The year 2009 can be marked as one of the most defining years for Yanko Design and its community. The year can be re-capped with the Best of 2009, but on the same note it’s important to iterate our accomplishments. When the world was facing its worst global recession in decades, (including the design industry as a whole), YD on its part grew its outlook by innovating to stay ahead of the game. For a moment you can actually say that Innovation has been the theme symbolic to YD and this year’s best designs.

I am equally proud of every member in the YD family. The team took initiatives and spearheaded projects that added value in every sense of the word. The Job Board has proven to be more effective in landing positions v/s recruitment and agencies. The YD Store made business sense to us but it made a stronger statement for the individual designers. It gave them freedom to focus on creativity, while YD Store took care of bringing those products to the design advocates. The equation is perfect; the designers get to do what they’re passionate about, while YD realizes their inspirations.

With our readers ranging from the creative industry (industrial, graphics design, interior, fashion design, ect) to the traditional industry (info tech, finance, entertainment, marketing, manufacturing, ect), we can proudly say that we have one of the most vocal communities where voices are heard. The innovations that you see on YD are all a result of those suggestions. This includes the interviews, reviews & Podcasts .

To sum it up, we’ve had a pretty innovative year, and we hope next year will be bigger, better and brighter for all of us!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Message From Creative Director Long Tran

50) Disposable Paper Laptops by Je Sung Park. Permalink Hits: 21651. Comments: 79

49) iShelf by Li Jianye. Permalink Hits: 21798. Comments: 74

48) Bird Cage/Aquarium by Constance Guisset. Permalink Hits: 22428. Comments: 44

47) Minutuner by Antrepo Design Industry. Permalink Hits: 22545. Comments: 34

46) Daylight Savings Clock by Denis Guidone. Permalink Hits: 22917. Comments: 100

45) SoundBulb by Hoang Nguyen. Permalink Hits: 23184. Comments: 77

44) CB750 Honda Motorcycle by Igor Chak. Pemalink Hits: 23427. Comments: 45

43 ) Power Cords Management Strip by Hyukjae Chang. Permalink Hits: 23570. Comments: 73

42) Camera Lens Calender by Sharad Haksar. Permalink Hits: 23728. Comments: 69

41) RT20 Highway Patrol by Mathieu Lewis. Permalink Hits: 23823. Comments: 25

40) Concrete Block Humidifier by Sang-Jang Lee. Permalink Hits: 23916. Comments: 19

39) Designers Workstation by Luke Riggall. Permalink Hits: 24187. Comments: 68

38) Keystick Keyboard by Yoosang Kim. Permalink Hits: 24321. Comments: 68

37) Interactive Tiles by Soo-Jin Chou. Permalink Hits: 24343. Comments: 16

36) Transparent Iron by Dong-Seok Lee. Permalink Hits: 24625. Comments: 55

35) “Break It” Package by Mi-Rae Kim. Permalink Hits: 25580. Comments: 19

34) Rechargeable Batteries without the Dock by Qian Jiang. Permalink Hits: 25775. Comments: 27

33) Honda Fuzo Car by John Mahieddine. Permalink Hits: 25830. Comments: 37

32) Pho Tableware by Omid Sadri. Permalink Hits: 26047. Comments: 45

31) Portable Record Player by Charles Pyott. Permalink Hits: 26884. Comments: 47

30) Laser Guitar Trainer by Eugene Cheong. Permalink Hits: 27282. Comments: 45

29) All-In-One Kitchen Tool by Derek Roberts. Pemalink Hits: 28437. Comments: 15

28) Seedbomb Plant Capsules by Jin-Wook Hwang. Permalink Hits: 28741. Comments: 81

27) Artistic Sex Toys by Jacobo Munoz. Permalink Hits: 29562. Comments: 20

26) Numlock Door Handle by Jaeseok Han. Permalink Hits: 30610. Comments: 41

25) Bamboo Speakers by Jocko Chan. Permalink Hits: 32367. Comments: 46

24) USB Fingertip by Alberto Villarreal. Permalink Hits: 34428. Comments: 99

23) Eko Stoplight by Damjan Stankovic. Permalink Hits: 37342. Comments: 136

22) Map & Projector Device by Jin-Sun Park. Permalink Hits: 37491. Comments: 79

21) LightLane by Evan Gant & Alex Tee. Permalink Hits: 38204. Comments: 73

20) MID (Mobile Internet Device) by Petr Kubik. Permalink Hits: 40223. Comments: 32

19) Toilet Seat Scale by Haikun Deng. Permalink Hits: 43662. Comments: 120

18) Playstation 4 by Tai Chiem. Permalink Hits: 44110. Comments: 40

17) Dynamically Augmenting Wheel System by Charles Pyott. Permalink Hits: 46599. Comments: 110

16) Translate What You See by Jaeseok Han. Permalink Hits: 47436. Comments: 27

15) Order/Water/Bill Lights for Waiter by Doyeop Kim. Permalink Hits: 48079. Comments: 35

14) Duo-wheel BMW by Pierre Yohanes Lubis. Pemalink Hits: 50441. Comments: 36

13) Moss Carpet by Nguyen La Chanh. Permalink Hits: 50589. Comments: 109

12) Diesel-electric Hybrid Truck by Adam Palethorpe. Permalink Hits: 55159. Comments: 50

11) Wind Up Battery by Qian Jiang. Permalink Hits: 56075. Comments: 74

10) Cassette Tape Digital Player by Stefano Pertegato. Permalink Hits: 60285. Comments: 175

9) MacBook Touch by Tommaso Gecchelin. Permalink Hits: 68465. Comments: 117

8 ) The Window Phone by Seunghan Song. Permalink Hits: 94991. Comments: 155

7) ‘Fresh Blow’ Portable Aromatherapy by Moonhwan Lee. Permalink Hits: 103977. Comments: 46

6) Stapleless Paper by Sherwood Forlee. Permalink Hits: 143738. Comments: 56

5) Mobile Mini House by Stephanie Bellanger. Permalink Hits: 173306. Comments: 101

4) CarGo Pick-up Truck by Adam Schacter. Permalink Hits: 178349. Comments: 98

3) Fountain Tab Faucet by Jin-Sun Park. Permalink Hits: 193211. Comments: 45

2) IContact by Eun-Gyeong Gwon. Permalink Hits: 225836. Comments: 68

1) Zip Up Earphones by Ji Woong. Permalink Hits: 226840. Comments: 181

Rambler Socket maybe the solution most of us are looking for as far as extension cords are concerned. I mean if you hit “Extension Cord” on YD, for most of the posts you will see readers nitpicking and finding fault with the design. Here’s why Rambler Socket will knock your socks off. It’s this 1.5 meters cord that unfurls from a cavity behind its socket. When you don’t need extensions, it’s neatly tucked away. When you need it, simply pinch the sides and wind it out.

After the deed is done, you simply give the wire a gentle tug (activates a spring mechanism), and it recoils back into place. Ideal for using with electronics like vacuum cleaners, hair driers etc where you don’t need extension cords on a full-time basis.

Designer: Meysam Movahedi

I always say it’s important for designers to attack everything. I mean you and me, designers, should not only choose a field to go into, but should also pay attention to and hope to improve on every little thing in their environment. And if you’re one of the folks like this designer, Hamit Kanuni Kuralkan, you might just enjoy yourself a game of golf! And right here is the Kuralkan improvement of the golf bag.

Made for an event judged by Callaway Golf, made to be part of the next generation of buggies. This “Soft Buggy” employs Titanium nickel alloy and dielectric elastomer for the flexibility needed to keep the cart flat, even when it’s up a hill. Flexibility and ease in turning, that’s what this’s all about.

Designer: Hamit Kanuni Kuralkan

Sometimes you’re looking around and you get a speck of something in your eyeball sight line. It goes all over with your eye as you move your glazzies about! This is sort of like that, only it’s a cellphone. Designer Mac Funamizu totaled the amount of time he’s got his cellphone sitting on his desk for all to see to be 80% of his day. Lots of time for aesthetic beauty and interactive loveliness. This phone aims to please.

Focusing on the time the phone isn’t living in a pocket or helping a head communicate only adds up to 20% of Funamizu’s day. Other than that, it’s desk time. This phone is named “Floater” after the surfing maneuver. Don’t be dunking it in water anytime soon though, not H2O safe!

Floater A sits still on the table unless there’s a call, at which time it nods or rotates.

Floater B doesn’t move in the same way as A, instead having a supporter on the back to make the oval body stand nicely on a flat surface. Sliding the supporter the other way reveals a physical keyboard.

Designer: Mac Funamizu

Mobile Phone Concepts “Floater” from Mac Funamizu on Vimeo.

It’s always the recliners and sofas that take away the credit of being innovative in design. Footrests and tables all included! So the Puppo comes as a refreshing change coz it’s a simple chair that you could keep in your dorm (occupies less space), yet gloat that it’s a decent recliner with its footrest and storage-box-space! Just tinker a bit with it’s mechanics.

Designers: Mladen Milosevic & Vuk Dragovic

It’s always the recliners and sofas that take away the credit of being innovative in design. Footrests and tables all included! So the Puppo comes as a refreshing change coz it’s a simple chair that you could keep in your dorm (occupies less space), yet gloat that it’s a decent recliner with its footrest and storage-box-space! Just tinker a bit with it’s mechanics.

Designers: Mladen Milosevic & Vuk Dragovic