Stasis - Phone Charger
A wireless phone charger that metaphorically shows the balance of the analog and digital sides of life.
Digital technology is all around us, fighting for our constant attention without disruption. Devices are always at our disposal with signals bouncing around us. This technology seems weightless.
We have adapted to this rhythm of using one device, then shifting our attention to another. I want to symbolically show this action through the ritual of charging a device, specifically the phone. What if the ritual of charging a phone changes our perspective and attention from digital to analog?
I was inspired by a speed chess timer and the idea of one time stopping and another starting as a result.
Charging a phone is a ritual most people do once or twice a day and is the source of power and functionality to a phone. Now that the phone is becoming the command center for controlling other technology around us, I want to expand upon it and have people think about the meaning of charging.
Thinking about weight and balance, I narrowed in on the form of a charger that tilts like a see-saw. The user physically sees the weight, impact and usage of phone when they go to charge compared to the seemingly heavier, textured side.
The form should not feel overly 'techy' and gadget like. Instead, it celebrates the physical and analog with it's iconic, simple shape and interaction. The polygonal facets resemble a stone, mountainscape or folded paper. This texture, however, is fading away and eroding into the charging bed.
When phone is placed on the charging side, this texture is lifted up and gives us a subtle reminder to contemplate the balance in our lives between the analog, physical side and the digital, tech driven side. The charger turns the passive action of charging a phone into an active thought.
The TPE surface ensures friction and a grippy surface for the phone to rest on without sliding.
The charger will 'notify' the user when the phone is fully charged by tilting back and presenting the inactive phone the user can now use.
After an extended period of inactivity, the charger will tilt down to signify the user to put the phone down and take a break from technology as a whole.
In our modern landscape filled with flat, black, rectangular screens and devices, the texture and form of Stasis stands out amongst it.
