P-Per

red dot
red dot award: design concept 2007

design:
Chocolate Agency
In-house design:
Valérie Nomain, Romain Vauchez

P-Per is an impressively simple and sustainable mobile phone with an unlikely combination of features. It is at once advanced and simple, green and unique.

The mobile phone is the most common consumer electronic device on the planet. Over two billion mobile phones will be in use by the end of 2009. Current concern for the natural environment requires a critical change in the way this popular product is thought about and designed. Approaching and thinking about its design from a sustainable viewpoint means challenging its traditional structures, processes and technologies, to give it simplicity and uniqueness, as well as imbue it with an iconic style.

Green.
P-Per explores the many possibilities of sustainable design. It is made of only four layers, with one being an e-paper screen that wraps the entire handset. The high sustainability of P-Per lies in its core structure: it is designed to follow the rule of “one function–one part–one material”. This approach is a synthesis of the designers’ research on sustainability, which is formally translated into folded layers around a printed circuit board (PCB) core. This facilitates disassembly and the recycling of materials. P-Per is made out entirely of sustainable materials, such as extruded polycarbonate to cope with its physical functions (body, screen protection, unique click); hypoallergenic and recyclable titanium parts; the e-paper screen to display images with no distortions, and without the need of power supply; and an Organic Radical battery that is free from heavy metals.

Unique.
P-Per is unique to individual users, as the look of the phone can be changed in a click. It is able to incorporate personal choice of colours and graphics, and is able to be wrapped with the user’s personal pictures.

Advanced.
P-Per combines the most advanced of features. It has a screen located on each of its two sides – mobile phone and messaging functions are displayed on one, and a camera (with a panoramic wrapped viewfinder) is displayed on the other. The 3-mega-pixel lens enables the user to take beautiful photographs, and is suitable for video calls. The handset is light and slim (7mm). The stand-by time is incredible with an “always-on” picture and a “2-minute” blazing-fast charge.

Simple.
P-Per’s design was conceptualised to be as simple as possible. Its design incorporates a big screen, a haptic touch-screen, and a menu-less intuitive user interface with a rotating-screen function and a simple bar for quick access to all functions.