Comically Conical – Door Knob Concepts

I was looong wondering if there’s a good way to let one notice if the door is to push or pull only with the shape of a normal (round/tulip shaped) doorknob. Thinking of a good knob design for pushing is not so difficult but in most cases the shape is also good for pulling and vice versa.

So I thought differently; it might work if I can find a shape that makes it HARD to push/pull. Then a user instinctively notice which way the door should open. (Not sure if this has already been used.)

The above knob is for pulling. It a little hard to turn this knob and push.

Likewise the above knob makes it a little hard to turn and pull.

There are times when you have to push a pull-door and pull a push-door, such as when you release a door stopped with a door-stopper, so I made it “a little” hard to push/pull. Will these doorknobs help many people you think?

For manufacturers, please contact me for development.

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Face Door Hanger

I started freelancing from this month and have more time to work at home than before. My son, by the way, is 2 years old and can’t read yet, so he ignores a door hanger that says ‘Do Not Disturb’ in words. That’s why I came up with this concept. He understands what this face door hanger means, but there’s one problem: he got to like it so much that he cries out for it in front of the door of my room… So he’s disturbing me much more now. Oops!

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Dew – Future Wearable Mobile Device Concept

Like one of my previous posts (Cobalto), I was picturing sci-fi movies when I thought of this wearable mobile phone. It’s something I want to see used in a futuristic scene.

The ball works as a controller and an indicator changing colors. It can slide anywhere on the surface.

Of course it’d be fun to watch 3D hologram on it.

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Hungry Batteries: Rechargeable Battery Concept

It would be so helpful if there is a set of rechargeable batteries that change forms to tell you how “hungry” it is.

The thinner it is, the emptier the battery is. When it’s full, it’s just as straight as a normal battery.

Another merit is that when it’s thin, it’s much easier to take out from a packed battery room, especially if there are multiple betteries packed tight in line. Fat batteries don’t need to be changed anyway.

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Animation Video Chat

Now that we have Google’s automatic captioning on videos on YouTube, which I like very much, what about speech balloons around the captions? It’d be more helpful if the location of the voice source could be indicated by an arrow from the balloon and the voice tone could be expressed with different balloon shapes.

If your gestures could bring motion characters that can be manipulated on both sides, video chatting would become like a fun video game.

When your girlfriend throws a kiss when video-chatting, many hearts appear moving towards the thrown direction. You can touch and move the characters on your side.

Wink and get stars. (Can characters go beyond the chat window like this?)
You might think of lots of other gestures and fun characters.

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World Cleanest Graffiti— iPhone App Concept

There are a number of drawing iPhone apps available, but I think it would be fun if you could paste the picture you draw on a real wall, but virtually.


Draw a picture with your iPhone.


Choose the wall you want to paste the picture on.


Point and paste the picture. Resizing possible.


Share it with people on an online map.


Or share with only the person you choose. And if you want someone to go to a place (physically) to see the picture, just choose “local share” only.
This is just like an old bulletin board outside and might work well if you want to convey your feeling to someone.


The images can be seen through your iPhone just like usual graffiti from any angle.

Thank you again for the great photos, *momoc.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wtkn/

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Funny USB Memory Stick #6 Final

This transparent USB memory stick covers all the convenient functions of the memory sticks I’ve introduced so far. The light inside the glass represents the data saved in it: No lights means no data, lights filling the glass means there’s no more space. The kind of data is recognized with colors. For example pink is for images, blue is for documents and green for movies, etc. It would be more fun if the lights can move in the glass when you shake it.

Synced with the icon on your desktop of course.

Inspired by Japanese Soma-Toh or a revolving lantern, which beautifully shows colored silhouette.

Also visit the other series of this gadget.


Part1


Part2


Part3


Part4


Part5

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Clip Watch

I’ve been thinking about a watch I can put on my coat or bag, which tells me time when I need to know because when it’s cold, my watch is under the thick coat and is hard to take out.

By making it look like a button, it may go well with many kinds of outer wears.

Click the face once and it displays the time and date on the glass face for a few seconds. (I figure we usually don’t need to stare at a watch for a long time.)

Solar battery panels charges electricity for the display.

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Mobile Phone Concepts "Floater"

About 80% of the day time, my mobile phone sits on my desk. I have it in my hand or in my pocket for the other 20%. I was just wondering why not make it look better on a table if it’s in the idling mode most of the time. Just sitting flat on the desk is not fun to look at.

Floater A
Wouldn’t it be fun if your cell phone sits up by itself (or tilt up a little) when put on the desk and starts moving when there’s a phone call or an incoming message? The curved bottom allows itself to tilt up a little bit when put on a flat surface and left idle for some time. It starts nodding or rotating when it receives a phone call or an email etc.








Floater B
This one doesn’t move by itself, but it has a supporter on its back to make the round body stand on a flat surface. You slide the supporter the other way and you can use it as a physical keypad.







“Floater” comes from a surfing technique. Both look like a surfboard, don’t they?

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