Bringing Sci-Fi
into your shave:
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TOMORROW BUREAU INTERPRETS GILLETTELABS HEATED RAZOR
Sponsored by
Everyday objects we take for granted are designed to
fit into our lives so seamlessly that they remain unchanged
for decades. Their form and function become an extension of
our hands, and we have learned and evolved to use these tools
without thinking. The humble razor is one such item; with
careful strokes, we shave in a rhythmic and repetitive
fashion that hasn't changed since we first learned to hold
one.
Since way before my first wet shave, Gillette has been working
on changing and improving this weekly ritual. With the
introduction of their new creative and innovative design
arm GilletteLabs, it looks (and feels) as if they have succeeded.
GilletteLabs comes out of Gillette's desire to improve
and revolutionize the daily grooming practices we take for
granted. It's a new premium division focused on creating
cutting-edge technologies and beautiful household objects
high in design and aesthetic value. Their distinct manifesto
is to fuse beautiful form and reimagined function,
transforming the grooming experience as we currently
know it.
The problem with our day-to-day grooming routines is they
can become repetitive, rushed, and somewhat lacking in any
luxurious experience. GilletteLabs aims to make us re-think
our bathroom rituals and bring us new elevated and unexpected
experiences through cutting-edge design and solution-based tech.
What GilletteLabs has created for their first offering onto
the market reimagines and reinvents the way we shave. Shaving
can be a therapeutic experience, but for many (me included),
it's more of an effort to avoid a wrong move and bleeding
face. With the new Heated Razor, GilletteLabs has changed
that by creating a design that allows me to focus on the feel
of the shave and look forward to getting lost in the action
rather than avoiding that next nick.
The GilletteLabs award-winning Heated Razor is a first-of-its-kind invention that, through its innovative warming bar, delivers instant and soothing warmth to the skin at the push of a button. There is a reason why, if you ever go for a professional shave in a barbershop, that wet towel application is HOT, and that when you leave, you feel more relaxed and fresher than ever.
On top of the obvious innovation of instant heat application to the skin through the warming bar, the razor is packed with tech and design details. Once positioned on its magnetic charging dock, the item glows stylishly from the bathroom shelf. Whilst it keeps the ergonomic design of the traditional razor, this feels different; it's weighted perfectly, which adds to the glide’s ease for a noticeably more comfortable shave. The razor is also run off of a Lithium-Ion battery that lasts up to six shaves so you can bring the pleasure of a luxurious shave with you when you travel.
The Heated Razor’s innovation and technological advancements in shaving haven’t gone unnoticed. The razor has already picked up nine global awards including Engadget’s Best of CES 2019 and Time's Best Inventions of 2019.
When presented with such a beautiful example of design and function,
we felt it was only right to give the razor the visual dedication
it deserves. Such an innovative product calls for an innovative art
and design studio to be able to capture it in all its glory, and
that's why we called upon Tomorrow Bureau to interpret the GilletteLabs
Heated Razor in their own forward-thinking way.
Tomorrow Bureau is an art and design studio based in London that uses digital
tools to explore ideas, create images, and tell stories. Since James Earls and Jack
Featherstone formed the studio just two years ago, they have already produced
commercial work for Nike, Chanel, Camper, Salomon Advanced, Rapha, adidas, Ace & Tate,
Kenzo, Bobbi Brown, Space10, Google, Cartier, and Dekmantel, to name just a few.
Their work lives by the mantra "Speculative. Digital. Realities," whereby everything
they create must fall into these guiding principles, explained by co-founder Jack
Featherstone:
"Speculative — this word is about exploration and invention. It speaks to an
attitude of playfulness when creating whilst also retaining a sense of purpose.
Speculative design is, of course, a disciple in itself and one that we very much
enjoy engaging in.
Digital — we use a wide variety of digital tools that are constantly evolving and
require a significant amount of time to learn and stay on top of. To an increasingly
great extent they inform and dictate not only the look of our work but also the very
ideas themselves.
Realities — the boundaries between physical and digital spaces are rapidly breaking
down and becoming blurred, opening up opportunities for the creation of new perceptions
of reality, as well as new realities in themselves. This fact in itself is now a
fundamental reality within design and storytelling and so is front and center in
our thinking."
More than 3D Design and CGI artists, the Studio imagines future realities and ideas
in high definition, bringing them to life through their work. On this project with
GilletteLabs, Featherstone describes how they approached their design: "The razor
is warm and soothing to use and the ideas needed to reflect this. Each film has
required a fine balancing act both conceptually and aesthetically to achieve this.
We settled on an overarching concept of scientific experimentation, allowing us to
place the razor in different stylized laboratory setups so that we can perform
controlled tests on the product."
Explore the key features of the GilletteLabs Heated Razor with Tomorrow Bureau below.
GILETTELABS CHAPTER 001
Laser
Images and videos have been digitally altered and are shown for illustration purposes only.
Laser
Beyond the GilletteLabs Heated Razor's obvious heat abilities, you will find all the highest level cutting technology you would expect from a Gillette product. Tomorrow Bureau's laser interpretation highlights the sharpness of that tech and the sleekness of the razor's design. "We like functionally, details, and technical design aesthetics. We often like fetishizing objects and their materials, drawing attention to unexpected areas of a subject," says Featherstone.
The blades are constructed using Advanced Five Blades Technology, Gillette's most advanced, thinnest, and finest blades yet.
The Wireless Magnetic Charging dock is as elegant as it is functional. Just put the razor down on the rest, and you have yourself a self-charging work of art in your bathroom. The sleek handle is aesthetically designed, using a premium-grade aluminum-zinc handle that brings a feeling of pure luxury to your fingertips.
“We often like fetishizing objects and their materials, drawing attention to unexpected areas of a subject.”
GILETTELABS CHAPTER 002
Flame
Images and videos have been digitally altered and are shown for illustration purposes only.
Flame
Held like a test tube ready for the Bunsen burner, the razor's form is beautifully captured. Featherstone explains the balance between beauty and function in their work, "We like things that have beautiful form and are unashamed by it. Sometimes, a piece of work is good purely because it has achieved high levels of aesthetic beauty. On the flip side, something of pure utility and function can also have a seductive quality that is similar to what beauty produces.."
The stainless steel Warming Bar is where the hot towel shave effect comes in. It delivers heat quickly and evenly to the face, instantly providing a soft warmth to the skin, helping to achieve a smooth finish to your shave.
With adjustable temperature levels (109°F/43°C and 122°F/50°C), you can easily choose between two heat levels to achieve optimal comfort based on what feels most comfortable to you, all at the touch of a button.
“We like things that have beautiful form and are unashamed by it.”
GILETTELABS CHAPTER 003
Heaters
Images and videos have been digitally altered and are shown for illustration purposes only.
Heaters
“Design that is well thought through is pleasing almost by definition, but usually something of that standard will be intrinsically beautiful anyway,” Featherstone says of the razor, which in this design shows off its warm glow as condensation rises from the heat.
Automatic overheat protection is slightly concealed with four intelligent heat sensors hidden in the design. These sensors consistently maintain an even warmth through each shaving stroke, whilst the built-in safety features ensure an even and safe level of heat.
As you would expect, the razor is 100 percent waterproof, letting you shave in the bath, shower, sink, or wherever takes your fancy.
“Design that is well thought through is pleasing almost by definition.”
GILETTELABS CHAPTER 004
Warm Glow
Images and videos have been digitally altered and are shown for illustration purposes only.
WarmGlow
Featherstone was particularly drawn to the unique Flexdisc technology when creating his designs: “This unique feature has been a lot of fun to explore visually, as light catches in it in interesting ways.”
The Flexdisc technology is designed to follow the curves of your face's contours. This ensures the warming bar is in maximum contact with your skin through the whole shave.
As the razor emerges from the organic foam within the scientific lab dreamt up by the Tomorrow Bureau, it reflects a sense of the future, and with this design, the future is most certainly now.
“This unique feature has been a lot of fun to explore visually, as light catches in it in interesting ways.”
With GilletteLabs and Tomorrow Bureau leading the way in their respective fields, the sci-fi futures, designs, and gadgets dreamt up by writers such as Arthur C. Clarke and Philip K. Dick can be present in the comfort of your own home in 2021. Grab a piece of tomorrow in the form of GilletteLabs Heated Razor here (US) or here (EU) for the closest thing to a futuristic hot towel shave you are going to get.
Credits
Editor: Kevin Soar
Creative: Dimitri Hekimian, Mariel Bulaong
Production: Rochelle Bambury, Ufuk Inci
Project Management: Cynthia Mavanga
Product Manager: Shaun Roach
Interactive Developer: Katerina Vaseva
UI Design Direction: Studio Gruhl
UI Design: Klára Michalská