Tag Archives: Washing Machine

This miniature portable washing machine designed for delicate loads means you have fresh laundry anywhere!

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This mini washing machine is a portable travel companion ideal for lighter, more delicate loads of laundry that requires only one-third the amount of water that traditional washing machines use.

Getting around to laundry can sometimes feel like a headache. Sorting through our laundry to pick out delicates and white clothing items and ensure we don’t end up with a pink closet can feel more taxing than the actual chore. Besides, once all of our clothing items are sorted, sometimes our pile of white laundry isn’t big enough for its own load in the wash. Streamlining the entire process, a mini portable washing machine designed by Kai Xia hopes to be the small solution for lighter loads.

The mini washing machine as designed by Xia features ultrasonic high-frequency vibrations for increased sterilization rates that ensure a gentle, yet thorough cleaning for each load. The portable washing machine can be plugged into any power outlet prior to use and activated with the touch of a button. Once users have thrown in their clothing items into the machine’s drum, holding the power button down for two seconds will wake up the machine, and pressing it once more will start the wash.

From there, washing is completed in about 15 minutes following a cycle that moves through a forward rotation, reverse rotation, ozone sterilization, forward rotation, reverse rotation, ultrasonic, so forth. By the time each cycle ends, the mini washing machine shuts down on its own.

Constructed from eco-friendly ABS plastic, the mini washing machine is lightweight for easy carrying and impact-resistant, making it ideal for traveling. Xia downsized their washing machine to be more energy-efficient, requiring only one-third the amount of water that traditional washing machines use.

Designer: Kai Xia

Envisioned in mint green, Kai Xia’s washing machines are conceptualized to suit each user’s taste.

Blush beige accents tug on an all-white polished exterior. 

This ergonomic washing machine design helps save our oceans by filtering out microplastics!

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Martina Mancini’s Ocean washing system is as sustainable as it is ergonomic, with special filters that recycle out microplastics and hidden adaptive features for intuitive and accessible operation.

Each time we wash a load of laundry, microfibers detach from our favorite polyester and acrylic clothes and end up in wastewater. Contributing close to 35% of the microplastics found in our oceans, washing machines are due for a sustainability cleanup. Designer Martina Mancini was recently recognized by The James Dyson Award for her work in developing an ergonomic washing machine called Ocean that filters out microplastics and recirculates the water used between cycles.

With Ocean, Mancini set out to develop a washing machine that’s friendly to the environment and ergonomic for most users. The Ocean is designed like preexisting washing machines, equipped with a basket, drum, and display control panel, to ensure familiarity during use. Once the clothes are placed inside Ocean’s drum and basket, users can start their wash cycle by selecting one on the machine’s front display panel. From there, water flows into the drum from a centrifugal pump that’s connected to a purification filter to prepare the water for recirculation once the cycle is complete.

The post-cycle water purification process first passes through a stainless steel sieve grid and then a polyester filter sponge to remove larger microplastics. Following that, the water surges into a pipe that’s connected to the machine’s centrifugal pump, which propels the water against a hollow fiber membrane through a tangential filtration process. Once the filtration process makes its rounds, the water is purified by an Ozonator before recirculating for future use. Ensuring that Ocean is as ergonomic as it is sustainable, Mancini designed the washing machine so that users can remove the machine’s filters on their own before obtaining a new one from an offsite factory. There, company workers will remove and recycle the microplastics to give them a new life.

Given that the hardware required to construct Ocean would be bulky, Mancini knew the washing machine would reach a higher height than those already on the market. Working with a bigger machine allowed Mancini to incorporate more ergonomic features, including an adjustable table located beneath the drum, where users can prepare their laundry before and following washing cycles.

Designer: Martina Mancini

Three unique washing machines to freshen up traditional boring aesthetics with these modern designs!

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Product design and experience innovation company, Whipsaw visualized three washing machine concepts that aim to challenge the status quo of home laundry appliances.

Washing machine designs tend to all blend into each other. Many design aspects of new washing machines are repeated, resulting in a bunch of washing machines that all look the same. Choosing the right one often boils down to only considering each machines’ technical attributes. Whipsaw, a product design, and experience innovation company, recently designed three different washing machine concepts that aim to challenge the status quo of laundry appliance designs.

The first concept from Whipsaw visualizes a machine constructed entirely from metal. The machine’s touchpoints have an icy, stainless steel quality that gives the machine an overall refined and sturdy build. A large, front-facing circular drum takes the load of laundry and a concealed main wash compartment where users can pour their detergent and fabric softener. To the right of the wash compartment, a rectangular steel panel displays information regarding each wash, from the time left in a cycle to the water temperature.

Another concept from Whipsaw takes on a post-modern personality. The pastel-colored washing and drying machines sit on top of one another and have their own distinct looks. The dryer’s drum has a muted yellow door and the washer features a soft periwinkle blue door. The machine’s control panel rounds the circumference of the washing machine’s door, projecting cycle durations and wash options on an LED display.

Lastly, Whipsaw took to the future for the third washing machine concept–designing a foggy, translucent door that would look right at home aboard a spacecraft. The washing machine features a structural build, forest green and gray-white finish with a bright LED control panel just above the main wash compartment where users can choose their wash cycles. The most exciting aspect of this design is the detachable control unit so users can keep track of wash cycles from anywhere around the house.

Designer: Whipsaw

The third concept’s detachable control unit allows users to check on the status of their laundry load from anywhere around the house.

The detachable control unit’s artful design will look right at home in the living room or bedroom.

This ‘car-wash’ for your spectacles will wipe fingerprints and dust off your lenses to give you crystal clear vision

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If you remember the crowdfunded ‘washing-machine’ for your AirPods from a few months ago, this one should seem like a slightly familiar product that’s potentially a lot more useful. More than 70% of all adults wear spectacles – prescription or sunglasses (that number’s going to go even higher after Apple debuts their Smart Glasses), but it seems like the only solution we’ve got to actually cleaning them involves using the corner of your shirt or clothing to wipe the lenses clean. However, your cotton tee wasn’t designed to wipe glass… in fact, chances are your cotton tee is actually damaging the glass by scratching it or eroding the coating on the lenses. Meet the LensHD, a ‘car-wash’ for your spectacles that wipes them down and practically buffs the lenses clean so you’ve got spotless, clear vision.

The LensHD is basically a one-stop cleaning station for all your spectacles. Whether they’re regular glasses or bifocals, sunglasses or nerdy glasses, the LensHD will clean all of them. The universal spectacle-cleaning gadget is roughly the size of a Bluetooth speaker, and comes with four strategically placed cleaning sponges that wipe down pretty much any sort of dirt off your lenses. The sponges rotate on a slightly offset axis, allowing them to effectively wipe down your glasses without leaving so much as a spot behind, and they’re covered with a microfiber cloth that’s easy on the lenses but tough on stains.

Click Here to Buy Now: $79 $89 (11% off) Hurry! Only 3 days left!

As a specs-wearer myself, I can’t really overstate how cool this machine is… although it isn’t quite as portable and cheap as using that microfiber cloth that comes inside your spectacle-case. However, it does a measurably better job at completely removing stains of all kinds – fingerprints, dust, drops, grease, etc. without damaging your spectacles. Just spritz the sponges with cleaning fluid, pop your spectacles in, and shut the lid, and the LensHD gets to work. The blade-shaped sponges begin rotating on either side of the lenses, wiping them clean from inside as well as the outside; and they move upwards, downwards, and sideways too, working with larger lenses and square-shaped spectacles too.

The LensHD’s patent-pending design is compact enough to easily fit on your desk or your bedside table. It charges via USB-C and can run for multiple cycles without needing a recharge. The internal sponge-discs are removable and washable under running water, and if you’ve got an entire arsenal of spectacles to clean, the sponges can be periodically replaced too. The little gizmo retails for a special early-bird price of $79 with a delivery date of November 2021. The project’s garnered over 3,300 supporters as of writing this article, which is pretty much a testament to how many people wear spectacles… and how many of them are tired of having dust, stains, and fingerprint smudges on their lenses.

Designer: LensCleaner

Click Here to Buy Now: $79 $89 (11% off) Hurry! Only 3 days left!

This washer dryer comes with a sliding drum to reduce human effort!

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I can’t wait for the laundry doing experience to get completely automated, especially when one has to toil between the washer and dryer. A range of innovations has happened in washing machines making them more portable and improved efficiency. Yet, the washer/dryer set remains the most effective solution for people who do a lot of laundry and want it back clean and fresh quickly.

The downside is the amount of manual labor involved, right from putting the clothes into the washer and then transferring them into the dryer. Pointing out a valuable solution through intuitive design, eminent designer Youjin Syn has come up with “Do it” – a Dryer Washing Machine combination that works by sliding the clothes holding drum from the washer to the dryer. Poetically, the sliding mechanism is influenced by the shape of water droplets falling down. 

Aptly named “Do it”, the Dryer Washing Machine does all the work without human intervention. The washer and dryer are placed in an upright position so the drum can easily be moved to the dryer downstairs. From how the renderings appear, this appliance will occupy vertical real estate. But with its geometric design and touch intuitive controls, “Do it” is going to fit very amicably in any setting.

Amid other operative controls, the machine has a push-open door to let the user fill the drum with laundry. When the washing is done – the barrel (drum) automatically travels down to the dryer position through the built-in tunnel mechanism and provides the user with clean and fresh smelling clothes a while later. I think the design has the potential to make a difference in a public laundry and bring me one step closer to having ironed clothes hanging in my closets directly!

Designer: Youjin Syn

 

This washing machine tilts open so no need to bend and makes doing laundry super easy!

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Did you know that automatic washing machines can’t be placed vertically like dryers even though that setup is trending in new apartment layouts? Placing them vertically makes it difficult to use in areas with limited floor space. So to solve this functional interior design problem, Hyun Yeol Shin designed Tilt, a washing machine that can be installed freely (horizontally and vertically) and the best part is how the laundry tank tilts towards you so no more crazy bending or squatting!

Tilt’s innovative design makes it easier to put in and remove laundry out, especially for those who may already suffer from aches, pains, or minor mobility issues that make laundry more difficult than it should be. Drum washing machines are inconvenient and with Tilt, you can have washing performance of automatic washing machines, shorter washing time than drums, cleaner washing machines due to contamination, and it can be arranged vertically! Tilt can be set up in the same environment as the dryer due to narrow laundry rooms are no more a problem and neither is moving around to do laundry.

It definitely makes it easier for pregnant women and for younger kids to get involved in helping out without having to use tongs to take the laundry out. The tilting mechanism of the door makes it easy for anyone to do laundry. It maximizes space utilization and the replaceable panel design allows you to choose based on your space. I am a personal fan because there have been multiple incidents where I have squatted down to take the laundry out to put it in the dryer above and hit my head on the dryer’s door in the process – thanks to design’s like Tilt, I’ll save space, won’t have to bend and my head will remain bump-free!

Designer: Hyun Yeol Shin

A Front load washing machine with a sliding drum is the ergonomic home appliance we need!

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I hate doing laundry and I am literally waiting for a day they invent the washing machine that can spit out my clothes washed, dried, ironed, and folded. If I can continue dreaming, it would be amazing if the clothes are also stored in my closet without me interacting with them at all. Leaving my Jetson’s inspired dream aside, Kyeongsu Kim has designed VISDUM to take one step in the direction of making this home appliance more ergonomic.

Front-load washing machines are often touted as the better/more expensive version of the washing machine family. The reason for that is the part gravity plays in washing the clothes when they rotate vertically. Ergonomically speaking, the front load washing machines focus on saving the user’s waist and knees. But what about the constant bending for more than 30 degrees to deal with our clothes every time? Not talking to you bachelors who do laundry once a week, but look at the normal family or older people who use the machine at least once a day. Kyeongsu’s design merges the best of both worlds – it allows the effectiveness of a front load washing machine work with a top opening to access your laundry. VISDUM uses a sliding drum that comes forward or is exposed and can be accessed by a handle. To sal the machine, a cap can be installed inside the drum. Kyeongsu has also worked on creating an improved interface – using minimal icons to provide improved controls for the user.

VISDUM is one of those designs that are so simple yet effective in their problem solving, we wonder, why did no one think of that earlier? In an era where we have designed every aspect of these appliances we are using since decades, VISDUM takes product deign to the core of what it is – problem solving. Making an appliance SMART is not the upgrade everyone needs, but making it more ergonomic? We are all on board with that!

Designer: Kyeongsu Kim and Designer Dot

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This tabletop clothes washing machine was designed to clean your undergarments and save water!

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Underwear and socks take up a lot more space in the washing machine than we might give them credit. Most of the time, I reason with the overflow of socks by removing a bulky pair of jeans or a couple of t-shirts, otherwise, I keep the socks in the laundry basket to await next week’s load. It’s a good thing I own a lot of socks. The creators from EZVALO have created a miniature washing machine to take care of our smaller undergarments called NIX so they don’t take up most of the space or get lost in the cycle of our regular loads of laundry.

NIX is a miniature washing machine specifically built to clean, dry, and sanitize our undergarments, like underwear, undershirts, and socks, using less water in the process. The miniature washing machine features an inclined drum that promises to save water while also making it easier for users to load, unload, and keep an eye on their laundry. Additionally, NIX comes with an integrated water tank, allowing users to place their miniature washing machine anywhere they’d like without the hassle of having to attach hoses or electrical appliances to a wall outlet. Featuring a vertical-lifting door, the designers behind NIX boast its futuristic and clean design scheme. Along the top of NIX’s main door, a digital display screen allows users to denote which cycle they’d like NIX to perform all through the use of haptic sensors.

Shortlisted for 2021’s iF Design Award, NIX is a miniature laundry machine that saves water and space so that users can clean their smaller clothing items like pairs of underwear and socks. Even besides that, NIX seems like an especially convenient household appliance for more urgent washing matters like accidental red wine spills or guacamole mishaps. Yes, I’m speaking from personal experience.

Designer: EZVALO

NIX comes with a vertical, touch-and-lift door that opens to a tilted drum for easy access to load and unload laundry.

The door’s main digital display screen indicates how much time is left in a wash or dry cycle and features the machine’s on/off and pause buttons.

With an integrated water tank, NIX does not require any additional hose attachments.

Users only have to lift the machine’s door for access to its drum.

Available in optic white, NIX’s design is clean and sophisticated.

Sleek and modern appliances to perfectly match the interiors of your millennial home!

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Home appliances are essentials in our houses. We need them to carry out a variety of activities, from storing food to watching our favorite sitcoms, washing our clothes and even keeping us cool in the summer! Televisions, refrigerators, air purifiers, washing machines – these are a few appliances that you find in every home. However, they often tend to be quite hefty and cumbersome! And that isn’t a look that suits our modern millennial homes very well. Hence, we’ve curated a collection of sleek, minimal, and trendy home appliances that merge perfectly with the modern interiors of our modern homes. These designs promise to seamlessly become a part of your living space, without standing out and looking like an eye sore. They’re a visual treat to our eyes, and not to mention super functional appliances that we absolutely cannot survive without!

Inspired by the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian’s composition of form and color, the Mondrian setup was made to allow a wide range of applications and blend into any interior setting. The aim was to solve three issues we experience with watching TV as we currently do – taking up space, not matching with the aesthetics, and lack of expandability. Urban apartments and single-person households need to maximize their space and should not have to choose between a large appliance and furniture when they can have both. Talking about interior aesthetics, TVs are now increasingly slimmer while the furniture remains warm and cozy – this causes a visual mismatch when the two are put together. Mondrian’s design serves both purposes with one seamless structure. TVs are now being used in many ways and need to be able to adapt to the different content it supports, not just static pre-made products.

The Hide Washing Machine, as its name suggests, features a hiding door that helps it occupy a little less space when in use. In the event that your washing machine’s door ends up blocking a pathway if opened, or colliding with a pillar/wall/door, the Hide allows you to simply circumvent that problem by tucking the door right into the machine’s body. This results in a marginally wider machine, but here’s where user behavior comes into play… people usually buy machines after comparing measurements with their laundry rooms, but they don’t always account for the washing machine’s door and how it opens. The Hide’s door opens like any normal one, but then immediately slides into itself, freeing up your passageway so you can walk around and go about your laundry.

Unlike most switches that have an ON and an OFF, Pasque Mawalla’s Switch behaves slightly differently. Designed to be a lamp in itself, the switch rocks upwards, downwards, and rests in a neutral position. While in neutral, the light stays off, but the minute you rock it either upwards or downwards, it turns into an ambient lamp, casting light in the direction it’s been angled. What’s remarkable about the Switch is that it’s a different product with the same UX as its predecessor. Designed to be switched on and off just like a normal switch, the lamp explores new ideas, making it rather innovative. Plus, it only seems natural that the lamp should go off when the switch is in its neutral position, flush against the wall!

Designed by Difei Wang of Hisense Industrial Design Center, the Art Fresh Bar refrigerator is the first in a handsome series that aims to mimic the look of traditional furniture pieces. In fact, it’s not even intended to be placed in your kitchen. Rather, its ultra-thin profile and fine finishes are designed to blend in with your living room, giving you and the rest of the family easy access to all sorts of snacks, beverages, and one-off items like wine and fruit. With an anticipated selection of various finishes and colors as well as customizable compartments, there’s sure to be one to satisfy any taste or use.

This conceptual coffee machine is very unlike the espresso makers in the market and it’s the aesthetics that set it apart. It is a dream machine for people who love coffee and space exploration equally (like me!). The compact capsule shape makes it look like a moon lander for your counter and is obviously powered by caffeine which is only the second most powerful fuel after rocket fuel! The designer’s main focus was to retain some of the rawness and the mechanical steampunk look of the traditional Italian espresso makes while maintaining a clean shape that adds character to the product. There is a tubular water/steam container at the back which I feel can be extended down for added support for the appliance. There is also another container for your beans which I assume leads to a small grinder mechanism inside so you only get the freshest cup of joe each time. Overall, the shape is very unique and combines the nostalgic steampunk elements with clean, smooth curves for a balanced modern machine.

Just when you thought you’ve seen it all, we have another cool appliance to add to this list – say hello (from 6 feet away) to Drawsher which is the child of a washer and dehumidifier! Laundry is one of the most disliked chores and so it is no surprise to me that many of us just let the clothes be in the basket till we run out of fresh underwear. It may not be stinky or filthy, but it is certainly not the most hygienic practice because you are lettings the bacteria from the clothes spill into the air around you. Also, if you don’t air out your washing machine after using it, it can lead to molds and malfunctioning of the appliance. Keeping all these details in mind, designer Kikang Kim created Drawsher which is a sanitary machine that functions as a laundry basket and a washing machine. You’ll notice that it also looks good unlike any washing machine you’ve seen before, and that is because Kim has based the design on a modern dresser that optimizes space and blends well with your interiors.

C SEED, a company known to make high-end outdoor televisions, has debuted the M1 – a whopping 165-inch 4K MicroLED beast that folds up and tucks away right underneath your floorboard. Before you get any ideas, the television retails for nearly half a million dollars, so it’s safe to say that only a select few will be able to afford this bad-boy. It may be the world’s coolest party-trick, but imagine being able to summon a television from the underground as your guests watch in sheer astonishment. Hit a button on the remote and the floor splits apart, with this pillar rising from within the chasm. The pillar then unfolds into a wide 165-inch screen, perfect to watch the Golden Globes on. Fashioned with 5 display panels that open and close like a folding fan, the M1 television really knows how to make an appearance. Its elaborate structure features a base that the display panels lock into once they open out. This base also houses the television’s powerful speaker system, including two 250W broadband speakers and one whopping 700W subwoofer to really pack that punch. While those stats may be impressive to a few, it’s the TV’s design that really gets my heart racing! The M1 doesn’t come with a single folded display, but rather features 5 panels that can seamlessly merge together to appear as one singular panel.

Kim Hyunsoec of hs2 studio created ‘Crevice’. Crevice is a beautiful 900x1970x920 mm double door fridge. Inspired by the experience of drawing your curtains wide open, the handles of the double door of Crevice completely resemble the opening of a curtain! The neat slit with its widened edges facing opposite directions brings to mind the exact moment when you grab the corners of your curtain, to tug them apart on a lazy Sunday morning. Created from stainless steel and featuring a matte black sheen, the aesthetics of Crevice have been designed to complement the interiors of your home. More than an electrical home appliance, it gives the impression of a piece of furniture. The furniture-like feel it resonates makes it suitable to be placed not only in the kitchen but also in the dining or living area. Spacious from within, it is divided into four vertical compartments with six shelving areas, providing ample space for your innumerous groceries. Not only is Crevice a storage wonder, but we must commend the visual appeal it possesses. This is a refrigerator with style!

The difference between Löv and every other air purifier on the market is evident in the way it’s designed. The Löv does to air purifiers what the Nest did to thermostats. It comes with a sophisticated design that just beautifully blends into its surrounding decor, looking modern and artistic rather than antiquated and technical, and comes with a user experience that’s so simplified, anyone could use it. The Löv air purifier is a pleasure to use, but it’s also a pleasure to look at… and that’s a design direction most smart home product manufacturers try to take, be it Google, Amazon, Apple, and even companies like IKEA, that are only now entering the smart appliance market. The key to a well-made smart-home product is to not only realize its relationship with the user, but also its relationship with the space it’s in. The Löv looks quite unlike any purifier you’ve seen, with an aesthetic that embraces the minimalism of Scandinavian Design. Created to seamlessly blend into your home, the Löv comes with a soft, rounded form, and an abstract grille design that balances art and engineering. The grille pattern is inspired directly by natural details like branches and the veins of a leaf, becoming an ode to nature, the world’s own air purifier.

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Winter is on its way out soon, but you can keep it coming every day of the summer season, thanks to the atypical Lora. Unlike most air conditioners, Lora is not boxy nor an air curtain. It’s more like a pendant lamp that hangs from the ceiling and showers you with cool air. Adding a touch of ambient lighting to the mix (think Northern Lights), Lora goes on to showcase the fan speed, temperature, and air blast in correlation to mesmerizing twinkly lights. What I really appreciate is the attempt to break the clutter and give a new form to air conditioners. Adding lights and intuitive UI UX is just a bonus.

Finally, A Retro-inspired Laundry Machine that Separates Your Clothes For You

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Here’s a question that has inconvenienced young, money-conscious, and environmentally-conscious people for years: do we have to wash light and dark clothes separately? Is the risk of staining our nice office blouse worth paying another eight quarters to clean a small handful of white clothes?

Not to sound like a commercial from the early 2000s, but… Don’t you wish there was a better way to do laundry? The Split Drum washing machine has three separate sections, so you can wash all your supposedly “un-mixable” clothes in one load. The boards are also removable for additional flexibility. After all, not everyone has an equal ratio of dark, light, and white clothing in their closet.

In addition to solving an issue that has inconvenienced young adults for years, the Split Drum is very pleasing to look at. The white color and the gold accents give the machine a bright yet retro-inspired feel that I think fits the personality of many young professionals. The Split Drum is not an appliance that will be hidden away in a basement – because what young 20-something can afford a two-floor apartment? It’s more likely that the Split Drum washer will be a prominent fixture in a smaller home… so it might as well be easy on the eyes. I think the aesthetic design of the Split Drum indicates a deep understanding of the target consumer (aka myself). The only thing missing from this design is a Split Drum clothing dryer to complete the set.

Designer: Wanki Kim