Partial Screen concept solves the problem with transparent displays in a curious way

Display makers like LG, Samsung, and TCL are trying hard to push not just deformable screens like foldables and rollables but also transparent panels. This obsession with transparent screens is perhaps fed by science fiction props and futuristic concept designs. Reality, however, doesn’t always match expectations and fantasy, and transparent displays, especially TVs, have one particular problem that makes them less ideal for actual, everyday use, especially in bright rooms where colors can get muted and blacks virtually nonexistent. That, of course, doesn’t mean that manufacturers and consumers have to give up on that dream. They only need to find a suitable solution to this problem, like this rather interesting frame that uses shutters to make a transparent TV temporarily opaque.

Designer: Jiyoun Kim, Hannah Lee, Jaehyuk Lim

Transparent displays look almost magical because of how we’ve become accustomed to knowing there are electronics or even backlighting behind the screen. It is admittedly a technological marvel that deserves some praise, but its novelty quickly wears off when one starts to show normal content. In particular, transparent OLEDs like the ones being pushed by LG have problems with black colors because of how ambient light can shine through the back. LG Display collaborated with designers to think of possible solutions, and the Partial Screen is one such concept with a literal twist.

In this concept, a 55-inch transparent display is framed inside a wooden box, with what looks like wooden slats behind it. These 25 shutters are individually motorized, and each can turn independently of one another, which makes it easy to have them move in succession or in specific patterns. While the shutters look interesting themselves, they serve a greater purpose of turning the transparent display into a regular screen.

What happens is that when all the shutters rotate and face forward, they completely block any light from shining through the back of the enclosure. This, in effect, creates an opaque background that will finally make blacks pop out and increase the display’s contrast. And since LEDs emit their own light, unlike LCDs, the “blinds” don’t prevent the display from showing other colors. In fact, they might look even more lush and vibrant, thanks to the increased contrast.

More than just enabling the transparent screen to better display blacks, however, the Partial Screen actually enables other use cases that make the display look more interesting. Since the shutters can be moved individually, they can probably be programmed to rotate in different ways, which could be in sync with what’s being displayed on the screen. This can create an interesting dynamic visual where the shutters seemingly dance to the screen’s contents, allowing it to display black portions in one moment and become fully transparent in another.

Of course, none of these complicated solutions would be necessary if the screen wasn’t transparent in the first place. Indeed, some people regard these fancy displays as a solution looking for a problem rather than something that fills a specific need. Granted, this could very well be where the display panel industry is heading anyway, so it pays to be prepared to have solutions ready when transparent TVs become commonplace.

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Concept LG Display appears like a scroll, looks great in matte finish

LG Display Scroll Display Sample

Concept displays will continue to be designed and introduced as technology advances. In the past few years, we have seen flexible displays implemented on smartphones. The rise of foldable phones has started years ago, and soon, we may see bigger projects with rollable or flexible screens like a door, cabinet, or a window.

The recent OLEDsGo competition is about to conclude. Several groups have shared their designs, including the Totem Rollable OLED Display. Another project presented by Studio Booboon is the Scroll, but it’s an old design. This one is a transparent OLED television that can fit most homes. It’s not exactly a flexible display but the shelf shows a curved design.

Designer: Studio Booboon

LG Display Scroll Display Sample

LG Display Scroll Display Sample

The Scroll transforms into a shelf when not in use. Once it is turned off, it becomes a shelf that can carry your stuff. The Scroll appears like a scroll with its curved portion at the bottom of the screen. The display device’s shelf is made of weighted metal pipe don’t put anything too heavy on top.

It’s mainly a TV, but it looks nothing like a boring TV. It features an elegant and clean look in different color options: Gray, White, and Pink. It seems more like a furniture item than a gadget. It can match most interiors with its minimalist style.

LG Display Scroll Display Sample

LG Display Scroll Display Design

The project Scroll was awarded first place in the OLEDsGo! Competition 2021. It showed an almost bezel-less curving display. It may remind you of an iMac with its smooth finish and super slim display. It doesn’t have any speakers, unlike the LG Totem with Soundbar. The TV can be placed on the wall or the floor as it can stand on its own.

The name Scroll is obviously after a scroll that curves and scrolls out. The shelf portion is one end of the scroll that offers high-resolution images. It can also work as a digital photo frame or a digital painting. Just share your photos and view them on the TV or simply watch your favorite TV series or movie.

The concept LG Display is expected to also offer an enhanced viewing display experience like the Totem Rollable OLED Display. It could have been better with a soundbar but it’s already a great design on its own. The design team has also previously come up with other interesting designs like the Sombrero Table Light which looks like a hat and functions as either ambient light or focused light.

LG Display Scroll Display Flexible

LG Display Scroll Display Features

LG Display Scroll Display Details

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This portable lantern hosts a customizable OLED screen that transforms into a projection screen

Rén is a customizable lantern with an integrated OLED screen for users to project whatever moving images or videos they’d like.

Over the past few years, we’ve learned to prioritize what is most important to us. From going to the virtual family reunion to getting creative in the arts, we’re keeping the stuff that matters most to us extra close. Since the pandemic has transformed many of those experiences into digital ones, designers shave been getting creative in making them as large as real life, and sometimes even larger.

Designer: Merve Nur Sökme

Rén, designed by Merve Nur Sökme, was created to immortalize life experiences and make them portable. Designed for LG and Dezeen’s Go Competition for OLED designs, Rén is conceptualized as a multifunctional handheld lantern that can also transform into a large OLED screen that operates just like a projector.

Describing the inspiration behind the product’s name, Nur Sökme explains, “Ren (Chinese: 仁, meaning “co-humanity” or “humaneness”) is the Confucian virtue denoting the good quality of a virtuous human when being altruistic. Ren relies on the understanding of human nature and being.”

In its initial state, Rén is a portable lantern that emits soft, ambient lighting. Ideal for a bedside table or den coffee table, Rén gives off a warm light that seeps through moving images on the product’s OLED screen.

When rolled out, Rén transforms into a projecting screen where users can watch their favorite movies or host virtual Zoom parties. In both of its modes, Rén is what the user makes of it. With its customizable OLED screen, users can decide what they’d like to project to make the lantern feel more like a personal keepsake that they can carry around.

Speaking to Rén’s many functions, Nur Sökme notes, “Besides watching a movie when OLED screen is wide open, when it is rolled it can also be used as a bedside lamp at night, an aquarium, a lava lamp, a screen for recipe tracking in the kitchen. It can be flexible in use as much as the user needs. Its simple design approach gives the user to express her/himself through the Rén.”

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LG’s Foldable + flexible OLED screen can be carried like a folio bag!

A foldable phone and rollable TV are considered passe – that is the bane of innovation that finds us always looking for the next big thing! But, soon, you will be able to wear a screen around the wrist or even carry a display like a briefcase. If this scenario seems animated, industrial designer Kevin Chiam has stretched the limits of flexibility and conceived a portable LG branded OLED screen that you can carry along like a folio bag.

Companies like LG, TCL, Royole (the Chinese manufacturer who pioneered foldable phones), and more brands have experimented with rollable, bendable, and stretchable displays. The concept Chaim has envisioned for LG, however, throws open the domain for more enticing applications. It is directed toward the urban nomads working remotely and are always on the move, ready to explore options at work, home, and anywhere in between.

Dubbed the Folio – visibly because of its shape inspired by a folio bag – this conceptual display design works as a modular entertainment system featuring an extremely thin yet flexible 32-inch LG OLED screen with a leather back. The screen is fastened by cylindrical aluminum arms – with integrated magnetic clasps – on either end, and it can fold up in the middle and close seamlessly with the magnetic clasps. In addition, the display becomes its own carrying case has a handle attached to it for convenience on the go.

When unfolded, the display has infinite uses – entertainment, gaming, or even to display digital information and artwork. In addition, the magnetic clasps on the arms in the display’s open orientation can be used to connect speakers, cameras, and other accessories to the screen. Being extremely flexible and modular in design, the Folio complements a user’s ever-changing lifestyle by transitioning between work and play!

Designer: Kevin Chiam