The Japanese have a term for the pleasing decay of objects: “Wabi-sabi”. How many gadgets and other products have you held onto, because you like how they’ve worn down? Converse; holey jeans; your Casio watch… even your silver Game Boy from long ago, that looks so beautifully battered after years of being tossed in a backpack?
Remy Labesque at Design Mind has written an ode to his old iPhone and Canon film camera, both of which have aged in different ways. He’s tossing both because they’ve been superseded or actually stopped working – the iPhone’s touchscreen no longer works, and while the Canon still “works like new after 7 full years”, the fact that it’s not digital is the killer.
While both may look silver at first glance, it’s the iPhone which has aged beautifully because of its aluminium casing. The Canon camera’s silver body is only painted on, and after years of use it looks nowhere near as timeless.
What gadgets have you held onto because you like its wabi-sabi? [Design Mind via TUAW via Wired]