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This ‘Smart Outlet’ comes with a built-in RGB light and Matter support… and it’s absolute genius

Allow me to paint you a picture – the year is 2015, life is great. The world seems stable, as does the economy, and people are just generally happy. There is, however, the problem of your average outlet. You see, 10 years ago, every room had these silent plastic rectangles fixed to the walls. They were always powered – ready to charge a phone, fire up a vacuum, or keep your lamp glowing – but that was about it. Outlets weren’t exactly “smart” or helpful beyond their one job, and certainly did nothing for you when the lights went out. Smart bulbs were starting to pop up, but the outlet itself? Completely static, often disappearing into the background until you needed to crouch down and plug something in – usually in the dark, usually with a bit of fumbling and a few muttered curses as you hit your head against furniture. Cut to 2025, and that feels like a relic of the past.

Sure, our world’s in a bit of a perilous situation, and I wish we could change a whole bunch of things – but if there’s one thing I’m thankful for, it’s the fact that my outlets now illuminate too. Sure, the average outlet has a plug that powers a lamp or a fan or an appliance… but the InvisOutlet Aura comes with its own light too, which turns your outlet into an ambient lamp. A set of LEDs built INTO the outlet itself give your walls glowing abilities, so they’re visible even when the lights are off. They can be toggled through an app (allowing you to switch them on or off or even change their colors) and even controlled via smart home voice commands. This effectively does two things – for starters, it saves your toes and shins from constant onslaught as you struggle to find the light switch in the dark… but more notably, it lets you set the vibe of your home by giving you an entire array of wall-mounted ambient lights!

Designer: Intecular

Click Here to Buy Now: $69 $119 (42% off). Hurry, only 3/220 left! Raised over $78,000.

The way the InvisOutlet Aura works is simple – it comes as a smart outlet , designed to fit into the wall and then get concealed with the smart outlet’s plate. The in-wall outlet features two remotely controllable 15A plugs along with a powerful RGB light built below. The lights draw power directly from the power line itself, so you don’t need to ‘plug’ anything in. When dormant, it looks like your average 2-plug outlet, allowing you to connect a variety of appliances, from lamps to humidifiers, chargers, etc. However, toggle the RGB lights and the InvisOutlet Aura casts a diffused glow against your wall, turning your power socket into a light itself! The best part? It’s not just some random light built into your socket – it’s a literal IoT device.

The InvisOutlet Aura comes with app connectivity, broader Matter integration, and it plays nice with your existing smart-home setup. You can control the lights (and their brightness level) via an app, or simply tell Alexa or Google or Siri to switch on/off or change the lights without so much as getting out of bed. A magic touch surface on the cover plate lets you manually toggle the light or even initiate the pairing/syncing feature… but for the most part, the InvisOutlet is designed to be a hands-off experience. It even packs adaptive brightness control (like your phone’s screen), adjusting the intensity based on ambient light. It glows appropriately in the dark, but switch a few lights on and it increases its brightness, so that the Aura’s aura remains visible!

Installing the outlet is fairly simple given its standard design. It plugs right into standard outlet spaces (with neutral wiring), can be installed by anyone, and doesn’t need batteries to power any extra features. Once plugged, it uses Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth Low Energy to stay perpetually connected to your smart home grid. The free app guides you through the Aura’s features, while giving you granular control over every element, from color selection to brightness control, and even overall home integration. All this comes with a fairly uncomplicated setup, thanks to Matter support that lets you seamlessly integrate the Aura into your existing smart home setup without changing anything.

The result? Convenience and attitude. Not only does a voice/app-activated ambient light give you clear access to your nearest power outlet, saving a few stumbles and bruised legs and egos, but the RGB-adjustable lights are quite literally the easiest way to upgrade your home. Imagine a smart home that comes to life with a simple “Hey Alexa”… you can do things like tell it to light up in your favorite sports team’s colors during a match, glow dimly on romantic nights to simulate candles, or trigger Christmas interior decorations with a mere command.

Click Here to Buy Now: $69 $119 (42% off). Hurry, only 3/220 left! Raised over $78,000.

The post This ‘Smart Outlet’ comes with a built-in RGB light and Matter support… and it’s absolute genius first appeared on Yanko Design.

Toronto’s First PHIUS-Certified Passive House Stands Strong Against Harsh Weather

Nestled away in Toronto’s Don Valley Ravine, the West Don Ravine Passive House makes history as the city’s first PHIUS-certified home. Gregory Rubin of Poiesis Architecture designed it for his parents, turning a personal project into something much bigger. After 15 years working on high-end projects, his parents gave him complete creative control for his first ground-up build. The timing couldn’t have been better.

The original three-story house made way for something entirely different: a fully electric bungalow that works with the landscape instead of fighting it. Two levels create the perfect setup: a street-level entry that keeps things private, and a walkout floor below that opens completely to the forest. Standing inside, you forget you’re in the middle of Toronto. The ravine becomes part of the living space.

Designer: Poiesis Architecture

Materials tell the whole story here. Terracotta tiles and baguettes in natural tones flow from inside to outside, blurring those boundaries completely. Exposed concrete keeps things honest and grounded. Rubin calls it “modernism harmonized with sustainability,” but it’s just good design that happens to perform incredibly well. The house feels warm and human, not like a science experiment.

That massive glass wall facing the ravine almost didn’t happen. Getting floor-to-ceiling windows approved for passive house standards took serious engineering. The payoff is huge, the forest becomes wallpaper. South-facing windows frame sky views perfectly, while the ravine side opens everything up. The house breathes with the seasons, capturing light and views without losing thermal performance.

COVID delays turned into unexpected opportunities. Rubin dove deeper into local biodiversity research, creating a stewardship program that now teaches neighbors about urban forest conservation. The house sparked something bigger than just one family’s dream home. The rectangular layout is divided into clean quadrants, with a central mezzanine marking the transition between street life and forest life.

This house proves that sustainable doesn’t mean sacrificing style. Passive house principles enhanced the architecture, pushing Rubin to find creative solutions that made the design stronger. It’s both a family home and a blueprint for climate-conscious living. Toronto’s housing future might look a lot like this: beautiful, efficient, and completely connected to place.

The post Toronto’s First PHIUS-Certified Passive House Stands Strong Against Harsh Weather first appeared on Yanko Design.

Cadillac Unveils Its First Off-Roader EV Concept at Monterey Car Week

The Cadillac Elevated Velocity Concept showed up at Monterey Car Week and immediately sparked a new round of speculation about what luxury performance is supposed to look like in the EV era. Cadillac, of all brands, is going full sci-fi, and the result is a head-turning, conversation-starting, sometimes polarizing vision of electric performance. The Elevated Velocity is the kind of concept that throws subtlety out the window and asks, “What if a hypercar, a GT, and a lunar rover all decided to collaborate on a crossover?” And I’m here for it. There’s something wildly refreshing about seeing a legacy luxury brand throw caution to the wind and design a vehicle that looks like it could play the villain in a Christopher Nolan film.

When Cadillac’s designers start sketching, you can tell the brief wasn’t “make it look like the last Escalade, but sleeker.” Instead, the Elevated Velocity looks as if someone told the design team, “Surprise everyone. Go wild. Use all the tech you want.” The result is a profile that’s all drama: a low, coupe-like roofline, massive 24-inch wheels, and a body that sits somewhere between sports car and SUV. The proportions are exaggerated in the best way, with a short front overhang and a rear that looks ready to pounce. The signature vertical LED lighting up front and out back is straight out of Cadillac’s current playbook, but here it’s more angular and aggressive, almost like a blueprint for the next generation of the brand’s visual identity.

Designer: Cadillac

Take a closer look at those butterfly doors and you’re immediately in concept car dreamland. They open skyward, revealing an interior that’s less “car cabin” and more like the lounge of a high-tech penthouse. Cadillac picked a deep, almost theatrical red for the upholstery, which is draped over sharp, minimalist seats that look like they were designed by a Scandinavian furniture studio. Metal accents slice through the fabric and everything is illuminated with ambient lighting that’s likely customizable to the nth degree. The steering wheel is a squared-off, spaceship-like unit that can retract along with the pedals, making way for what Cadillac calls “Elevate” mode. That’s the mode where the car basically tucks away its manual controls and goes full autonomous, letting you bask in infrared light therapy and whatever other wellness features are built in. This is Cadillac’s take on luxury in the EV age: less about wood trim and massaging seats, more about personal wellness, digital interfaces, and a cocoon-like atmosphere.

What makes this concept especially nerd-worthy is its electric architecture and multi-mode chassis. The Elevated Velocity sits on what looks to be a highly adaptive suspension, with the ability to raise and lower itself depending on drive mode. In Terra mode, the car lifts itself for off-road adventures. In Velocity mode, it hunkers down to slice through air and eat up tarmac, living up to its V-Series lineage. Cadillac hasn’t released full specs, but the expectation is that it would feature dual or even tri-motor all-wheel-drive, with power output well into the 700-plus horsepower range if it ever made production. That would put it in the neighborhood of the most serious electric performance SUVs on the planet, like the Lotus Eletre or the Tesla Model X Plaid, but with a sharper focus on design and luxury.

The rear is an LED light show, with a full-width taillight and vertical fins that make the car look wide and planted. The wheels are sculptural marvels and likely forged alloys, shod in performance rubber that looks ready for both dry lakebeds and urban boulevards. Even the color palette is thought through: a matte blue-grey on the outside that feels both modern and a bit mysterious, set against the vivid interior. There is a sense here that Cadillac is putting its full creative weight behind the idea of an electric crossover that does not compromise on presence or drama.

Of course, the Elevated Velocity Concept is not coming to a dealership near you. This is a design manifesto, a technology flex, and a rolling experiment in what Cadillac thinks its future should feel like. Still, concepts like this matter. They give designers permission to experiment, and the public a preview of what’s percolating in the GM skunkworks. The butterfly doors, the wild proportions, the futuristic dashboard, and the marriage of off-road stance with on-road aggression are all signals. Cadillac wants to be seen as the American answer to the growing number of European and Asian tech-luxury EVs. This concept says, loudly, that the brand is not afraid to be bold, to be weird, to be memorable.

The post Cadillac Unveils Its First Off-Roader EV Concept at Monterey Car Week first appeared on Yanko Design.

Julia Kononenko’s gorgeous carpet takes inspiration from colorful terrazzo flooring

Splash captures the kind of moment that usually evaporates as quickly as it appears, the instant when paint leaves the brush and lands in an unplanned, perfect pattern. This design takes that impulse and fixes it in textile form, allowing a fleeting artistic gesture to live permanently within a space.

The concept begins with the language of abstract art. The surface is scattered with color in unpredictable rhythms, as if created by a single motion of the arm and a quick flick of the wrist. There is no sense of containment, no neat outlines to rein in the energy. Each speck, dot, and dash feels like it arrived exactly where it was meant to, guided by instinct rather than calculation. In this way, Splash mirrors the nature of human emotion: vivid, shifting, and often resistant to structure.

Designer: Julia Kononenko

Color drives its personality. Across the neutral base of the white version, bright pigments in orange, pink, blue, green, and black create a lively visual conversation. The orange variant turns the effect inside out, giving the warm, saturated background an immediate sense of presence, while the multicolored flecks provide texture and depth. The orange, especially, seems to radiate optimism, as if inviting sunlight into the room.

In periods when home has become both a personal retreat and the backdrop to everyday life, the role of design shifts. Interiors no longer serve as static showpieces; they become active participants in mood and well-being. Splash meets that need with an energy that uplifts without overwhelming. The colors are arranged in a way that sparks curiosity but never clutters the eye, offering a sense of movement while keeping balance.

A subtle connection to terrazzo surfaces gives the design an extra layer of versatility. The flecked pattern recalls the embedded chips of traditional terrazzo, allowing the carpet to either stand out as a feature or blend harmoniously with similar flooring. In spaces that already have terrazzo, Splash can almost camouflage, a clever visual trick that merges art with architectural detail.

The tactile quality is just as important as the visual. The soft yet durable textile invites contact, making it as comfortable to walk across as it is to look at. This combination of sensory appeal and artistic statement means Splash can sit in a variety of settings, from a bright, modern living room to a creative workspace where inspiration is always welcome.

The post Julia Kononenko’s gorgeous carpet takes inspiration from colorful terrazzo flooring first appeared on Yanko Design.

When Function Meets Form: The Wotancraft Rider V2 Redefines Photography Carry

As both a photographer who’s spent countless hours in the field and a bag designer obsessed with the marriage of form and function, I find myself genuinely excited about Wotancraft’s latest iteration of their Rider series. The Rider V2 represents something rare in our industry: a product that truly understands the intersection of cycling culture and photography needs. This isn’t another generic camera bag with cycling aesthetics slapped on for marketing appeal.

Designer: Wotancraft

The DNA of Movement

The original Rider series took inspiration from messenger bags used by cyclists and was designed as a soft structured bag that could fold down or expand as needed. This cycling heritage isn’t marketing speak. It’s embedded in every design decision, from strap placement to closure mechanisms. Having carried cameras through urban environments and remote locations alike, I appreciate how this bag addresses the fundamental challenge every photographer faces: staying mobile while keeping gear secure and accessible.

Traditional camera bags often treat photographers like stationary subjects. They prioritize storage over movement, creating bulky solutions that work fine in a studio but become burdensome in dynamic environments. The three-point harness system immediately caught my attention. The bag stays securely positioned on your back, preventing it from sliding to your side or chest while riding, keeping you safe and sound.

From a design perspective, this solves a critical problem that traditional sling bags struggle with: weight distribution during movement. Whether you’re navigating a crowded street market or hiking to a sunrise location, the bag maintains its position. This allows you to focus on the shot rather than constantly adjusting your gear. When your equipment feels secure, you shoot with more confidence and spontaneity.

Evolutionary Design Intelligence

What impresses me most about the V2 is how it represents genuine evolution rather than superficial updates. The V2 version features an updated three point harness system, refined internal structure, and lightweight improvements, all designed to make it even more functional and practical for daily life. These aren’t changes made for the sake of having a new model. They address specific pain points identified through years of user feedback.

This speaks to a design philosophy I deeply respect: iterative improvement based on real-world feedback. Originally created for bike commuters, the Rider has gradually evolved through years of feedback and real world use. Today, it is a truly versatile everyday bag that works for commuting, cycling, and photography. Too many companies rush to market with untested concepts, then wonder why their products fail in practical applications. Wotancraft’s approach demonstrates patience and commitment to getting things right.

The construction details reveal thoughtful material selection that goes beyond surface-level considerations. The Rider series bags are made from a dual-coat, water-repellent 400D nylon canvas This choice balances durability with weight considerations, crucial factors that many bag designers struggle to optimize simultaneously. The dual-coat treatment provides redundancy without excessive bulk. Single-layer treatments often fail at stress points or after extended use, leaving expensive camera equipment vulnerable to the elements.

When you consider the cycling influence, where exposure to elements is inevitable, the material selection makes even more sense. Cyclists can’t avoid weather the way car commuters can. They need gear that performs reliably in rain, snow, and extreme temperatures. These same requirements apply to photographers working in challenging outdoor conditions.

Form Follows Function

The expandable design philosophy particularly resonates with my experience as a photographer. When more storage room is needed, simply release the Fidlock Buckle or loosen the webbing on the front to expand the bag. This soft-structured approach allows the bag to adapt to varying gear loads, crucial for photographers who might start a day with minimal equipment but need to accommodate additional lenses, batteries, or personal items as situations evolve.

Traditional hard-case camera bags force you to carry maximum capacity regardless of actual needs. This creates unnecessary bulk and weight when traveling light, while still limiting you when situations demand extra gear. The Rider V2’s adaptive capacity addresses both scenarios intelligently. The Fidlock buckle system deserves special mention. These magnetic closures provide quick, one-handed operation while maintaining secure retention. For photographers juggling cameras, lenses, and environmental challenges, the ability to access gear quickly without fumbling with traditional buckles or zippers can mean the difference between capturing a moment and missing it entirely.

The cycling influence isn’t coincidental. It’s strategic, born from recognizing fundamental similarities between cycling and photography needs. Whether it’s for daily commuting, cycling, shooting photos, or on a spontaneous adventure, the Rider Series V2 has you covered. Both activities demand quick access to equipment, secure carry during movement, weather protection, and seamless transitions between transport and use.

What sets the Rider V2 apart from generic camera bags is its understanding that photographers are rarely stationary. We’re constantly moving: walking, climbing, cycling, running to catch golden hour light. The bag’s design acknowledges this reality with features that prioritize stability and accessibility during movement rather than just storage capacity. This movement-centric approach influences every design decision, from strap geometry to internal organization.

The available sizes (4.5L Mini, 10L Easy, and 13L Lightning versions) demonstrate smart market segmentation. This isn’t about creating artificial product tiers for profit maximization. It’s about recognizing that different photographers have genuinely different needs based on their equipment, shooting style, and typical assignments. Wedding photographers might prefer the larger Lightning version to accommodate multiple camera bodies and lenses. Street photographers might gravitate toward the Mini for its minimal profile and quick access.

The Wotancraft Rider V2 succeeds because it doesn’t try to be everything to everyone. Instead, it focuses on solving specific problems for photographers who value mobility and reliability. The cycling-inspired design isn’t a gimmick or superficial styling exercise. It’s a fundamental approach to creating gear that works in the real world where photographers actually operate. For photographers seeking a carry solution that truly understands the demands of mobile shooting, the Rider V2 represents thoughtful design evolution that respects both the craft of photography and the reality of how we actually work in the field.

The Wotancraft Rider V2 series is available in Khaki and Black colorways, with pricing starting at $169 for the Mini Rider V2 (4.5L) and going up to $239 for the Easy Rider V2 (10L).

The post When Function Meets Form: The Wotancraft Rider V2 Redefines Photography Carry first appeared on Yanko Design.