Designical irony

There's something incongruous or maybe ironic about so called "good design". I mean, one would think that someone who buys an object that has been praised for its good design, would probably (or generally) have good aesthetic taste. Am I right? Well, just to follow up on friday's post about good design awards, specifically IDSA's IDEA awards... where practically all the range of apple products won an award (specifically for aesthetic reasons)... one would think that the people buying those millions of iPods and iPhones would have at least some degree of appreciation for minimalism. I would certainly think so. Then, how you explain kitschig accessories like :

"The iCarta is a toilet paper dispenser and iPod player in one. You’ll be relieved to know that the dock comes with two USB ports and also works as a recharger, letting charge your iPod and listen to music while you download."(podcastingnews' top Ten Worst iPod-Related Christmas Presents Ever) ...if you prefer something to substitute the sports illustrated swimsuit edition in your loo have a look at the iPod bra too.

"Meet Hasbro's I-DOG -- the little dog with BIG sound! Just plug him in to your music player and I-DOG plays your music through his built-in speaker or your headphones -- and rocks out! Wanna dance with I-DOG? Try placing him near a speaker and dance along as he grooves to the beat. I-DOG even changes his mood to suit your music."

"Think Apple fans are, um, passionate? Then you don't know enough Lego aficionados. Combine the two obsessions and you get sites like PodBrix , where the designer known as Tomi modifies and assembles Lego pieces to create Apple-centric figures and dioramas. In 2005 he created the BrixPod Classic, a case for the first iPod Shuffle that looks like a cross between an original iPod and a Lego brick." (found on Mac World's 5 wacky iPod cases)

The lego bricks dock for iPods. "Would you have ever guessed that your old toys would one day be playing all of your fave tunes?! Fun speaker runs off of iPod’s energy and no batteries are required! Plus signs are your speakers with volume buttons in between!" (product page via blog.wired)

"If you’re planning on sticking with your iPhone Classic, you love silicone chocolate, and you want to have an even more deformed pocket silhouette than you already do, then you can pick up this case for $29.99 from gizfever. You get the nifty box with a screen protector and brown silicone iPhone case." Chocolate Style Silicone case for iPhone 2G (technabob.com via swissmiss) the only concern is that this chocolate bar may not be "melamine free".

If you think the new apple aluminium keyboards are too thin... or you would like your desktop computer to combine with your chocolate iPhone, here's a chocolate keyboard. If you still have the geek munchies, this Freshly Baked USB Drives memory sticks from Vavolo are not only for macs... but they would help fight mac book air's anorexia. (chicageek)

A Kawai overdose : "From Japan, of course, comes this Hello Kitty speaker that connects to your iPod or any other audio device, and then allows you and the Kitty DJ to dig the music together. Hello Kitty in a DJ booth with a speaker in the base is a pretty cool juxtaposition of dance music and Kitty. She even bops her head back and forth with the music. Hello Kitty Speaker features a DJ style Hello Kitty who bops her head back and forth."

Got iMilk? Got iBeer? got the iMunchies? Hottrix has them all for your iPhone: "Brew and drink beer on your iPhone and iPod touch. This hilarious sight-gag is fully interactive and behaves like a real glass of beer thanks to the iPhone sensors and our spare time. Tilt to sip, shake for foam, even pour iBeer from iPhone to iPhone. iMilk is a portable dairy farm for your iPhone and iPod touch. Drink milk and whip cream from the comfort of your pocket... and now... there's even iMunchies: From Hottrix, infamous creators of iBeer, comes the answer to snack attacks. Your iPhone becomes a popcorn machine. The all-you-can-eat sensation!"

And this one directly from the apple store itself: the knockoff of the free iSock (or iSuck?) "Dress your iPod up in any one of six vibrant color socks (green, purple, grey, blue, orange, and pink). This set of knit socks provides a stylish, fun, and practical way to protect your iPod. Forgive us if we're stating the obvious, but here's how it works: Just slide your iPod into the sock to keep it safe and warm. Slide it out to dock or change playlists. It's as easy as... putting on a pair of socks."

OK. I'll post some other non mac geek-kitsch later. I'll just close with this "mac book touch"... the mac that will never be... and should have been made 5 years ago.

ciao