Not a conventional pen: the pixel pen hides its multifunctionality behind a noble look. Image: "Softwear" 2018, Rosanna Orlandi Gallery.

News + Trends

When electronics and design become one #1

15.5.2018

Translation: machine translated

Design has a mission: to make our functional objects more pleasant. Comfort is an important part of our interiors, but it's not always easy to find - few manufacturers succeed. Here are a few exceptions that will bring beauty and comfort to your everyday life.

Multifunctional objects are now part of our daily lives, and our homes are becoming increasingly intelligent. Manufacturers of Smart Home products are therefore focusing more than ever on innovative designs that blend in with their surroundings as well as possible. And that's something I'm delighted about, because personally I have a lot of trouble buying objects that are too technical and impersonal. Here, I'd like to introduce you to some products which, in my opinion, have managed to hide an intelligent (and hard) heart in a soft envelope.

"Softwear"

Parallel to the Milan furniture fair, fashion and trend forecaster Li Edelkoort and Google's design studio have teamed up for an exhibition entitled "Softwear". A mirror is presented to visitors in Rossana Orlandi's design gallery. Various installations show how difficult it is to distinguish analogue accessories from connected objects. Google's connected objects blend into their surroundings thanks to their soft, unobtrusive design.

Smart home systems give us a more flexible lifestyle. They should enable us to save time and consume less energy. They allow us to control our lighting with an app or launch a playlist by voice command. TheGoogle Home](https://www.galaxus.ch/fr/page/google-home-das-zuhause-der-zukunft-5632) relies on soft textiles and shapes and choice in the colours available to make controlling all connected devices easy and enjoyable.

With an elegant textile covering, speakers and other connected objects become objects of art.

By the 1990s, Li Edekoort had understood that our way of life would become increasingly intertwined with technology and that we would become more mobile. These advances have now extended to our furniture and clothing. The arrival of sportswear (in German) in the fashion world and the fact that it has become increasingly widely accepted in the world of work in recent years is proof of Li Edelkoorts' theory. Further proof: we can now manage our careers and our work from our beds. This only increases our demands for comfort, whether in terms of our clothes or our furniture and accessories. In the end, we all prefer our pyjamas to a suit and our sofa to a chair.

Smoother technology. — Fashion is becoming more comfortable.

The essence

The staging of our connected objects has taken a turn and become artistic with textile designer Kiki van Eijk: carpets made especially for the exhibition show (with a slight exaggeration) the extent to which these objects are linked to our interiors, as if "woven".

Up to 40 different yarns - from mohair to cotton - were woven for these six rugs.

Having grown up in the 90s, the exhibition proved to me something that is certainly self-evident to Generation Z: technology has taken over our classic objects to the point of becoming almost inseparable from them - imposing stereo systems will soon join antique objects in our museums. Knowledge is now just a few clicks away and our laptops allow us to work from home or from a café.

I will now be monitoring the influence of trends such as "Softwear" on our interiors and lifestyles. Follow me so you don't miss my next articles and find the whole Google Home range here.

Header image: Not a conventional pen: the pixel pen hides its multifunctionality behind a noble look. Image: "Softwear" 2018, Rosanna Orlandi Gallery.

9 people like this article

Pia Seidel

Senior Editor

Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.ch

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.

Interior

Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest

Smart home

Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest

News + Trends

From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.

Show all

1 comment

later

Search

When electronics and design become one #1

"Softwear"

The essence

1 comment

Top 10 categories

Go to

1 comment

Galaxus Deal of the day