Wearable tech has come a long way since the days of Steve Mann’s innovations. He is best known as a researcher and inventor renown for his work on computational photography and in particular wearable computing. Today, devices are getting smaller, smarter, and faster than ever before. Yet makers of these devices still aim for the low-hanging fruit by simply shrinking our phones or telling us things we already know—we should move more and get active, our in boxes are getting fuller and fuller, our lives hectic and we need to take control and so on.
And then there is style…Connected smart watches have been around since the launch of the Pebble via Kickstarter in 2013 but it took Apple to bring out their version to really push faster adoption of the technology into the mainstream, rather than those simply at the edges of new fangled gadgetry.
Whilst the fashion industry has been taking a greater interest in this arena, by and large the devices are still feature and technology driven rather than the other way around.
Purple, on the other hand, focuses on form first. Developed by the team at the Artefact Group, Purple is a locket for the 21st century combining modern technology and elegance of jewelry in one beautiful piece that feels like it belongs on the wearer as a piece of design rather than technology.
Elegant and simple, Purple is a modern take on the locket. It connects wirelessly to your social networks and receives images and messages from friends and family. It invites you to take a peek at what’s inside, pause from your hectic daily life and smile at a moment you share with the people who matter most.
Winner of Fast Company’s 2015 Innovation by Design Award, Purple takes the wearer out of the daily fire hose of information overload, emails, alerts and notifications that make us increasingly distracted and stressed to bring us nearer to the people we feel closest to.
Instead of surfacing notifications from the hundreds of people across all of your social networks, Purple focuses on deepening the connections with the people closest to you. The locket connects to all major sources like Facebook, Instagram and SMS, but centres the experience on people you pre-select. Purple receives keepsakes only from these pre-selected people, reminding you of the moments that are important to you.
With one simple gesture, you can browse keepsakes, like your favorites, or send a quick photo message to let the people you love know that you are thinking of them. A companion app helps you manage and control your Purple experience, letting you select the people you want to receive keepsakes from, send messages to loved ones or create personalized keepsakes using filters, graphics and effects.
Purple is jewelry first, technology second. From the curved lid of the locket to the unique chain hook, Purple is designed to be an heirloom piece of jewelry. Timeless materials like platinum, silver, gold and even brushed brass, together with pure smooth lines make it stand out in the sea of wearable gadgets on the market today.
And it is so striking in appearance. With its clean lines and minimalist aesthetics, the experience is completely discreet. Unlike other wearables, it does not add to the notification pollution. When you receive a new keepsake, a subtle light visible only from your point of view reminds you of what is important, even before you have opened it.
Jewelry doesn’t have USB ports to plug into the wall and neither does Purple. To charge the locket, the wearer simply leaves it in its ceramic charging bowl. It’s as effortless as leaving it in a jewelry box. Purple’s smooth black or frosted glass back is the key to its inductive charging capabilities, yet it enhances, rather than distracts from the beauty of Purple.
For centuries, the locket has been the token of remembrance, connection and meaning. With Purple the team at Artefact stayed true to the original purpose of the locket. Beauty and technology converge to create a richer experience that fits with our modern times.
What other timeless pieces could do with the Artefact treatment where design elegance and technology come together to enhance the object and the experience at the same time?
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