This year’s London Design Festival is in full swing, with brands and studios across the city opening up to the public in a bid to shed light on their processes. In the case of tech brand Nothing, its Soho store has been transformed into a reconstruction of a design studio. <\/p>\n
Set in the basement, the installation is based on the desk of one of Nothing’s industrial designers. Key reference points, including iconic tech products of bygone times, are displayed alongside deconstructed versions of the brand’s range. For Nothing, it gives the public a chance to really get to grips with the products on offer.<\/p>\n
“When people hold a finished product in their hand it can be hard to get a sense of how or where it started,” said Adam Bates, Design Director at Nothing Technology. “By giving people an insight into the design studio we hope they can get a better understanding of the way the designers are thinking, where they take their inspirations and the multidisciplinary nature of the work they\u2019re doing.”<\/p>\n
Opening up to the public isn’t something tech companies often do, Bates notes. Processes tend to be shrouded in privacy, and products are kept secret for years until launch. Nothing, however, employs the idea of transparency across both the aesthetics and concepts of its design DNA. <\/p>\n
“Transparency is a very deep concept for us, ranging from the use of transparent materials, to creating a version of our design studio in the basement of the store,” Bates said. “We want to create a company that connects with the users by demystifying tech, allowing them to see the engineering and showing the function. We feel it’s our duty to offer a different approach where it’s ok to be an individual, take risks and express yourself.”<\/p>\n
Nothing’s installation is on show until September 23, when the London Design Festival concludes. Elsewhere, Artek is presenting 100 hacked versions of its iconic Stool 60. <\/p>\n