STANDARD COLLECTION BY KNAUF & BROWN

Three design objects that are intended to shake users out of auto-pilot

We’re admittedly a bit late to the party with Knauf & Brown, and we have no excuse. We saw the Canadian design studio all over the place after ICFF, but their Standard Collection slipped through our collective memory. We’re officially correcting our error because cetter late than never, right?

The studio’s Standard Collection asks users to contribute a little bit more to an object than mindless, repetitive action with three otherwise ordinary objects that have been reinvented to require interaction and a even bit of contemplation.

Take the Standard Table Lamp. It entirely lacks an on or off switch. Instead, users chooses one of two fixtures and gently places it in the copper tower. The fixture is removed to extinguish the light.

Far better than the habitual, motionless side table, the Standard Floor Coaster follows wherever it is needed, rolling around on its not-so-little wheels. It might just be the most obedient pet in history, and it even has space to store necessary goods.

The third object is the Standard Vanity Mirror. One half is a looking glass and the budding narcissist’s best friend, but a simple rotation reveals a leather-covered space for displaying sentimental memorabilia. Users simply choose which side they want to face the world.

Interactive objects encourage users to form a sentimental bond with an otherwise easily replaceable material commodity. If we are required to think about an object, think about our actions, we will perhaps be more conscious of them. Perhaps an emotional bond will indeed make us less likely to waste. At the very least, such objects appreciably shake us out of our daily routine.