Project
Ten Key Calculator
Client
IDEA, Japan
Production
2007 -
The Ten Key Calculator was the first product released as part of a long-standing relationship with IDEA. The project design was led by Ippei Matsumoto. It called for a calculator that could also connect to a computer through a USB connection - relieving some of the stress associated with typing digits using a standard qwerty keyboard. The design resurrects the tactility of original computer keys into the calculator, creating a very useful key stroke. The result is a calculator that’s become a piece of universal design with its popularity for both young and old.
Awards
Best Work Product, ID Magazine, 2007
Designs of the Year, Shortlisted, Design Museum London, 2008
Exhibitions
Less and More, the Work of Dieter Rams, San Francisco, 2012
Turn, Twist and Branch Off, Aram Store, London, 2011
Some Recent Projects, Design Museum London, 2008
Films
RETAIL FACILITY Ten Key Calculator
International Sales
Buy at RETAIL FACILITYProject
Industrial Facility w152
Client
Wästberg
Production
2015 -
Industrial Facility w152 moves Swedish lighting company Wästberg into new territory: electronics in combination with light. Modern lighting has now become unrecognisable - no longer the subject of only electricity. Printed circuit boards, micro-chips and diodes are now staple ingredients, providing greater control, conserving energy and with longer lifespans. This transformation is a chance to establish new possibilities for the meeting point between light and electronics – that wherever light is supplied, power is often also required to charge our burgeoning devices. Industrial Facility's w152 is a lamp that also provides intelligent, universal power from three 3A USB outlets, detecting charging requirements and managing them at their fastest rate, however many devices are plugged in.
It is able to charge the latest generation of laptop computers. The lamp is available as freestanding, wall-mountable or integrated. The w152 illuminates and powers the office, the workshop, the library, the living room and the bedside table.
International Sales
Worldwide: Wästberg
UK: Twentytwentyone
Films
Introducing Industrial Facility w152
Website
Project
Picturemate Printer
Client
Epson Japan
Production
2006 —
Representing a significant shift in design approach for Epson, Industrial Facility created a small home printing unit that is portable and beyond being a peripheral to computers. With liberating features such as battery power, integrated handle, and adjustable LCD screen, it takes up a sympathetic position for domestic use, rather than merely migrated office machinery. Photo printers tend to be used occasionally, with most of their time spent in a state of idleness. For any manufacturer, that realisation can be hard to swallow, but Epson accepted it. The lid acts both as a protective cover and a paper tray. The paper exit door reveals camera card inputs.
Compact, simple, storable and not shouting for attention, the design went on to become the first Epson production printer to be designed by an outside design company, and one of their most successful. Its production continues to this day, some 6 years after its introduction.
Designed in Collaboration with Epson Design.
Awards
IF Hannover Gold Award, 2006
Japan G Mark Award, 2006
Permanent Collections
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Exhibitions
Some Recent Projects, Design Museum London, 2008
Margaret Howell, London, 2011
Found, Made, Thought, Israel Museum, 2005
Love & Money Ozone Gallery, Tokyo, 2006
International Design Biennale, Saint-Etienne, 2006
Its design reference was obvious – that of cine projectors, partly because of making the LCD projector upright rather than flat. The result was a product that felt as though it was meant to play movies, giving some pride and enjoyment through its use. Seeing the spinning DVD also contributed to the ‘atmosphere’ of playing a film.
Designed in collaboration with Epson Design.
Exhibitions
Some Recent Projects, Design Museum London, 2008
Margaret Howell, London, 2011
Found, Made, Thought, Israel Museum, 2005
Project
Core 7 and Core 4 USB Hubs
Client
LaCie
Production
2008 —
The Core 7 and Core 4 USB Hubs represented the second project for LaCie - the first was the Little Disk program of external hard drives that set the course for a very different design attitude applied to computer peripherals.
It made clear that a hard drive could be viewed not as a product but a piece of media, in the same vein as a DVD or Cassette, and so remove all superfluous details, flashing lights and power cords. Even though the launch in 2007 was derided as mere boxes with no design credentials, it became one of the most succcessful product ranges ever developed for LaCie. Like the Little Disk Program, these USB Hubs were viewed similarly to extension sockets used on the floor, allowing several USB's to be plugged in, when the computer has limited sockets.
The Core 7 Hub can be used on the desk or wall mounted. At the rear, two compartments house regular and mini-USB cables, along with 6 USB sockets. The 7th is on top, allowing for fast in and out of data sticks. The Core 4 Hub is a mobile device that provides 4 USB inputs.
Awards
Red Dot Award, 2008
Exhibitions
Less and More, the work of Dieter Rams, Design Museum London, 2011
Some Recent Projects, Design Museum London, 2008
International Sales
