in today’s homogeneous product landscape it seems that nothing off-the-shelf can compete with a hand-made gift. but few of us have the time or skill to craft presents for each other, so we leave the personal touches to cards and packaging. instead of useless wrappings, why not design products to be unfinished so that the finishing touches communicate the act of giving? wouter geense design studio achieves this with they tune ‘n radio, which is a plain box to which owners must add a volume knob, an antenna and holes in order to make a working radio. while whimsical, the personal touches add value to the commodity and make it more likely to become and heirloom, shared and repaired by not thrown away.
. Leo is a artist, inventor and all around practical person in the Tangible Media Group at the Media Lab. He has a background in sculpture, architecture and industrial design as well as an MS from the Media Lab spent working on the kitchen of the future. He is on a search for truth.
