Kris Henning

Remote Design

The design of a remote for a high-end entertainment center. In 2005 we were given a fairly traditional industrial design project where we had to design a handheld object – in this case a remote – for a device or purpose of our choice. I chose a self contained wireless media center to be situated in the living room. The ‘BlackBox’ was a high product that required a high end remote – ornamental in design, yet still fluid and comfortable to hold.

The remote design was to be fabricated with recycled glass slumped glass into a ceramic mold. The top side being the smooth glass touch surface – and the underside,’the belly’ – made with a hardened plastic to contain the components. The underside would then be sheathed in a soft white leather, a contrast that would compliment the glass on top. I still have the model, it is beautifully crafted and highly polished. I will add more imagery of the remote in hand, and the development drawings when I return to NZ.

Recycled Wooden Packaging

The packaging design was loosely based around the form of the subtle curves of the remote – however the project did not restrict the packaging to being exclusively designed to contain the remote, although it did. The notion of sustainability and the life cycle analysis of packaging was considered as an important component of the design development phase. In this case I chose to consider the re-use of the package as the method through which to avoid its disposal. It is a wooden box made from recycled chip board and steam bent wood. The top surface is in inlaid with magnets and a metal track and wrapped with a black leather that would contain a logo and other information. This box is one of my favorite designs.