Bit by bit: Lapka runs wild on Google’s Project Ara smartphone

Inspired by designer training shoes, the firm has given the world a peek into its vision of how Project Ara might look and feel if an alternative approach were taken to its design. The traditional approach of designing hardware to last for the next five to 10 years influenced Lapka in its decision to find an aesthetic inspired by luxury training shoes.

‘Technology companies reach technical milestones, but in terms of design they miss the milestones,’ Vadik Marmeladov, creative and managing director of Lapka, tells LS:N Global.

But this is more than just an aesthetic fantasy. The modules are part of an environmental monitoring and Self-quant eco-system that provides life-enhancing information to users. In Lapka’s design, air quality monitors, CO2 monitors and breathalysers use a combination of materials and textures to create what it calls Haute Couture technology.

For more on an approach to the design of healthcare technology that is attuned to users’ emotional needs, check out our Fem Tech design direction.