Hard to resist: These design objects have been made extra tempting
A simple button is often the most striking, functional and tempting element of a device. Most of the time, you know what happens when you press it. But with these objects, you can only guess.
In the past, the shape, feel and function of a button were central to industrial design. They formed the link between people and devices. Today, however, the button plays a lesser role. Advanced technologies such as touch and voice recognition make the design detail largely superfluous. Something crucial is lost in the process: the sensory experience.
"Objet Libre" - a series of acoustic bodies
The kinetic beauties were on display during Milan Design Week at the House of Switzerland organised by Pro Helvetia and Presence Switzerland in the group exhibition "The Factory of Joy"
A key has a single purpose and delivers a specific result. But what if the latter fails to materialise? Handermann and Kohli have investigated this question. They have stripped the originally functional objects of their function and given them a new body. In this way, they emphasise the sounds, various associations and feelings that pressing buttons can evoke. Including one of the most important: pure temptation.
Buttons can be discreet, decorative, tactile or alarming. Pushing a shiny, ergonomically shaped button that brings a machine to life can be fun. It means nudging something and expecting a reaction. That's why it's so tempting to flick switches. What you hear can be just as exciting as what you feel on your fingertips. Swiping across a screen seems dull in comparison.
Projects such as "Objet Libre" show how pleasant and appealing the kinetic nature of pressing a button can be. They give us hope that simple switches, knobs and buttons and the simple pleasures associated with them will be with us for a while yet.
Like a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.
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