KONICA MINOLTA’s FACTORY PIMP UP !

[Anonymous]

Factory ‘pimps up’ Konica
Konica Minolta is set to show off a ‘pimped up’ prototype photocopier design, created for the photo imaging giant by Factory Design.
The consultancy was given a free brief to pimp up the printing machines, now referred to as business hubs, adding extra functionality along the way, says consultancy director Adam White.‘It is a bit of a leftfield job, but it shows how proper companies are going to design consultancies to do more work of this kind. In this project, theywanted to encapsulate a Swiss Army Knife of the photocopier world. The result is slightly tongue-in-cheek, but it is also reflective of what’s almost believable,’ says White.Augmenting the machine’s already numerous functions, the design adds an espresso machine, overhead lamp and DVD player, among other innovations. Konica Minolta will showcase the fully working prototype at trade shows throughout Europe, although the design is likely to be used primarily as a marketing tool at this stage.‘They want to use it to seed people’s imaginations, but some white goods companies are starting to produce products with wallpaper-type prints now,’ adds White.

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January 24, 2007 at 2:51 PM