Hot Man-on-Shmoo action!
But seriously, the following video is a design concept by Stefan Ulrich, called Funktionide. As his thesis design project, Ulrich discussed how humans interact with objects, and the threshold at which we begin to regard such objects as "alive"; i.e. motion, response to our interactions and outside stimuli in general, and said object's imitation of our own habits of body language.
With Functionide, he created an object that "breathes", has a soft, yielding surface, and reciprocates touch.
Funktionide Part II from eltopo on Vimeo.
What gets me is how compelling the concept video is on its own; its overall mood is very dreamlike, and manages to convey loneliness and a sensual intimacy at the same time. It is almost as if a Jean Arp sculpture came to life, undulated off of its pedestal, and snuggled into bed with you. Which would make my day at work an interesting one. Trying to get filing done while being distracted by the amorous advances of a new addition to the Contemporary department would be a challenge...
It would be interesting to see at what point the Uncanny Valley would come into play in the design of an object like Functionide. The soft blob form reminds one of pillows, or well-worn stuffed toy. The designers of Keepon had to be aware of that on some level as well. Something more human-like would be kind of creepy...
With Functionide, he created an object that "breathes", has a soft, yielding surface, and reciprocates touch.
You can watch this video on www.livejournal.com
Funktionide Part II from eltopo on Vimeo.
What gets me is how compelling the concept video is on its own; its overall mood is very dreamlike, and manages to convey loneliness and a sensual intimacy at the same time. It is almost as if a Jean Arp sculpture came to life, undulated off of its pedestal, and snuggled into bed with you. Which would make my day at work an interesting one. Trying to get filing done while being distracted by the amorous advances of a new addition to the Contemporary department would be a challenge...
It would be interesting to see at what point the Uncanny Valley would come into play in the design of an object like Functionide. The soft blob form reminds one of pillows, or well-worn stuffed toy. The designers of Keepon had to be aware of that on some level as well. Something more human-like would be kind of creepy...
