Tag Archives: Francesco Brunetti

Not-Your-Average Cutlery detaches form and function to create a beautiful contrast!

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The Disconnect series was created as a part of a Render Weekly challenge, but to be honest, it looks like something from the mind of Nendo. By separating the two elements of cutlery (the part that interacts with food, versus the part you grip), the Disconnect creates a form that is distinctly twofold. The two elements of the cutlery get individual treatment, instead of being like regular cutlery, where elements blend into each other to create a singular, homogenous form.

Designed by Francesco Brunetti, the Disconnect series breaks down cutlery into its separate elements, but at the same time retains a sense of minimalism. The slick handle comes with a slim, cylindrical design and a matte-finish, while the functional end of the cutlery uses a balanced, geometric approach with a slight satin finish. The cutlery series was envisioned in silver, space-grey, gold, and rose-gold, and I can’t really testify to whether it would be comfortable to use, but I’ll be damned if I don’t admit how incredibly eye-catching they are!

Designer: Francesco Brunetti

This desktop night-lamp also wirelessly charges your smartphone

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A portmanteau of the words Lamp and Balance, the Lance night-light and wireless-charger is the kind you’d stop to admire for two reasons. Firstly, it’s a cute, quaint product that sits obediently on your tabletop, but at the same time, it charges your phone, so you’re not distracted by a screen.

The Lance was created as a project by Francesco Brunetti while he was a student at Design School Kolding, Denmark as a collaboration with IKEA. The brief was to design ‘furniture for small spaces which should have playful characteristics as well as foster togetherness’, and the Lance truly delivers. Its relatively flat design doesn’t have any sharp edges, making it feel instantly friendly, and the warm LED light on the top can be changed in color as well as intensity to soothe your room with a wash of ambient light.

The Lance at the same time also serves as a wireless charger for smartphones, thanks to a slot right beneath the light wide enough to slide your phone too. The slot is covered by the night-light in a clever bid to obscure the screen so you aren’t distracted, and while all that’s happening, your phone’s battery gets juiced! Really clever, eh?

Designers: Francesco Brunetti in collaboration with IKEA and DSKD

Quirky tactile calculator is inspired by the suction cups on an Octopus’ tentacles!

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Isn’t it a weird coincidence that the octopus’s suction cups are actually what give its tentacles incredible grip underwater… and when that same detail is carried forward to the design of a button, it increases the button’s tactile ability? A suction cup helps hold onto things in water, but it also provides the perfect concave surface for your fingertip, resulting in a uniquely enjoyable UX.

The Calctopus (no need trying to decode the name there) was created as a Render Weekly challenge on Instagram. Inspired by the cups on the base of the octopus’ tentacles, the Calctopus uses a similar texture on its keyboard layout. Its curved form, matte finish, and pastel hues make it rather comfortable to look at, and those concave keys are an absolute pleasure to press as your fingertips intuitively find their way around the layout, landing on the right key every time… almost echoing the tactile joy of the Olivetti Divisumma 18 calculator from the early 70s!

Designer: Francesco Brunetti