Posted by Harry
Books | 21 Feb 07 | Comments (3) | Stumble
Designer and author Branko Lukic, formerly of frogdesign and IDEO, sent us an exclusive preview of his upcoming non·object book. Says he, "The non·object book is the first of its kind - the first of a new genre we call Design Fiction™. In the same way that sci-fi movies and fictional tales stretch your imagination, our hope is to take you on a journey into the future of design and inspiration. We will share stories and concepts that offer a new point of view, a new way of thinking, a new way forward. Of course, as with all fiction, some of our ideas may seem improbable – even impossible.". The book will include an exclusive DVD with movies of all of the non.objects presented in the book combined with an audio recording with the author’s unfiltered thoughts behind each of the concepts. Check out this preview of the non.object CUin5 mobile phone. One of many ideas explored in the book, the "CUin5 was inspired by countless big company design specs that all outlined more or less the same thing: a ‘super-practical’ interface with the all-too-typical feature set. But CUin5 pushes this notion to the level of absurdity: How about a handset in which every face carries a keypad, microphone, and speaker?".
non.practical.
Without a doubt. It's art + fiction, and it's a clin d'oeil to industrial designers who've seen one too many "everything and the kitchen sink" design briefs.
Always nice to see designers looking at products in a new way, but I agree with Natalia - just because it's new & different doesn't mean it's better. How many people actually remember all the phone numbers in their phone? Without a screen, how can you access your phone book? Or text? Seems like a step forward in design, a step backward in usability.