Tag Archives: Concept Designs

Air drying rack can make your clothes smell nice and your room look pretty

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One of the most annoying smells I can think of are clothes that dried indoors and did not get any air circulation. That musty smell can be suffocating, even if the clothes were actually cleaned upon washing. Those living in houses or condo units that do not have proper airing space for wet clothes may be familiar with this smell. But what if you can have a drying rack that not only helps your wet clothes dry but also add a pleasing scent to it even as it’s not actually aired outdoors?

Designer: Seungbin Lee

This is the idea behind Air Blossom, a concept for an air drying rack for those living in single households that don’t have proper air circulation. It lets your clothes dry while getting rid of the musky smell that comes from drying indoors through scent filters that are part of the drying process. Aside from this fragrant innovation, the rack can also turn into a display when not in use. Clothes drying on a rack are not the most aesthetically pleasing sight but afterwards, you can turn the rack into a piece of art in the background of your space.

On the surface, it looks like a folding table when not used for anything. When you unfold it and lock it down, it turns into an air drying rack that can is able to rotate your clothes as they dry. There is a filter on the side where you can put your preferred scent so your clothes will not have that dried inside musty smell. When you fold it up and want to use it as a display, the “blinds” close together to form a photo or a painting. It’s unclear if the image and the scent can be customized or if you have to choose from the different options available.

The photo renders show the air drying rack in different pastel colors so maybe you can choose from the one that can fit your home. As someone who lives alone and barely does any clothes washing but maybe still needs it every once in a while, something like this can come in handy.

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Sleek self-driving air purifier robot can go where it’s needed the most

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The air purifier market saw a huge uptick in the past years as homeowners became more aware and concerned about the quality of the air they breathe indoors. A single machine is enough to satisfy the needs of a room or a small apartment, but bigger domiciles would need more units to cover the wider space or numerous rooms. Of course, people won’t be in all those spaces or rooms at the same time, and managing multiple air purifiers could be a tiresome task, even if they’re all connected to your smartphone. What if the air purifier operated only where it’s needed, like in a place where the air quality is too low for comfort? That’s the idea behind this concept design for this elegant air purifier that can indeed go to those areas, using technologies already in use today.

Designer: Gwan-deok Seo

Air purifiers these days, at least the more sophisticated ones, can already detect air quality, but it’s more for automatically adjusting the level of purifying they do more than pinpointing where the poor air is. Robot vacuum cleaners, on the other hand, have become so advanced that they can effortlessly navigate around your home, mapping the floor layout on their own and avoiding all kinds of obstacles. There’s very little reason why these technologies can’t be combined, at least aside from the space they might take up on a single machine.

Puyager is a concept that does mix these two seemingly different worlds together in a harmonious manner and with a compact design. Of course, it can’t just be a low, disc-shaped machine like most robot vacuum cleaners on the market. It would be too cramped to include the necessary parts for sucking in, filtering, and blowing out air. At the same time, however, a box or cylindrical design similar to typical air purifiers would be too bulky, not to mention unappealing for something that will be moving around your house.

The shape chosen for this robot is an egg or at least the top half of one. This allows the bottom section to still be that round shape that makes robot vacuums efficient in moving around while leaving enough room for electronics and air circulation. Unlike a simple dome, however, Puyager has a gap between the left and right halves of this egg, providing an outlet for clean air to be released. The top edge of this gap houses the touch-sensitive controls that let owners minimally operate the machine without having to reach for their phone.

The end result is a product that looks stylish and elegant, a perfect fit for any home. Even while stationary, Puyager looks like a piece of decoration more than an appliance, adding a bit of visual value whether it’s busy purifying the air or just idling. Admittedly, its performance in actually detecting poor air quality and rolling over there to clean it is something that still needs to be tested, but the design is definitely a good starting point for a more modern and more human-centric solution to air quality at home.

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Phone-powered smart speaker concept reads your mood to play the right music for work

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Not everyone likes listening to music, but even those will perhaps begrudgingly agree that certain kinds of music can have different effects on one’s mood or mental state. Next to entertainment or the sheer joy of listening to favorite tunes, the most common use of music is to set the right mood, whether it’s to relax, to get pumped, or to be more productive. That said, musical tastes can be quite subjective, and even the kind of harmonies that you like could be affected by your mood at any given time. It can be quite taxing to change playlists or tracks every time, so rather than relying on your fingers and your own mind, why not let your phone do the work for you? This desk speaker concept does exactly that, analyzing your mood and picking the right music to help you finish your work, studies, or any other task you need to get done.

Designer: Junyoung Lee

People who love playing music while they work most likely have a library of tunes selected to help massage their grey matter, especially during slow hours. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of music can be thwarted by moods, emotions, and physical conditions. Sometimes we’re just stuck in a slump and manually picking out a more appropriate playlist only adds to the stress and traps you in a vicious mental cycle.

MIX:X is a smart speaker system that uses the power of your smartphone and machine learning to automate that process so you won’t have to lift a finger when your brain or heart is just too tired to care. You simply dock the phone in front of the tall, boxy speaker to start the process. The large camera at the bottom keeps a constant watch on the person’s face in front of it, particularly their facial expressions, and using computer vision, machine learning, and algorithms, it tries to identify the mood that the person is in. Depending on what mood that is, it will switch to a different playlist that will help get you into a more productive working state.

Part of the MIX:X speaker’s solution is actually not the device itself but the app that comes with it. Here you select the songs that you like and associate them with certain moods. The app’s AI analyzes the music selection and uses that as a pool to choose from when your mood shifts one way or another. It doesn’t simply get music out of thin air (or the Internet), giving you some amount of control to limit the choices to your preferences.

In that sense, the MIX:X speaker is simply a box with speakers facing sideways and a camera, though it definitely has an interesting aesthetic. It has transparent panels for its sides and back, putting the sophisticated electronics inside on display. The rest of the device’s design is pretty minimal, with a single dial for the volume. If there’s one glaring flaw in its design, it’s the fact that it seems to support only a specific model or size of a specific phone, namely an iPhone, which severely limits how much this concept can be used outside of that single device.

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Handheld gaming console concept offers lifestyle features that go beyond gaming

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Thanks to devices like the Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion GO, handheld PCs are becoming more common and more acceptable in the public’s eyes. That horizontal orientation, while more gaming-oriented, isn’t the only possible design, nor is it even the best option. There are other styles, particularly the laptop-like clamshell design, that offer a user experience that is slightly different but also a bit more flexible in its features. Of course, just because it looks like a mini laptop doesn’t mean it has to behave like one, and this particular handheld console concept stretches that design a bit further to transform a gaming device into a lifestyle product.

Designer: Viet Doan Duc

ORBIS, the name for this design concept, wouldn’t be the market’s first clamshell gaming handheld. Chinese brand GPD has been making such devices for years, and recently rival AYANEO even put out two designs for such a portable gaming machine, including one that tries to recreate the experience of the Nintendo DS. What ORBIS does differently, however, is how it gives as much attention on features that let users personalize the device’s appearance as on the specs that drive the use of the gaming computer.

One simple yet significant example is how the removable ABS cover on the lid lets you customize the appearance of the device while also opening the doors to branded accessories. While you can also just slap on stickers like you would on a laptop, this system is more flexible, allowing users to swap out covers depending on their mood or style, just like how you could easily switch cases on smartphones. There is also RGB lighting encircling the analog sticks, delivering not only a gamer aesthetic but also increased visibility in the dark.

The ORBIS handheld takes a bit of inspiration from the Nintendo DS with its second screen right below the gamepad controls, but it also goes beyond what Nintendo’s popular handheld could accomplish. Because it is a gaming PC more than a closed console system, that touch screen can be used for different purposes, including a virtual keyboard. The typing experience will be awkward and difficult, yes, but it’s significantly better than what’s offered on the likes of the Steam Deck and ROG Ally.

Admittedly, some parts of the ORBIS concept are a bit too idealistic, like the use of an ARM-based CPU (versus Intel or AMD) together with a high-end NVIDIA RTX graphics processor. Having two 5,200mAh batteries inside such a small and compact device is also unrealistic, without even considering things like thermal management and charging speeds. Of course, as a concept, it’s not wrong to sometimes shoot for the sky, and thankfully, some of the ideas here can actually be easily implemented, especially the parts that can significantly improve the user experience by simply allowing owners to customize their device to their hearts’ content.

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Nike is pushing the ‘Air’ to make a difference in the athletes’ stride at the Paris Olympics and beyond

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While athletes around the globe are preparing to compete at the Paris Olympics this year, there is one company that is pushing “Air” to make a difference in the competitor’s stride. We are talking about Nike which is going futuristic with the new Blueprint Pack, its upcoming set of sneakers that will thrive on the boundless properties of its Air cushioning for the athlete’s foot.

When it comes to long-distance runners’ preference for shoes, Nike is the name to reckon with. This is not only because of the brand name and robust marketing but also because the Swoosh brand has, over the years, perfected the comfort for enhancing the runner’s performance. With the new list of 13 products that will be released in time for the Summer Olympics in Paris, Nike is also targeting a new range of sports, including track, basketball, football, and even lifestyle footwear.

Designer: Nike

Besides, Nike is also showcasing A.I.R (Adaptive Intelligence Responsive) concept footwear in Paris, planned in collaboration with champions of their repute including Eliud Kipchoge, Kylian Mbappé, and Sha’carri Richardson and more. These never-seen and idealized designs are a glimpse of the future of sports shoes meant to revolutionize how athletes train and compete. The interesting aspect of these prototypes, beyond their futuristic design, is that they will include sensors to analyze data that would allow the athletes to optimize their performance while providing support and comfort.

In the ambitious move to rework the Air midsole, which is already versatile and comforting, Nike is working more precisely with athletes’ requirements to bring it to every category of footwear possible. The dynamic Nike Air unit is the focus of the company’s designs for the summer, which is a nod to the brand cofounder Bill Bowerman and his obsession to make the best shoes for athletic performance.

Based on the designs envisioned by Bowerman, Nike is using cutting-edge technologies to imagine those sketches to create the Blueprint Pack that closes the gap between sports science, design, and manufacturing. To that accord, the Nike Blueprint Pack will, when it is released on July 3, feature the best of Air innovations in multiple ranges of shoes including the Pegasus Premium, which was the first running footwear with a visible Air Zoom unit.

Besides, the inventive designs have been envisioned for the Nike Victory 2, Nike Maxfly 2 for the runners; the G.T. Hustle 3 for the basketball fans, and the 2024 Nike Mercurial football boot. These shoes, with the new Air cushioning approach, will make their presence felt at the Olympics, while Nike informs, alongside the Blueprint Pack, it could release an energy-driving colorway pack before the games. However, there is no word from Nike on when or if the A.I.R prototypes will be released to the public.

 

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Flip phone concept aims to inspire creativity with Nokia, Nothing aesthetics

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It may have been criticized for flooding the mobile phone market with dozens of confusing designs, but Nokia’s seemingly eccentric designs sometimes hit the right marks when it comes to uniqueness, aesthetics, or usability. From the XpressMusic to the N-Gage to the Communicator, there are times when those designs felt far ahead of their time, which didn’t do their sales any favors. There has been a great deal of interest in revisiting these designs, most of which, however, only make sense for non-smart feature phones like the ones HMD is offering. One particular design, however, might find a place in this modern world that’s obsessed with taking photos and recording videos, especially if it gets a little Nothing-inspired facelift.

Designer: Viet Doan Duc

Flip phones or clamshell designs are nothing new, even if the recent generation of foldable phones has given birth to their renaissance. The Nokia N90, however, did more than just open up in a stylish way to reveal a bigger screen and a large T9 keypad inside. It could also twist its top half so that you could hold it like a camcorder and feel more like a proper content creator. That was 20 years ago, even before the word “influencer” or even “YouTube” came to light. Now smartphones are pretty much pocketable cameras, and this concept design tries to give the Nokia N90 a second chance, with a bit of a twist.

The Nokia N90 design is obviously outdated by today’s standards, so this revision borrows some inspiration from Nothing’s now iconic translucent glass design. The concept focuses on three main concepts: mechanical precision, the spirit of exploration, and minimalist language. The mechanical aspect can be clearly seen from the smartphone’s industrial appearance, revealing details of precision circuity and clear edges. At the same time, however, it still manages to embrace minimalism by keeping the details down to the essentials, eschewing the noisy details that pervaded Nokia’s design language.

The Nokia N90 x Nothing concept is clearly a design that encourages exploration and creativity with its core design gimmick, turning the upper half around for a more immersive photography experience. Not only does it try to convey the feeling of using a camcorder, it also makes some difficult angles more feasible because of the degree of freedom the mechanism offers.

On the technical side, the dreams of some of the best hardware features that the mobile industry has to offer, and not just with the camera that’s installed on the phone’s hinge rather than its back. The physical keypad, for example, is replaced by an E Ink display that combines customizability and power efficiency, while a touch-sensitive D-Pad above it offers more precise control. All these, however, make the Nokia N90 x Nothing even more of a pipe dream, but the design itself is something that could definitely spark interest, and hopefully sales, among today’s generation of design-conscious creators.

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Geometric chair concept almost looks like an Escherian optical illusion

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Chairs can come in all shapes and sizes. Some can take on complicated and organic forms, while others can be extremely minimalist or even brutally raw. They can range from designs that take inspiration from nature to those that adhere to simpler geometric shapes. The Euclid concept is one of the latter, aptly named after the ancient Greek mathematician. But while it draws its shape from a simple cube, its execution sparks a bit of wonder and curiosity as it resembles more the skeleton or wireframe of the shape, represented by almost unbroken lines that are reminiscent of Escher’s famed optical illusion, the impossible cube.

Designer: Sonakshi Gupta

Admittedly, it’s a bit difficult to see the Euclid chair as a cube, since most of us have this idea of a cube as having 12 lines that are all connected at eight corners to form six faces. Then again, that popular Escher object already shows an impossible depiction of that shape, and those familiar with that print might see some of that characteristic in this chair when viewed from certain angles. Overall, it creates a dynamic form that has your eyes following the lines and moving all over the place, sometimes confused about where the front and back sides are.

Its unique form isn’t the only notable thing about this concept, however. Its use of reclaimed wood gives it more than a sustainable character. That material, in a way, carries some history from what it was before becoming a part of this chair. Even if that past is unknown to the new owner, simply knowing it has one could give each Euclid chair its own unique charm.

And then there’s the method used to bring all the pieces together. Instead of requiring screws or even glue, a mortise and tenon joinery is used to provide stability without introducing complicated mechanisms. In theory, this could make it easy to later take the chair apart if some pieces need to be replaced, though that could also start to weaken the connection over time if done too frequently.

The Euclid concept chair offers a design that is minimalist, sustainable, and visually interesting. Whereas a cube is pretty much the epitome of symmetry, the missing edges and disconnected faces give the chair a bit more volatility. That said, it doesn’t seem like the most comfortable chair to sit on. Even if you put a cushion on the seat, the hard edges of the armrest and especially the backrest could give your body some grief after a long period of time.

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Lamp posts become EV charging stations in innovative startup concept

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Having an electronic vehicle is becoming a bit more common, although still not as prevalent as we would like it to be. There are a lot of reasons why some are still hesitant about adapting to this more eco-friendly kind of cars. Aside from the price tag, charging your vehicle overnight is still not as easy especially if you don’t have a garage or driveway. You have to look for charging stations near your place but you probably won’t be able to do your charging overnight. A startup aims to solve that problem by utilizing trusty old lamposts.

Designer: Voltpost

Since street lamposts are pretty common, this New York City startup is proposing to retrofit these existing lamposts and use them to charge electric vehicles. They designed a shroud that will cover the lower part of the lamposts and inside you have various cables and electronic devices to juice up the cars that need them. You have retractable cables that can anchor up to eight feet off the ground and a hand level charger dock. It is also modular and can be installed in an hour and can be repaired easily.

For newbies to the EV game, charging your car here is as easy as plug and play. There’s an app where you can oversee the charging of your vehicle and it is also where you will pay for the service. You can also use it to reserve your spot in case you know the schedule when you need to recharge your vehicle and you don’t want to compete with other EV owners. Even the installation of these chargers on the lamposts is pretty easy and takes just an hour based on their initial tests.

Voltpost has finished a test with the New York City Department of Transportation and they are currently in different stages of development with other cities specifically Chicago, Detroit, and New York. This is something that will be pretty useful to encourage more people to switch to EVs, especially if they don’t have space in their houses to do their own charging. We look forward to the day when EVs are as common as hybrid or regular cars and having a more convenient way to power up is a step towards that.

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Origami-inspired table concept folds into a lamp to save space

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Tables are important pieces of furniture in any human space, whether it’s the dining table at home or a meeting table at the office. That said, we don’t always use these flat horizontal surfaces all the time, and there will be times when they’re just taking up precious space. Yes, more aesthetic tables do provide some visual value, but it doesn’t outweigh the cost of their presence. Foldable tables are practical, but few actually look good even when unfolded and the hassle of moving the folded table out of the way makes them less compelling. But what if you didn’t need to put the table away because it not only becomes more compact but also serves a different purpose? That’s the kind of multi-functional design that this concept proposes, turning a table into a lamp.

Designer: Sonakshi Gupta

The Japanese art of folding paper has inspired many designs because of its beauty, simplicity, and space efficiency. A large and flat sheet of paper can suddenly become a geometric flower or swan with a few folds, significantly reducing the area that the piece of paper once occupied. This art doesn’t involve removing or adding parts, which makes each piece an independent and standalone unit.

LightUP is a concept that takes inspiration from origami and kirigami (which does involve cutting away and gluing pieces together) to design a table that not only saves space but also provides a completely different functionality or two. The squarish wooden tabletop folds up into a shape that’s like a flower bud, freeing up the space around the table for use. Thanks to ingenious invisible hinges, not only do you have a clean and flat table surface but moving only one or two corners is enough to fold and unfold the table. The easier you can perform this action, the more frequently you’re willing to do it.

Of course, that’s not where it all ends. The design’s name comes from the fact that wide LED light strips from the pyramidal base of the table to each of the four corners. Thus, the table becomes a room-wide lamp at night but can also remain as a space-saving art object when the lights are off.

Admittedly, the design’s implementation is actually more complicated than it looks thanks to the moving parts and hinges involved. Those may become points of failure over time due to wear and tear. The idea, however, could give birth to a simpler design, one that takes into account aesthetics, functionality, and sustainability altogether for a truly space-saving piece of furniture.

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Hand-worn smart display concept safely shows information for bikers, mountaineers

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Smartphones can provide all sorts of useful information and features, but there will always be occasions when you can’t just whip out the phone from your pocket to use it. Smartwatches are supposed to solve that problem by offering more condensed information on your wrists, but that can still be problematic for some class users, especially those who engage in outdoor activities. Although smartwatches are often marketed for athletes and people with active lifestyles because of their health-tracking features, actually using the wearable once the gloves come on can actually be difficult, if not impossible. Fortunately, your wrist isn’t the only body part you can use for a wearable, and this design concept tries to place a bigger display on the back of your hand instead.

Designer: Anuj Pate

Smartwatches are the most popular kind of wearable design simply because they are the most convenient and the most familiar. That doesn’t exactly mean they’re the best or only design possible, definitely not for all kinds of people. The rising interest in smart rings does indicate a sort of “smartwatch fatigue” that’s making people think outside the box on how to deliver some of those features through other means. A smartwatch’s display, for example, is only useful if can see it, which often means having to twist your wrist at the very least to have the screen at a proper angle.

Unfortunately, that’s not easy or even safe for some people whose hands have to be in a fixed position or can’t easily touch the smartwatch screen once they’ve started wearing gloves. That’s the case for cyclists, bikers, and mountain climbers who still need access to some critical information but can’t see their smartwatch for one reason or another. Rather than rely on complicated and distracting solutions like audio notifications or augmented reality goggles, zIng simply moves the display to a position where it can be easily seen even without twisting your wrist or squinting your eyes.

The wearable design concept practically puts a decently sized trapezoid-shaped display on the back of your hand. If you have your hand forward like when you’re holding bike handles or gripping a mountain wall, this immediately puts that screen within your vision. The display is also large enough to tap with a finger even when you’re wearing very thick gloves, which is often the case for biking and mountaineering gear.

zIng is just one of a new generation of wearable designs that are challenging the status quo of smartwatches. An ergonomic Apple Watch band moves the smartwatch away from the wrist and onto the back of the hand as well, this time a little below the thumb, though that doesn’t solve the cramped screen space. Admittedly, the zIng concept targets a very niche market, but it also clearly shows that there’s no one-size-fits-all wearable design that will be perfect for all use cases.

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