Countless products promise to improve our lives by making them easier. (Think laptops, Boa closures, child leashes.) But a new class of industrial designers want to achieve that end by making things harder. Thats why Berlin-based Weng Xinyu, 28, that switches on only when you slot your phone into the base, derailing sleep-disrupting late-night screen time.
Another example: sitting is bad for you, even if youre using an ergonomic office chair. So Beno簾t Malta, a 25-year-old French industrial designer, created a seat that , forcing you to engage your core to stay upright while you sit.
And because driving to work doesnt make you (or the planet) nearly as happy as riding a bike, 32-year-old Matthias Laschke, a German industrial designer, devised a with spots for two keysone for your car and one for your bike lock. Grab the car key and it drops the other one at your feeta not-so-subtle suggestion that you reconsider your mode of transportation.
You dont need extra brainpower to know that using the bike is better for you physically, says Laschke. Its about creating enough friction so that youre confronted with this decision every morning.