Tag Archives: maki

This maki roll inspired chair is as fancy as the sushi you crave!

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Nothing beats a plate of sushi, dipped in some soy with a pop of wasabi, according to me. It’s my all-time favorite food, and it’s quite exciting to see designers drawing inspiration from it! Jin Kuramoto’s modular chair Maki, has derived its name and inspiration from the Maki roll. I wonder what a furniture design inspired by Nigiri would look like!

The Maki easy chair is a simple and minimal piece with a rather interesting curved backrest. Not to mention the backrest is hollow! Though the hollow backrest is a tad bit unconventional and caused a few production challenges, in the end, its unique and innovative form is quite eye-catching! The chair can either be a lone wolf, serving as a solo seating space for one, or it can be joined with multiple other Maki chairs. They can be either combined in one single row or positioned such that they face different directions. The intriguing hollow, on the other hand, can double up as a place to stash my books, a throw or even make space for the pet babies who need to be close to you!

Kuramoto’s aim was to create something iconic and memorable, but at the same time fairly simple. The chair also derives inspiration from minimalism and rationalism, creating a diverse design that can be used in different spaces whether it’s at home or in your office. Though Maki’s modularity and flexibility are undoubtedly its highlights, for me the fact that it’s named after my favorite dish got all my attention in the first go!

Designer: Jin Kuramoto for OFFECCT

Click Here to Buy Now!

 

 

The BALLET compass is sheer temptation for stationery lovers

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Some call it compass, some call it rounder, I call it absolutely breathtaking. Designed with a minimal appeal that one often doesn’t see in geometry tools, the Ballet is a beautifully simplistic compass (yes, that’s the technical term for it) that looks as beautiful as a uni-body metal pen. Milled to precision from what I reckon is aluminum, the Ballet is perfectly cylindrical, with a hint of a parting line running vertically down the center, giving you a compass that splits into two, pivoted near the top. The Balance also comes with two knobs, one to control the tightness of the pivot, and the other one to deploy and secure the graphite lead. The lead itself is an interesting detail too. Rather than have a separate lead and a needle, the Ballet merges the two together, almost how ballerinas’ feet look when they’re posing on their tip-toes. The detail right at the bottom is singular, and is half needle, half lead. Open the compass out and the two separate, becoming two individual volumes, just like the compass’ legs!

Designers: Andreu Gadea and Jorge Ros (Maki Studio)

Centrifugal Force Never Looked So Good

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The top toy has remained largely unchanged since antiquity because… why change a good thing?! The Bubble top by Maki is just a little different, however. The collection consists of two distinct designs inspired by the “collision” between two bubbles meeting. This is represented in its mechanized methacrylate material that gives it translucence to view the interior one made from resin. It’s a subtle twist (pun intended) on the design that gives this time-tested toy a fresh new look.

Designers: Jorge Ros Gisbert & Andreu Gadea of Maki

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MAKI: Print Your Own Robot Using a 3D Printer

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Most of us don’t have a 3D printer. But if you do – or use a service like Shapeways – and you want to build your own robot, check this out. You can build a humanoid robot head like MAKI, an “emotive robot” using 3D printed parts plus some third-party tech.

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MAKI was designed by HelloRobo, with the goal of providing a fairly inexpensive platform so researchers or home users can work on developing interactive robot software without having to design their own models from scratch. So what kind of money are we talking here? Well, $30(USD) gets you the files to print MAKI parts. Since users decide what their MAKI will be used for, they only need to buy the components they need for their purposes. Therefore, it should be relatively inexpensive compared making your robot the old fashioned way. That said, starting at $585, you can purchase all of the electronic and mechanical parts necessary, minus the 3D printed components to build a complete MAKI robot. Though if you want a fully-assembled MAKI with all of its parts, they are offering a limited run for $3200.

A fully-assembled MAKI is a six servo robot capable of moving its head and eyes, and has speakers and a microphone built in. It has a webcam built into its head, and is capable of vision processing, when used with the appropriate software. It can also interface with other devices using ZigBee wireless communications.

MAKI can be printed on printers with a build envelope of at least 150mm x 150mm x 140mm. If you are interested, the MAKI Kickstarter has 18 days left and some of the stretch goals include adding arms to the MAKI design using HelloRobo’s AX-12 grippers, or introducing smartphone/Raspberry Pi integration. If that sounds good, head on over to Kickstarter and check it all out.

[via Gizmodo]