Author Archives: Sarang Sheth

After 40 Years, BRP’s Chief Design Officer Says Empathy Beats Perfection Every Time

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The tension between perfection and progress is something every designer grapples with, yet it’s rarely discussed with the kind of candor it deserves. In episode 11 of Yanko Design’s Design Mindset podcast (powered by KeyShot), premiering every Friday, we sit down with someone who has spent four decades mastering this delicate balance. Denys Lapointe, Chief Design Officer at BRP, leads a team of 135 multidisciplinary design experts from 21 countries, and under his stewardship, the company has accumulated an astounding 61 Red Dot Awards, culminating in the ultimate recognition: Red Dot Design Team of the Year 2025.

For those unfamiliar with BRP, this Quebec-based powerhouse is the global leader in powersports and the number one OEM in North America. They’re the creative force behind iconic brands that define adventure, including Ski-Doo, Lynx, Sea-Doo, Can-Am, and Rotax. With nearly $7.8 billion in annual sales spanning over 130 countries, BRP’s products traverse land, water, and snow. What makes Denys’s perspective particularly fascinating is his 40-year journey with the same company, witnessing his designs evolve from sketches to prototypes to products that millions use to explore the world. He’s learned when to push for perfection and when to embrace strategic compromise in service of getting breakthrough innovations into consumers’ hands.

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Why “Good Enough” Isn’t in BRP’s Vocabulary

When asked about embracing “good enough” as a design philosophy, Denys immediately pushes back. “Basically, I would say, Radhika, the word good enough is not a word that we use. It’s I see it a little bit like the passing mark,” he explains. Instead, BRP formalized a design philosophy built on three key pillars: innovative product architectures, high functionality (integrating ergonomics and human-machine interface), and the “wow factor,” which creates enough emotional content that consumers are drawn to products and want to possess them. The goal isn’t merely to meet customer expectations but to exceed them, benchmarking relentlessly against competitors to win consumers’ hearts.

The breakthrough isn’t in excelling at any single pillar, though. “We know that what’s important is not so much to overdeliver on one of those pillars, but it’s the equilibrium between the three,” Denys reveals. This balanced approach is enforced through BRP’s rigorous stage-gate process and Design Governance Committee, which reviews projects at each critical juncture, challenging teams on all three pillars and ensuring alignment with brand DNA. Younger designers might chase the “wow factor” at the expense of daily usability, but BRP’s structured governance forces timely decisions that maintain equilibrium. “As design leaders, we must teach and coach our young designers to strive for perfection, knowing that perfection is difficult to reach. Obviously, but they need to learn to make the right compromise so to deliver a compelling offer to our consumers, which will exceed their expectation,” Denys explains.

The Accessory Ecosystem: Where Great Ideas Go to Thrive

One of BRP’s most innovative approaches to balancing ambition with pragmatism is their accessory strategy. “I remember several projects where we had too many ideas. We just had too many ideas,” Denys recalls. When milestones force prioritization, rather than abandoning valuable features that drive costs too high for the base model, BRP shifts them to their accessory ecosystem. This allows consumers to opt into features they personally value while keeping base models at target MSRP. Ideas aren’t killed, they’re given to the accessory group to develop separately, ensuring that compelling offers reach consumers without compromising the product’s commercial viability.

Even better, accessories are designed to be compatible across product lines using a patented quick connect/disconnect system. “An accessory that is designed for a seat can go on a side-by-side, an ATV, and even a snowmobile. So it simplifies people’s garage,” Denys explains. Once consumers invest in this ecosystem, it creates powerful brand loyalty because switching to another brand means leaving behind a garage full of incompatible accessories. This strategy demonstrates how strategic compromise doesn’t mean lowering standards, it means finding smarter ways to deliver value. Some ideas work better as optional features than standard equipment, and recognizing that distinction separates good design leadership from perfection paralysis.

Empathy Over Aesthetics: The MoMA Scissors That Cut Nothing

Perhaps Denys’s most powerful advice centers on empathy as the designer’s primary tool. When asked what he’d tell his younger self joining BRP in 1985, he immediately responds: “I think I would tell them to learn to dissociate their taste.” Designers must become ethnographers, deeply understanding users before, during, and after their journeys. “You need to learn to be able to project yourself as that consumer. The right trade-offs for that consumer ultimately. So learning to observe or observing, yes, with your head, but with your heart is the key to discovering the right insights. And I always say to the young designers that if you can identify the right problem to solve, you’re 50% there with the solution.” This empathy uncovers non-obvious insights that competitors miss, like noticing when users bend awkwardly, squint at interfaces, or stumble while dismounting.

His most memorable example of design divorced from empathy comes from an unexpected source. “One day I was in New York City buying, and I bought a lovely pair of scissors, and it was exposed in the MoMA as an object of art.” The perfectly symmetrical scissors intrigued him, but when he tried to use them at home, “the only thing it cut is the palm of my hand.” It was beautiful but functionally useless, highlighting the danger of prioritizing aesthetics over usability. When asked what matters more than perfection, Denys offers: “Equilibrium, holistic. We need to create holistic experiences that hit all aspects in the consumer’s rational way of criticizing a product and also on the emotional side.” A consumer might initially be drawn to something beautiful, but disappointment with the overall experience means they may never return to that brand again, making holistic balance essential for long-term success.

Safety First, Launch Dates Second

In the world of recreational vehicles, safety isn’t optional. “For us, safety is not an option. Safety is a prime focus for everything that we do,” Denys states emphatically. “We always strive for safe products. So I think basically we don’t compromise on safety. You should never mess with, you should never compromise on safety.” When presented with a hypothetical scenario where competitive pressure and board expectations push for an on-time launch, but a safety feature would delay production by six months, Denys doesn’t hesitate: “I think we would rally every member of the product steering committee to postpone our start of production.” The long lifecycle of BRP products (four to ten years) outweighs short-term market pressure every time.

This philosophy extends to BRP’s approach as market disruptors and first movers. The Spyder three-wheeler family exemplifies accepting that you can’t anticipate every need upfront. “We created something to attract the 95% of the population that drives a car instead” of motorcycles, Denys explains. After launch, new needs emerged that weren’t fulfilled by the first execution, but that’s the advantage of being first: capturing insights that inform the next variant or platform. “Consumers could not have told us because the product did not exist,” he notes, demonstrating how iterative learning trumps waiting for an impossible perfection. In the rapid-fire segment, when asked to complete “Perfect is the enemy of…,” Denys responds without hesitation: “time.”

Listen to the full conversation on Design Mindset (powered by KeyShot), available every Friday, to hear more insights from one of the industry’s most decorated design leaders.

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This Armored Lexus Concept Borrows From Cybertruck and Rezvani, But Stays Premium

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Viewed in isolation, the LF TT could easily be mistaken for a Rezvani sketch or a videogame boss vehicle: slab sides, armored arches, and a stance that looks ready to drive through a building rather than around it. Only when you start tracing the lines does the Lexus in it emerge, from the long, graceful roof arc to the layered surfacing that sits underneath all the blocky geometry.

That tension between brutality and refinement is the core of the project. It borrows the visual grammar of Cybertruck‑style faceting and Rezvani‑style intimidation, then overlays it with Lexus’ obsession with crafted surfaces and precise lighting graphics. The LF TT is not trying to be a practical pickup; it is trying to answer a different question entirely: what would a Lexus halo truck look like if it had to share a stage with the loudest, most extreme machines in the segment.

Designer: Theo Flament

The front end is a masterclass in this translation. Instead of a literal spindle grille, the design uses a deeply recessed trapezoidal cavity to house three powerful light modules, creating the same pinched-waist effect through negative space and shadow. Above this, a razor-thin DRL stretches across the fascia, an aggressive evolution of the light blades seen on the current RX and RZ models. The hood itself features sharp, origami-like creases radiating from the central emblem, another nod to the L-Finesse philosophy of creating dynamic surfaces that catch the light. It’s a clever reinterpretation, translating a familiar brand identity into a language of hard-edged, functionalist aggression without losing the original logic or hierarchy of the face.

The comparison to the Cybertruck is unavoidable, but the execution of the surfacing is fundamentally different. Where Tesla’s design suggests raw, folded stainless steel, the LF TT’s body panels feel more like layered armor plating over a muscular, sculpted core. The main surfaces have subtle bulges and are broken by deep, intersecting feature lines that create a sense of tension and complexity, a hallmark of the L-Finesse language, just sharpened to a knife’s edge. Capping it all is a sleek, coupe-like glasshouse with a continuous arc from the A-pillar to the tail. This silhouette is much closer to a performance GT like the Lexus LC than any utility vehicle, reinforcing its road-biased, high-performance mission.

This theme of reinterpreted signatures continues at the rear. The full-width light bar, now a staple for Lexus, is rendered as a series of tightly packed vertical fins, adding a level of detail and precision that feels more like a high-end watch than a simple taillight. This intricate detail work reinforces the LF TT’s true purpose. It’s not a workhorse. The short rear overhang, fastback profile, and massive, stylized wheels on low-profile tires clearly position it as a high-performance halo product. It’s a rally-raid supercar for the road, a kind of “LF-A of trucks” meant to showcase technological prowess and design confidence rather than payload capacity or pure off-road practicality. It’s a statement piece, designed for presence above all else.

The post This Armored Lexus Concept Borrows From Cybertruck and Rezvani, But Stays Premium first appeared on Yanko Design.

Barilla Snowfall Pasta Just Claimed Winter: Is This The New Pumpkin Spice?

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Just when the last of the pumpkin spice dust settles, a new seasonal harbinger arrives, and this one you can boil. Barilla’s Snowfall Pasta is stepping up as winter’s official mascot, a tiny, edible snowflake designed to signal that it is now socially acceptable to cancel all plans in favor of a blanket and a large bowl of something warm.

The whole concept is a fascinating piece of product marketing. Instead of merely suggesting pasta for a cold night, Barilla has manufactured the cold night in pasta form. It’s a limited edition play that transforms a pantry staple into a piece of seasonal decor you can actually eat, making it the perfect centerpiece for the official sport of winter: hibernation.

Designer: Barilla

This move is part of a larger, more deliberate calendar Barilla seems to be building. According to their own press releases, Snowfall Pasta is the official kickoff for “cozy season,” a term they are clearly trying to own. It’s the winter bookend to their other successful limited run, the heart-shaped Love Pasta that appears just in time for Valentine’s Day. This isn’t just about selling a novelty shape; it’s about creating a recurring, seasonal ritual. Barilla is conditioning us to associate their brand with specific emotional moments on the calendar, turning a trip to the grocery store into a timely, festive occasion.

Of course, the engineering behind a shape like this is where things get interesting. Anyone who has cooked with novelty pasta knows the risks: delicate points that break off in boiling water, or a shape so intricate it turns to mush while the thicker parts remain undercooked. The real test for Snowfall Pasta is whether its snowflake design is robust enough to survive the journey from box to bowl. You have to assume Barilla’s food scientists and die-cut engineers spent considerable time finding the balance between a recognizable shape and structural integrity. A well-designed novelty pasta will also have plenty of surfaces and ridges to catch sauce, which is the ultimate functional purpose of any pasta shape.

The post Barilla Snowfall Pasta Just Claimed Winter: Is This The New Pumpkin Spice? first appeared on Yanko Design.

Nintendo Switch-inspired DJ Console Splits Into Two So You Can Deejay With A Friend

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It was pretty game-changing back in 2015 when Nintendo dropped the Switch, ushering in a wave of 2-player gaming on the same console. Two joy-cons, one console, mano-a-mano gaming. You didn’t need an extra controller – Nintendo built right one into the Switch. Designer Eunjun Jang wants to bring that same modular multiplayer culture to deejaying… because it’s an activity that is conducive to socializing.

Nobody plays music alone, the act of deejaying is inherently social. Look at the Boiler Room sets, where the deejay is surrounded by sometimes a hundred or more people, absorbing the energy emanating from the console and the speakers. The ‘Twin’ DJ Console just turns that emotionally social activity into a physically social one. Two player decks, one mixer in the middle, quite like a Nintendo Switch but for music. The units snap together to create a single 2-player console, but split them apart and they’re like a mano-a-mano setup for two deejays trying to collab in real-time.

Designer: Eunjun Jang

The Twin has this clean-yet-fun design, sort of like if Teenage Engineering met Braun. The console strays away from extra fluff, giving each player just a tiny screen that lets them monitor effects and whatnot. The music itself plays from smartphones which pair with each of the player units. Run the Twin app and place each phone above the player and you sort of see how the entire setup looks like a Pioneer XDJ or something. The controls are simplified, and the entire device is nearly 60-70% smaller than your average DJ console. This makes the Twin perfect for using on the go, in your bedroom, or at a café.

The design is truly fascinating, although it begs for some color and vibrancy. You’ve got the mixer front and center, with EQ knobs, a cue button for each deck, channel faders, and a crossfader that lets you swap between left and right decks, so you’re shifting between songs. On the player themselves, you’ve got a tempo key to let you manually sync songs, a cue key that lets you trigger a particular part of a song, and a play-pause key that form the most crucial set of controls. There are 4 extra keys on the top corner, along with a shift key, and while most DJ consoles have a disc that you spin to rewind/forward or scratch music, the Twin ditches that for an elegant jog-wheel on the side. It’s cute, and it gets the job done, although seasoned deejays may have their own hot-takes.

The modularity is what sets the Twin apart. You can pull the individual parts together and sit across each other, mixing music from your phones. Why build a Spotify playlist when you can literally play a deejay set in your jammies? It feels much more involved, allowing friends to bond and jam together in a way that Spotify or Apple Music just won’t let you.

Pogo pins allow you to snap the elements together or pull them apart, quite like the Nintendo Switch. Ultimately, that’s exactly the vibe Eunjung was going for. Games are nice, but music is just *chef’s kiss*. Each player gets their own dedicated deck, but you might end up fighting for the mixer if you’re not careful! You want to vibe together like Disclosure, not call it quits like Daft Punk!

That said, the Twin still feels like just a toy right now. It lacks the extra features that most professional DJs would really need. Proper effects, looping, the ability to add separate vocal channels, or even shift pitch. Then again, most amateur-level DJ kits stick to the basics, allowing for more simple techniques so that people can master those before moving onto larger tasks. Although, that’s where Twin’s modularity does come in handy. Imagine if Eunjung just designed a set of Pro-grade players that you could snap to your mixer, turning your entry-level DJ set into something enough to sustain a bloc party!

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Apple, Hear Me Out… An iPhone Pocket, but for the Vision Pro’s Battery Pack

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Decades after giving Steve Jobs his iconic turtleneck, Japanese fashion behemoth Issey Miyake returned to Apple with a product that somewhat felt absurd at first. The iPhone Pocket is an oddly specific handbag for just your phones (and maybe some other bits and bobs), but here’s a reality check the folks at Apple probably didn’t get. Your phone doesn’t need a dedicated solo-bag. It fits in most pockets, and when it doesn’t, people carry handbags or purses. If there’s a single Apple product that DOES need its own ‘holster’, it’s probably the Vision Pro Battery Pack.

This concept from Nathaniël de Jong cleverly gives that power bank a dedicated holster to make spatial computing more convenient without the added bulk. Almost everyone who’s reviewed the Vision Pro has railed against that silly little appendage that simply hangs off the already heavy Vision Pro. Apple just assumed you’d end up putting it in your pocket… but somehow it decided to make a dedicated holder for its phones, but not for this?!

Designer: Nathaniël de Jong

The beauty of this entire arrangement is that nothing needs to change. Apple just needs to ALSO market the iPhone Pocket as a perfect holder for the Vision Pro’s Battery Pack. It’s roughly the same size as a small phone, probably weighs a bit thanks to its thick metal design, and gives the Vision Pro a slightly fashionable touch… with the 3D woven iPhone Pocket matching the 3D weave on the Vision Pro’s headbands. It’s synergy just waiting to happen, and I love that someone decided to cobble up some renders and put them out there just to show us all that there’s a great alternative use for this fairly expensive fabric accessory.

The iPhone Pocket is limited to just 10 stores worldwide, and will only be sold in limited stock. Is that a deal-breaker? Probably not, because most Vision Pro users probably live in one of these 10 fancy cities (New York, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.). The limited stock isn’t a problem either, because the Vision Pro’s fairly limited in its consumer reach too… and I don’t mean that as a diss. I just think these two are a match made in heaven!

The post Apple, Hear Me Out… An iPhone Pocket, but for the Vision Pro’s Battery Pack first appeared on Yanko Design.

Apollo 8’s “Earthrise” Photo Just Became A LEGO Ideas Set, Nearly 60 Years Later

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It’s nearly 60 years since we first got to actually see our blue marble from afar. Not in some geography book as a painting, not in the form of a VFX shot in a Hollywood movie. But as an actual color photo clicked by an astronaut from space. Taken by William Anders during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, this iconic photo set the earth against its nearest neighbor, the moon.

It’s a perspective mankind had never seen before, a photo that looked at the earth from the moon rather than the other way around. It’s a perspective that’s still etched into a lot of memories… and now this LEGO set turns it into a brilliant visual cast in plastic bricks. Built by LEGO creator BuildingDreams, this rendition was designed to be hung on your wall as you admire its sheer beauty. Under 900 bricks come together to celebrate one of mankind’s true milestones… but let’s just also take a second to appreciate just how gorgeous this build looks, even on its own.

Designer: BuildingDreams

This is the year 1968, a year before the famed moon landing. The Apollo 8’s mission was to do a mere lunar orbit without a touchdown, and William Anders, a scientific crew member and photo enthusiast, took this photo on his Hasselblad 500 EL – the first ever color photo taken of the earth from space. The name Earthrise came from the fact that it looked like the Earth was rising from the surface of the moon, quite like the sun rises in Earth’s sky. The photos played a pivotal role in helping with the research that then put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon in the following year.

This rendition stands at 48cm tall and 32 cm wide (1.5″ x 1″), and comprises 859 pieces. That might sound like a lot but it’s actually a fairly conservative amount, given that a lot of these bricks help convey the details of the artpiece. The black void of space, the cloud-filled blue marble we call home, and our fair friend, the moon, with its mottled, cratered surface.

“Earthrise is designed to be as close to the real photo as you can get in Lego, with its classic bright art print style and with a simple and striking frame and detailing that will look great on any wall. This build is perfect for anyone who loves space and history and wants to celebrate such a unique part of our history,” says Building Dreams.

Although not an official kit yet, Earthrise is currently gathering eyeballs on the LEGO Ideas forum, a website where people contribute their fan-made builds and vote for their favorites. If this build hits the 10k vote mark, it gets sent to LEGO’s internal team for an official review before being turned into a box set. If you want to see that happen, head down to the LEGO Ideas website and cast your vote for this MOC (My Own Creation)!

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These No-Drill Window Blinds Install in 30 Seconds Without Damaging Your Walls

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There is a moment of hesitation familiar to anyone who has ever wanted to personalize their living space: the moment before drilling a hole into a pristine wall. For renters, it brings the risk of a lost security deposit. For homeowners, it is a small but permanent commitment, a mark that will need to be patched and painted over if they ever change their minds. This single action is often the barrier between the generic, builder-grade blinds that came with a property and a window treatment that truly reflects personal style and serves a specific need. It is this universal reluctance that has given rise to a new class of home solutions, designed around ingenuity rather than brute force. Window coverings are no longer a project requiring a tool belt and a steady hand; instead, they are evolving into something far more accessible.

This friction point in home improvement is where clever design really gets to shine. It is one thing to make something look good, but it is another thing entirely to re-engineer the user experience from the ground up. The best products eliminate the most painful step of the process so effectively that you wonder why it ever existed in the first place. This is precisely the space Keego has stepped into, offering no-drill blinds that promise a complete transformation in about a minute, turning a once-dreaded task into a simple, satisfying upgrade. The core mechanism is a tension rod system, essentially a sophisticated pressure mount that wedges the entire blind assembly securely into the window frame. It is a simple, elegant solution to a problem that has plagued homeowners and apartment dwellers for decades.

Designer: Keego Blinds

Click Here to Buy Now: Hurry, use coupon code “YANKO16” at checkout. Honeycomb Cellular Shades | Zebra Shades.

Honeycomb Cellular Shades

First up is the Extra Wide Top Down Bottom Up Honeycomb Cellular Shade, which solves a problem most blind manufacturers pretend does not exist: oversized windows. This variant supports custom widths up to 78 inches, a dimension that immediately makes it relevant for bay windows, sliding glass doors, or any architectural feature where standard sizing falls embarrassingly short. The top down bottom up functionality is the real highlight here, allowing you to lower the shade from the top or raise it from the bottom independently. This gives you surgical precision over privacy and light, perfect for ground-floor rooms where you want daylight streaming in overhead while keeping neighbors from peering inside. The honeycomb structure still delivers the thermal insulation you would expect, trapping air in those hexagonal cells to regulate temperature and dampen street noise.

What separates this from the standard honeycomb offerings is the sheer flexibility it provides. Opening from both directions turns a passive window covering into an active design element you can adjust throughout the day as the sun moves and your needs shift. The cordless mechanism operates smoothly in both directions, which is critical when you are managing a shade this wide. The blackout fabric options are effective, creating near-total darkness when fully deployed, while the light-filtering versions provide that soft, diffused glow that keeps a room feeling open without sacrificing privacy. This is the choice for anyone dealing with non-standard window dimensions or who wants granular control over how light enters their space, all without committing to permanent hardware.

Zebra Shades

Then we have the Zebra shades, which take a completely different approach to the same problem. Where the Honeycomb is about brute-force light blocking, the Zebra is about nuanced light management. The design consists of two layers of fabric that slide over one another, with alternating horizontal stripes of sheer and opaque material. This construction gives you granular control over the amount of light entering the room. You can align the solid bands for privacy and room darkening, align the sheer bands to let in diffuse daylight, or set them anywhere in between to strike the perfect balance. It is an incredibly clever system that feels more dynamic and interactive, turning the window into a feature rather than just an opening.

The Zebra shades lean more into the tech and design-forward category, especially with the motorized option. The system comes with a remote capable of controlling up to 15 blinds at once, which is a fantastic quality-of-life feature for rooms with multiple windows. The fabrics often have a texture, like an imitation linen, that adds a layer of softness and visual interest to a space, preventing it from feeling too sterile. This style is for the person who wants to actively shape the light in their room throughout the day, treating it as another element of their interior design. The Zebra shades are a statement piece that merge a clever mechanical concept with a modern aesthetic, all while retaining that brilliantly simple no-drill installation.

Ultimately, the choice between the two comes down to a fundamental difference in philosophy. The Extra Wide Top Down Bottom Up Honeycomb Cellular Shade is the pragmatic solution for oversized windows and surgical light control, combining thermal efficiency with the flexibility to adjust from both top and bottom. The Zebra is the expressive design object, offering a more artistic and flexible way to interact with natural light. Both, however, are built on that same foundation of accessibility. By removing the drill from the equation, Keego has made a meaningful upgrade to a home’s comfort and style something that can be achieved on a lunch break.

These blinds are available to order directly from the Keego website and can also be found on major online retail platforms like Amazon and Walmart. Custom sizing is a key part of the offering, ensuring that the pressure-fit system works perfectly for a wide range of window dimensions.

Click Here to Buy Now: Hurry, use coupon code “YANKO16” at checkout. Honeycomb Cellular Shades | Zebra Shades.

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This First-Response Drone’s Bladeless Design Could Change Emergency Rescue Forever

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You know, we see a lot of drone concepts float across our screens, and most of them look like they were designed by either the military or an insect. They’re all sharp angles, matte black paint, and an unnerving number of sensors. Then you see something like VITA, an EMS drone that just won a Red Dot award, and the first thing you notice is that it has a face. A simple, friendly, almost disarming little face.

And that’s the whole point. It’s literally user-centric, given that this drone was designed as a first-responder aerial unit. If this thing is going to land at a chaotic accident scene, the last thing it should do is add to the panic. The designers clearly thought about the human side of the equation. It’s a little detail that tells you everything you need to know about the project’s philosophy: this is about making high-tech emergency care feel helpful, not hostile.

Designer: Hongyi Sun

That friendly face is doing some heavy lifting. Imagine you’re at the scene of an accident; you’re disoriented, maybe hurt, and suddenly a machine descends from the sky. If it looks like a weaponized hornet, your instinct (fueled by hundreds of sci-fi movies) is to back away. But if it looks like a helpful little robot from a movie, you’re far more likely to approach it. This is functional empathy built right into the industrial design. The goal is to get people on the ground to trust it instantly, so they can follow instructions from a remote paramedic or grab the life-saving equipment it’s carrying without a second thought.

The cleverness doesn’t stop at the surface. The design backs up that friendly promise with some serious safety engineering. VITA uses ducted fans instead of the exposed, spinning blades we see on nearly every consumer drone. This is a massive deal. It means you, or a first responder, or even a child, could walk right up to it without the risk of getting seriously injured. In the unpredictable environment of a crash site, where people are moving around and debris is everywhere, eliminating that obvious hazard is a non-negotiable feature. It’s the kind of practical, real-world thinking that separates a cool render from a viable concept.

When you see the renders showing VITA being held in one hand, it all clicks into place. This isn’t some huge, intimidating aircraft; it’s a nimble and accessible tool. It’s small enough to get into tight spaces between cars and light enough for anyone to handle. Every element, from the approachable face and safe rotors to its compact size and clear markings, works together to serve one mission: delivering critical aid as quickly and safely as possible. VITA isn’t just another concept for a delivery drone; it’s a cohesive vision for how we can design automated systems to work with us, not just for us, especially when it matters most. That’s what makes it stand out.

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Super Mario’s Invincibility Star as a Christmas Tree Topper might just be the Hottest Ornament Of 2025

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Nostalgia has become one of the most powerful drivers in the tech and collectible markets. From miniature consoles to pixel-perfect Lego sets, the formula is well established: take a beloved cultural touchstone and re-engineer it for a modern audience. Nintendo, more than almost any other company, has mastered this to the point of it being an art (remember the Pokémon Tamagotchis from a few months ago?) Hallmark’s Keepsake line has long been a partner with Nintendo, translating iconic characters and scenes into physical ornaments for collectors.

The Super Mario Super Star tree topper represents something more deliberate than a typical licensed holiday product. At nearly $100, it’s clearly positioned as a premium item, targeting collectors and dedicated fans rather than casual shoppers looking for generic tree decor. The build reflects this positioning. Made from durable plastic and measuring about 11 inches across, it’s substantial enough to serve as a proper focal point. The design faithfully captures the star’s appearance from the games, complete with oversized expressive eyes that give it personality beyond a simple geometric shape.

Designers: Hallmark Keepsake Store & Nintendo

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The topper comes with a wall-powered adapter rather than relying on batteries, which is a smart choice for maintaining consistent brightness throughout the season. The lighting synchronizes with audio from the Super Mario Bros. soundtrack, specifically the invincibility theme that every player instantly recognizes. It’s a short 15-second loop, but that’s exactly how long the power-up lasts in the game, showing attention to detail that fans will appreciate.

The most clever piece of design here is arguably the remote control. Instead of a generic plastic fob, Hallmark has shaped it like one of the game’s classic gold coins, turning it into a secondary ornament that can hang elsewhere on the tree. This transforms the user interaction from a simple button press into an act that feels authentic to the Super Mario universe. You’re not just turning on a light; you’re metaphorically grabbing the coin to activate the power-up. It’s a thoughtful detail that bridges the gap between a physical holiday decoration and the digital memory it represents, delivering a small hit of that 8-bit dopamine right in your living room.

Photos and videos circulating online show how the topper looks in practice, and the consensus seems to be that it brings a genuinely playful energy to the tree. The bright yellow plastic catches ambient light even when the LEDs aren’t active, and when powered on, it becomes an unmistakable centerpiece. For homes with young children or dedicated gaming spaces, it fits naturally into the aesthetic. For more traditional settings, it might feel out of place, but that’s likely intentional. This product knows its audience.

Hallmark released this as part of their July 2025 Ornament Premiere, and availability appears solid for now through Amazon, their official site, and specialty ornament retailers. Given the track record of Nintendo-licensed Keepsake items, though, it wouldn’t be surprising to see secondary market prices climb after the holidays, especially if it’s a one-year release. Grab yours now before you end up paying upwards of 500 bucks on ebay.

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The post Super Mario’s Invincibility Star as a Christmas Tree Topper might just be the Hottest Ornament Of 2025 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Super Mario’s Invincibility Star as a Christmas Tree Topper might just be the Hottest Ornament Of 2025

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Nostalgia has become one of the most powerful drivers in the tech and collectible markets. From miniature consoles to pixel-perfect Lego sets, the formula is well established: take a beloved cultural touchstone and re-engineer it for a modern audience. Nintendo, more than almost any other company, has mastered this to the point of it being an art (remember the Pokémon Tamagotchis from a few months ago?) Hallmark’s Keepsake line has long been a partner with Nintendo, translating iconic characters and scenes into physical ornaments for collectors.

The Super Mario Super Star tree topper represents something more deliberate than a typical licensed holiday product. At nearly $100, it’s clearly positioned as a premium item, targeting collectors and dedicated fans rather than casual shoppers looking for generic tree decor. The build reflects this positioning. Made from durable plastic and measuring about 11 inches across, it’s substantial enough to serve as a proper focal point. The design faithfully captures the star’s appearance from the games, complete with oversized expressive eyes that give it personality beyond a simple geometric shape.

Designers: Hallmark Keepsake Store & Nintendo

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The topper comes with a wall-powered adapter rather than relying on batteries, which is a smart choice for maintaining consistent brightness throughout the season. The lighting synchronizes with audio from the Super Mario Bros. soundtrack, specifically the invincibility theme that every player instantly recognizes. It’s a short 15-second loop, but that’s exactly how long the power-up lasts in the game, showing attention to detail that fans will appreciate.

The most clever piece of design here is arguably the remote control. Instead of a generic plastic fob, Hallmark has shaped it like one of the game’s classic gold coins, turning it into a secondary ornament that can hang elsewhere on the tree. This transforms the user interaction from a simple button press into an act that feels authentic to the Super Mario universe. You’re not just turning on a light; you’re metaphorically grabbing the coin to activate the power-up. It’s a thoughtful detail that bridges the gap between a physical holiday decoration and the digital memory it represents, delivering a small hit of that 8-bit dopamine right in your living room.

Photos and videos circulating online show how the topper looks in practice, and the consensus seems to be that it brings a genuinely playful energy to the tree. The bright yellow plastic catches ambient light even when the LEDs aren’t active, and when powered on, it becomes an unmistakable centerpiece. For homes with young children or dedicated gaming spaces, it fits naturally into the aesthetic. For more traditional settings, it might feel out of place, but that’s likely intentional. This product knows its audience.

Hallmark released this as part of their July 2025 Ornament Premiere, and availability appears solid for now through Amazon, their official site, and specialty ornament retailers. Given the track record of Nintendo-licensed Keepsake items, though, it wouldn’t be surprising to see secondary market prices climb after the holidays, especially if it’s a one-year release. Grab yours now before you end up paying upwards of 500 bucks on ebay.

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The post Super Mario’s Invincibility Star as a Christmas Tree Topper might just be the Hottest Ornament Of 2025 first appeared on Yanko Design.