Author Archives: JC Torres

E-ink Vocabulary Card E2 Fits Language Learning Into a Gum Pack

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Most language learning apps live on phones, competing with notifications, social media, and every other distraction fighting for your attention. Opening Duolingo between classes usually turns into five minutes of vocabulary followed by twenty minutes of scrolling through feeds you’ve already checked twice. Designers are starting to build tiny, single-purpose devices that turn fragmented time into focused practice instead of another excuse to stare at your phone screen until your eyes hurt.

The E-ink Vocabulary Card E2 is one of those tools, a chewing-gum-sized e-ink vocabulary device aimed at students but usable by anyone learning a new language. It pairs with a phone via Bluetooth to pull in study materials and memory modes from an app, then lets you review words on a 2.7-inch e-ink screen without opening your phone. It’s small enough to live in a pocket yet designed to feel like a dedicated learning tool.

Designer: DPP .

The form factor is remarkably simple. A slim rectangular bar about the size of a pack of gum, weighing only thirty grams. Rounded corners, soft edges, and a two-tone color scheme in orange, pink, green, or grey make it look friendly and approachable. The main action button is tilted at five degrees, tuned for thumb reach when you hold it in one hand, while the simple layout keeps the interaction logic easy to understand.

The 2.7-inch e-ink touch screen is the real selling point. Low blue light and low radiation make it easier on the eyes than a phone, and the high contrast gives a reading experience close to paper. Because e-ink only draws power when the screen changes, the device can reach around one hundred fifty days of standby time, which means it’s always ready when you pull it out between classes or on a commute.

E2 connects to a mobile app over Bluetooth. The device supports nine built-in languages, and the app lets you import more content and choose different study modes or memory patterns that match your learning style. You can load word lists, practice exercises, and review sessions, then leave the phone in your bag while the card handles the actual on-the-go practice.

The IP68 protection rating makes the card dust-tight and waterproof enough for more adventurous use. The renders show it in a gym, on a train, and even in a futuristic space scene, reinforcing that it’s meant to live in pockets and hands without babying. A matching wrist strap accessory clips into the body, adding security and a bit of personality to the tiny device.

The visual language is intentionally soft and playful. Big icons, rounded rectangles, and cheerful colorways make it feel more like a friendly gadget than test prep gear. The E-ink Vocabulary Card E2 treats vocabulary learning like checking a notification, but without the noise of a full smartphone, turning spare seconds into small, focused steps toward fluency.

The post E-ink Vocabulary Card E2 Fits Language Learning Into a Gum Pack first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Aluminum Sphere Pencil Makes You Draw Like a Caveman

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Early humans scratched lines on stone walls with rocks, and that primal act sits at the root of every sketch we make today. Most modern pencils are optimized for control and detail, shaped like sticks to give you precision over every line and curve. Alberto Essesi’s unnamed pencil concept takes a deliberate step back toward that raw, gestural way of drawing, translating it into a highly refined spherical object that looks more like a polished pebble than any conventional pencil.

Essesi designed this tool for himself after watching a documentary about prehistoric mark-making and then trying to draw with an actual rock. He noticed how the stone forced him into long, bold lines and larger forms rather than tight details, and decided to capture that feeling in a modern drawing instrument. The result is a palm-sized aluminum sphere with a small conical graphite tip emerging from its edge, held like a stone in your hand.

Designer: Alberto Essesi

The form is deceptively simple. A sphere with a polished aluminum band around the middle and sand-blasted, anodized surfaces on the sides. In use, your hand cups the sphere like you’re gripping a smooth rock, which encourages whole-arm movement instead of fingertip control. That naturally pushes your sketches toward sweeping strokes and energetic shading, exactly the kind of drawing Essesi wanted to encourage by changing the shape of the tool.

The material choices are deliberate. The body is hollowed out to reduce weight, avoiding the fatigue a solid metal ball would cause during long sessions. The polished equator catches light and emphasizes the perfect geometry, while the matte sides diffuse reflections and feel softer against your fingers. That contrast between mirror and satin surfaces gives the object a quiet drama even before it touches paper.

The tip uses an infinite graphite insert, a long-lasting graphite alloy that wears down extremely slowly and doesn’t need traditional sharpening. The conical tip is easily replaceable and is designed to replicate the sensation of a smooth stone grinding against a surface. On paper, it lays down a mark closer to charcoal or a soft pencil, ideal for big shapes and confident lines rather than tight technical work.

The exploded render shows the hollow shell, threaded ring, and domed cap polished as carefully as the exterior. Essesi says he loves making every part, even the invisible ones, as refined as what you see. That approach turns disassembly into its own kind of pleasure, revealing a tiny piece of mechanical jewelry rather than a rough interior with leftover machining marks or unfinished edges.

The pencil nudges you away from fussing over details and toward exploring volume, rhythm, and energy. By abandoning the stick form and embracing a stone-like grip, it changes your drawing style simply by changing the shape of the thing in your hand. It’s less a tool for everyday note-taking and more an invitation to sketch differently.

The post This Aluminum Sphere Pencil Makes You Draw Like a Caveman first appeared on Yanko Design.

Google TV Solar Remote G32 Never Needs Battery Replacements

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TV remotes have a habit of dying at the worst possible time, usually right before you finally find something worth watching. The familiar hunt for AAA batteries begins, followed by the quiet pile of dead cells that builds up in a drawer until you remember to recycle them. Google’s new G32 reference remote for Google TV takes a different route by running on ambient indoor light instead of disposable batteries.

The G32 is a Google TV reference remote built by Ohsung Electronics and powered by Swedish startup Epishine’s indoor solar cells. This isn’t a one-off concept, but a template TV makers can adopt for their own Google TV devices. The goal is a self-charging, maintenance-free remote that never needs disposable batteries and quietly reduces waste in the background while sitting on your coffee table between Netflix binges.

Designer: Epishine, Ohsung

Epishine’s technology is tuned specifically for indoor conditions. Thin, flexible, bifacial solar cells made from organic materials are printed at industrial scale and designed to harvest the light already in your living room from lamps and windows. They turn it into a slow, steady trickle of power rather than relying on bright sunshine. Because they are bifacial, they capture light from both sides, no matter how the remote is resting on the couch.

This changes the remote’s design in subtle but meaningful ways. There is no battery door on the back, no need to stock AAAs, and no reason to open the shell once it leaves the factory. The solar window at the bottom of the front face is integrated like a dark glass panel, keeping the silhouette clean. As long as you use the remote in a reasonably lit room, it quietly tops itself up and stays ready.

Current Google TV Remote Reference Designs (G10, G20)

Current Google TV Remote Reference Designs (G10, G20)

The G32 keeps the familiar Google TV layout. A large circular D-pad sits at the top, with home and back keys, dedicated buttons for YouTube and Netflix, and a bright blue “Free TV” key in the middle. The solar area occupies the lower third. In photos, it looks like a normal Google TV controller that just happens to have an extra screen at the bottom, even though it is really the light-harvesting zone.

Of course, Epishine and Google highlight that billions of batteries are thrown away each year, and remotes are one of the few devices almost everyone owns. Swapping disposable cells for indoor solar in a product that ships by the millions has a different impact than doing it in a niche gadget. It also nudges manufacturers toward thinner, simpler shells without battery compartments cluttering the back.

The G32 solar remote is a small but smart change to an object we rarely think about. It doesn’t ask users to change habits or remember to charge yet another device. Instead, it quietly uses the light already in the room to keep working. If TV makers pick up this reference design, the most boring gadget on the coffee table might end up being one of the more thoughtful ones.

The post Google TV Solar Remote G32 Never Needs Battery Replacements first appeared on Yanko Design.

DIY 3D-Printed Clamshell Turns BOOX Palma Into a Tiny Laptop

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Palmtops and UMPCs are experiencing a quiet resurgence among people who want something more focused than a laptop and more tactile than a phone. Compact e-ink devices and tiny Bluetooth keyboards have become affordable building blocks for exactly this kind of project, letting makers combine them into pocketable machines tailored to writing, reading, or just tinkering. The result is a small but growing wave of DIY cyberdecks and writerdecks that feel like modern reinterpretations of classic Psion palmtops.

The Palm(a)top Computer v0 is one of those projects, born on Reddit when user CommonKingfisher decided to pair a BOOX Palma e-ink Android phone with a compact Bluetooth keyboard and a custom 3D-printed clamshell case. The result looks like a cross between a vintage Psion and a modern writerdeck, small enough to slide into a jacket pocket but functional enough to handle real writing and reading sessions on the go.

Designer: CommonKingfisher

The core hardware is straightforward. The BOOX Palma sits in the top half of the shell, while a CACOE Bluetooth mini keyboard occupies the bottom half. The keyboard was originally glued into a PU-leather folio, which the maker carefully peeled off using gentle heat from a hair dryer to expose the bare board. When opened, the two halves form a tiny laptop layout with the e-ink screen above and the keyboard below.

The clamshell itself is 3D-printed in a speckled filament that looks like stone, with two brass hinges along the spine giving it a slightly retro, handcrafted feel. Closed, it resembles a small hardback book with the Palma’s camera cutout visible on the back. Open, the recessed trays hold both the screen and keyboard flush, turning the whole thing into a surprisingly polished handheld computer, considering it’s a first prototype.

The typing experience is functional but not perfect. The maker describes it as “okay to type on once you get used to it,” and thumb typing “kinda works,” though it’s not ideal for either style. You can rest the device on your lap during a train ride and use it vertically like a book, with the Palma displaying an e-book and the keyboard ready for quick notes or annotations.

The build has a few issues that the maker plans to fix in the next version. It’s top-heavy, so it needs to lie flat or gain a kickstand or counterweight under the keyboard, possibly a DIY flat power bank. The hinge currently lacks friction and needs a hard stop around one hundred twenty degrees to keep the screen upright. There are also small cosmetic tweaks, like correcting the display frame width.

Palm(a)top Computer v0 shows how off-the-shelf parts and a 3D printer can turn a niche e-ink phone into a bespoke palmtop tailored to one person’s workflow. Most consumer gadgets arrive as sealed rectangles you can’t modify, but projects like this embrace iteration and imperfection. It’s less about having all the answers and more about building something personal that might inspire the next version.

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Freewrite Wordrunner Counts Words With Clicking Mechanical Wheels

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Writers spend more time with their keyboards than any other tool, yet most options are either gaming boards covered in RGB lights or cheap office slabs optimized for cost rather than comfort. Neither category really thinks about what writers actually need, which is a keyboard that can keep up with long sessions without killing your wrists and maybe even help you stay focused when the blank page starts feeling oppressive.

Freewrite’s Wordrunner is a mechanical keyboard built specifically for writing, complete with a built-in mechanical word counter and sprint timer. It works with any device that accepts a USB or Bluetooth keyboard, from laptops and desktops to tablets and phones, and its core features live in the hardware rather than in yet another app or cloud service that you’ll forget to open halfway through your writing session.

Designer: Freewrite

The standout feature is the Wordometer, an eight-digit electromechanical counter with rotating wheels driven by a coreless motor and controlled by an internal microprocessor. It tracks words in real time using a simple algorithm based on spaces and punctuation, stays visible even when the keyboard is off, and can be reset with a mechanical lever to the left of the display. The counter makes a soft clicking sound as the wheels turn, giving you tactile and audible feedback every time you hit a milestone.

The keyboard also includes a built-in sprint timer that lets you run Pomodoro-style sessions or custom writing sprints without leaving your desk. Subtle red and green lights keep you on track, and you can configure the timer to count up or down depending on how you prefer to work. The standard function row has been replaced with writer-centric keys like Find, Replace, Print, and Undo, plus three programmable macro keys labeled Zap, Pow, and Bam for whatever shortcuts you use most.

The typing experience is what you’d expect from a premium mechanical keyboard. High-quality tactile switches, multiple layers of sound dampening, and a gasket mount design deliver what beta testers kept calling “so satisfying.” Each switch is rated for eighty million presses, which should be enough to see you through multiple novels without the keys wearing out. The die-cast aluminum body gives the board a heft and solidity that plastic keyboards can’t match, keeping it planted on your desk no matter how fast your fingers fly.

Tucked into the top right corner is a multi-directional joystick that controls media playback and volume, so you can adjust your music without touching the mouse or breaking flow. Connectivity is equally flexible. The Wordrunner supports wired USB-C and Bluetooth, pairs with up to four devices at once, and switches between them with a keystroke. It works with Windows, macOS, iPadOS, and Android without requiring special software, which means you can move it between machines without reconfiguring anything.

Wordrunner is designed for writers who want their keyboard to be more than a generic input device. It turns progress into something physical with the mechanical word counter, structures writing sessions with the built-in timer, and wraps it all in a solid, retro-industrial chassis that looks like a specialized tool rather than consumer electronics. It’s less about flashy features and more about making the act of writing feel intentional every time you sit down to work.

The post Freewrite Wordrunner Counts Words With Clicking Mechanical Wheels first appeared on Yanko Design.

This E Ink Clock Prints Fortunes and Jokes on Paper Slips

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Time usually passes without much fanfare. Numbers flip on your phone screen, the day blurs from morning coffee to evening TV, and most minutes feel interchangeable. Clocks are background objects, functional but forgettable, doing nothing more than reminding you how late you’re running. There’s no ceremony to checking the time, no surprise waiting when you glance at the display. It’s just numbers counting down to whatever you’re supposed to do next.

Houracle by True Angle approaches this differently. Instead of treating time as something that simply ticks away, it turns each minute into a potential moment of delight. The device is part clock, part oracle, with an eco-friendly thermal printer tucked into the top that spits out fortunes, jokes, riddles, or random facts tied to the exact moment you press the button. It’s the kind of thing that makes you want to check the time just to see what happens.

Designer: True Angle

Click Here to Buy Now: $128 $213 (40% off). Hurry, only a few left!

The design is deliberately retro. A boxy, powder-coated aluminum body with rounded edges, a large orange or yellow button on the top, and an e-ink display that looks like a pencil sketch on paper. The screen shows the time and date, the weather for your selected location, and a small prompt inviting you to press print. Five icons along the right edge let you select modes, fortune, fact, joke, riddle, or surprise, each represented by simple graphics.

Press the button and the printer whirs to life, a satisfying mechanical sound as the paper slip emerges from the top. At 7:42 in the morning, it might tell you destiny took a coffee break and suggest making your own magic. At 11:15, it could mention your brain runs on about 20 watts, enough to power a dim bulb or a brilliant idea. The messages feel oddly personal because they’re tied to that specific minute.

What makes this genuinely charming is how the slips accumulate. They end up on the fridge, tucked into notebooks, or shared with family members over breakfast. Heck, you might find yourself printing extras just to see what weird fact or ridiculous joke Houracle generates next. The lucky numbers printed at the bottom add an extra layer of whimsy that completes the fortune cookie vibe without taking itself too seriously.

The e-ink screen plays a bigger role than you’d expect. Unlike the glowing blue displays most clocks use, this one reflects ambient light rather than emitting it. That makes it easier on the eyes, especially at night, and gives the whole device a calming presence. The screen updates when you interact with it, but otherwise sits quietly, blending into the background.

Of course, the whole thing runs on wall power, which means no batteries to replace or USB cables to manage. The aluminum body is built to last, assembled with screws rather than glue. Houracle also uses BPA and BPS-free thermal slips, sourced from a company that plants a new tree or restores kelp in the ocean for every box of thermal rolls purchased. True Angle designed Houracle with sustainability in mind, using recyclable materials and avoiding planned obsolescence.

What’s surprising is how much a simple printed slip can shift your mood. A clever riddle before bed, a dumb joke during a work break, or a strange fact that makes you pause for a second. These aren’t profound moments, but they add small pockets of joy to days that might otherwise feel routine. Houracle captures the anticipation you used to feel when cracking open a fortune cookie.

The device sits on your desk or nightstand, looking unassuming until you press that button and hear the printer activate. Then it becomes something else entirely, a little machine that marks time with paper artifacts you’ll probably keep longer than you should. For anyone who’s tired of clocks that just tell time and do nothing else, that small shift makes all the difference.

Click Here to Buy Now: $128 $213 (40% off). Hurry, only a few left!

The post This E Ink Clock Prints Fortunes and Jokes on Paper Slips first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Cat House Grooms With Bionic Tongue Combs and No Electricity

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Cat owners know the struggle intimately: fur on every surface, hairballs appearing at the worst moments, and the daily battle of brushing a cat who’d rather do anything else than sit still for grooming sessions. Most grooming tools are either stressful for cats or a constant hassle for humans, and the result is often a home that never quite feels clean, no matter how much you vacuum or sweep throughout the week.

PawSwing Neo offers a different way to keep cats happy and homes fur-free without the usual stress, resistance, or effort from either party. With its bionic cat-tongue grooming system, cozy felt house design, and zero electricity required for operation, it turns grooming into a natural, stress-free part of daily life. No batteries, no motors, no fighting with your cat over a brush they absolutely hate—just feline instinct and clever design working together seamlessly.

Designer: Andrew Tian

Click Here to Buy Now: $179 $289 (39% off). Hurry, only a few left!

Real user feedback from thousands of cat households across more than 48 countries highlights PawSwing’s mind-blowing effectiveness in collecting substantial amounts of fur in just one week. Some owners even describe opening the collection boxes to find surprising amounts of shed hair they didn’t even realize their cats were losing daily. The visible results speak for themselves, with up to 80 percent less fur accumulating on furniture, clothes, and floors throughout the home.

The Neo’s compact, cube-shaped house is crafted from renewable PET felt that’s durable, scratch-resistant, and soft to the touch for comfortable lounging throughout the day. Its lighter weight at 4.8 kilograms and smaller footprint compared to the Pro version make it easy to move between rooms and fit into any living space without dominating valuable floor area or clashing with your carefully chosen furniture and decor.

The adjustable entrance adapts to cats of all sizes, from petite British Shorthairs to fluffy Maine Coons weighing up to 40 pounds, without struggling to fit through. Observation holes cut into the felt sides let curious cats keep an eye on their surroundings from a safe, cozy hideaway, supporting their natural instinct to survey territory from protected spaces. For multi-cat households or shy felines who crave privacy and security during meals, this design creates a personal retreat.

Inspired by the structure of real feline tongues perfected over 11 million years of evolution, the six patented comb modules inside the Neo replicate the hollow, hook-shaped papillae that cats use for grooming across all species from house cats to tigers. As a cat enters or exits through the grooming ring, a spring-loaded kinetic plate powered entirely by the cat’s own movement rotates the combs, delivering a gentle, 360-degree massage without requiring any external power source.

The flexible comb material and golden-ratio bristle design ensure a soothing, familiar sensation that mimics a mother cat’s lick during early kittenhood. This instinctive recognition means even grooming-averse cats who run from traditional brushes often accept and even enjoy the Neo’s gentle touch during their regular visits. The patented combs remove loose fur from root to tip, preventing it from being swallowed during self-grooming or spreading throughout your home like tumbleweeds.

The entire system is non-electric and completely powered by your cat’s natural movement through the grooming ring without requiring any external energy, eliminating the risk of pinching, overheating, or noise that might startle sensitive cats. Fur is collected automatically in dedicated boxes beneath each patented comb module, and all parts are washable with standard cleaning solutions. The simplified four-piece assembly makes setup and maintenance a breeze, even for people who struggle with complicated pet products.

Mealtime becomes a wellness ritual as the Neo’s main food bowl encourages cats to enter, eat in complete privacy, and enjoy a full-body grooming session in one smooth experience that requires no additional effort. The felt exterior doubles as a premium scratching surface for satisfying natural clawing instincts without damaging furniture, carpets, or walls throughout your home. It creates a safe haven for resting, playing, and watching the world from multiple observation points.

PawSwing Neo fits naturally into design-focused homes where pet products typically clash with carefully curated aesthetics and modern furniture choices. The combination of less shedding, fewer hairballs, and happier cats creates a cleaner, more harmonious home environment that doesn’t require constant maintenance, expensive grooming appointments, or daily cleaning sessions that steal time from more enjoyable activities with your feline companions.

Click Here to Buy Now: $179 $289 (39% off). Hurry, only a few left!

The post This Cat House Grooms With Bionic Tongue Combs and No Electricity first appeared on Yanko Design.

AOOSTAR EG02 eGPU Dock Has a Built-In Stand for Your Mini PC

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Mini PCs and handheld gaming devices are getting impressively powerful CPUs, but their graphics capabilities still lag behind desktop machines by a wide margin. Integrated graphics can handle everyday tasks and lighter games just fine, but demanding titles or creative work that needs GPU acceleration quickly expose the limitations. External GPU docks have become a popular solution for bridging that gap, letting you plug a desktop graphics card into a compact device whenever you need the extra horsepower.

The AOOSTAR EG02 takes a different approach from most eGPU solutions by giving you a barebones platform where you bring your own power supply and graphics card. It’s designed for enthusiasts who use mini PCs, laptops, or handheld gaming devices and want the flexibility to configure their own GPU setup. The dock supports both Thunderbolt 5-class connections and Oculink, covering the two major high-bandwidth paths for connecting external graphics to modern compact computers.

Designer: AOOSTAR

The connectivity story here is worth understanding. Two front-facing USB-C ports deliver Thunderbolt 5-level bandwidth, which works with newer laptops and some handhelds that support the standard. There’s also an Oculink port that exposes a direct PCIe 4.0 x4 link, favored by mini PC users because it offers lower overhead and more consistent performance than Thunderbolt in some scenarios. Having both options means the dock works with whatever connection your host device supports.

Power comes from whatever ATX or SFX power supply you install in the back of the chassis. That dual-spec support means you can use anything from a compact 600-watt unit to a massive 1000-watt brick, depending on what kind of GPU you’re running. The all-metal chassis features an integrated aluminum frame with an adjustable GPU support arm that slides to match different card lengths, preventing sag and keeping everything stable.

Above the power supply sits a removable stand designed to hold a mini PC, creating a vertical stack where the PSU, mini PC, and GPU all occupy the same footprint. That’s useful if you want a compact all-in-one rig on your desk, but the stand can be detached if your mini PC will live somewhere else, like next to a monitor or tucked behind other gear.

The design encourages tinkering rather than hiding the hardware. In the lifestyle photos, you can see a mini PC perched on top of the dock with cables running to a GPU, or a handheld gaming device plugged in and suddenly pulling power from a full-size desktop card. It’s a modular approach that gives you control over every component and makes upgrades straightforward.

The EG02 is clearly aimed at people who enjoy building and tweaking their setups rather than those looking for a sealed, plug-and-play solution. As computing continues shrinking into handhelds and tiny boxes, a dock like this feels like a natural companion for anyone who still wants desktop-class graphics performance without committing to a full tower that occupies half their desk and costs twice as much.

The post AOOSTAR EG02 eGPU Dock Has a Built-In Stand for Your Mini PC first appeared on Yanko Design.

Elecom HUGE Plus Has a 52mm Trackball and 10 Programmable Buttons

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Long hours at a computer do terrible things to your wrist. Moving a mouse back and forth across a desk for eight hours a day creates repetitive strain that builds up over months and years, eventually turning into chronic pain that makes even simple tasks uncomfortable. Most people just accept this as the cost of desk work, but trackballs offer a different approach by keeping your hand stationary and moving the cursor with a ball instead, reducing wrist travel and arm movement.

Elecom’s HUGE Plus is the latest evolution of its flagship ergonomic trackball, aimed at creators, engineers, and anyone who spends serious time pushing pixels around multiple screens. It takes the original HUGE trackball and updates it with tri-mode connectivity, a rechargeable battery, and deeper customization options, while keeping the oversized ball and full palm support that made the original a favorite among ergonomic enthusiasts who take their input devices seriously.

Designer: Elecom

The physical design is impossible to miss. A large, sculpted body with an integrated cushioned palm rest that supports your entire hand, keeping your wrist at a natural angle without any awkward bending. The trackball sits under your index and middle fingers while your thumb and ring finger fall naturally onto the side buttons and a scroll wheel. It’s a desk-anchored device that occupies about the same footprint as a keyboard, trading portability for comfort and stability.

The trackball itself is a 52-millimeter sphere finished in metallic silver, noticeably larger than most consumer trackballs. That size, combined with an IR optical sensor and adjustable DPI settings of 500, 1000, or 1500, gives you both pixel-level precision and fast cursor movement across big displays. The ball rides on swappable MinebeaMitsumi steel bearings that you can remove for cleaning or replace with synthetic ruby units if you want even smoother rotation.

Connectivity is where the HUGE Plus really modernizes the design. It supports three connection modes at once: wired USB-C, 2.4 GHz wireless via a tiny dongle, and Bluetooth 5.3. You can pair three devices simultaneously and switch between them with a side slider, which is genuinely useful if you bounce between a desktop, laptop, and tablet throughout the day.

The button layout is dense but purposeful. Ten programmable buttons, including the main clicks, a tilt-scroll wheel for horizontal scrolling, and several function buttons clustered around the ball and thumb area. Elecom’s Mouse Assistant software lets you map these to shortcuts for editing, browsing, or design tools, turning the trackball into a macro pad under your hand. The clicks are silent, which keeps noise down without sacrificing the tactile feedback you need to know a button actually registered.

The HUGE Plus looks the part of a specialized tool. Matte black body, silver ball, subtle branding, and a sculpted form that signals precision rather than generic consumer electronics. It’s meant for people who want a dedicated control surface that stays comfortable all day and adapts to however many devices their workflow demands, without forcing them to choose between ergonomics and connectivity.

The post Elecom HUGE Plus Has a 52mm Trackball and 10 Programmable Buttons first appeared on Yanko Design.

Alma Light’s Totem I Turns Fluted Glass Into a Glowing Column

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Floor lamps usually sit in the corner, trying not to be noticed until you need them. They’re functional objects first, designed to throw light where you need it and stay out of the way the rest of the time. Most look like afterthoughts, with utilitarian bases and fabric shades that blend into whatever room they occupy. That works fine for ambient lighting, but it means the lamp contributes almost nothing to how a space feels.

Alma Light’s Totem I takes a different approach, treating the floor lamp as a vertical presence that can anchor a room rather than just fill it with light. Designed by Cristian Cubiñá, it borrows the idea of totems as ascending symbols and translates that into a tall, slender column of fluted glass. The lamp stands 150 centimeters high and only 15 centimeters wide, creating a luminous vertical line that projects light outward while occupying almost no floor space.

Designer: Cristian Cubina for Alma Light

The glass cylinder is the defining feature. Made from transparent fluted borosilicate glass, it catches and diffuses light through vertical ridges that run the entire length. The fluting gives it a subtle retro feel, like classical columns or vintage fluorescent fixtures, but refined into a single, clean silhouette. When lit, the ridges create soft striations of light and shadow, adding texture to what would otherwise be a simple glowing tube.

The structure itself is minimal. A circular iron base in either textured black or satin bronze grounds the lamp, while a matching cap sits at the top. The finishes give you flexibility depending on the room. The bronze version adds warmth and works beautifully against wood paneling or patterned tile, while the black finish lets the lamp recede into darker, more minimalist spaces.

The light source is a 150-centimeter T8 LED tube that runs the full length of the glass, projecting light in 360 degrees. The lamp is designed to really illuminate a space rather than just provide accent lighting, which sets it apart from most floor lamps that focus light upward or downward. The result is a warm, enveloping glow that fills the room without harsh shadows or directional glare.

What makes Totem I genuinely versatile is how well it adapts to different interiors. In the photos, it stands against wood paneling in a historic room, anchors a corner in a contemporary living room with teal seating, and complements a minimal lounge with soft armchairs. It can either act as a sculptural focal point or blend quietly into more complex settings.

The lamp works particularly well in spaces where vertical elements matter. Hotel lobbies, restaurant waiting areas, and large residential rooms benefit from the way Totem I emphasizes ceiling height and creates a strong vertical gesture without cluttering the floor. It’s the kind of piece that changes how a room feels the moment you switch it on.

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