too heavy for the cloud? give weight to precious memories with this rock hard drive

donttakethisthewrongway — a design studio operating within the suburbs of savannah, georgia — wanted to give a sense of tangible value to digital information. so, they threw out the design rule book, went hunting for rocks and ultimately designed ‘a hard drive,’ that we might use to fossilize our most precious memories, too heavy for the cloud. it’s true, some information is heavier than others. sleek, silver drives hold terabytes of work emails these days, but filing away your child’s medical records in that same flimsy cartridge of cold metal feels something like stirring cold coffee inside an urn.

all images courtesy of donttakethisthewrongway

‘the 2-second shaky video of your kid’s first steps, a group photo of their graduation, or the last voice mail from a loved one. this hard drive takes form as a rock, giving weight and a sense of permanence to our more precious digital information.’ donttakethisthewrongway reminds us that some information is too heavy and too precious to save alongside tax documents.

as digital information and storage becomes more accessible, it’s harder to organize the files we truly value. ‘a hard drive’ takes files and fossilizes them inside a stationary hard drive that you can grasp intentionally and confidently in your hand. it creates a sense of physical value and permanence to our digital information, while also providing a place for the files we want to keep closer to home.

the intention of this simple design is much heavier than the funky photoshoots imply. the design studio based in savannah, georgia launched last february with a collection of three products aimed at dealing with serious issues in playful ways. alongside this heavy rock hard drive, a shot glass that preaches commitment and a royal flush of a plunger comprise dtttww’s first collection. 

project info:

instagram: @studio_dtttww
website: donttakethisthewrongway.com