Business cards and shop cards are often regarded as boring, impersonal representations of people and places, but that’s partly because we often forget to associate the person with the name on the card. It’s easy enough to forget the first encounter with a stranger who hands you their business card, not unless you actually turn that card into an unforgettable memory. Rather than keep those cards in some container that you forget inside a drawer, why not slip them into this minimalist and profound log book that lets you write down your own thoughts and memories about people, encounters, and events, turning them into small stories that let you cherish these memories and remember them better for days to come.

Designer: Replug

Click Here to Buy Now: $19

Some people and events definitely leave a lasting impression, but our frail human minds can easily forget them as well. Photos and even business cards offer tangible triggers to jog our memories, but they can still end up feeling distant and impersonal, more like watching a film from the eyes of an outsider rather than from your own perspective. What better way to ensure you’ll remember the poignant details of that memory than by writing it down? And that’s exactly the kind of space that this Memories Log Book provides, allowing you to make every business card, shop card, or photo a truly personal and memorable encounter.

Using the log book is genius in its simplicity. You simply insert the two corners of a card into the slits and it will stay in place without the need for messy adhesives or cumbersome pockets. It can fit business cards, shop cards, and even small Instax photos, anything you might collect from brief but memorable encounters. Beside each card is an empty space, a blank canvas where you can write your own reflections on the person or event, helping your future self remember what made the card worth keeping. You can even draw on it, if you’re so inclined, creating a stronger association with those people you’ve only just met.

This A5-sized business card file log book can hold up to 120 cards, but you can add, remove, and rearrange pages just as easily as you add cards. An elastic band serves as the binding, running across the height of the book and through cutouts on the top and bottom edges. This innovative system makes it trivial to organize those cards the way you like that you might actually find yourself losing time just personalizing the pages.

The Log Book’s minimalist design extends to its choice of material. High-quality paper is simple yet holds deep meaning, both for our minds and especially our hands. The tactile warmth of each page creates a bond between the person and the cards on that page, and its elegant yet unassuming appearance is a perfect fit for any setting, whether it’s at home, in the office, or even in a meeting. It’s definitely a great gift idea not just for workers but for anyone who loves collecting memories in a more meaningful and personal way.

Click Here to Buy Now: $19

The post Transform Business Cards into Cherished Memories with This Minimalist Log Book first appeared on Yanko Design.

Japanese architect Keiji Ashizawa designed the love concrete home the ‘House in Aoyama’. The house features louvers inspired by the louvers on the townhouses in Kyoto. These louvres were incorporated to create a sense of privacy in the home. As its name suggests, the house is located in the central Aoyama area and is built for a family with a child and two dogs. Since the home is located at a busy intersection, it was constructed to offer maximum privacy to the residents, and hence concrete was selected as the material of choice

“We had to choose a material resilient to acoustic disruption and vibration for the urban context,” said studio founder Keiji Ashizawa “Considering the need for a basement, rooftop, and balcony, we picked concrete as the best fit.”

Designer: Keiji Ashizawa

The entrance of the home is covered by tall wooden louvers, which shade it and offer privacy. The home is shielded from the neighbors and other passerby. A tropical hardwood was used to construct the louvers. Itauba wood was selected, to create a sleek, slender, and stylish look. Itauba is also known for its water resistance, and strength, making it a good fit for the louvers.

“Louvres create subtle seclusion within the urban setting with a soft ambiance, often seen in traditional townhouses in Kyoto,” Ashizawa said. “They serve both as a privacy screen and light filter.”

As you enter the home, you notice the exposed concrete structure, which is amped with a bunch of different finishes – ribbed ceilings, and washed and blasted walls. The concrete beautifully contrasts with the insulated exterior. The various finishes in the home create an interesting palette, with the ribbed textures delivering acoustic enhancement in the living room. The first and third floors include the bedroom, while the living and dining rooms are placed on the second floor. The different stories are connected via a winding wooden staircase, which perfectly pairs up with the wooden furniture to create an organic and warm ambience.

The home also includes space for the clients’ art collection, perfectly placed against neutral walls. It also features a skylight to offer access to natural light throughout the day, softly illuminating the home.

The post Minimal Home In Tokyo Features Wooden Louvers To Deliver Privacy & An Organic Ambiance To Its Residents first appeared on Yanko Design.

While many wars have been fought over different kinds of pens and their designs, some people still prefer the simplicity and unique texture of a good, old-fashioned, wooden pencil. Unfortunately, even die-hard pencil fans will admit that their favorite writing tool can sometimes be a pain to maintain. Not only do they tend to go missing exactly when you need them, they might also be too dull by the time you do find them among the pile of other writing instruments. You waste a lot of time fumbling with tools while your muse slips away before you have a chance to write the idea down on paper. Having your tools always within reach helps cut down on time and friction, and this striking minimalist design solves that by combining two of the most essential pencil accessories in one.

Click Here to Buy Now: $55

The Problem: Sharpeners are Unattractive, Inefficient, Out of Reach

A pencil is one of the most basic and most timeless writing instruments known to man. It has its own distinct charm that’s exhibited both by its graphite marks as well as the design of its barrel. That said, the pencil has also inherited the one flaw of its ancestors: the need for regular sharpening. Mechanical pencils try to offer an alternative design but also sacrifice the unique personality of the wooden pencil in favor of precision and convenience.

Sharpening a pencil isn’t exactly too much work, but scrambling to find the sharpener costs too much time and tension when you need to jot something down quickly. And that’s not even considering the time you spend actually looking for your pencil in the first place, especially if your favorite is lost among half a dozen barrels. A pencil and a pencil sharpener sound like two things that should go together, but there has never been a design that puts two and two together, at least until now.

Why is this the Best Pencil Sharpener?

This Upright Pencil Sharpener solves that by putting the sharpener where the pencil is or vice versa. Shaped like a disc or puck, the singular hole in the middle serves as a stand for your beloved writing tool, ready for you to pull it out when you need it. And should the pencil’s tip finally become too dull, you know exactly where to find the sharpener. No more searching inside drawers for a small metal or plastic box, or standing up to walk toward a mounted electric sharpener.

Despite its rather simple appearance, this pencil sharpener and stand in one is a prime example of great design. The base that holds the shavings is made from anodized aluminum with a matte black finish, while the cover that keeps the shavings from flying around is made from warm-toned walnut wood. A strong magnet keeps these two pieces together, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally knocking off the cover and spilling its contents. And when you are ready to empty the container, the 6cm diameter of the base makes it easy to throw everything out.

Who is this Pencil Sharpener for?

Pencil sharpeners are technically very utilitarian products, but this one easily sets itself apart with its elegance and appeal to the discerning, design-conscious pencil lover. The striking brass mechanism inside provides additional visual contrast to the darkness of the aluminum base. The angle of the blade inside is designed for optimal sharpening to reduce waste and prolong the pencil’s life. Simple, beautiful, and multi-functional, this pencil sharpener stand helps save you time and effort while allowing you to put your favorite pencil on display for everyone to see and appreciate.

Click Here to Buy Now: $55

The post Best pencil sharpener for those who don’t want to waste their pencils or time first appeared on Yanko Design.

Paper notebooks are in again, though some would argue they never really went out of fashion. Even with the inherent limitations of the medium, there is just an unbridled joy in putting pen or pencil to paper that has not yet been sufficiently replicated by the most advanced technologies and designs. In a way, notebooks have also become a reflection of the owner’s own self, while also acting as a gateway to their own inner world, their thoughts, their dreams, and maybe even their own self-image. Some people like their notebooks and their covers plain, while others opt for designs that display their interests and loyalties. Still, others treat their notebook covers like a blank canvas ready to tell their life story through stickers and art. This rather distinctive Japanese-inspired notebook tries to tell a different story, one that aims to inspire the owner to not only rise from the ashes but also embrace their own imperfections.

Designer: Sutta Design

Click Here to Buy Now: $29

Ceramic pots have great value not just because of their intricate, often hand-made designs but also because of their fragility. A single drop or hard bump is enough to break a beautiful vase, and most people simply throw these away, even if there’s just a crack. The Japanese, however, aren’t ones to dispose of what can still be repaired, and so the famed kintsugi, the traditional art of repairing pottery, was born. In a nutshell, this art uses golden lacquer to patch up and cover cracks, resulting in a piece of pottery that is even more beautiful because of its obvious flaws.

Over time, kintsugi became a symbol of embracing imperfections and self-healing, and those are the sentiments that this golden healing notebook attempts to convey. Using an equally traditional screen-printing method, wriggling lines of gold are painted on the notebook’s plain black cover, mimicking the cracks covered up by lacquer in a kintsugi masterpiece. And as with cracks, there is no uniformity or pattern to the branching lines, giving it a sense of randomness that you would find in nature itself. It’s a striking visual, with the gold contrasting with the black, that evokes both awe and wonder, subtly leading the mind to deeper thoughts.

The notebook’s theme of recovery and revival goes deeper than the cover. The paper used inside is bagasse which is made from the residue produced during sugarcane extraction. Instead of creating new paper from virgin pulp, it reuses what has been discarded, trying to make whole what was broken. In its own small way, it helps heal the planet’s cracking health, patching it up in small beautiful pieces rather than in one grandiose but ineffective sweep.

The kintsugi notebook embodies not only a traditional Japanese practice but the very highlights of Japanese culture itself. It is the perfect example of Japanese minimalist design, the frugality and efficiency of its people, as well as the profound thinking they can evoke from just a few simple symbols and materials. Whether you’re writing down your most secret thoughts, planning out your day ahead, or simply scribbling ideas and dreams, the notebook’s beautiful recycled paper invites you to let your pen roam free on the page, while the seemingly cracked cover exhorts you to embrace even the flaws that could, someday, lead to a beautiful design.

Click Here to Buy Now: $29

The post This Japanese Kintsugi Art Notebook Is Your Journaling Partner to Help You Realize Ikigai first appeared on Yanko Design.