#HTE

Office for Design’s Beautiful Take on the Router

Modems and routers are so ugly that there exists a category of object designed specifically to hide them.

Industrial designer Shane Schneck, however, figured out how to make them attractive and unobtrusive over a decade ago. Schneck is founder of the Stockholm-based firm Office for Design, and this Playn Router was one of their early projects for Huawei, circa 2009:

“Modems and related devices are most often intrusive ‘black boxes’ in the home environment and require tools for mounting,” Schneck writes. “As a result they end up on the floor in a cable tangle.”

“To elevate the router from this unwanted scenario and optimize antenna performance we employed an archetypal shape. The L form fits comfortably in the domestic space resting on books, corners and the desktop.”

It’s a pity this didn’t become the standard, rather than the Star Trek props we’re stuck with now.

https://www.core77.com/posts/109246/Office-for-Designs-Beautiful-Take-on-the-Router