A corker: Plugg radio pulls out all the stops

Oslo – The design duo known as Skrekkøgle have created Plugg, a digital radio that listeners uncork to activate.

Theo Tveterås and Lars Marcus Vedeler created the radio to explore ‘physical and metaphorical interactions with electronic devices’, according to the website. Removing a large cork simultaneously reveals a speaker and activates the radio, as if releasing bottled up sound. The device replaces the need to press a button or swipe a screen with an action associated with food preparation, framing the music in an unexpected and amusing new context.

Plugg is also an example of how independent designers are increasingly able to produce working prototypes using relatively cheap methods. ‘Several techniques were used to make the prototype work,’ says Skrekkøgle, ‘including 3D printing, laser-cutting and hacking electronics.’

For more on why consumers are looking for more tangible ways to interact with music, see our Digi-tactile microtrend.