So, how do you give life to a static product?
I’ve previously written about how I love designs that make use of “live” materials. I feel that this type of design, coupled with on-going material science research, will have a massive effect on product development in the future. One recent, and extremely cool, take on this is the Etch clock from Swiss design company 42foundry.
The Etch clock is a novel take on digital LCD clock with the numbers appearing to be etched into stone. The effect is achieved by through an undisclosed process, but in all likelihood a series of pumps or actuators that suck air out of the number recesses, drawing the elastic polymer skin into the cavities and revealing the time. When the air is allowed back in, the polymer returns back to its original state.
Aside from the technical challenges overcome here (particularly the development of a polymer that could handle such repetitive stretching without showing any ill effects over time) the thing I like about this design is the almost ethereal way the numbers animate. The slow yet determined reveal and hide process gives the clock life, much more than a binary on and off would. The fact that you can set the clock to react to the “turn on” when there is ambient sound in the room adds to this.
Whilst this clock itself is extremely expensive, the concepts that it represents could have a significant impact on product design, and particularly the design of connected devices, in the years to come. Check out Etch’s site with the link below.
