I’ve just been in Sydney for the weekend and had an opportunity to go browsing through some good book shops. I came across the new book by Droog Design, simply droog. I hadn’t looked at Droog closely before now, but I was aware that their work was probably relevant to my masters research (and I should have looked them up sooner).
Droog Design do a lot of object modification, they talk about making the object critically aware of itself. In cases were the designs don’t involve the modding of an existing object, such as ‘do hit’ and ‘do break’, the owner is encouraged to ‘do’ their own post-production modification. A visit to www.droogdesign.nl provides an almost endless array of information and is well worth the effort. Their new ‘100% hypertext’ site is yet another example of design that is critically aware of itself – the hyping of hypertext.
On page 34 of simply droog I discovered the ‘bootleg objects’ project. This is a design project by Max Wolf, Markus Bader and Sebastian Oschatz (details can be found here). The project involves the modification of classic stereo components to include an MP3 file server (and various other interesting bits of technology). One of these stereo components is a Bang & Olufsen Beocenter 1400. It’s been modded to include a slot loading DVD drive, an LCD display and a smart card reader. Operation of the new functions is via the original slider control. The Beocenter 1400’s design is comparable to the Beocenter 4600 and the whole project is alarmingly similar to the modding project I’m currently undertaking.
When I started my modding project it was not under the delusion that I would be breaking new ground but neither did I expect to be following directly in someone else’s footsteps. I’ve been viewing my project as a computer case mod, adding to the diversity of an already bizarre case mod world. This is such a dense field that similarities to existing case mods weren’t really a concern (I would have been surprised if they didn’t turn up). What has me concerned now is that the ‘bootleg objects’ project isn’t situated in the case mod field, it’s firmly located within a design context and this is also the context of my masters. What are the implications of completing a design project that other designers have already addressed?
After giving this much consideration I have decided to continue with my B&O case mod. I have contacted Max Wolf to inform him of my project, whether it is of any relevance to the ‘bootleg objects’ project remains to be seen. I hope that the questions raised by my projects relationship to ‘bootleg objects’ turn out to be helpful and productive. The ‘bootleg objects’ project will definitely inform and influence my masters research.
[The response from Max has been positive – thanks Max. He has also further developed the Bootleg Objects series, check it out at www.bootleg-objects.com]