Tag Archives: Babies/Childcare/Toys

These LEGO-like modular bricks help kids learn about energy and technology as they play

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If you think about it, there’s a pretty visible gap between physical toys and digital toys. By physical toys, I mean games like blocks, LEGO, stuffed animals, puzzles, etc… and by digital toys, I obviously mean apps. Physical toys aim at teaching kids practical skills and motor abilities, as do digital toys, but not many toys teach children about how the physical world and digital world are connected. A toddler doesn’t know that their RC car or talking teddy bear or even the iPad they play games on, is powered by a battery. That batteries store energy that can be converted. Or that all the tech around them is just the journey of energy, from electrical to chemical, to light, sound, and data. Sure, those are complex things for a toddler to understand, but the Joul aims at helping kids be more cognizant of how the world around them works… and it does it by bridging the physical and technological toy gap.

Joul, named cleverly after the unit of energy, is a set of modular, magnetic blocks that help kids understand how energy powers their world. Comprising three types of blocks – generators, batteries, and output blocks, Joul allows kids to experiment with forms of energy and learn how it can be harnessed from different sources, stored, and used. The generator blocks help transfer mechanical, wind, and solar energy into electrical energy that gets stored in the battery blocks. The battery blocks then connect to output modules like a light or a speaker, while an optional switch module allows you to literally create a basic circuit, helping kids grasp how energy flows, and how it constantly needs to be generated because it isn’t infinite. An optional iPad app helps kids comprehend this concept further, gaining a fundamental understanding of the world of energy, and how it powers the world we live in!

The Joul is a winner of the iF Design Talent Award for the year 2020

Designers: Anna Hing, Fabian Böttcher, Soh Heum Hwang

3D-printed attachment turns your foamed handwash soap into Mickey Mouse!

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In what possibly may be the most ingenious way to get kids to wash their hands more thoroughly and often, Slic3DArt’s Mickey Soap Dispenser Attachment turns that blob of foam into the silhouette of the most famous mouse in the world! The Mickey Soap Dispenser Attachment isn’t an officially licensed product from Disney, but is rather a clever fan-made product that retrofits onto most foaming handwash dispenser nozzles (although the designer recommends Bath and Body Works soap bottles). The attachment basically helps distribute the foamed handwash into three large blobs instead of one, making it resemble Mickey Mouse’s iconic circular head and ears (or Deadmau5, if you’re an electronic music aficionado).

The 3D printed attachment is pretty simple to install and even simpler to use. It comes in three solid colors (that gold one looks rather nice), as well as two decorated variants that resemble Mickey and Minnie. When assembled, it works almost flawlessly, distributing just the perfect amount of soap needed to clean hands… and that adorable mouse-head works as the perfect playful element to get kids to wash their hands more often, keeping them safe and sanitized!

Designer: Slic3DArt

These Stonks collectible figurines celebrate the biggest Reddit vs Wall Street memes of the year!

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Can you believe the Salt Bae phenomenon was literally 4 years ago?? The internet knows how to move fast, quickly flitting from one topic to the next, and this year we can all agree that the GameStop saga had everyone’s attention. It started with the Reddit group r/WallStreetBets banding together to take on hedge-funds that were targeting the share price of GameStop, a brick and mortar game retail store. While the hedge-funds had shorted the stock massively, an entire warrior-clan of Redditors decided to buy the company’s stocks, taking them so high that multiple hedge-funds went into severe losses.

Far be it for a design site to discuss market speculation, but here at Yanko Design, we’re more captivated by these adorable vinyl figurines that were born out of this modern financial revolution! Say hello to Stonks and his alter-ego Stinks, two collectibles from Youtooz that stand at 5-inches tall and perfectly embody the pop-culture element of this movement. Clad in the classic suit and tie, while standing in front of an arrow chart that either indicates growth or decline (or a bull or bear run if you’re fancy), Stonks and Stinks are memes brought to life, and I honestly have never wanted something so ridiculous this bad! Both figures are a part of a limited-edition and are priced at $30 each. Grab one before their value quadruples on eBay!

Designer: Youtooz

Van Gogh’s iconic Starry Night will soon be immortalized with its own LEGO set!

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I’d venture a guess that owning a LEGO Starry Night would be just as cool as owning the original, but who am I to judge the value of post-impressionist art, I’m just another millennial!

LEGO just approved of turning the Starry Night into a production-ready set. The idea for the product came from LEGO Ideas, a playground where LEGO enthusiasts upload their creations, and LEGO fans vote on designs that they want to see willed into existence. The Starry Night rendition comes from Truman Cheng, a Master Builder who goes by the username legotruman. Cheng’s rendition of the post-impressionist masterpiece uses a total of 1,552 pieces, and gathered a stunning 10 thousand votes on the LEGO Ideas platform! It features a 3 dimensional representation of Van Gogh’s famed painting, along with a miniature figurine of the artist along with his easel, brush, palette, and canvas. The 3D LEGO pieces actually work wonderfully with Van Gogh’s style, as each individual brick looks like a distinct brush-stroke, giving the artpiece its signature Impressionist appeal.

As of now LEGO has approved of Truman’s design for production, but there isn’t any word on when it’ll release, or what the price will be.

Designer: Truman Cheng for LEGO Ideas

This transforming furniture goes from a standing peg tree to a wall-mount, adapting to your child’s needs!

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I know there are some items from my childhood bedroom I wish I kept around to repurpose for my current bedroom as an ode to not only the long-lasting relevancy but also the potential longevity of the design. While I loved my Winnie-the-Pooh wallpaper, night lamps, and bedspread as a kid, I’m talking about those timeless designs like toddler-sized hardwood stools and miniature treasure chests that could be repurposed as nightstands and jewelry armoires. Pupupula, a self-described lifestyle brand for kids aged 1-100 based in Beijing, designs household products with that intent in mind, their aim being to produce simple and innovative designs that will adapt to the changing needs that come with aging.

Pupupula recently debuted their Tree Clothes Rack Series that transforms through the years from a simple wooden clothing rack to either wall-mountable or upright coat racks. While the construction process is fairly involved, including lots of heavy-duty machine operation and precision detail sanding, assembling Tree Clothes Rack’s initial form is simplified as a result. Requiring few, if any tools for assembly, the Tree Clothes Rack Series utilizes wooden pegs and corresponding holes in order to transform into different structures that adapt to the user’s varying and evolving needs. Once Tree Clothes Rack’s preliminary product reaches the end of its life cycle, it can later be transformed into either a single-beam, pegged coat rack or one that’s wall-mountable.

When users first set up their Tree Clothes Rack, two vertical beams support the main, horizontal wooden beam to form a standard clothing rack. To achieve this frame, the vertical beam’s protruding pegs easily slide into the horizontal beam’s holes that were accurately sized and bored during construction. Then, once the user feels ready for a new form to take shape, the clothing rack can be changed into a stand-alone coat rack that follows the same peg-hole assembly pattern exhibited by the product’s original structure. Moving from a standing coat rack, suitable for an apartment entryway or storage room, users can once more morph the Tree Clothes Rack into a wall-mountable coat rack that requires some tools and minimal screws for mounting.

Designer: Pupupula

Tree Clothes Rack’s original form connects two vertical wooden beams with a single horizontal wooden beam via pegs that slip into previously bored holes.

From a clothing rack suitable for hangers to an upright coat or tote rack – the Tree Clothes Rack Series can grow or shrink to match your needs.

With help from additional hardware, screws, and tools the Tree Clothes Rack Series can be mounted onto walls to function as additional coat racks or even as a fixture where you can hang your houseplants.

These veggie-shaped sand toys help kids cultivate a love for nature… and vegetables!

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Turn anything into a game and kids are sure to be more receptive to it! I mean, it’s easier to feed a child using the ‘Here comes the choo choo train’ trick instead of directly feeding them food, right?!

Tati Ferrucio’s Veggies Sand Toys take a similar route by turning vegetables into sand-toys. The toys are hollow so they can be filled with sand, and come with uniquely shaped leaves that act as handles for the child to hold. Paired with a neat digging tool, the Veggies Sand Toys enhance children’s curiosity for exploring nature and their ability to socialize with other kids and adults.

“The idea of this project came from observing the natural landscape in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and how families occupy and make use of the outdoor environment. I realize that Rio has many beautiful natural parks and beaches, but none of them were well equipped to promote outdoor play for children”, said Tati Ferrucio, the designer of the toy-set. The standard set has four toy vegetables (carrot, beet, onion, and potato) and two shovels (one kids-size, one adult-size) with three interchangeable heads and interchangeable foliage too. What’s even more clever is the fact that you can bury the toys into the sand, perfectly mimicking how carrots, beets, potatoes, and onions are grown under the ground too! The Veggies Sand Toys are designed to both entertain and educate at the same time… and if somehow kids can cultivate an appreciation for vegetables in the process, that’s just another massive win!

The Veggies Sand Toys are a winner of the A’ Design Award for the year 2020.

Designer: Tati Ferrucio

This prosthetic leg grows with your child!

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Prosthetics are expensive and if you have you start using them when you are young, it is an exponential cost that keeps increasing as you grow. It is not convinient or affordable to keep getting new prosthetics, so designer Snezana Jeremic has come up with a concept that grows with you! Ring is an adjustable, custom-made prosthetic leg designed specifically for transtibial amputee children in developing countries to help reduce costs while bettering their quality of life.

The conceptual prosthetic leg aims to make the otherwise rigid medical equipment more flexible especially to fit seamlessly in the life of a growing child. The user will wear the leg and it can be adjusted it as they grow to make sure the fit is always optimal and comfortable. “Ring achieves this thanks to an adjustable foot portion to ensure an optimal stride as well as the upper portion that can be paired with additional rings to suit the person’s body as they grow and develop,” says Jeremic.

Ring is a conversation starter that addresses the need for more modular healthcare equipment. Prosthetics like these make sure that individuals don’t need a whole new device every time they have a growth spurt!

Designer: Snezana Jeremic

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Designing products that break biases with Render Weekly and Ti Chang!

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If you are a part of our Instagram community, you could have not missed this viral (and controversial!) post that shed light on gender bias in the design world. As conversations progressed, I realized the bias goes beyond genders and there are MANY segments of our audience who are underrepresented. We need to talk to and more about women, BIPOC, LGBTQ, and disabled groups – pay attention to their experiences, their needs, parts where they have felt left out of consideration when using a product or service. The post was a conversation starter but it needed to be followed by action, so Yanko Design teamed up with designer (and powerhouse) Ti Chang as well as Render Weekly to encourage participation from the global community with the aim of designing to break a bias.

“This is a chance to start to redesign products and experiences that do not address the needs of womxn and many underrepresented groups and historically marginalized communities. Let’s reimagine what could be! Let’s get these ideas out there by collaborating with EACH OTHER! Talk to your community, reexamine your privilege, reach out to this community and see if you can team up with them! Offer to realize other people’s ideas if you are super strong in rendering! If you have a great idea reach out to someone who is a great sketcher! Just get these ideas out there for us to see what a more equitable world COULD look like,” said Ti Chang.

Here are some of our favorites from the #RWDesignBias challenge –

CURVD by Amin Hasani

Hasani is one of the co-founders of CURVD, a universal mug that works for everyone! “Disabilities do not exist, design flaws do. When a product fails to serve a person, that person is not disabled, the product just wasn’t designed right. The CURVD mug was designed to allow all hands, regardless of their hand capability or shape, to be able to enjoy a beverage without limitations,” says Hasani. The mug was launched as a human-friendly design with a patented handle that allows all people, regardless of their hand capability, to be able to enjoy a beverage without limitations. Enjoying a warm beverage is a universal joy and deserves a universal design.

Maria Contraceptive Pill Dispenser by Romane Caudullo and Theotim Auger

Maria is a smart pill dispenser specially designed for the contraceptive pill with the aim to free women from pill omission pressure and its side effects. “Because, while the pill benefits the whole couple, the woman is often alone in managing this contraceptive, the constraints, and stress associated with it. It seems to us right and necessary to use design to improve this treatment,” says the team. Maria makes it easy for women to take the pill and improves its effectiveness by making the process more efficient. A much-needed redesign that comes 60 years after the FDA approval of birth control pills!

 

Changing Station by Claudia Miranda-Montealegre

Baby stations in public are only found in women’s bathrooms and do not take into account the needs of male caregivers. The current design does not feel safe, or hygienic, which leads to people using surfaces that might not be ideal (cars, floors, and counters/tables). This puts the burden on the female partners and takes away equal access from male partners. This conceptual baby changing station has a touch-less opening system, includes UV and alcohol self-cleaning capabilities, as well as integrated adjustable lighting. It upgrades the safety features to provide a comfortable experience for parents and infants alike. It also includes details such as hooks for bags, safety belts that can be adjusted using one hand, and a diaper dispenser for a seamless experience.

Pivot by Iris Ritsma

Even in 2020 majority of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is still being designed for the male body including body armor which is made to protect people from being harmed or even killed by gunfire. 71% of women working in emergency services wear PPE that is designed for men – it doesn’t fit women, their bodily movement, health issues, and more. Pivot is a soft concealable armor designed to optimally fit the anthropomorphic characteristics of women’s bodies. Each size comes with three variable chest sizes and the diagonal straps fit neatly around women’s naturally tighter waist with raised sides on the bottom provide extra freedom of movement in the hips. Pivot provides optimal protective coverage, maximizes women’s mobility, and increases women’s comfort significantly.

Liberia by Nipuni Siyambalapitiya

Current luggage scales in the market assume that most people can lift up a 50 lb/23kg on a hook/strap and weighed, it doesn’t take into account the elderly or those with disabilities. Liberia is a pneumatic luggage scale that allows you to weigh your bag WHILE packing! It is a pillow-like scale and accompanying app. It comes with an electronic air-pump that inflates it and a pressure-sensitive valve that records change in air pressure inside the scale as the weight on top changes. Buttons and tabs are large enough for people with low grip strength and have different tactile qualities, making it easy to maneuver the scale even if you can’t see too well. Simply place the deflated scale on the floor, put your bag on top, inflate the scale via the app and start packing while Libera tells you the weight in real-time.

Interruption Buzzer for women by Kristi Bartlett

Trump interrupted Hilary Clinton 51 times during their debate and in 2020. This buzzer is inspired by the board game Taboo and aims to make group discussions easier. The AI-enabled meeting assistant combats the phenomenon of women being talked over in meetings. Put it in the center of the table at your meeting and adjust the dial to reflect the gender makeup of your group to make sure the contributions follow the proportions. The device will buzz annoyingly and loudly when it detects a woman being interrupted by a man or another woman. It will also turn blue if it detects that men are speaking more than 50% of the time and pink if the same applies to women. The goal is to keep your meetings purple – equal chances!

Diffuser by Caterina Rizzoni

This diffuser re-imagines blow-drying curly hair, using a handheld form factor to help users offset discomfort and pain when using diffuser attachments on traditional dryers. Caterina spoke to over a dozen curly-haired womxn and relied heavily on design for usability. She aimed to reduce the ergonomic pain points present in the current design. This dryer was designed to protect naturally curly hair – the extra deep bowl saves room for curl pattern formation, while the dished fingers naturally conform to the user’s head. The use of metal for the diffusing end allows for even more drying from radiant heat, which means less airflow and less frizz! The soft braided cord easily swivels out of the way during use, and the soft heat-resistant over-mold on the body is easy to grip + easy to clean. Curly hair people are often forgotten like left-handed people and we need to break this bias.

BAGPAL by Tim Zarki

Public restrooms lack hooks to hang your bag from, and no one likes putting their bag on the gross public restroom floor. It is an uncomfortable and stressful experience, especially for women as they carry bags more often than men. BAGPAL can be used to hang your bag when you are using a public restroom and need both hands to change a tampon or pad. It is a multipurpose hook-shaped product that travels with you to hold your things when you can not. It has a strong stainless steel skeleton and colorful waterproof skin that is easy to clean when you wash your hands. With the pandemic, people are all the more careful of common surfaces and we don’t want to carry germs back home with us on our bags!

This fully functional DIY mini-television is the size of a coin! (And it has its own remote)

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Now I’m not really a small-screen person. The idea of watching Netflix on a mobile phone is cringeworthy to me, but there’s something just uniquely charming about the TinyCircuits TinyTV. Designed to be roughly 24 millimeters in width (that’s about the size of a quarter or a dollar coin), the TinyTV is a real, functioning, DIY television that even comes with its own remote control!

The TinyTV comes as a DIY kit that assembles easily in less than 5 minutes with no soldering or special tools required. It runs off a MicroSD card, allowing you to play back up to 5 hours of content (in MP4 format) on the TV’s ridiculously small screen. The TinyTV also comes along with its own TinyRemote with 6 adorable little buttons to power the TV on, change channels, adjust the volume, and even mute the television (I wonder how loud the speakers on the TV are). The TV’s 3D-printed enclosure is designed to resemble old-timey cathode-ray tube tellies from the 70s… and even though it’s printed in white filament, you can easily give it a quick paint-job with some acrylic paints. Don’t use a spray-paint can though, you might just blow the damn thing away!

Designer: TinyCircuits

This sustainable helmet is a DIY design made from mushrooms & grows on its own!

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This mushroom helmet will grow on you as it grows. Yes, read this slowly and carefully: this mushroom helmet will grow on you as it grows. “What do you mean?!” you say and I assure you that statement is not wrong, there is an explanation for it. The Grow It Yourself Helmet is a sustainable product made from mycelium which is the vegetative part of a fungus.

Mycelium is the thready hyphae that are tightly woven into mass branch-like networks making it a strong sustainable material. The network of filaments are natural binders and they also are self-adhesive to the surface they grow on. The entire process is based on biological elements that help in upcycling waste. The process of making this helmet also gets the kids involved in a meaningful activity that teaches them about sustainability and safety.”We have developed a helmet that can be made out of hay and Mycelium. It is 100% compostable, breathable, and impact resistant. The helmet reduces the use of plastics in a product that will be disposed of in a short time due to the child’s growth rate,” says the team at NOS Design. To further develop this design, NOS partnered with a company called Polybion which developed Fungicel (a patent that uses mycelium). This fungus grows like foam and therefore can provide cushioning at the time of impact.

This mushroom material is biodegradable, sustainable, and a low-cost alternative to materials while also possessing thermal and fire-resistant properties – in fact, mycelium is being used in the construction industry too as an alternative to cement which is responsible for 12% of the industry’s 39% contribution in the world’s carbon footprint. Mycelium composite manufacturing can also be a catalyst in developing new bioindustries in rural areas, generating sustainable economic growth while creating new jobs. NOS Design is known for its environmentally friendly products and this design blends sustainability with a DIY activity that rewards us with a product we can use every day.

Designers: Diego Mata and NOS Design