Perfect balance: Scales offer measured approach

Basel, Switzerland – In a world of rampant consumerism, people often throw things away as quickly as they buy them, allowing no time to form a bond before seeking the newest and next product. Swiss-Japanese designer Nadine Fumiko Schaub has created Balance, a set of mechanical scales, as a comment on mass consumption and the need to form a considered relationship with the products we buy.

Schaub’s scales are made out of porcelain, wood and marble, and require human interaction in order to function. Users must calibrate the scales and use the counterweights to measure out ingredients.

‘Balance tries to strengthen the emotional bond between consumer and product through interactive sensation and storytelling,’ says the designer. ‘Emotions affect how a consumer perceives his or her belongings, thus enabling a long-lasting relationship between user and product.’

The minimalist, almost austere aesthetic of Balance, is an example of our Flexi Simplicity design direction – found in visual merchandising – applied to homewares.