patricia urquiola for alessi x iida

patricia urquiola’s cell phone design is influenced by the form of castanets all images courtesy of alessi / iida

italian design manufacturer alessi  and japanese product manufacturer iida have collaborated on a project, enlisting designers stefano giovannoni, marcel wanders and patricia urquiola to creatively reinterpret the cell phone in a way that aims to blend both art and life, while still maintaining practicality.

for her design, spanish-born italian-based designer patricia urquiola paid attention to the traditional crafts and culture of her roots by taking influence from spain’s national instrument and create a phone which is reminiscent of the form of castanets. the mobile device’s body surface is a delicate, dimpled skin which comes in various color proposals from black to a saffron yellow. it also features a tummy strap, earphones, mobile phone keypad and other distinctive accessories, that allude to the ‘retro-chic space invaders culture’.

each cell phone comes with a tummy strap, earphones, mobile phone keypad and other distinctive accessories

the phones were presented in tokyo during the annual designers week and as part of the offsite events of designtide tokyo 2010. you may read our previous article on stefano giovannoni’s cell phone design for the alessi x iida collaboration here.

variations of patricia urquiola’s cell phone designs for alessi x iida collaboration