January 2012 – Valkee
In this issue: Valkee, Kinoshi, Wired PAS, Little Printer, Raspberry Pi, The Spiral Burner and more.
Valkee
Valkee substitutes the mood-elevating effects of the sun, by channeling safe bright light directly to photosensitive regions of the brain through the ear canal. It increases energy, and can act as a preventative or treatment of mood swings.
It helps to fight the winter-blues, because not only your eyes need light, your brains need light.
Read the scientific evidence /
The Spiral Burner
A real feature of the design lies in the double knobs, a gas control knob for adjusting the flame size and a burner control knob for adjusting the spiral burner size. With that unique design, you can get a better control of the fire during cooking and thus to save fuel at the same time.
LED Tape
LED Tape harnesses solar energy to power its inset LEDs, creating a versatile visual warning accessory. The black areas are solar panels. They power the LEDs that are set within the yellow areas. Thus, at night, the tape becomes an illuminated warning sign with no need for the input of electrical energy.
Food Filter
This strainer that attaches to any pan or dish at its rim and drains off the liquid without letting any solids slip away. Crafted from silica gel, the Food Filter comes in different sizes and drains, fitting almost any size pans and for multiple purposes.
Number Pad Film
Number Pad Film for Touchpad is this sticker and program combo that turns your regular touchpad into a makeshift number pad. Install the program and select the hotkeys and you are ready to go.
Little Printer
It is a compact, inkless, thermal printer which can produce receipt-sized miniature newspapers, notes, or images directly from a cellular device. Through the custom-designed BERG cloud program, the printer connects wirelessly to any smartphone with zero configurations.
Raspberry Pi
An computer for 25 dollars? Yes! The Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Scheduled for public release in January 2012 the foundation plans to release two versions priced a $25 and $35. It is intended to stimulate the teaching of basic computer science in schools.
Gravity Dices
French artist Suzy Lelievre made this beautifully designed analog dice for a digital world.
Weakest link
Description: designing intentionally a weak element that will fail in order to protect other elements in the system agains harm or damage.
It is said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This suggests that the weakest link in a chain is also the least valuable and most expendable link, a liability to the system that should be reinforces, replaces or removed. However, the weakest element in a system can be used to protect other more important elements, essentially making the weakest link one of the most important elements in the system.
Examples
Electrical circuits are protected by fuses, which are designed to fail, so that a power surge does not damage the circuit. The fuse is the weakest link in the system. As such, the fuse is the most valuable link in the system. The automotive industry uses special weak zones in the front and back of cars that will absorb as much energy as possible during a crash, and thus will try to protect the passengers. The newest cars have special deformation zones on the hood of the car to protect pedestrians in a crash, also an example of the weakest link.
The weakest link in a system can function in one or two ways: it can fail and passively minimize damage, like the fuse. Or it can fail and activate additional systems that actively minimize damage, like in a sprinkler system, where a solder link will fail under the heat and activates the sprinklers.
Design Tips
Applying the weakest link principle involves several steps: identifying a failure condition, identifying or defining the weakest link in the system for that failure condition, and assure that the weakest link will only fail under the appropriate, predefined failure conditions. This principle only works in systems in which a particular failure condition affects multiple elements in the system.
The weakest link in a system always exists by design or by default. Therefore use the weakest link principle to shut down the system in a controled way or activate protective systems. And perform adequate testing to make sure the weakest link only fails under specified conditions.
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Every design studio has its own character and competences. The core of our studio and how we work lies in the following points.
1. strategic creativity
The concepts we design are meaningful and serve your strategic goals: better user experience, enter new markets, raise margins, improved usability and interaction, quicker product introductions, create intellectual property, design your brand promise.
2. one-stop product design
Product development is complex and you do not want to find yourself in between parties. Therefore we take care of the whole process with our design team: industrial design, 3d engineering, interaction design, electronics design, industrialisation and production support.
3. human oriented
We are specialized in designing products that need special attention in terms of ergonomics, interaction and usability. In our team we have knowledge and educated persons in psychology, so that we can design the human aspect of products in a thoughful way. We love designing products that improve human life and health, like in care, medical and sports.
4. fixed fee and risk reduction
We run projects for a fixed fee, which does not change as long as the scope of the project stays the same. We use risk assessment, validations, balance sheets and other tools to reduce your risks as much as possible.
5. international
To a large extent we work for international (large) companies and also our own team consists of different nationalities. We are used to run projects successfully in cooperation with international teams of our clients.
6. relation
We are most interested in running a successful design project if we would work with you. We are used to think along, reflect, present alternative solutions and take care of every detail. We like to keep grip on the matter, from idea to production, so that high quality and a meaningful product are the result.
Design News
Wired PAS
Bluelarix designed the Wired PAS for Niko, a medical alarm system, where the user can call for assistance in the hospital or in care homes. The rubber strap is designed in such a way that while the patient is sleeping and turning in bed, the cable can never become dangerously attached around the patients neck.
Kinoishi
Philosophical toy for children and adults from Taku Satoh. With this unusual project he was involved in charity fair, all the money from which went to a fund to help victims of the accident at Fukushima. Translated from the Japanese Kinoishi means, literally, “wooden stones” than they are, in fact, are. Another undeniable plus philosophical toys Kinoishi is that there are no rules. So, no losers – every player in his own winner.
Tagg
The Tagg pet tracking system uses advanced GPS tracking technology to allow you to see where your dog is and receive a notification if he or she wanders off. The lightweight tracker attaches to your dog’s existing collar, and is designed to be worn at all times, even while swimming.