Tired of high tech designs that look hopelessly dated in just a few years? Longing for a more Victorian sensibility? You may need to get up to speed with steampunk, a design movement whose participants hack new tech devices (and more) into steam-era exteriors. The photo is a late-model Hewlett Packard computer repackaged by Richard Nagy into something that Arthur Conan Doyle might use to peck out Sherlock Holmes’ next adventure.
The steampunk subculture is hard at work producing intricate handcrafted modifications of technologies that permeate our daily lives—largely stripping them of convenience and portability but imbuing them with antique charm in the process. “It really seems to be building some momentum,” says Cory Doctorow, a science fiction author who frequently links to standout steampunk examples on BoingBoing, the tech-culture blog he co-edits. “We get more of this stuff than we can post.” There’s a steampunk magazine, steampunk blogs, steampunk fashion (think punk-meets-goth-meets-dirigible-pilot), and even a steampunk Web site that specializes in selling salvaged building parts to aspiring inventors. From Newsweek: Steampunking Technology – A subculture hand-tools today’s gadgets with Victorian style.
Technology products almost always aim for a futuristic design ethic, and, as they move into the real future, tend to look dated quickly. I’m sure my sleek new Tilt smartphone will look like a clunky brick to me in a few years – if I even have it then. The Newsweek Web-exclusive article, by Brian Braiker, points out that part of the motivation to recapture steam-era design is that devices were built to last in those days. Today, our computers, cell phones, music players, and just about everything else are disposable – if we are still using them a few years after purchase, we appear to be behind the curve.
Soon enough, I’m sure, we’ll see some commercial examples of this. It’s surprising to me that so few tech product makers have attempted to look to history for design themes and to materials other than molded plastic and stamped sheet metal for their exteriors. Part of the issue is the relentless pressure to make products smaller, thinner, and lighter. A cell phone made of burled walnut and polished brass might be appealing, but not if it was twice as thick and three times as heavy as one made from high-tech materials.
If steampunk does become a commercial trend, I think we’ll see it in small appliances and desktop tech items – these are constantly on display, and don’t have quite the same size/weight constraints as portable devices. Indeed, items like espresso makers have incorporated high design concepts, ranging from sleek and futuristic units to others that would be at home in an Art Deco environment.
I personally find the steampunk concept fun. I might not pay $2,000 for one of Nagy’s keyboards, but a modest premium for, say, a bookshelf stereo system wouldn’t be out of the question. Steampunk is more proof that nothing stays out of style forever.
