Seungwoo Kim
SPECIES: Brand of The Mutants
that had been "alienated products" in new normal era 2020
Since 2020, Humans have experienced unprecedented pandemic
and abandoned behaviors as "social animals" in order to survive. Instead,
humans have evolved in new way, accepting distancing and
self-quarantining. What we call this unsocial era is "new normal."
SPECIES began from the new perspective 'what if alienated products
in new normal era evolve to survive'. Products fitting to the life
before pandemic are not chosen by users in new normal, and decided to
evolve, by expanding and changing their own structure and function
in order to survive.
In order to survive in pandemic, humans have been volunteerly unsocial animals by reducing outside activities and not meeting others. Because of this new trend, most of products used outside are not chosen and forgetten. As natural selection arises, potential of evolution begins. From this new perspective, SPECIES reinterpret products in new normal.
First of all, we investigated various cases of evolution in nature.
Then we categorized and re-identified the evolution. After this,
we designed new species of products by applying reidentification.
Products which are alienated
in new normal era
Bag, Watch, and Wallet
Studying various case of evolution in nature
and categorizing according to the way of evolution
Re-identifying the evolution with our own words
from new perspective of industrial designer
Substitution and Replacement
Multi-Functionalization
Maximalization of Function
Texture of Skin
Expansion or Reduction
Form and Structure
Hormone and Cells
Samples and prototypes
by new species of alienated products
New species found in new normal era
Watch
Watches are threw out from wrist, their main habit.
In order to be outstanding to users and to tell the time better,
some of them evolve by expanding the glass cover.
As people don't go out as much as they did
before pandemic, bags have nothing to do,
just falling over the floor.
To overcome this, they dream to stand itself
by changing their structures.
Wallet
It's almost meaningless to keep paper money
in the alienated space. Then, some of wallets evolve
to keep not only paper money but also other things.
SPECIES
"Brand of Mutants"
As our activities were limited to indoors and private spaces, various products that had important role before new normal era have experienced alienation. The fact that products are not chosen by human implies that they have no values and it leads to their extinction.
In other words, in new environment, not only humans, but also products need to find a new way to survive. Evolution is the result of selective adaptation for new environment. Based on that result, products begin evolving to survive. Influenced by the rapid change of human lifestyle, they will be something new that had not been before.
WATCH
SPECIES
SPECIES
SPECIES
THANK YOU
SPECIES
Brand of mutants in new normal
Concept, Art Directing, Product, Photography
Project: 2020.03 - 2020.06 ©
MEMBERS
Designers: Seungwoo Kim, Siwon Kim, Jisoo Kim, Jaepil Jung
* My roll was product design and whole concept direction as a group leader