#HTE

Monitree: A Frame of Living Plants for Your Monitor

There is something tragic about this product design, speaking as it does about how we spend our days and in what environments. But I see why it’s doing well on Kickstarter. The Monitree is a series of plastic tubes designed to cover the top and edges your monitor. It can be filled with a small amount of soil and seeded, allowing tiny vines to frame your screen.

The designers reckon you’ll have a full frame in 10 months…

…and the thinking is that unlike a desktop plant, this cannot easily be knocked over.

The light source is an LED halo up top. I believe the designers made a mistake here in not providing a better shield for it; I can’t imagine that not providing an annoying glare, even when pointed away, not to mention the tubes will reflect it.

Overall, the project—like many that we see on Kickstarter these days—has the air of an Industrial Design student project; its heart is in the right place, but I want to see the execution pushed a little further.

The $49 Monitree has been successfully Kickstarted, with 23 days left to pledge at press time.

For student work I’d give this a B. You?

https://www.core77.com/posts/114112/Monitree-A-Frame-of-Living-Plants-for-Your-Monitor