SchultzeWORKS and the Philco PC have been invited to participate in the IDSA-sponsored IDEA awards, or the ‘International Design Excellence Awards’. Entries were due February 1st, 2010, so the Philco PC is now entered in the Computer Equipment / Concepts & Prototypes category. The competition write-up on the Project Challenge coincidentally addressed many of the entertaining comments and imaginative assumptions posted on gadget and design blogs, so that particular section is re-printed below.
The PhilcoPC project was a labor of love, motivated by the frustration of trying to build a new computer for use in design & 3D projects. This long and somewhat painful effort ultimately led to a purchase that was a disappointing compromise. These feelings triggered the challenge: could you design a computer that was as inspiring to look at — as it was to work with?
The research effort studied hundreds of computer cases before several trends emerged. One trend, common to most computers, was that commoditization had led to a monotonous mélange of black and beige. Another trend, used to great effect by Apple, was a pilgrimage towards ‘minimalism at all costs.’ As their products became more highly refined, monochromatic, polished, and serious, they lost almost all sense of fun and personality.
The aesthetic work then embarked on an exploration of the pre-digital world, nicknamed the ‘analog era,’ before miniaturization allowed
components to be shrunk smaller than the eye can see, into boxes that weren’t much to look at. This retro research revealed a goldmine
of inspirational forms that, somehow, had the power to remind us of simpler, happier times.
The Philco PC press release