Staying indoor is the new trend! We say trending (putting a positive spin!) while COVID-19 has us all quarantined but there are only so many recipes we can follow before we run out of cooking supplies. To help you survive this impromptu indoor session, here is a list of product designs we know will up the ante for any quarantine situation – this one (hopefully Amazon will deliver our orders minus the 1-day rush) or just be prepared in case the next one strikes. Honestly, I’m sure we all have some survival/ emergency bags ready however our needs during quarantine and trying to stay healthy at home – mentally and physically is a whole new ball game. The curation here brings you designs that will challenge you, let you learn and help you grow with this bonus time we have been given away from distractions, trying to become the best version of ourselves we can be!
Maxwell Custom’s custom-made Infinitum guitar takes that age-old form and applies design-thinking to it the design brief. The Infinitum takes the existing design and tweaks it to create a new and improved experience. The body comes CNC machined out of native New Zealand timbers (kahikatea and black maire) and features two major upgrades. The iconic sound-hole is bid adieu for four ‘vents’ on the front and back that allow the sound to emanate outwards in a way that makes it easy for the player as well as the audience to hear the music. The second significant upgrade is the absence of the bridge or the piece of wood and metal that would be glued to the guitar’s body, holding onto the strings from one end as they wind around the turnkeys at the other end. Playing guitar is cool enough, turning up with this beautiful customer design is sure to get you some eyeballs!
The Nintendo Flex is to the Gameboy what Daniel Craig is to Sean Connery. Same James Bond, but modern. The Flex by YJ Yoon comes with a few very welcome updates. Bigger screen on a device that’s the same handy size (albeit thinner). The screen’s also mildly curved, giving you a slightly panoramic experience and adding just a tiny couple of more display inches into the same framework. The Flex retains the same keys and controls, but gives them a makeover too, opting for flushed surfaces rather than the original GameBoy’s chunky keys that stood out from the surface. There’s even a contrast slider on the side of the Flex. The Flex’s biggest overhaul, however, is the change in Nintendo’s cartridge system. Flex ditches the large squarish cartridges for something much sleeker and thinner, looking almost like a stylus. The stylus-sized cartridge slides conveniently into a slot in the Flex’s base, locking in place and becoming impossible to remove while in the middle of gameplay.
Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka has created a quick and easy face shield for healthcare workers fighting COVID-19, which attaches to the wearer’s glasses. Yoshioka’s template design can be used to create a face shield in three simple steps from a clear sheet of PET or PVC plastic. Printed on an A3 piece of paper, the template can be placed over the top of a clear sheet of plastic and used as a guideline for cutting around the edge of the shape. The user can then make cuts into the plastic sheet over the two small lines indicated towards the top of the template on opposite sides. The two temple arms of the wearer’s glasses can then be slotted into these incisions, leaving the glasses protected by the shield as they sit behind it on the user’s face. Let’s face it, this DIY mask is important to survive any global pandemic!
Japanese studio Nendo has designed a mobile battery that users can charge by rotating, to power-up their smartphone in case of emergencies. The minimal, stick-like emergency portable battery, called Denqul, was designed for use in disasters, to ensure people have a reliable power supply for their smartphones to access to basic needs such as communication and lighting. Coz we sure can’t imagine being stuck without power supply and our phones dying on us.
The LaserPecker Pro’s laser module is no bigger than a coffee-cup, and the stand literally folds up into something that can slide right into your bookshelf… but when assembled together, the LaserPecker Pro is arguably the easiest-to-use professional-grade laser cutter and engraver for the masses. The LaserPecker Pro simplifies the process of laser cutting/engraving into three simple steps. 1) Add your artwork to the LaserPecker app, adjusting it to reach the desired output. 2) Plug the LaserPecker module onto its stand and add the product/material you want to etch or cut underneath. 3) Hit print! LaserPecker immediately begins working to etch or cut out the pattern you’ve fed into it. Time to put all those DIY pins to use!
LifeSaver by VanBerlo Agency can be mounted on walls at accessible and prominent locations. If someone is suffering from a cardiovascular attack, you simply grab it and press the button for calling 911 below it. So while you perform CPR, the ambulance is on its way! The first instruction provided is to remove the clothes from the chest of the victim. After that, you open the box and remove LifeSaver from it. Place the AED on the chest of the victim, and follow the instructions. OLEDs and touch sensors guide you through the entire process. LifeSaver even helps you with placing the electrodes correctly and guides you regarding the location and rhythm for the chest compressions. While being great in public places, the LifeSaver is a boon in the current situation where you know the medical system is so overloaded, the ambulance may take time to arrive, while this gives you a fighting chance to save the person in need.
On a lighter note, whoever said “less is more” was right because these minimalist Uno cards just made game night a whole lot cooler. The clean look makes you feel like the OG Uno showered and put on a sexy aftershave. Even Mattel couldn’t resist it and now this beautiful design will soon be a part of the official UNO gang! So the next time you are under quarantine, you shall play Uno with your roommates but in style.
Designers Marion Pinaffo and Raphaël Pluvinage are using paper to build simple machines and gadgets. Titled Papier Machine (a play on the word Papier Mache), the designers compiled a 13-page book where pages can be torn off and folded into various different electronic mini-machines and sensors (that can sense mass, humidity, wind, and even color… all made out of paper!), powered by simple off-the-shelf batteries. The paper electro-toys rely on special types of conductive ink that are screen-printed onto the pages, bringing much more to the table than just colorful visuals. Fun and science packed in a neat well-designed bundle! Come out of this lockdown as a smarter you.
BassMe is a wearable subwoofer that rests conveniently on your shoulder, with the audio-element sitting against your rib-cage. Designed to be worn with headphones or even with a VR kit, BassMe helps you feel the audio, rather than just listen to it. Using state-of-the-art sound-wave and vibration technology, BassMe delivers rich low-end frequencies to you, widening the range of frequencies you experience while listening to music or to any sort of audio. This party for one is sure to rock your world!
Designed as a disaster survival kit, this clock can practically save lives by allowing you to be prepared during a disaster. The Life Clock comes with a hollow internal compartment that houses its own kit of emergency products. It comes with two potent glow sticks that can each shine for 12 hours, wrapped in a metallic foil that you can fashion a reflector cone out of and use as a makeshift flashlight. A foil blanket allows you to maintain core body temperatures by trapping body heat through thermal reflection, while an emergency two-tone whistle allows you to signal for help. Finally, an emergency kit that is functional even when not in use. Always be prepared.
The idea of the Ocean Community vessel by Wojciech Morsztyn is to extend a city’s coastline. By existing not more than 800 meters from the coast of a city, the dwellers of the Ocean Community can easily make their way to the city to access facilities and enjoy a normal city life before heading back to their sea-based home. “The creation of these new structures will serve as fully functional living spaces connected with existing land infrastructure so that new ocean communities become a natural extension of coastal cities”, says Morsztyn, designer of the Ocean Community concept. The vessels will also rely on the abundance of sun, water, and wind to harness the energy, helping them live off the coast but also off the electric grid.
We know the Ocean Community is quite a futuristic concept, but we can’t help but imagine social distancing while on the sea! But coming back to the present, we maintain our distance, keep our spirits up – learn a new hobby, finish a project you always wanted to do and emerge a better version of yourself after this experience!
