Editing Blobject

{{Short description|Design term for a round, bright object}}

[[Image:IMac Bondi Blue.jpg|thumb|Apple [[iMac]] [[IMac G3|G3]]]]
[[Image:Volkswagen-NewBeetle.jpg|thumb|[[Volkswagen New Beetle]]]]
[[File:Blob Birmingham.jpg|thumb|The [[Selfridges Birmingham|Selfridges building]] ("The Blob") in [[Birmingham]] by architect [[Jan Kaplický]] of [[Future Systems]]]]

A '''blobject''' is a design product, often a brightly-coloured household object which has smooth curves and no sharp edges. The word is a [[portmanteau]] of "blob" and "object".

Blobjects can be made of any material in any size or scale for the home, office, car, or outdoors. Common materials used in fabricating blobjects are plastic (especially [[polycarbonate]], [[polypropylene]], or [[polyethylene]]), metal, and rubber, with the aim being to give a more organic and animate feel.

==Etymology==
The origin of the term is disputed, but it is often attributed to either the designer-author [[Steven Skov Holt]]<ref name="Skov">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cca.edu/academics/faculty/sholt |title=CA College of the Arts Bio on Steven Skov Holt |access-date=2009-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518130719/http://www.cca.edu/academics/faculty/sholt |archive-date=2009-05-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref> or the designer [[Karim Rashid]].

Holt has defined a blobject as a colorful, [[mass-produced]], plastic-based, emotionally-engaging [[consumer product]] with a [[Curvilinear coordinates|curvilinear]], flowing shape. This fluid and curvaceous form is the blobject's most distinctive feature.

Rashid, the contemporary designer who wrote the book ''I Want to Change the World'', was an early leader in creating blobjects and has become one of the most celebrated designers of his generation.

==Overview==
While often viewed as a modern concept, Blobject can be traced all the way back to prehistoric sculptures like [[Venus of Willendorf]]. In the early 20th century, in the work of [[Joan Miró]] and [[Jean Arp]], these characteristics appeared. After [[World War II]], these design started appearing in home goods like La Chaise chair.<ref name="Vox"/>

In the 1990s, designers like [[Philippe Starck]], [[Marc Newson]], and [[Karim Rashid]] led the way with the use of technology. Many of the most famous blobjects appeared in this decade.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-16 |title=Karim Rashid’s Kobble Lamps Channel Sensual Minimalism – and Blobjects |url=https://news.yahoo.com/karim-rashid-kobble-lamps-channel-130029253.html |access-date=2024-01-21 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}</ref>

Blobjects can also be found in most areas of contemporary [[visual culture]].<ref name="Vox">{{cite web |last1=Brooke |first1=Eliza |title=The rise of the blob (in home decor) |url=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/12/21/18145000/blobject-blob-home-decor |website=Vox |access-date=3 August 2022 |language=en |date=21 December 2018}}</ref> A blobject can be a typographic font (cf. [[Neville Brody]]), an animation (cf. Monica Peon), a piece of furniture ([[Marc Newson]]), an article of clothing ([[Rei Kawakubo]]), a motorcycle (GK Dynamics), a car (GEMCAR), a building ([[Future Systems]]), a painting ([[Rex Ray]]), a piece of sculpture ([[Hadeki Matsumoto]]), or ceramics work ([[Ken Price (artist)|Ken Price]]).

The blobject trend has largely been driven by advances in [[computer-aided design]], [[information visualization]], [[rapid prototyping]], [[materials science|materials]], and [[injection molding]]. These technologies have given designers the chance to use new shapes and to explore [[transparency and translucency]] without significant extra production costs.

==See also==
* [[Blobitecture]]
* [[Frutiger Aero]]
* [[Greg Lynn]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Sterling, Bruce, (2002). ''[[iarchive:tomorrownow00bruc/page/74/mode/2up|Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next Fifty Years]]'', Random House, {{ISBN|978-0-679-46322-1}}
* Skov Holt, Steven; Holt Skov, Mara, (2005). ''Blobjects & Beyond: The New Fluidity in Design'', Chronicle Books, {{ISBN|978-0-8118-4765-0}}
* Rashid, Karim, (2001). ''I Want to Change the World'', Universe Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-7893-0531-2}}

==External links==
*[[Boing Boing]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20041208122248/http://www.boingboing.net/images/blobjects.htm When Blobjects Rule the Earth] by [[Bruce Sterling]]

[[Category:Technology in society]]
[[Category:Consumer goods]]
[[Category:1990s neologisms]]