Making an iPad into a Retro TV

Putting new technologies in familiar old backdrops is nothing new, but Jonas Damon has beautifully executed it with his ’70s/’80s-style TV iPad dock.

For Damon, it’s a little more aesthetically and philosophically involved than simply mashing together retro and modern for shock effect. He explains:

[A]ll this advanced technology is actually enabling industrial design. A product’s form used to be dictated by its mechanical function. Products had distinctive shapes largely because the composition of the internal components mandated a certain form. But, as mechanics are being replaced by microchips, these constraints are disappearing. Designers have more opportunity with form now; ergonomics and expression no longer need compromising.

This is the thinking behind the iPad dock I built for my personal use. It takes the form of a 1970’s or 1980’s era television, complete with the cathode ray tube housing.

Design Mind has more photos.

(Design Mind via Design Milk | Artist’s blog)