Core77

Guess the object

By Rain Noe - February 25, 2009

in Object Culture

Who can guess what this is?

Hit the jump for the answer.It's the Snooc hair straightener, designed by Bluelarix Designworks. As they write:

Specifically for the target group of 25 to 35 years there is a need for a high quality hairstraightener. The product should aim at people that feel young and mobile, follow the latest trends, want to distinguise [sic], have feeling for quality and spend much time and attention to personal care. Competitive products are mostly pretty conservative and low quality, with basically everywhere the same technology. The Snooc is different because of the automotive styling, high quality materials, wireless technology and the special spring-system from metal, connecting both parts and being integrated in the form.

I totally thought it was either a stapler or a power banana.

o

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Glossy-haired girl

15 years ago

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Oops - typo - at the beginning I meant that the car aesthetic won't necessarily make it *unappealing* to women (as far as you can quantify the taste of half the population).
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Glossy-haired girl

15 years ago

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Marc - I agree that using the styling of a car won't make it appeal to women (although every woman is different, with different tastes, obviously) and I would hate to see it all rounded, cute and pink. This particular colour scheme and design - for me, personally - is too "Bang and Olufsen" telephone or bachelor pad music system... I would like to see it in a different colour (maybe dark aubergine or and icy blue) and with a power button that was a little less obvious and more sophisticated in it's language.

trx0x - I think it's charged by the connection at the non-hinge end, similar to a cordless kettle system. I would believe that, for the convenience of being cordless (the cords are the weak point of the design and where my GHDs have failed) would couterbalance the fact that it's not being constantly charged. My straighteners get *really* hot (give-you-skin-burns-with-brief-contact hot) within 10-20 seconds) and the heat would probably last a few strokes before needing charging again. Cordless irons (for clothes) do exist and they work.
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Glossy-haired girl

15 years ago

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I use one so I could see straight away what it was. I like the idea that it's cordless but I wouldn't buy it in yellow - don't make it pink either though. The automotive styling is cool but this particular interpretation is maybe too cold for a women's market. One immediate problem I see with it is that the space between the plates and the edge of the casing should be minimal - if you're curling or doing anything more than straightening it s not practical to have space there as shown. Also, I'm going to trap my skin between the two halves of the structure when I close it. They should also be as slim as possible - for flexibility of use and so I don t develop one arm bigger than the other, Popeye style. Until now I would say the decisive factor for choosing one set of straighteners over another is the technology - ceramic plates instead of metal for example - a set from GHD, although around 100 pounds, is worth the money in the time it saves in heating and it s efficiency in function. They re not ugly, but I agree there could be more attention paid to the aesthetics and materials - for that amount of money the look of the product should also be impressive.
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tinabeans

15 years ago

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@Ken J - hahahaha
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Marc

15 years ago

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Pete, are you saying women don't drive cars? I'm sick of designers being taught, and believing, that designing for women means fat, bulbous shapes in the name of "approachability," as if women are afraid the object will attack and beat them if it's not shaped like a pillow. Just because you're avoiding "aggressive" doesn't mean that sleek, refined, bright, playful and a host of other adjectives won't appeal to women.
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trx0x

15 years ago

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i'm a male, and i knew that was a hair straightener.

but, as i always ask of all these nice looking renders...how does it work? any woman i talk to swears by the Chi, and that thing gets pretty damn hot. and to get that hot, it has to be wired. this looks like a cordless flatiron...so what's heating this thing? how hot does it get? how does it retain the heat needed to straighten? how long will it stay heated before needing a 'recharge'?

if you're going to have style, you gotta have substance to back it up.
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Pete

15 years ago

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Automotive inspired styling for a product used by women? Looks kind of like a student project.
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Alan Valek

15 years ago

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Flat Iron.
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Kristin Andrews

15 years ago

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I love this funky straightener. I tried Googling for a way to buy it but can't seem to find how. Can you point me in the right direction? Thank you!
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Jenny

15 years ago

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I assume "hipstomp" is a male as the second image made it obvious to me as a female it was a hair straightener. :)
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Ken J

15 years ago

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What is this, a tanning bed for ants!?!? It needs to be at least... three times bigger!!!
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Marc

15 years ago

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Showing product image without context is always tricky.

However, according to the images above, it is very obvious hair straightener.

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Paavani

15 years ago

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I thought its kinda scanner!
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jwk

15 years ago

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It's a flatiron.

For hair.
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Bock

15 years ago

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Yes, I was right! Thanks to my wife leaving hers out all the time. The hot plate heating element gave it away.
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