FRAME
Publication 2007 . 05
What's the big Idea?
words by Martijn Goedegebuure
Korean designer and manager of Seoul collective SDESIGNUNIT, Song, gives us a piece of his creative mind od how to craft a plug and socket.
Song of SDESIGNUNIT says all design starts with observation. Watching people in a given environment, seeing tem interct with object and looking closely at the object in question is what gives song his biggiest and best ideas. Not long ago, the Korean designer focused his attention on the plugs and sockets in his Seoul Studio. The snarl of plastic lying beneath his desk and defacing the wall of his studio was no longer tolerable. There had to be a better way for him to connect the electronics tools of his trade to thenation's power network. azing at the clutter below, Beyond and on all side, he realized he had more plugs than sockets. Song started sketching.
After getting the principle idea down on paper, the director of SDESIGNunit built some prototypes and asked friendss and colleagues what they thought. Step by step, he improved on the initial sketched
The final design shows a slick plug and socket that go together like love and marriage. the plug acts as a host to other plugs, thanks to its built-in socket. Song adtly named his creation Plug brother. Althought SDESIGNunit has not yet found a manufacturer for Plug brother, Song has doubts about the material: a PC/ABS plastic blend which, he assures us, is 'cheap, available in various colours and easy to produce'
According to Song, another advantage of his design in a plug thaat is switched on at the socket: It's not necessary to separately switch on every piece of equipment connected to plug brothers. Pretty much what the illuminated red knob on existing sockets does now. Never mond. Song's new design is coollt clever, and we think Apple Mac purist will love it. he should probably call it iPlug.
