patricia urquiola for alessi x iida

 
patricia urquiola's cell phone design is influenced by the form of castanets
all images courtesy of alessi / iida


italian design manufacturer alessi  and japanese product manufacturer iida have collaborated on a project,
enlisting designers stefano giovannoni, marcel wanders and patricia urquiola to creatively reinterpret the
cell phone in a way that aims to blend both art and life, while still maintaining practicality.





for her design, spanish-born italian-based designer patricia urquiola paid attention to the traditional crafts and culture of her roots by taking influence from spain's national instrument and create a phone which is reminiscent of the form of castanets. the mobile device's body surface is a delicate, dimpled skin which comes in various color proposals from black to a saffron yellow. it also features a tummy strap, earphones, mobile phone keypad and other distinctive accessories, that allude to the 'retro-chic space invaders culture'.

each cell phone comes with a tummy strap, earphones, mobile phone keypad and other distinctive accessories


the phones were presented in tokyo during the annual designers week and as part of the offsite events of designtide tokyo 2010.









variations of patricia urquiola's cell phone designs for alessi x iida collaboration

stefano giovannoni for alessi x iida

fishing boat charging and docking system for the 'face' phone
image courtesy of journal.mycom


italian design company and manufacturer alessi and japanese product manufacturer iida, have collaborated on a set of cell phones presented at designtide tokyo 2010. for the project, alessi and iida hired designers stefano giovannoni, marcel wanders and patricia urquiola to creatively reinterpret the cell phone in a way that aims to blend both art and life, while still maintaining practicality.



image courtesy of alessi / iida


building on this idea that we cannot live without our electronic mobile devices, alessi's leading designer stefano giovannoni has developed a cell phone which acts as one's '...partner for the everyday', expressing the shape of a face. a circle on the back of the display is vivid and moving, conveying the image of 'eyes', with a small curve in the phone's form which is meant to represent a 'nose', and that also aids in helping user's open the body. the black hinges of the phone are reminiscent of 'hair'. in addition, giovannoni has also created a set of accessories to accompany the phone.



charging and docking system which makes the phone look like its walking its dog...
image courtesy of alessi / iida



cat tied around a tree charging and docking system
image courtesy of alessi / iida



bed, lamp and night side table charging and docking system
image courtesy of alessi / iida



'face' phone
image courtesy of alessi / iida



'face' phone has an eye which is vivid and moving
image courtesy of alessi / iida



additional accessories giovannoni designed for the phone
image courtesy of alessi / iida



giovannoni working on his design
image courtesy of alessi / iida

X-RAY by Tokujin Yoshioka for KDDI

Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka has created a transparent mobile phone.

Called X-RAY, the design was created for telecommunications company KDDI and will be on show KDDI Designing Studio in Tokyo from 19 October.

Here’s a little text from the designer:

---

X-RAY for KDDI iida by Tokujin Yoshioka
Apart from arranging visual appearance, I have pondered a design without a shape. This collaboration project started with an enthusiasm of designing a new mobile phone that infuses a fresh, striking idea into today’s diversified mobile designs. I came to reach an idea of “designing from inside.”

X-RAY is a brand new proposal of a mobile phone with its beautiful transparency and deep texture made by using a special material.