The Week in Design: Simplicity and Functionality

The Web is teeming with the unrealized ideas of both students and established designers who set out to produce astonishing renderings and prototypes for unusual products. Unfortunately, due to the lack of time, money, or technology, many of those products never progress from the planning stages to the mass market. But that doesn't mean we can't salivate over them, nevertheless.

We need fewer objects, less clutter, a smaller amount of candidates for the landfill. We need smart objects, objects that can fill many functions, that can be reused and repurposed. We need designs that last -- not designs that simply speak to a trend in form, but also establish a functional future that helps users live better (but not lazier). We've highlighted the pitfalls present in many a poor concept with three designs that didn't work for us.

Watt-Lite by the Interactive Institute

Li Jönsson and Loove Broms of the Interactive Institute have been testing their Watt-Lite project at eight factories throughout Sweden. The pair designed a series of three flashlight-shaped spotlights that visualize the energy consumption of a factory in real time by projecting colored circles of light that dilate and contract as energy usage fluctuates. Two of the lights show the maximum and minimum energy usage, respectively, while the third projects the current usage for quick comparison to the high and low. The designers write, "A regular torch shows what is hidden in the dark, the Watt-Lite shows the hidden use of electricity. Without passing any judgment of certain kinds of behavior the factory workers are given the opportunity to reflect on their every day actions, set goals and better understand the otherwise hidden world of electricity."

Babyoom by Jeong Haedong and Bae Junseong

We're not fans of all these newfangled designer strollers that look like 'Superman' pods on wheels and clip our delicate ankles on crowded subways. But we'll make an exception for Jeong Haedong and Bae Junseong's Babyoom, which is more than a simple buggy. Designed to last, the Babyoom starts as a normal stroller for children up to 3-years old. After that, remove the pram, and Babyoom becomes a futuristic tricycle for kids up to 6. Then (or during, but we wouldn't want to tussle with an angry toddler over her bike), Babyoom can be converted to a small shopping cart, and used until it finally breaks down. The lightweight frame and simple design makes this a legacy object, and evolves in its usefulness as the child grows.

MultiAT by Tom Spencer

Can an object be simple and multifunctional at once? We believe that Tom Spencer's brilliant little Swiss Army knife of a gadget, designed for the arthritic, is a beautiful example that good design can fulfill both those roles. Looking not unlike a mixologist's tool, the MultiAT embodies our desire for multifunctional design by using nearly every square inch of its silhouette for a different purpose. The MultiAT will turn taps and doors, rotate keys and pull up zippers, crack open bottles and cans with an easy-grip ergonomic handle. Small enough that it's unobtrusive, but sizable for people with poor grip, the MultiAT truly places the needs of the user over the aesthetic of the object -- which is attractive enough in its simplicity.

The Plug In & Out Design by Won Seok Choi

We want to like Won Seok Choi's design for a new power plug, which is smart in concept but seems to forget the context in which it would live. Choi writes in very broken English, "An appearance that descends from the past always has its own meaning containing its use. It, therefore, has us naturally find how to react on the object, as a baby looks for her/his mother's breast." Choi suggests that the design of modern plugs contains a sort of forward movement, encouraging users to plug-in. (And we agree.) But Choi has designed a plug that asks to be unplugged, with its finger-shaped grooves on either side. The plug even rotates in the socket to cut the electricity to the cord, should you wish to power down for the evening. So, we're completely behind Choi's intentions -- that the form of the plug should, in our era of waste, encourage its owners to turn it off from time to time. But outlets, craftily kept out of view, generally sit toward the floor, away from the eyes of users. If you can't see the plug, it loses its purpose.

Bone Shaped Standalone Voice Recorder by Dror Goldblum

Let's say that you don't already have a smartphone with a voice-recording app (although we're willing to bet that a majority of you do). Well, you need to get yourself a recorder. We, as journalists, understand the benefits of good voice recording for interviews, panels, lectures and anything else we'll need to transcribe later. But we're perplexed by Dror Goldblum's bone-shaped recorder, which seems to be a definitive exercise in style over substance. It's pretty! It's got USB! But it doesn't have a display, and it's shaped vaguely like a couple of metacarpals. Why is it a bone? (Could you imagine telling an interview subject, "Hey there, just speak into my bone"?) How do you scroll between audio files, or even know that it's recording properly as you sit down for that ultra-important lecture review? We recommend that Goldblum reread Donald Norman's 'The Design of Everyday Things,' or at least take a gander at his Seven Stages of Action.

Redesigned Milk Bottle for People With Dexterity Problems by Konstantinos Ladas

We were pretty horrified, to say the least, by Konstantinos Ladas's update of the milk jug. The designer aims for a grip-free jug that would ostensibly benefit people with arthritis or fine motor skill issues. (Please see Tom Spencer's MultiAT, above.) If your intended user has arthritis, would they have the arm strength and stamina to hold a half-gallon milk jug at that awkward and unnatural angle without spilling it? Why continue with plastic? Plastic milk jugs -- as well as water and soda bottles -- leave a long-lasting cicatrix of waste across the face of our planet, and Ladas apparently wants to make more. We understand if the folded opening of some cardboard milk cartons vexes the designer, but he should note than many dairies (and fresh juice producers) have been moving toward cardboard containers with screw-top openings for easy pours. Food scientists should also remind Ladas that milk always keeps longer -- and tastes better -- when stored in opaque containers.

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