Gadg-Art: Love It, But Don't Really Use It.

Jay Donovan

By night, Jay writes for TechCrunch and has been contributing to the blog since 2009. By day, he manages Digital Strategy for Alliance Data. Prior to that, he held Art Director and Designer jobs at GSW Worldwide and Resource Interactive leading interaction design and mobile prototype projects. You can reach reach him at jaydonovan at crunchgear dot com. → Learn More

Friday, February 25th, 2011

It looks like a tiny bugle. Maybe a new way to measure shots for a drink? Maybe a Cracker Jack toy? A fancy oil funnel? A tiny phonograph horn designed by Eero Saarinen? A mod megaphone? An egg separator? A microscope?  A straw for Tony Montana-style mountains of blow? A wicked monocle? 

A somewhat academic endeavor—and frankly more performance art than real function—this Hear Ring, designed by the fairly accomplished industrial designer Gina Hsu, lets us know that we haven’t heard the end of fashion-gadgetry for conversationalism.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a hater of this kind of concept. This objet d’art is something you purchase for the idea—for the art. It’s Gadg-Art. You don’t actually expect to use it. Plus, at 340 Euros, you don’t want to scratch it or damage it.

 

But still, I am wondering how well this would go over nonchalantly worn to a corporate finance meeting. I also wonder if there will be a forthcoming iPhone adapter?

 

via TrendHunter

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