Muted Storage Units

Clean the Sky - Positive Eco Trends & Breakthroughs

The Cloud Boxes Dampen Both Sound and Visual Noise

— April 16, 2013 — Art & Design
The Cloud Boxes are a series of five storage units that created to dampen everyday noise, both sound and visual. Commissioned by PROOFFlab, they look almost like a set of plastic containers that could be secreted away in the closet. Nevertheless, the cloudy, semi-transparent latex material has a functionally diaphanous appeal that many will want to put on display.

Designed by Eindhoven-based Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters, the Cloud Boxes are both masculine and feminine because of this quality. The designers reveal their inspiration behind these noise-cancelling containers, "We imagined our perfect solution should be like mist; a low-hanging cloud that doesn’t make the world around you disappear, but takes the sharp edges off and makes everything a little softer."

Trend Themes

  1. Sound-dampening Furniture — Opportunity for furniture manufacturers to create products designed to reduce everyday noise levels in the home or office space.
  2. Transparent Storage Solutions — Innovation potential for storage companies to create functional items with visually appealing, semi-transparent design.
  3. Multi-use Containers — Room for startups to develop versatile container designs, addressing the need for beauty and function in small-space living

Industry Implications

  1. Furniture Manufacturing — Manufacturers should consider adding sound-dampening products to their inventory.
  2. Storage Technology — Storage technology companies could benefit by creating visually appealing, semi-transparent designs of different sizes.
  3. Startups — More startups should explore developing container-type objects with multiple uses, such as storage cubes that can also work as planters or side tables.
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