Era explores how an experience or message might transcend a single human lifetime, rather than exist only within it. The project responds to the idea that most of what we record and share today - a voice note, a photo, a message - is built to be instant and short-lived, with little thought given to what might be worth preserving across generations.
Era is a wall-mounted device that records a person's voice mechanically, similar to how grooves are cut into a vinyl record. To leave a message, a person places their hand on the device and speaks; the recording is etched physically rather than stored only as digital data, so it can outlast the devices and formats we rely on today. A soft light glows around the surface as it records, and again when the message is later played back, marking the presence of a stored memory.
The team arrived at this concept after exploring ideas around time, memory, and permanence, testing several directions - from land art to reworked textiles - before settling on a physical, mechanical object that could hold a voice in a tangible, lasting form. The vinyl-like recording method was chosen, so that the message is not dependent on any single piece of technology to survive.
Era is designed for anyone who wants to leave something behind that lasts beyond their own lifetime: a voice for future generations, a memory kept in physical form, or a message meant to be found long after it was made.
Working on Era surfaced two key learnings for the team. The first was the need to consider people who do not have, or do not want, families of their own, and how a concept built around generational connection could still hold meaning for them. The second was the difficulty of designing for something that transcends time, which required holding both scientific and emotional considerations in mind at once, a balance that proved challenging throughout the process.
