Flying cars and AI assistants are a dime a dozen – but have you ever seen a router so adorable it would be the highlight of your interior decor??
The SmartAir Minions Routers were so oddly located in a corner of the Westgate area of the CES 2024 exhibition that it was easy to miss. As chance would have it, I headed to the Westgate area to look for another company, only to suddenly notice these minions through the corner of my eye sitting on a counter. Given the fact that CES is predominantly a tech show, I obviously wondered why these plush-looking toys were on display. A few seconds in it dawned on me – these lifelike characters from the Despicable Me franchise were, in fact, dual and triple-band WiFi 6E routers capable of multi-gigabit internet. The added bonus? They look more adorable and presentable than your existing WiFi router ever could.
Designer: Davolink
The routers come in two models, designed to resemble the two key characters in the Minion-verse, the short and adorable Bob, and the tall and klutzy Kevin. The choice of these two characters play well into the routers’ features too – Bob, being smaller, offers dual-band WiFi connectivity, while the taller Kevin (and that tiny antenna-esque toupee of his) offer triple-band internet, giving you 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz, and even 6Ghz.
Together, both the routers provide a brilliant blend between wide coverage and high speeds, enabling everything from 8K streaming to even gaming. The routers eliminate dead zones too, ensuring every corner of your home has WiFi connectivity with a mesh feature to help maximize coverage.
The highlight, however, is the fact that they are a stunning replica of easily some of the most memorable and iconic characters of animated cinema in the past decade. I’ve always advocated for functional products ditching their industrial aesthetic (air purifiers and smart speakers don’t need to look horrendously industrial in today’s day and age), and it seems like it’s time that WiFi routers took that same approach. Bob and Kevin are designed to be the kind of routers that hide in plain sight. They’re adorable enough to be kept on your shelf or tabletop without feeling the need to conceal them behind curtains or other objects, and that’s really what makes them such a standout product. After all, wouldn’t you rather have a router that looks as cute as these little nitwits than something like the boring box you’re currently connected to as you read this article? My only worry is kids trying to play with these and accidentally bringing your entire home network down… but that’s a problem for another day!
The post These Minions Wi-Fi Routers were probably the most brilliant devices we saw at CES 2024 first appeared on Yanko Design.
The furniture of a home is what truly makes or breaks it. When you pick the right kind of furniture design, you build the essence and soul of a home. And it is essential that the soul of our home reflects our soul. Hence, you need to pick furniture designs that truly and authentically represent your personality, while bringing out the best in your home. And, we’ve curated a collection of innovative, functional, and sophisticated furniture designs that we feel will make an excellent addition to your home. These are our top furniture picks from 2023 – enjoy!
This desk is a unique and innovative one, as it makes the passing of time visible and tangible, enabling people to maintain a personal relationship with time as they invest in activities, projects, and other work.
The desk is equipped with a sub-table that moves up and down, and it changes its elevation as time passes, before simply returning to its base state at the lowest point. It is time as a reverse hourglass, in which the movement of time is displayed visually.
Dubbed the Flow Wall Desk, this excellent piece of office furniture is designed for offices with space constraints. It is functional and decorative, while also following a sustainable and simple design ideology. When propped against your wall, it looks like an exceptional piece of art, one that instantly catches your attention!
When the Flow Wall Desk is stored and folded up it looks like an art piece on your wall owing to its minimalist and intriguing shape. However, when you unfold it, it transforms into a ‘spiraling caterpillar’ from a flat canvas, functioning as a desk where you work, read, and write.
Called Tokyo, this ingenious multifunctional design functions as a shoe rack and a bench. It is the combination of two furniture pieces in the form of one individual furniture design.
Tokyo is a unique and special furniture piece. It features a side leg that gently and seamlessly curves, softly embracing the cushion to build a top tray for daily essentials. It serves as a cozy and neat spot to store your souvenirs and knick-knacks.
This unique furniture design is truly one-of-a-kind as it functions as a bookrack and a table. It has a seamless and well-crafted body that makes it an ideal fit for contemporary homes. Dubbed the Bookgroove, it is a conceptual design that deserves to be converted into a real one.
The Bookgrove is circular at first glance, but as you look closer you see it has a J-shaped carving on one side that can accommodate multiple books. It is an unusual way to store books, as they follow the shape of the built-in shelf on the side table.
Called the Snowhouse Sofa, this interesting furniture is designed for pets and humans alike. If a wooden sofa experienced some snow and was coated with it, it would look like the Snowhouse Sofa!
The wooden sofa is covered with cushy white cushions that give it the picturesque impression of fallen snow. The edges of the sofa are rounded, which adds a depth of softness and elegance to the furniture piece. The ends of the sofa are hollow, and marked with little spaces to accommodate books, magazines, and other miscellaneous items.
Designed by Deniz Aktay, the Plot Twist Bookshelf features four separate twisted wooden elements that are connected to one another, building a stable and innovative form. The unconventional and mesmerizing design truly captures whoever looks at it!
The bookshelf’s design can be accessed from every side. It is oddly satisfying and features curves that are seen in the designer’s other projects. Most of the furniture designs undergo bending and twisting like Aktay’s Wavelet, Tie Stool, and the Pet Table.
The Alada Folding Desk is a nifty and convenient space-saving desk that doubles up as an adorable decorative shelf. You can transform the desk into a display shelf in seconds, and it can hold your favorite souvenirs and potted plants.
The Alada desk was designed to cater to the ever-growing need for smart and flexible desk designs for working at home. It is essential to have a transformative and space-saving workspace at home – one that can be stored away when the day ends!
Dubbed Refold, this foldable desk is made using cardboard. It uses a few pieces that can be folded down into a relatively thin rectangle that can be carried around with you and used as either a standing or sitting desk.
The Refold is a sustainable and efficient option for those who want to set up a desk outdoors. It can be used indoors, to function as a space-saving desk that can be assembled and disassembled within a few minutes, or to offer a unique aesthetic.
This unique table design concept functions as a multi-purpose setup that can transform into something like a puzzle game, wherein different pieces can be fit into different places, depending on what is the needed functionality for the furniture design.
Features an orange circle that can be moved around and away from the rest of the table. Moving this shape around and changing its position becomes both a symbol and a ritual that can help your mind shift to a different kind of activity, whichever one you decide to associate with its position.
Called the KNOT Stool, this uniquely designed stool is flat all around and is made up of various layers of wood, which provides the stool with a raw and brutalist aesthetic.
The three wooden pieces can be painted in the same or different colors. The decorative webbing strap that wraps around the top of the stool’s legs can also come in complementing or contrasting colors, not to mention being made of different materials.
The post 10 Most Innovative Designs Of 2023: Furniture first appeared on Yanko Design.
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