity and putting it back to close it gives you great satisfaction by marking the completion of writing your idea down before it flies away.

Click Here to Buy Now: $59.25 $79 (25% off at checkout). Hurry, sale ends Sept 6th.

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These magnetic lamps combine to form beautiful lighting sculptures

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Everyone needs light, especially when the day gets dark. Lighting, however, doesn’t need to be plain or boring, serving a functional need and nothing else. Lamps offer the opportunity to make a visual statement in a room, to give more than just light but also life. They can be as elaborate as an elegant chandelier or as simple as a minimalist desk lamp. Some can even be both, switching between simple and complex in just a few seconds. This concept design for a modular set of three lamps try to offer that kind of flexibility, delivering a simple yet beautiful desk lamp when needed and a piece of sculptural art when wanted, all without dealing with messy wires, screws, or adhesives.

Designer: Ping-Lun Chung

The Light-7 concept takes its from the basic frame of the three lamps. A wooden board is bent at an angle to form a shape like the number seven. The two ends of the frame are connected by a glossy plastic material that softly curves to the edges, inspired by how white fabric can be stretched over that same frame to create an elegant shape. The material also serves to diffuse the light from within, giving the lamps a soft glow that sets a calm mood in the area.

On its own, the lamp already stands as an attractive light piece, acting as a soft night lamp on top of a bedside table. When magnetically connected to one or two other pieces, however, it shines a brighter light on the room, effectively serving as the main light source. Going beyond intensity, the Light-7’s wireless connectivity gives you the freedom to arrange the parts in ways that delight your eyes or fit the rest of your room’s decor, bringing light and art together in a more personal way.

You can, for example, simply attach one module to form a lamp that faces opposite directions. Simply rotating one piece, however, can make that light shine up or down, depending on what you need. You don’t even need to stick to what you’ve chosen because you can easily change the configuration at a moment’s notice.

Things get brighter when the main lamp, the only one that was a power cable, is flanked by both modules. The arrangement becomes more limited, however, because of how the pieces need to interact with each other. In this form, the best setup is a pendant lamp that uses a soft, omnidirectional glow to set the mood in a dark room.

Current wireless technologies might not yet be completely there as far as providing sufficient power for lighting, but the simple idea that it’s close at hand definitely sparks the imagination. Magnets are already opening the doors to many modular products, from desk accessories to shelves, so magnetic consumer electronics won’t be that far behind. The Light-7 concept explores the possibilities of what can be accomplished when all these pieces fall into place, allowing people to create their own sculptural light art in a snap.

The post These magnetic lamps combine to form beautiful lighting sculptures first appeared on Yanko Design.

Free up space with this modular hanging desk rack

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Let your stuff hang around without making a mess with this genius organizer set.

Just as with living spaces, desk space is a limited resource that is almost impossible to expand once it has been made, at least horizontally. That’s why modular desks are so popular because they often let you upsize or downsize, depending on your need. Modular desk accessories are also en vogue, especially the ones that can perform multiple functions, but those inevitably run you out of space as well. It sometimes almost feels like a waste to devote some of that precious space to things that won’t stay there for a long time, like papers you need to file, the book you’re reading, or even the cables you need to charge your phone. That’s why this organizer rack is pretty smart in utilizing a part of a table that is often taken for granted or even ignored, the edge.

Click Here to Buy Now: $149 $169 ($20 off). Hurry, only 15/100 left!

Many productivity gurus advocate having a proper place on your desk, even for more “transient” objects that come and go. Some have a tray, a literal inbox, or even a basket, but those often take up precious space that could be used for more permanent things. They’re also a “one size fits all” kind of thing, so you can’t really use them for anything else or even arrange their parts unless you opted for a modular bin. The Hanging Desk Organizer Set solves all those problems by hanging over the edge of your desk and giving you the freedom to rearrange it to suit your needs.

Intuitive Organizing

As with many seemingly magical modular systems, the secret to the rack’s trick is magnets, very strong magnets. The rack itself is made from sturdy steel and doesn’t actually have any distinct markings on its own. It looks like a square root or radical symbol, where its short flap sticks to the edge of your desk without screws or magnets. The V-shaped space is where you can place things like magazines, letters, files and folders, and more. You can even hang your book over the highest edge as a makeshift bookmark in case you need to quickly pause what you were reading.

Extendable for More Functions

The rack, however, is also like a canvas where you can stick other accessories to provide more ways to hold different kinds of things. The cable holder, for example, magnetically attaches to the edges of the rack itself, and you can position it anywhere to get those pesky wires out of the way. The pin can be used to stick small notes, hang keys and lanyards, or even hold your phone from two ends. There’s also a non-magnetic hook if you really need to hang something heavier. Since these accessories are magnetic, you can even use them outside of the Rack, particularly the pins that can cling to any metallic surface.

The Hook

Magnetic Cable Holder

Magnetic Pin

Magnetic Box

Zero Installation

The rack itself requires no installation and no special surfaces to cling to desks, just a flat and clean edge. It uses special nano micro-suction tape to stick to any flat surface without actually using adhesive. You can remove the rack without worrying about leaving marks, and you can use it again on any table after washing the suction tap to restore its stickiness.

Each piece in this set is made from either steel or aluminum alloy, both durable materials that will last you a lifetime. Their minimalist design and plain colors make them a perfect match for any environment or desk, be it at home or in the office, where sticking things and drilling holes are next to impossible. With this handsome modular rack, you can conveniently live on the edge of productivity by having your stuff live on the edge of your desk, freeing up space so you can get more work done with your most important tools within easy reach.

Click Here to Buy Now: $149 $169 ($20 off). Hurry, only 15/100 left!

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Lazlo is a handsome ballpoint pen that celebrates the joys of writing

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You don’t need complex mechanisms to elevate the ballpoint, as this innovative pen beautifully demonstrates.

It has almost been 85 years since the first ballpoint pen was revealed to the public and patented by inventor Lazlo Biro. Since then, the writing tool has become a staple of everyday life, making writing more accessible and more common. Unfortunately, the proliferation of cheap ballpoint pens has also made both the act and the tool more mundane, taking for granted one of the key accomplishments of human civilization. Every now and then, a new pen appears that reminds us of the unique experience of writing, and the Lazlo is one such instrument that brings back those feelings with a pen whose simplicity and beauty belie the ingenuity inside and the quality writing experience it delivers.

Designers: Odin Ardagh and Noah Bier of Makers Cabinet

Click Here to Buy Now: $68 $105 (35% off). Hurry, less than 72 hours left!

Many ballpoint pens today employ complex mechanisms and components in an attempt to make the writing experience more pleasurable. Unfortunately, it has the opposite effect of making the pen more prone to malfunctions and less likely to last a long time. Most of the time, making things simpler is actually the solution, and this pen named after the Father of Ballpoint applies that philosophy but with a special twist, literally and figuratively.

The Patent Pending Mechanism – Diametrically opposed neodymium magnets rotate bi-directionally to engage and disengage the cartridge to create an unparalleled crisp click.

The Lazlo pen utilizes a patent-pending dipole magnetic mechanism that extends or retracts the ballpoint with a simple twist of the knurled top of the pen. There are no springs involved, reducing the chances of the pen breaking due to wear and tear or broken parts. You still get a satisfying snap when you twist the cap, though, and some might even be tempted to use the pen as a makeshift fidget toy while letting ideas percolate in your head. The pen’s minimalist aesthetic makes it a good fit for any stationery or desk theme, but you still have a choice of materials and their corresponding weight. The anodized space-grade aluminum blends well with many laptops of the same hue and is the lighter option at only 40g. The precision-machined solid brass, on the other hand, has a bit of heft at 65g but ages gracefully with a patina over time. Whichever variant you choose, you are guaranteed a well-balanced tool that will feel comfortable and stable in your hand.

A Satisfying, Balanced Weight – The profile is marginally tapered, forming an elegant shape which is both comfortable in your hand and balanced in weight.

Longevity Tested to 80+ Years of Use.

Featuring Schmidt – The Schmidt MegaLine ballpoint refill is a highly sophisticated writing module based on a gas-pressurized system. This enables you to not only write upside down but also in the most extreme environmental conditions.

The Drop Stand.

Unlike most ballpoint pens, Lazlo is designed not just with durability and longevity in mind but also with sustainability. Its all-metal construction means that every part of the pen is recyclable. The steel clip that lets you conveniently carry the Lazlo pen in your front pocket is easily removable, and so is the front cap that gives easy access to the refill inside. It uses widely-available Schmidt MegaLine ballpoint refills, which utilize an innovative gas-pressurized system that lets you write even upside-down. The pen is also now compatible with Euro-Style cartridges, expanding your choices of refills. This means you won’t have to keep on buying new pens just because the ink has run out. Everything about the pen is designed to make it easy to repair, maintain, and preserve, ensuring that it will be around for years.

Even the packaging is made from sustainable and recyclable materials, including the cork drop stand that comes with every pen. You could, of course, also opt for a metal drop stand that matches the pen’s brass or aluminum body. There is also a Lazlo Sheath designed specifically for the pen, made from premium Badalassi Carlo leather that ages well with the pen itself. Whether you prop it up on a stand, keep it in your pocket, or display it in its leather bed, the all-metal Lazlo ballpoint pen will look striking in its simplicity, serving as a visual reminder of the simple joys of writing with a good pen.

Click Here to Buy Now: $68 $105 (35% off). Hurry, less than 72 hours left!

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This mountain-shaped household appliance is designed to visualize the journey of a seven-day workweek

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Mt. Week is a household clock appliance that takes the shape of a mountain to visualize the journey of a seven-day workweek.

There are few things more universally exciting than reaching the weekend after a long, arduous work week. It’s like reaching a mountain’s summit after spending the morning and afternoon traversing its trails and footpaths. There’s nothing like that first gulp of water, overlooking the valleys and tree canopies below, or that first cup of coffee on a slow Sunday morning. Taking the mountain motif to its ultimate end, a team of designers conceptualized Mt. Week, a cone-shaped clock appliance that denotes the motions of a week’s journey.

Designers: Minsu Kim, Yoonjeong Lee, Seunghyun Ko, Gyeongah Hwang, Hyunmin Kim

Inspired by the shape of a mountain, Mt. Week takes the form of an upside-down triangle for its time-controlled magnetic sphere to wind toward the appliance’s apex.

Separated into seven even parts, the cone represents the seven-day week and the magnetic sphere represents our timed journey through the week. Comprised of three main components, Mt. Week keeps an integrated digital clock to its side to indicate the time of day, while a magnetic sphere traverses the course of seven equal portions.

Describing the device’s time-controlled modules, the designers describe, “Mt. Week is divided into seven areas, representing a week’s journey. The sphere climbs the mountain diligently [on] weekdays and descends with ease during the weekend.

Users will find themselves excited while watching the sphere moving towards the weekend.” A built-in magnetic rail traces the cone’s surface for the magnetic sphere to latch onto and follow. As the cone rotates, the magnetic sphere signals to the user which day of the week it is while the clock displays the time of day.

The integrated magnetic rail mimics the curving nature of trailheads.

When users place the magnetic sphere at the top of Mt. Week, the magnetic rail positions it to its correct positioning. 

Operated via a wire connection, all users would need is an outlet.

Even when not in use, Mt. Week offers a touch of minimalist elegance to any office or bedroom.

The post This mountain-shaped household appliance is designed to visualize the journey of a seven-day workweek first appeared on Yanko Design.

This tiny functional magnetic kitchen countertop makes optimum use of compact space

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A functional kitchen countertop that employs magnetism to make optimum use of the vertical space available in a kitchen. Truly, a clever countertop design apt for city apartments and small kitchens where space-saving is the key.

Space is at a premium in modern studio apartments owing to the limited scope of keeping things like furniture or kitchen appliances. The latter is very important to organize properly, making use of every inch with intuition to save space without compromising function. It’s easier said than done when the right look for the kitchen is in question with the apt functionality of course. Designer Juliana Juleva wants to achieve this with her thoughtful design for a kitchen countertop that employs science to get the desired result.

According to her (and I also agree), even when you choose the most compact accessories and appliances, they still eat up a lot of space. This is attributed to their own individual design philosophies and shape. Any which way, with the smallest sized appliances and kitchen accessories, the convenient and practical aspect is still unfulfilled. In small studio apartments, the kitchen unintentionally becomes the center of attention due to this and the magnetic kitchen proposed by Juliana sets things right in the most subtle way. The one square meter magnetic panel seen here is fixed to the wall and acts as the base for the compact countertop that has a cutting board that doubles as a folding sink (or vice versa) and of course the magnetic properties to keep all the utensils in place.

The sink can be concealed from plain sight to increase the kitchen’s working space and used as a cutting board for random use. Anything that sticks to a magnet can be put up on the vertical section – things like spoons, forks, pans, induction cooktop, oven, or custom-made shelves which further hold the plates and other non-magnetic objects. The limitation here is the objects need to be made of metal housing to stay put in place. For other things like water bottles or mugs, the horizontal countertop makes up for the required space. A mini-fridge can be placed under the sink area to make more optimum use of available space.

Designer: Juliana Juleva

The post This tiny functional magnetic kitchen countertop makes optimum use of compact space first appeared on Yanko Design.

This minimal money bank’s design takes “low-hanging fruit” very literally!

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Money is not usually considered a “low-hanging fruit” but this money bank is here to change your mindset about abundance and savings! Fruition is a minimal money bank or coin box or piggy bank – based on where you live – that falls once it has accumulated enough treasure. While most money boxes are designed for kids, this one has a modern aesthetic to appeal to grown-ups who probably need to save more than a child does!

Fruition is named because your efforts to save literally come to fruition with this design. It demonstrates a semiotic effect that appeals to human psychology and makes us feel good about the amount we’ve saved. The simple action of the box or ‘fruit’ falling is satisfying and gratifying at the same time! The money box itself represents the ripe fruit that is ready to be enjoyed just like your savings. The money box is attached to the ‘tree’ with strong magnets that give in to the weight of the money after a certain point. The lower tray is always ready to catch the ‘fruit’ and you can also use it otherwise to store smaller items like keys, masks, or stationery.

The ‘fruit’ is made of silicone and magnets, so coins are safe and secure. It can also be reused over and over again. When the ‘fruit’ drops there is a clanging sound that lets you know it is time to treat yourself…or deposit it in the bank. “This notifies users when to empty the money box while giving them a sense of accomplishment of harvest,” says Kim. I love how simple, playful and dynamic this design is – it truly makes money boxes look like an art piece for your desk with a post art auction bounty for your wallet!

Designer: Younghyun Kim

fruition

These multifunctional magnetic cutlery-pieces snap into half to transform into chopsticks!

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Like Yin and Yang, the two chopstick halves make up a whole!

A winner of the European Product Design Award, the One Plus Three is all about combining functionality with elegance. Designed as a series of 3 popular cutlery pieces – the spoon, fork, and knife, the cutlery come with a parting line running through the center along with unusually tipped handles. Pull against the direction of this parting line and each cutlery piece splits into two chopsticks that can then be used to go from eating any other cuisine to eating Asian food! By integrating the tableware, One Plus Three hopes to integrate cultures too!

The One Plus Three’s design is rather elegantly creative. The magnets exist only at the ‘head’ of the cutlery and not the handle. In doing so, it ensures that the tableware stays together when being used as a spoon, knife, or fork. However, flip the cutlery over and separate them into two individual chopsticks and now the magnets get spaced further apart, ensuring that they don’t stick together when you’re trying to eat food with the chopsticks! Each cutlery unit even comes with wooden intermediary handles that act as insulation as well as a nifty grip!

Designers: Lu Hua Bin, Li Jun Jie, Zhang Jun Yi