Digital products to reduce time and effort, and achieve multi-sensory experiences

Tamed digital products help to reduce time and effort, and achieve multisensory experience. We live in an era where technology is advancing daily, developing digital products with new features and functions, designed to ease the user’s everyday life.

Ironically enough, consumers need to spend way too much time to go through instructions in order to comprehend those features and functions. The idea behind these digital products is to make technology more approachable and enjoyable, so users don’t feel tamed by technology.

The minds behind Tamed digital products – SF-SO

SF-So is a San Francisco and Seoul-based, multidisciplinary design studio formed by industrial designers, Jaehoon Jung and Hoyoung Joo.

Jaehoon Jung is proficient in solving design problems by applying ideal technologies on objects based on the systematic ID process, which was proved by him winning a number of international design competitions and by collaborating with various international companies.

Hoyoung Joo, on the other hand, is experienced in various fields of design, from architecture to automobile design.

In the field of electronics, he thrived as a product designer and took part in many concept design projects, from TVs to home audio systems, receiving a number of international design awards.

Materials & Techniques – Plastic framework with a smooth matte finish

Each of the tamed digital products is encased in a shiny plastic frame, which is later sandblasted in order to achieve that smooth matte finish. The framework is pale grey, formed in a non-intrusive, geometric shape accompanied by neon-colored features.

Style & Aesthetics – Minimal design with a pop of color

The inspiration behind the design of tamed digital products was to bring back the original form of the product, in order to allow users a better understanding of the device. The framework has a neutral pale grey base with additional features such as buttons or handles in eye-catching neon colors, to avoid confusion and difficulties through use.

Each of the tamed digital products has a striking resemblance to its ancestor

The Wheel Digital radio resembles a giant button that can be rotated until it reaches the desirable radio station, with the help of a neon green needle.

The Cone Bluetooth speaker resembles a cone that when flipped, turns off or on, with the help of the latest sensory technology. The cone has a neon orange strap used as a handle at the top.

The Ball Internet radio is simplified to resemble a plastic box with three orange magnetic balls on top. The balls are used as buttons to change the radio frequency by rolling or lifting them.

The Fingerprint Smart Door Lock is designed to take after the old-fashioned key-less door look mixed with the latest physical interface. This smart door lock can be operated with a specific fingerprint and if used properly, the handle lights up in neon-green color.

Design memento – The Tamed digital products have a classic, old-fashioned look infused with the latest technology

Tamed digital products prove that high-end technology can be easy to use. Their features and functions can be easily understood, their design is appropriate and non-intrusive and most importantly, they answer the user’s needs with remarkable performance.

The writer’s comment – I would love to have them at home!

I personally sometimes find understanding the latest technology innovations difficult and time-consuming, which is quite unappealing for me. The tamed digital products are classic enough to remind us of simpler times but complex at the same time in order to remind us we still live in the digital era.