Conceptualism and product design

Concept designs exist in that strange hinterland where desire and technology haven’t quite caught up with one another, where technolust is stoked by the technically impossible and brands are rendered down to their bare essentials. The most recent ‘idea’ to catch our eye was this concept design for a physical ‘Instagram camera‘, a splice of Polaroid aesthetics with as-yet-undiscovered technology. In the past few years, the concept design has emerged as a calling card for emerging designers, a way of demonstrating how adept one is at distilling the essence of a brand into an easily digested object. It goes without saying that concept design is pure design – there are no troublesome engineers on hand to quibble with factors like cost, practicality and realism. Sites like Coroflot, Behance and CarbonMade are awash with fantasy products that are as much about branding as they are about an understanding of manufacturing processes and materials. Notable imaginary projects include Alexandre Verdier’s VW Microbus, the Holga D by Saikat Biswas, the Antrepo Minu Tuner and Time Tuner, any number of concept yachts, and the NAU-designed Stratocruiser, a ‘lifestyle Zeppelin’. Creating a conceptual product is an essential part of a designer’s education, but the emergence of photo-realistic rendering is paired with the new role of thinking about product as brand extension or enhancement. As consumers, we are not only buying into a company’s present, but it’s future.

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