Combining Technology And Design: Solar Paper
The World’s Thinnest & Lightest Portable Solar Charger Meant To Charge Anything Pluggable To USB
“I think the special part of our company is the synergy between technology and design,” says Sen, CEO of YOLK. Sen’s company makes products that use solar power. Their most recent product is “Solar Paper, the world’s thinnest & lightest solar charger.” Solar Paper is meant to be a portable kind of solar power used to charge anything that can be charged by a USB.
Sen started YOLK in 2012. She comes from a product design background, having studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and in Italy, and is now based in South Korea. She became interested in solar power because “I saw the potential of solar power and was interested as a designer,” Sen explains, “It is like an empty canvas so I can try many new things.” Also, she points out that solar power is very amazing because “It is fair and equal to everyone. You don’t have to be from a wealthy country to use the sun.” The name YOLK comes from egg yolk as “the yolk is the nutrients in an egg and it looks like the sun, which can give us nutrients like energy,” Sen says.
The reason why she calls it an empty canvas is because the use of solar energy is not very widespread. And in cases where it is used a lot are in government or military environments, where there is “very little concern about design,” Sen says. She wants to create products that people will understand how to use and attractively designed so people can “use them without any shame,” she chuckles.
The first product they designed was called Solarade. It is a one panel solar charger that can charge an iPhone in about 2 hours. “Solarade, in a way, was meant to inform people of the intuitive ways solar power can work,” Sen says. Of course, there were hiccups. It seems obvious that one would need the sun to utilize solar power, however that is not always clear. “We received some confused feedback saying it doesn’t work,” Sen recalls, “because some people were using it under LED light or in the shade.” She says that one thing companies like YOLK has to overcome is to make the use of solar energy more casual in daily life.
She feels like the solar paper can do this and supporters of her ideas think so, too - the kickstarter campaign had a goal of $50,000 and ended up with over $1,000,000 in funding. Typically, solar panel products end up being bulky and hard to carry around, not to mention unattractive according to Sen. Solar Paper is multiple ultra thin panels that are joined together with magnets and can be reinforced with string. Then it is hung from a backpack or put on a table and it gets energy. “It is like a wall charger in that it provides energy, but doesn’t store it,” Sen says. One can store the energy by getting a power bank that connects via USB. Another interesting aspect of solar paper is that it has a display that updates in real time, so a person can figure out the best angle to get energy.
As mentioned, Solar Paper can charge anything that has a USB. In many cases, this is a phone or tablet. Impressively, two panels magnetically joined together on a sunny day can charge a new iPhone in about 2.5 hours, the same time it takes when plugged into the wall. Another subtle but important feature of Solar Paper is explained on the website. It says that most simple solar chargers have a flaw when charging smart-phones as phones won’t accept low voltage, resulting in the user having to unplug and replug the phone every time a cloud passes to restart charging. However, Solar Paper integrates technology to have this process happen automatically without the user even noticing.
As a product designer, she feels that the minimalist design of Solar Paper will be a catalyst to understanding and use of solar power. She says one of her primary influences in design is nendo. The company nendo is a powerhouse in minimalist design based in Tokyo and Milan, founded by one of the most famous and respected designers today - Oki Sato. It seems she is succeeded in appealing to ordinary people as attested by the popularity of Solar Paper in Asia and Europe, cultures that traditionally adhere to simple, functional design. YOLK is surprised, though, by the product's popularity in the UK. “The statistics in the UK were surprisingly high. They don’t have any sunlight there!” Sen laughs. She thinks it is because, culturally speaking, the English are attracted to and interested in sustainable energy.
The primary markets for solar power are outdoorsy types and backpackers. Sen hopes to broaden the appeal to many types of people. YOLK plans on continuing to design sleek solar products that are in pace with the technology that is rapidly advancing. “Solar power is getting better and better,” Sen says. And, with companies like YOLK, the plan is make them more and more attractive, too.
Andrew Malo
A graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Education, Andrew has taught for the past decade in Chicago, New Mexico, and Japan. He enjoys tinkering with trucks and motorcycles, woodworking, reading and computer programming.
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YOLK, an innovative solar power company with highly advanced technology. Users that enjoy outdoor activities will no longer limited thanks to their solar energy devices. Their goal is to bring solar technology into everyone's daily life.