This Steampunk-inspired 3-in-1 desk appliance merges a clock, set of speakers, and lamp into one!

This 3-in-1 desk appliance weaves a clock, lamp, and set of speakers into a single product that oozes steampunk design elements like analog gears, cogs, and wheels.

Our desks aren’t complete without lamps and clocks. Appliances like desk clocks and lamps take up prime real estate on our desks–finding the right ones makes all the difference for our time spent working there. While there are plenty of clocks and lamps on the market out to choose from, their timeless appeal continues to inspire designers across the globe. Shenzhen-based designer Evan Huang designed a 3-in-1 desk appliance that includes a clock, lamp, and speakers.

Giving the product a more steampunk, industrial energy, Huang looked to stand out machinery elements like pipelines, engine cases, and gears when designing the desk appliance. Experimenting with geometrical forms in the conceptual phase, Huang contained the appliance within a cylinder where all of the product’s inner workings and gears are stored.

The product’s base integrates the clock and speaker components into its build, with a 24-hour Edison-light clock at the top and discreet speakers built into the middle chunk of the cylinder. Blooming from the side of the product’s base, a tall light fixture emanates warm light and remains largely out of the way of working space.

While it sometimes feels like our desks require a clock, lamp, and set of speakers, it can be hard to fit all of that on our desks in addition to our working materials like notebooks and laptops. Through this dilemma, Evan Huang saw an opportunity for design; the 3-in-1 desk appliance was created because of that dilemma. Encasing a set of speakers, clock, and light fixture into a single product, the new appliance concept saves space and looks good while doing it.

Designer: Evan Huang

The post This Steampunk-inspired 3-in-1 desk appliance merges a clock, set of speakers, and lamp into one! first appeared on Yanko Design.

The SLIDE table has a quirky, fun way of expanding and contracting to alter its surface area

Designed to add a touch of chic and convenience to any home (although I can’t think of a person who needs this more than a bachelor), the Slide Table from Studio Lorier comes with a unique nesting design comprising three concentric circular table surfaces. When you need yourself a small side table, the Slide exists in its nested avatar, but lo and behold, when the lockdown ends and you start throwing house parties again, you can expand the table by sliding out its nested surfaces to increase its holding space! Plus, I’m honestly really digging that green lacquer finish on the table’s beechwood construction!

Designer: Studio Lorier

Logitech’s 3-in-1 dock charges your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods

Now that wireless charging is becoming an increasingly popular method of juicing our devices, brands are looking at ways to simplify the experience even further -- why have several charging pads and docks when you could just sling all your Apple stuf...

The holy trinity of charging cables

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It annoys me to no end that whenever I try to borrow a charging cable from someone with a new phone, it invariably ends up being incompatible with MY phone. My phone (almost 4 years old now) still charges via a MicroUSB, which is convenient because so does my power bank, and both my Bluetooth speakers, and even my camera. Now the minute I’m handed a Type C charging cable or a lightning cable, it’s just a monumental FU to all my charging plans because they have the least acceptance rate for electronic gadgets, yet they are the future. Side note, USB 3.2 is coming by this year end to complicate our lives a little further.

However, there’s an elegant solution for all of us out there in the Swivelcord. Designed to look more like a stylish universal charging cable than an onslaught of adapters, the Swivelcord 3-in-1 charging cable strikes a fine balance between elegance and universal design. The flat cord is virtually impossible to tangle, faring much better than regular cords, and comes in a variety of colors. The USB jack on one end represents the standard, while the other end features a rather quirky swiveling hub with a MicroUSB connector, a Type C connector, and a Lightning connector. You rotate the mini-hub to select the port you want to use and go ahead with your day. And the next time someone asks you for a Lightning cable, even though you own an Android device, you’ll have them covered. You may just impress them too!

The verdict? A cable you can easily use and lend and impress people with. The only con? You won’t be able to use two ports at the same time. The rationale? You probably don’t need to.

Designer: Swivelcord

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Making your smartphone smarter

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I still live with a 16gb phone. It isn’t impossible, but it’s difficult. The world isn’t moving towards adapting to low storage, it’s increasing it. So what do you do when you run low on storage? Delete photos and apps? NO! Back everything to the cloud? You could, but you’d need constant access to it to retrieve data. What else can you do? Transfer it to your laptop via cable? Sure, but who’s got the time for that. You could maybe use an OTG pen-drive… but not many people have those.

With Type-C USB ports becoming increasingly popular, there’s one more solution. The Hyperdrive Type-C connection kit. It easily fits in your pocket, and expands your phone’s possibilities. Plug it in, and you’ve got a regular USB port, and two card-readers for SD and MicroSD cards. You can now literally plug any USB drive into your phone and either transfer data to it, or retrieve data from it. Or you could use the SD card reader to pull photos off your DSLR. What’s better is that the Hyperdrive’s Type-C works with laptops too. With most new laptops having a Type-C port for fast transfers and faster charging, the Hyperdrive plugs into your laptop too, not just expanding the number of ports on it, but even allowing you to easily transfer data between your laptop and phone. Without a cable!

Designer: Sanho

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Coffee + Chill

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This is quite the week for coffee lovers! I’m a tea drinker myself, but I can’t say no to a tall glass of iced frappe. THAT’s my indulgence! You don’t see many apparatuses dedicated to preparing cold coffee, so here’s one from the bean-loving geniuses at Emerge Lab. Christened the Dripo, this little thing can prepare your favorite beverage in two different ways. Assemble the Dripo into an iced-drip apparatus, having chilled water dripping through your ground coffee, or a cold brew, where your coffee is immersed in cold water. Both techniques are proven to be healthy and to make your coffee tastier, some say. Once you’re done concocting your precious drink, the Dripo is nice enough to convert into a super handy tumbler that you can carry on the go!

Standing at just 1 ft. tall, the Dripo is the most portable coffee maker out there. Plus with no mechanical parts or electric power required, you can literally have your coffee wherever and whenever you feel (with the added bonus of knowing your little indulgence is freshly prepared and healthy too)! Take that, Starbucks!

Designer: Fred Chen (Emerge Lab)

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