Digital artists Lu Yan and Zhiyi Zhang have unveiled 'Rams System Icons,' inspired by Dieter Rams' design philosophy. It is an icon project that expresses familiar digital functions such as cameras, music, mail, and calculators as three-dimensional objects that look like Braun's industrial products.
Icon recreates the impression of 20th-century Braun products by combining warm gray plastic surfaces, metallic materials, and orange and yellow buttons. It adds a tactile character to flat function symbols by incorporating switches and dials that look as if they could actually be pressed or rotated, along with fine grooves and texture details.
Each icon represents a different function, yet they share an organized grid, limited color palette, and consistent material expression. While maintaining a concise hierarchy of form and information, the configurations of buttons and displays are varied according to function, connecting them as a single product family.
This project is an experiment that re-explores the expression of hyperrealistic icons based on the product design language established by Dieter Rams. Amidst the trend of digital interfaces moving toward flatness and abstraction, it demonstrates the potential of skeuomorphism to revive the experience of physical manipulation and the sense of materials.
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