Innovative, unique and quirky product designs make a daily appearance on the Yanko Design Instagram handle (@yankodesign)! They’re the result of our hours of research, painstaking curation, and thorough selection. Sometimes these designs are an instant hit, admired and drooled over by many, while occasionally they tank. It’s always painful when a design we love isn’t loved by the people. But when it is, it makes all our efforts completely worthwhile! So, we’ve curated the best of our IG posts for you! These top ten posts are designs that you saw, admired, and loved, and for those who missed out on them, you can have your share of them now. Enjoy!
This 1961 Volkswagen Beetle deluxe converted into a roadster with a matte black treatment is the work of Danni Koldal, who’s virtually facelifted the vintage four-wheeler into a hotrod that’s not overdone, still maintains its masculine appeal. The front windshield has been trimmed down to the bare minimum, giving the ride a mean attitude that matches its personality. The black is contrasted by the silver-white trims on the doors, hood, and alloy wheels. Those fat wheels also go with the upper body of the Volkswagen that Danni has managed to turn into hot property – we want to own it right away. The VW beetle has been featured in many films from The Shining to James Bond’s Quantum of Solace, even having its own film series; Herbie, its a testament to the beauty of this iconic car that even today, a modification like this makes us fall in love with it all over again! Interiors carry forward the sleek appeal which shouts out loud for a midnight drive on the freeway.
The Rocco multifunctional outdoor furniture by Moróro is a barbecue, a sofa, a champagne bar, and more! 2020 has been about creating intimate moments at home, and nothing says intimate like a cozy evening in your backyard! To take things up a notch, we have Rocco which is an all-rounder piece of outdoor furniture. Its clever design transforms it from a fun barbecue into a sofa or champagne bar and even a smores pit – I think it’s safe to say Rocco is an essential this year! You can add a fire bowl to the base or choose from various other accessories like a grill, tabletop, ice bucket, and parasol base. Customize Rocco to fit what you define as a chill evening. The minimal aesthetic, elegant curves and versatility really put this piece on top of our wish lists – forget dreaming about a white Christmas, I’m dreaming about chilling by my personal barbeque/fireplace/champagne bar while playing Fleetwood Mac!
A portable smart fireplace is what we need for this unprecedented holiday season! My Warmth by Simon Pavy is a conceptual fireplace that was created to make having a fireplace accessible despite how your interior is laid out. The smart portable appliance also gives you the same cozy vibes while reducing work that comes with a traditional fireplace. My Warmth is the size of a humidifier or an air purifier so it doesn’t take a lot of space in your living room. There is a dial to control the temperature so you can pick the right degree for toasty toes or crank it up for smores! The all brushed aluminum gives it a sleek aesthetic that reminds me of glass domes that cover baked goods – as one should have by the fireplace. My Warmth lets you enjoy the quintessential holiday vibes with your own portable fireplace. I can already hear Nat King Cole start on those chestnuts!
Nike and footwear design technology go hand-in-hand, they’ve proven it in the past and now there’s yet another example of their prowess. These are the Go FlyEase hand-free shoes that bring the convenience of wearing and taking off your pair without even bending over or touching them ever. People who already do this with a pair of shoes with laces (when they are too tired or lazy) to take them off the conventional style (by untying the laces) will have their eyes set on the Nike Go FlyEase. The motion of using one foot to pull down on the heel of the other and vice versa when you have the crocs or loose sneakers is what most of us do. But doing the same to a pair of shoes can deform them over time – so Nike came up with a solution that lets you do kickstand heel motion to open them up in a jiffy without any damage to the shoe material. The invention’s core is a bi-stable hinge (the red element at the base of the shoe) and the midsole tensioner (that belt that wraps around) that gives the pair structural strength to be used as athletic footwear.
Created as an unofficial piece of merchandise for the breakout success online multiplayer game, Among Us, this digital clock and night-lamp may just be the cutest potential stocking-stuffer of this season! Designed by Kim Min Soo, the Among Us Lamp + Clock wonderfully transforms the adorable astronaut character from the game into a functional desktop clock, with the visor displaying the time of the day. Lift the torso of the character and it reveals a night-lamp underneath, disguised as the astronaut’s corpse with the signature bone protruding out of the waist! While the product itself is an instant favorite, its choice of functionality is pretty well-planned too! The digital clock on the visor helps you keep track of the time while you do your ‘tasks’ (office work), and the night-lamp underneath is a wonderful way to illuminate your immediate surroundings when someone sabotages your house’s electrical systems.
Designed by Nendo for Hashikura Matsukan, the Rassen (spiral) chopsticks are a pair of chopsticks that come together as a convenient single unit. They look like a solemn long wooden stick, but they can be separated, resulting in a pair of chopsticks that can be used for eating. They pack fun and functionality together, bringing them together and apart is like playing with a jigsaw puzzle! The artfully designed chopsticks are a beautiful example of quintessential Japanese design philosophy.
Burfeind designed Sneature which is a sustainable sneaker alternative for the eco-conscious sneakerheads. The shoe is crafted from many waste materials. The yarn made of dog hair (Chiengora) which is a biological waste being upcycled – this is innovation. Sneature is biodegradable as well! The design does take into account the functional requirements of a trainer and individual customization by the user. The process uses a 3D knitting technology that allows for customization and on-demand production while using the lowest possible energy consumption method. The membrane is a protein-based 3D knit made from dog hair. It transports the functional properties of flexibility, stiffness, and air circulation with a very second-skin feel, similar to the sock sneaker style we’ve been seeing. These materials have natural properties that provide water absorption and release and anti-static properties.
The design creatively transforms a mundane projector into a character loved by people of all ages from all over the world. The projector’s lens is perfect for Stuart’s monocle and the geometric cylinder combines the characteristic elements of IP with the core functions of the product. The upper and lower ends are sprayed with plastic material and metal aluminum mesh. The black silicone headwear is matched with the plastic metal paint effect of the optical machine lens. Yellow brings the bright pop needed to projects in true minion fashion complete with a yellow dust-proof that is added between the hardware aluminum net and the shell. The smart projector is a compact and cute upgrade from the otherwise dull black box! The projector’s single camera, TOF feature face recognition, and an automatic focusing motor keep the picture clear at all times. Relying on the current hardware solutions for autofocus, the smart eye protection function has been added.
Do you ever just…want to fold your furniture to make it fit in place? If you’ve ever lived in a dorm or a city apartment, you know that it is a treasure hunt to find that perfect desk that will fit in your corner and not hog space. This desk by Studio Michael Hilgers brings to life something we’ve all said too often – “I wish I could just fold it from here and here and then it would fit!” It optimizes corner space and while the desk doesn’t actually fold (it is not as flexible as it looks), the carefully crafted corner folds double up as small, elevated, built-in shelves! Love imagining how it would be if the furniture, lights, bottles, and more could be folded? Check out our stories today for the best origami-inspired product designs!
The Tesla Model B concept by Kendall Toerner brings Tesla’s advanced approach to the category of bicycles. The Model B forms a bridge between conventional bicycles and road-vehicles, with a design that, like cars, is designed to be safer, more efficient, and less energy-intensive. The Model B’s sleek frame comes with forward, side-facing, and rear proximity and LiDAR sensors that scan the surroundings to create a protective bubble around the rider, alerting them of any obstacle. Each wheel comes with its own dedicated motor, forming the Model B’s dual-drive system. Spokes on the wheels are replaced by shock-absorbers, helping keep your ride smooth. The frame of the e-bike also integrates foldout footrests and handlebars. The handlebars don’t independently rotate, but rather detect force, allowing you to turn by simply applying more force on a particular side.