In 1972, the Hamilton Watch Company released the Hamilton Pulsar, which presented a strikingly accurate vision for the future. For the first time, consumers could buy a watch with no moving parts, only a digital display showing the time in clear, glowing red numbers. It was a revelation, and an expensive one at that. Its $2,100 price tag adjusted for inflation amounts to over $12k in today’s dollars. Less than 20 years later, consumers could find watches employing the same digital technology inside select boxes of Kellogg’s cereals.
It’s a remarkable case study in how digital technology rapidly exploded into popularity, outgrowing its elegance along the way. Screens, once a futuristic novelty, quickly became commonplace not just on wrists, but everywhere from desktops and telephones to billboards and public spaces. Screens have become as ubiquitous as air, as the average American spends over 7 hours a day looking at them.
So what does this homogeneity mean when considering the aesthetics of digital elements? A quick scroll through the Hamilton website may provide a clue. The company that invented the digital watch hardly sells them anymore. Nearly everything in their catalogue is now analog. Though digital technology has advanced greatly in the last 50 years, consumers are no longer excited by screens. That sentiment is reflected in two recent consumer studies of game consoles and television sets. The studies found that experiential elements (gaming content, interactive smart TV features) played a significantly greater role in shaping consumer opinion than graphics quality. So, with digital elements on the way out, what will take their place?
John Peña’s analog art installation at the Pittsburgh International Airport is a tribute to the romanticism of travel, as well as classic modern technology.
Analog Art: Redefining Engagement
To make predictions about design trends, it’s important to look at the bleeding edge where innovative artists are trailblazing new ways forward. Some of the most popular and viral artists working today are making kinetic sculptures. Take German artist Jakob Grosse-Ophoff or Choe U-Ram out of South Korea. Grosse-Ophoff’s work tends to be lighthearted, minimalist, and intrinsically human with a decided sense of humor. U-Ram’s work, on the other hand, pursues a higher degree of technical sophistication and takes on more advanced cultural and societal themes. Both artists, however, engage audiences and provoke thought with the same hook: analog motion.
Sculptures from both artists operate with a cohesive, digestible movement. A sculpted hand swings a lit cigarette to a pair of wooden lips that smokes it in Grosse-Ophoff’s “You Will Never Smoke Alone Again.” In U-Ram’s “Round Table,” 18 headless figures bear a large tabletop on their backs, gently rising and falling to try to roll a head towards their shoulders. The movement in these sculptures has a clear, understandable intent, but each piece allows viewers to glimpse the inner workings that drive it. One can see the gears, motors, hydraulics, fishing wire, or other mechanical parts working to create the primary identifiable movement that defines the sculpture. It’s no mistake that these smaller components are visible. They’re an intrinsic and substantial part of each sculpture, and help the pieces engage audiences in a uniquely analog way.
Part of the pleasure in viewing these works is figuring out what makes them tick. Hamilton understands this concept, too, with models featuring partially transparent faces that reveal whirring gears behind the hands. Watching analog machinery at work is intriguing. Yes, that sculpture is smoking a cigarette, but how does that gear pump its lungs? Where is the hidden camera telling the figurines where their missing head is? A key theme these artists explore in their work is how analog components can provoke curiosity. This is an essential consideration for architects and designers who seek to make engaging places with a true sense of presence in the modern age.
Oat Foundry’s Split Flap can be customized to include both custom-color flaps and alphanumeric characters, such as in the kinetic installation at Nespresso’s NYC retail flagship.
Engaging Design: Analog Elements in Their Element
To provoke curiosity, designers and architects can rely on kinetic elements. Thoughtful kinetic, analog design can have the same alluring effect as the works of innovative sculptors. Experiential architecture is quickly redefining how spaces impact their inhabitants worldwide, both in massive venues like sports stadiums and in small, intimate spaces like boutique hotels.
A fantastic case study in experiential architecture is the newly renovated Portland Airport. Its massive, 9-acre roof is constructed entirely from local timber, and its exposed, interlocking beams and slats are a marvel to look at. Though static, the roof is a beautiful example of analog design. The gentle undulations and organic skylights were created using basketweaving techniques of indigenous cultures local to the Portland area. Travelers to the airport can appreciate the work for its cohesive design language, its components, and the craftsmanship therein.
The roof, its skylights, and the abundance of wood and natural elements throughout the airport give the space a sense of presence. Not simply because the design is efficient and aesthetically pleasing, but because when travelers move through the space, it provokes thought. “How did they build that ceiling?” one might ask themselves while passing beneath it – and through careful observation and thought, they may come up with a passable answer. It’s not the roof’s magnitude or complexity that makes the airport memorable, but the fact that its thoughtful design creates a sense of wonder, prompting thought that will shape a traveler’s memory of the space. It’s this ability to create a memorable experience that gives a space a sense of presence.
Memory and Presence
Today, many spaces are designed to be pleasant and easy to navigate. Thoughtful elements like soft lighting, smooth textures, and calming artwork help create environments that feel comfortable and accessible to a wide range of people. These qualities allow visitors to move through a space effortlessly and without distraction.
At the same time, this approach highlights an opportunity for design to go even further. While these environments succeed at being welcoming and unobtrusive, spaces can become even more memorable when they also create a strong sense of character and presence. By introducing distinctive features, storytelling elements, or interactive design, environments can leave a lasting impression while still maintaining the comfort and accessibility that make them enjoyable to experience.
Modern spaces must not only provide guests with a hook – something to get them to look up from their phones – but also an experience, something the guest will remember doing or thinking about. While 50 years ago screens were a memorable novelty, today they function more like guardrails in designed spaces: they keep guests moving in the right direction while providing the least possible friction. Designers may exhaust themselves creating graphics and animations that perfectly capture the intended tone and effect of a space, but if presented digitally, they may never have the chance to make an impact. So now, architects and designers must find other elements.
While not every space can be an art gallery or adorn itself with an 8,000-ton roof, creating a memorable sense of presence is possible through thoughtful experiential and analog touches. The key to creating a sense of presence is giving patrons entry points for engagement. What design elements will provoke thought and curiosity, resulting in a memorable experience?
Chroma Flap: Presence in Motion
When considering the uniquely modern challenge of reclaiming presence in an age of screens and distractions, analog art and experiential architecture stand out as effective memory-making tactics. Design pieces with presence will capture attention, but take it that extra step further to provoke thought. The newest addition to our family of analog technology, Chroma Flap, does exactly that. The large, kinetic installation makes a sound similar to rainfall or white noise as the flaps rotate into position, drawing attention to itself without demanding it or being intrusive. The rate of rotation can be sped up to increase the sound’s intensity or slowed down to make it gentler.
By grabbing attention with a uniquely analog sonic quality, Chroma Flap piques interest and drives wonder from its very first impression. But once a visitor identifies it as the source of the unexpected yet pleasant sound, its ability to create a sense of presence only grows. Chroma Flap is a kinetic canvas. In any given moment, Chroma Flap can display a specific piece of artwork, animated designs, static patterns, or branded elements such as logos or company color palettes. With near infinite options for customization, Chroma Flap gives its space a dynamic, engaging aesthetic that updates in real time through kinetic analog motion.
It is the cumulative effect of dozens of modular flaps that flip, clack, and spin into place that captivates audiences. It, too, holds that same power of intrigue where a viewer could spend time watching the Chroma Flap shift between different designs and art, wondering “how is it doing that?” and come up with a good answer through observation. Chroma Flap provides an alternative to glossy, forgettable design elements whose attention slides right off. It is more of an installation than a sign or piece of wall art. It commands attention and defines aesthetics, but more than anything, it has the capacity to reclaim presence.