The Dreyfuss retro-futurist phone concept explores the iconic form of the classic telephone combined with modern materials, technologies, and forms. The concept also pays homage to Henry Dreyfuss (1904-1972), a legendary 20th Century American industrial designer, who worked extensively on improving the look, feel and function of products, ranging from consumer to commercial. Dreyfuss is seen as one of the pioneers of modern product design and Human Centered Design. The 1937 Bell 302 telephone, one of his most famous work, is an inspiration for this project.

Dreyfuss retro-futurist concept replaces the classic dials and buttons, as used in recent times on intercoms, with touch screen interface that is designed with a customize-able UI (User Interface) reminiscent of the classic phone. The User powers the device by holding down the home/power button located in the notched area at the base of the touch screen.

The overall elegant form is derived from a wedge shaped profile, a feature commonly used in automotive design to imbue vehicles with an advanced sporty character. This feature, among others, gives the device an aesthetic function beyond it’s primary function.

As the classic telephone, the Dreyfuss retro-futurist concept has two main parts comprising the housing/stand and receiver/handset. The Housing/stand is designed with a minimalist modernist avant-garde theme. It is made from a CNC-milled extruded piece of aluminium and welded with a capped cylindrical piece of aluminium, which serves as housing for the electronics. The entire piece is anodized afterwards. The receiver/handset is made from injection molded plastic parts which are given an anodized finish to maintain the look and feel of the base housing/stand.

The Concept explores four variants of color finishes.

Anodized satin gold finish

Anodized Silver Aluminium finish

Anodized black

Anodized Moonlight gold

Extensive sketches, ranging from ideation to explanatory, is made to define form and optimize the interaction between form and function.