Tag Archives: Modular

The One Thing Fine Dining Can’t Control Is Temperature, Until Now

Posted on by

Temperature is one of the few things in fine dining that no one fully controls once a dish leaves the kitchen. A perfectly cooked piece of fish begins losing heat the moment the plate is set down, and by the time a diner has finished admiring the plating, the window for eating it at its intended temperature has already started to close. Most serving vessels are entirely passive about this.

Temper Hold is a modular serving system that addresses this through material rather than technology. Built from basalt, a volcanic stone with a high thermal mass, the system slows temperature change for both hot and cold dishes, extending the window between when food arrives and when it begins drifting from the cook’s intentions. The serving surface stops being passive and becomes part of how the meal unfolds.

Designer: Batuhan Duran

The system comprises four modules, each assigned a specific role at the table. CORE is the main presentation surface. RISE elevates a featured item on a pedestal base, adding vertical hierarchy to the setting. POUR handles sauce service in a form shaped for controlled pouring. REST organizes cutlery, keeping the table composed between courses. Together, they don’t overcrowd the table or impose formality on the setting.

The thermal logic relies on basalt’s natural density. Stone with a high thermal mass resists temperature change, absorbing heat slowly and releasing it gradually, which is the opposite of ceramic or porcelain, which loses heat quickly once it leaves a warming rack. For cold presentations, the same principle applies in reverse; the stone stays cool longer, keeping a dish within its intended temperature range throughout the course.

Each piece is shaped from basalt using CNC stone machining, with chamfered edges to reduce the risk of chipping during service. The exterior surface is matte-honed, preserving the volcanic texture of the stone, while the food-contact surfaces are polished to a smoother finish that’s easier to clean. The contrast between the two finishes also serves as an intuitive guide to how each piece is meant to be used.

A custom-cut leather sleeve is fitted to the underside of each piece, serving two functions at once. It softens the contact between the stone and the table, protecting both surfaces from the weight and texture of raw basalt, while improving grip when lifting and moving a piece between courses. The leather also introduces a warmer visual element against the predominantly dark, volcanic character of the stone.

The material palette is intentionally restrained. Black basalt provides the body of each module, and the leather is available in warm brown or black, creating combinations that feel tactile and grounded rather than decorative. Volcanic stone has an inherently irregular surface texture that distinguishes it from polished marble or engineered ceramics, and the matte-honed exterior of each piece preserves that quality rather than smoothing it away entirely.

The concept behind Temper Hold is simple but genuinely underexplored in tableware design. Most dishes arrive on materials chosen for aesthetics, weight, or cost, not thermal behavior. Basalt has been used for cooking on volcanic rock for centuries, and repurposing that thermal property as a serving surface rather than a cooking one is a small but consequential shift in how a piece of tableware is asked to perform.

The post The One Thing Fine Dining Can’t Control Is Temperature, Until Now first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Steel Side Table Has 6 Functions and Zero Extra Parts

Posted on by

Living with limited floor space has always required some level of compromise, and furniture is usually where that compromise shows most. Side tables, in particular, tend to occupy a fixed spot and stay there, doing exactly one thing for the life of the room. The modern home demands more from every square meter, and most furniture simply isn’t designed to meet that demand in any meaningful way.

The Modular No. 2 takes a different approach. It’s a minimalist piece made from two halves of powder-coated steel that, depending on how they’re arranged, can serve entirely different functions without any added hardware, tools, or separate components. The flexibility isn’t a feature tacked on as an afterthought; it’s built directly into the form and the way the two halves relate to each other.

Designer: Michael Hilgers

In its most familiar configuration, the two halves are joined to form a low side table, steady and practical for a drink, a bedside lamp, a small plant, or the usual stack of books collecting dust and good intentions. The clean steel surface and minimal silhouette means it doesn’t announce itself too loudly in a room, which is often the most you can ask of a side table.

Flip it over, and the same piece becomes a magazine rack or bookstand. The geometry that creates the flat table surface in one orientation naturally forms a slotted structure in the other, holding books, periodicals, or papers upright without any additional parts. It’s one of those moments in furniture design where the function feels almost accidental, even though it’s clearly the result of considered thinking about form.

The third configuration is arguably the most useful one in a bedroom short on floor space. The same holes used to join the two halves together also serve as wall-mounting points, so each half can be fixed independently to a wall as a floating nightstand. Placed on either side of a bed, the pair creates a neat bedside setup that takes up no floor space at all.

That list of functions doesn’t end there. The piece also works as a wall console near an entryway for keys and small items, as a desk extension for an extra surface when working, or as a decorative shelf in a hallway. Every configuration uses the same two steel components, so there’s nothing to store, lose, or replace when you decide it’s time to rearrange.

The construction is straightforward in the best possible sense, with both halves made from steel with a high-quality powder coating. The design is minimalist and purist without being cold or uninviting, and the clean form sits comfortably alongside wood, fabric, and natural materials without competing with them. It’s the kind of piece that quietly earns its place in a room and then earns it again every time you realize it can be something different.

The post This Steel Side Table Has 6 Functions and Zero Extra Parts first appeared on Yanko Design.

Pocketbyte: The Modular Open Source PDA Nobody Knew They Still Wanted

Posted on by

The PDA had a good run in the late 1990s and early 2000s before smartphones absorbed everything it did, then kept going. What disappeared with it wasn’t just a product category but a device that was genuinely focused: it did a handful of things well, didn’t ask for your attention beyond those things, and fit comfortably in a pocket. The smartphone replaced it with something more powerful, but also something that never quite left you alone. That tradeoff is what a growing number of people are starting to notice.

Pocketbyte is a solo-built, open-source handheld computer that describes itself as a modern PDA: a pocket device for play, notes, music, and tinkering, built without the feeds, notifications, or ambient pull of a connected smartphone. It runs on an ESP32-S3 processor, a dual-core chip clocked at 240 MHz, paired with a 2.8-inch IPS display that stays readable in sunlight. The 1,500mAh battery charges over USB-C and holds up through extended sessions of gameplay or music listening.

Designer: Om Rawaley

What separates it most from every comparable device is the modular input system at the bottom. A magnetic pin connector accepts swappable control modules, and two are available now: a gamepad layout for games and a QWERTY keyboard for typing. The connection is physical and hot-swappable, so switching from a gaming session to writing a note takes as long as pulling one module off and clipping another one on. Anyone can design a third module, fourth, or fiftieth. The documentation is open, and the architecture invites it.

The software side is just as open. PocketbyteOS has a built-in App Store accessible over Wi-Fi, where community-built apps can be downloaded and installed without connecting to a computer. For those who want to go deeper, the C library is available under the Apache 2.0 license on GitHub, and there’s no locked bootloader preventing anyone from flashing whatever they build. The Retro-Go emulator runs SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy Color, and NES titles comfortably on the hardware. Celeste has been ported to it. The device also plays MP3 and WAV files with cover art and ships with a stereo headphone jack alongside the built-in mono speaker.

Storage goes up to 32GB via microSD, which covers a lot of retro games, playlists, and saved data in a device this size. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are both built into the ESP32-S3, so wireless connectivity is available without adding hardware. For anyone who wants to build interactive apps, such as wireless messaging tools, music sequencers, graphing calculators, or text editors, the platform handles all of it within a form factor that actually fits in a pocket.

DevKits are coming to early adopters and developers first, with broader availability to follow. It’s aimed at makers, retro gaming fans, digital minimalists, and anyone who’s wanted a small, capable, honest machine that doesn’t ask for more of their time than they’re willing to give it. Devices like this used to exist. They went away. Pocketbyte is an argument that they shouldn’t have.

The post Pocketbyte: The Modular Open Source PDA Nobody Knew They Still Wanted first appeared on Yanko Design.

A 3-Part Titanium Rescue Whistle That Combines Into a 120dB Siren

Posted on by

Most emergency gear has a problem that rarely gets discussed: people don’t actually carry it. A multi-tool left in a drawer or a whistle packed inside a bag at home might as well not exist. Rescue whistles, in particular, haven’t changed much over the years. They’re usually afterthoughts, built to make noise rather than to be trusted or carried without a second thought.

TriReso is Spark Cube’s answer to that problem. Rather than building a louder whistle, the team spent nearly two years designing a three-module system that borrows from the acoustic logic of emergency sirens: irregular, shifting frequencies that are harder for the human brain to ignore. Volume matters, of course, but the real focus is a signal that people actually hear, recognize, and can locate under pressure.

Designer: Spark Cube

Click Here to Buy Now: $64 $99 (35% off). Hurry, 63/200 left! Raised over $45,000.

Each of TriReso’s three modules is a fully functional whistle tuned to a different frequency. The Power Chamber sits at 3,600 Hz and 110 dB, built for open terrain and heavy wind. The Alert Chamber pushes up to 4,800 Hz at 105 dB, sharp enough to cut through crowd noise. The Echo Chamber runs at 3,800 Hz and 100 dB, adding a layered resonance to the combined signal.

1

1

What makes the system interesting is what happens when those modules combine. Snap any two together, and you get one of three dual-chamber configurations, each with its own blended sound profile. Snap all three and TriReso reaches up to 120 dB, producing an irregular, multi-frequency output that shifts the way a siren does, spanning a range from 3,600 to 4,800 Hz.

The assembly is just as considered as the acoustic concept. The modules connect through a triple-lock structure using hidden multi-point magnets and guided alignment grooves that snap them into position quickly and securely. When threaded together on a chain or cord, the lanyard holes also merge, adding another layer of physical retention. It’s a satisfying mechanism that makes switching between modes feel deliberate rather than fussy.

1

That modularity opens up something a standard whistle simply can’t do. Since each piece works independently, one TriReso system can be split among up to three people, which is particularly handy for group hikes, trail-running teams, or outdoor families. Instead of everyone carrying a separate whistle, one compact system distributes the coverage without adding meaningful weight or bulk to anyone’s kit.

Reliability was clearly a priority in the build. TriReso uses a pealess design, so there’s no moving ball inside that could freeze, corrode, jam with sand, or swell from moisture. Whether you’re hiking in wet weather, scrambling through dusty terrain, or digging it out of a cold jacket pocket in winter, it doesn’t need warming up. Pick it up, blow, and it works.

The material options are titanium and aluminum, and neither feels like a compromise. Titanium delivers strength, corrosion resistance, and a premium, machined feel, available in sandblasted gray or an optional PVD black finish. Aluminum keeps things lighter, coming in orange by default, with blue and green as options. Both bring the kind of build quality that makes a small tool feel worth keeping for years.

1

Each module has a dedicated tritium slot, which means the full system can hold up to three tritium tubes. Tritium produces its own glow for up to 25 years without a battery or charge, which keeps TriReso easy to spot in the dark. It’s a handy feature for something small enough to clip to a keychain, slide onto a backpack strap, or wear as a necklace.

There’s also an optional custom engraving, which turns it into a thoughtful safety gift for a partner, a child, or a friend. It’s a subtle touch that says something about what TriReso is going for: a tool personal enough to keep close, reliable enough to trust when things go wrong, and well-designed enough to actually want to carry every single day.

Click Here to Buy Now: $64 $99 (35% off). Hurry, 63/200 left! Raised over $45,000.

The post A 3-Part Titanium Rescue Whistle That Combines Into a 120dB Siren first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Corner 99.5% of Wardrobes Ignore Finally Has a Rack for It

Posted on by

The wardrobe is one of those household objects that seems like it has plenty of room until it doesn’t. Most people eventually find themselves pushing hangers aside to make space, folding things into corners, and stacking items on whatever flat surface presents itself. Organization accessories exist in abundance, but the majority address the visible problem rather than the structural one.

A user survey of more than 50 real wardrobes found that 99.5% of the top corners went entirely unused, prime vertical real estate that no hanging rod reaches, and no standard shelf fits. That specific insight became the starting point for CONCEPT II, a wardrobe rack designed not for the existing infrastructure of the wardrobe but for the part most people have simply given up on.

Designer: Arnav Ashwin

A single vertical post in a dark finish anchors the rack, with a series of wooden shelf slabs attached at staggered heights and alternating sides. The shelves vary in size, with the largest at the bottom and progressively smaller ones rising toward the top, giving the whole structure a stepped, almost branching silhouette that takes up almost no floor footprint while climbing the otherwise empty height of the corner.

Each shelf slides into a slot in the post rather than being fixed, so the order can be changed based on what needs to go where. Taller items that wouldn’t fit between closely spaced shelves can be shifted to a wider gap. A triangular corner shelf piece also fits the post, filling the awkward dead angle that most corner storage solutions simply leave behind.

All the components come apart completely, which has a practical consequence beyond just being convenient to assemble. When it needs to move or doesn’t fit through a doorway assembled, everything lays flat for packaging. The slot-and-groove connection that makes the shelves adjustable is the same mechanism that allows the whole thing to disassemble without tools, keeping the design logic consistent from first assembly to eventual relocation.

Someone who keeps cosmetics, accessories, or chargers on the wardrobe floor because there’s nowhere else for them now has a structured option that doesn’t involve buying new furniture or installing shelves in the wall. The rack sits in the corner, takes up the space that was already empty, and gives each category of item its own level without competing with the hanging clothes.

The rack doesn’t have to stay inside the wardrobe either. The warm wood tones and staggered profile work just as well against a living room wall or next to a television, where the shelves hold plants, small sculptures, or anything decorative. It’s the kind of piece that looks intentional rather than utilitarian in an open setting, which isn’t something most storage accessories can convincingly claim.

The material choice of solid wood paired with a dark post finish gives the rack a considered appearance that doesn’t telegraph “storage problem.” The user research behind it, drawn from a survey of more than 50 real wardrobes, makes the solution feel less like a product invention and more like an obvious fix that took a careful look at the actual problem to arrive at.

The post The Corner 99.5% of Wardrobes Ignore Finally Has a Rack for It first appeared on Yanko Design.

Gaming Laptops Die Mid-Game, GPD WIN Max 3 Swaps Its Battery Live

Posted on by

Handheld gaming PCs have come a long way, but most still force an uncomfortable compromise. The ones built around controllers and portable gaming rarely double as decent work machines, while those that lean toward productivity often handle demanding games with apology. Anyone wanting both usually ends up carrying two devices, a proper laptop for meetings and a gaming handheld for the commute home.

The GPD WIN Max 3 tries to sidestep that problem entirely. It looks like a compact clamshell laptop at first, complete with a keyboard, a Precision touchpad, and a 9.06-inch display on a hinged lid. Lift those magnetic panels above the keyboard, though, and a set of capacitive joysticks appears alongside linear Hall-effect triggers, two programmable rear buttons, and a full Xbox-style controller layout.

Designer: GPD

That 9.06-inch screen doesn’t cut corners on quality. GPD is listing an AMOLED panel with a 2400×1504 resolution, a 165Hz refresh rate, and HDR10 support, protected by Gorilla Glass 6. Peak brightness reaches 1,050 nits, making it readable in brighter environments, while the 313 PPI pixel density keeps text and graphics crisp whether you’re reviewing a document or mid-fight in a demanding AAA title.

Underneath the hood, the WIN Max 3 is listed with either the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 or 388, both Zen 5 Strix Halo chips with Radeon 8060S integrated graphics that go well beyond what typical handhelds can offer. Configurations scale up to 128GB of LPDDR5x-8000 memory in a quad-channel setup, with storage stretching to 4TB, figures that feel more at home in a workstation than a portable gaming device.

What sets the WIN Max 3 apart is its power architecture. Rather than a sealed internal battery, it uses a 97Wh hot-swappable module that attaches externally, letting you swap it mid-session without shutting down. You can also run the machine straight from a 180W DC adapter without any battery installed. An external 110W fan module clips on separately to push sustained performance to its TDP ceiling.

The connectivity options for a device this compact are genuinely broad. A USB4 port with 40Gbps bandwidth and DisplayPort 2.1, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and HDMI 2.1 FRL mean you can connect to external displays, docking stations, or even GPD’s G2 graphics dock for extra GPU performance the moment you sit down at a desk.

Finish a report during a flight, swap out the battery at the gate, and boot up a graphically demanding title in the hotel room, all without a second device in your bag. That’s the scenario the WIN Max 3 is built around, and for the perpetual traveler who also games, it makes an honest case for consolidating two things you’d otherwise pack separately.

There are legitimate trade-offs, naturally. The base unit weighs 815g, climbing to 1,220g with the battery module in place, which rules out jacket pocket carry. Pricing is expected to start around $2,000. For a device that can handle a board meeting and a late-night gaming session in the same bag, that price feels both like a luxury and an honest calculation.

The post Gaming Laptops Die Mid-Game, GPD WIN Max 3 Swaps Its Battery Live first appeared on Yanko Design.

Twin Phone splits into two for users who don’t want to live with a dumb phone for the rest of their lives

Posted on by

Just when you think you’ve seen all the smartphone form factors – flip phones, triple-fold ones, ones with popping cameras, and whatnot – there’s still one more to surprise you. This is the Twin Phone designed to have the most flexible form factor you could imagine on a daily driver device. You can virtually take this phone apart into two halves, because why not?

The concept device created in collaboration with Olivier Verbeke concentrates on the perils of modern-day devices that overpower the user’s will to have self-control and not go down the doom-scrolling rabbit hole. While we do have dumb phones and dedicated applications to control smartphone addiction, whether they actually work is anybody’s guess. That’s where Twin Phone has a different approach to things.

Designer: Wild Mind and Olivier Verbeke

Two halves of the phone serve their own dedicated purpose, while putting them together brings the best of both worlds together. One half is a simple phone for basic functionality like taking calls, texting, reading e-books, or essential functions like navigation. The other half has a larger battery module for heavyweight tasks and functions as a dock for the smaller unit to snap onto. Slide them together, and there is the Twin Phone ready for a day’s work, just like your usual modern-day smartphone.

The simple phone module has everything toned down in that mode, as the E-ink display is easy on the eyes and uses very little power. Since the compact form of this module houses a smaller battery, power conservation is essential, which is achieved by the minimalist approach. This comes in handy when you simply leave the other module in your closet and tag along with the module without feeling disconnected from the world. Come back home and put the two modules together to get the advantage of a “smart phone” in your possession.

Twin Phone is built from recycled plastic, and the on-board battery can be replaced by removing the screws on the back. A larger screw on the back acts as a strap attachment for the lanyard function. To keep the phone relevant for young users, the designer imagines the device in a range of peppy colors, including blue, orange, purple, military green, and muted white.

I simply love the idea of such a thoughtful device, which doesn’t try to completely put a stop to smartphone usage, giving one no option to retreat for some breathing space. The phone lets you decide when it is time to go minimal and when it’s time to explore the capabilities of a powerful device. This freedom lets the user gradually ease into a lifestyle wherein the phone is no longer dictating terms, and solves the intended purpose for once.

The post Twin Phone splits into two for users who don’t want to live with a dumb phone for the rest of their lives first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Compact Grill Plate Cooks a Perfect Steak Over Any Heat Source & Packs Flat When You’re Done

Posted on by

Some grill pans spend their days at the back of a cabinet, too heavy to bother with and too uneven to trust. Then there are the ones that earn a place on the stove every single time. The Compact Modular Grill Plate belongs to the second category. Built with a three-layer steel construction that spreads heat evenly across its entire surface, it closes the gap between a proper kitchen sear and a campfire meal, without making you choose between the two.

What makes it worth owning is the adaptability. Handles swap out depending on the situation. The plate runs on campfires, gas burners, and induction stoves without modification. When cooking is done, the whole setup packs flat, small enough to fit in a bag without reorganizing everything around it. That level of flexibility does not happen by accident. It is the result of a design that actually solves the problem rather than merely describing it.

Click Here to Buy Now: $100.00

Even Heat, Everywhere

The three-layer steel plate is where the performance begins. Single-layer pans burn where the flame sits and fade everywhere else, which is how a good cut of meat ends up patchy and dry in the wrong places. The layered construction here distributes heat uniformly from the edge to the center, keeping the temperature consistent across the entire cooking surface. The result is a better sear, better moisture retention, and food that actually tastes the way it should. Compatible with campfires, gas burners, and induction stoves, it performs just as well in a small apartment kitchen as it does over an open fire on uneven ground.

Modular, Compact, Actually Practical

Most portable cookware treats portability as a footnote. The Compact Modular Grill Plate starts there. The handle system swaps out depending on the setting, so the plate adjusts to whatever the cook needs rather than the other way around. Remove the handles for cleaning, and pack everything flat for travel. There is a specific kind of satisfaction in gear designed to disappear when you are done with it, and this plate earns that cleanly. It comes in a Basic set and a Special set for those who want more to work with from the start.

What We Like

  • Three-layer heat distribution: a properly engineered cooking surface that keeps temperature uniform for consistent sears and better moisture retention from edge to center
  • Multiple heat source compatibility: campfire, gas, and induction in one plate with no adapters and no compromise between settings
  • Swappable handle design: takes seconds to change and genuinely adapts the plate to whatever situation the cook is working in
  • Compact pack-down: flat storage with handles removed; the kind of practical detail that determines whether gear actually makes the trip

What We Dislike

  • No surface treatment specified: the product does not clarify whether the cooking surface has a non-stick finish, which matters for cooking delicate proteins and for cleanup expectations
  • Limited set configuration: Basic and Special cover the range well, but there is no option to add a single accessory without committing to a full set upgrade

The Cookware That Goes Where You Go

The Compact Modular Grill Plate was built for cooking that happens outside the ideal. An unpredictable campfire. A countertop induction burner in a small space. A situation where the cookware needs to adapt before you do. It handles all three without changing what it is, which is a rarer quality in portable cookware than it should be.

If what you are currently cooking with makes the meal harder than it needs to be, this is the straightforward fix. Pick up the Basic or Special set and take the guesswork out of the next meal.

The post This Compact Grill Plate Cooks a Perfect Steak Over Any Heat Source & Packs Flat When You’re Done first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Modular Table That Actually Works for Public Spaces

Posted on by

A table is arguably the most taken-for-granted object in design. Four legs, a flat surface, repeat. We have been manufacturing and sitting around tables in essentially the same configuration for centuries, and most of us have never once stopped to ask whether the table itself is actually working for us. Fengfan Yang clearly did.

Yang is a Stuttgart-based industrial designer who recently collaborated with Danish furniture brand +Halle on a project called Hang On, and the result is one of those rare designs that makes you feel a little embarrassed for not questioning it sooner. The concept is deceptively simple: strip the table back to its most essential structural elements, then let everything else hang. Literally.

Designers: Fengfan Yang + Halle

The premise behind Hang On is that the conventional table carries a lot of unnecessary baggage. Fixed components, bulky frames, surfaces that are either too large or too rigid for the spaces they occupy. Anyone who has ever tried to clean under one in a busy canteen, or rearranged furniture at a festival venue, or watched an airport food court struggle to seat an unpredictable surge of travelers knows exactly how inflexible the standard table can be. Yang noticed this, and instead of making a prettier version of what already existed, he went back to the architecture of the object itself.

The system works through an extruded profile structure, where the table’s add-ons, things like tabletop surfaces and functional accessories, simply hang onto a core frame. Assembly is quick, disassembly is just as fast, and the whole setup is customizable depending on what a space actually needs at any given moment. That “hanging” action is not just a clever name. It is the entire design logic, and it holds up beautifully.

What makes Hang On genuinely exciting is not the novelty of modularity, because modular furniture has been a design buzzword for years. It is the specificity of the problem Yang chose to solve. This was never meant to be a living room conversation piece or a collector’s item. It was designed for the messy, high-traffic realities of restaurants, markets, airports, canteens, outdoor festivals, and shopping centers. Spaces that demand flexibility, easy cleaning, and fast reconfiguration. Public furniture has historically been treated as an afterthought, chosen for durability over intelligence. Hang On treats it as a design challenge worth solving properly.

The collaboration with +Halle makes sense here. The Danish brand has a reputation for thoughtful, durable furniture built for communal environments, and that sensibility aligns well with Yang’s approach. The extruded profile construction also means the piece is cost-efficient to produce and more sustainable than a comparably functional table that relies on complex manufacturing. The design was longlisted for Dezeen Awards 2025 in the furniture category, which tells you that the broader design industry has taken notice.

What speaks most loudly about Hang On is the restraint of it. Designers are often tempted to make their mark through addition, by piling on features or leaning into visual drama. Yang did the opposite. He removed, simplified, and reduced until what was left was just the logic of the thing. The name is both a literal description and, depending on how you read it, a small instruction to pay attention.

Public space design rarely gets the careful, considered treatment reserved for residential or high-end commercial interiors. We tolerate wobbly café tables and undersized airport counters because we have always tolerated them. Hang On is a quiet argument that we do not have to. That the furniture serving crowds of strangers every day might actually deserve the same level of thoughtful design as anything you would put in your own home. And that sometimes, reimagining something as fundamental as a table starts simply by asking why it was built that way in the first place.

The post The Modular Table That Actually Works for Public Spaces first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Handheld PC That Becomes a Gamepad, Keyboard, or Knob Panel

Posted on by

The handheld PC market has gotten surprisingly competitive in recent years. Devices like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally have proven that people genuinely want powerful computers in their pockets, but they’ve all settled into roughly the same formula: a fixed gamepad layout and a fixed identity as gaming devices. Getting any serious work done on them usually means plugging in a keyboard and calling it a compromise.

The CG Deck takes a different approach. Rather than locking itself into one form factor, it’s built around swappable input modules that let you physically change what kind of device it is, depending on what you need it to do. Snap on the gamepad for gaming, switch to the 64-key keyboard for writing, or reach for the 11-key rotary knob module when precision matters most.

Designer: Mogozen

The module system is split into two types of slots, primary and secondary, which accept different kinds of attachments. The primary slot handles the bigger input options, like the gamepad controller, keyboard, or knob module. The secondary slot is where something like a trackball mouse module goes. Over 30 additional modules are already in development, opening the door to configurations nobody has really tried before.

Running the whole thing is an Intel N150 processor paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, which is enough to handle productivity workloads, light creative tasks, and indie gaming without breaking a sweat. The 5-inch IPS touchscreen runs at 1024×600 and peaks at 1,000 nits, which keeps it readable in brighter conditions. It also outputs up to 4K at 60Hz via HDMI 2.1 when a bigger screen is nearby.

The battery is made up of three 18650 lithium cells totaling 10,500 mAh, good for roughly eight hours of use and charged via USB-C. Connectivity is unusually generous for a handheld of this size, with built-in Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth, and a full 1GbE Ethernet port, plus two USB-A 3.0 ports, a USB-C port, and a MicroSD card slot built directly into the chassis.

Beyond swapping the controllers, the internals are expandable, too. An M.2 slot accepts NVMe SSDs in 2230 or 2280 form factors via PCIe 3.0, there’s a module slot for 4G LTE cellular connectivity with a NanoSIM, and a PCIe expansion port opens the door to external GPU attachments for more demanding workloads. x86 architecture means it runs anything, from Windows 10 and 11 to any Linux distribution you prefer.

What makes this even more interesting is that everything about the CG Deck is open source. Schematics, firmware, and design files will all be available on GitHub, so tinkerers can build their own version without waiting for the commercial release. A Kickstarter is currently in the works for those who’d rather not solder their way through it, and a waitlist is already open on the Mogozen website.

The engineering prototype is working, though it’s still being refined before it’s ready for a wider audience. Future shell designs include options with picatinny rails and LEGO-compatible brick plates, suggesting that physical customization goes well beyond the input modules alone. The overall concept is unusual enough to feel genuinely novel in a category that’s started to feel a bit predictable.

The post The Handheld PC That Becomes a Gamepad, Keyboard, or Knob Panel first appeared on Yanko Design.