period. comma, “quote”

design : nendo

paperweight
2009.12

These paperweights are a collaboration with Takada Seisakujo, an aluminium casting specialist firm in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. We designed three paperweights like three different forms of punctuation so that users can sort their papers by meaning: the period for work completed; the comma for work in progress, and the quotation mark for messages.

We kept the fabrication process in mind as we designed each weight. Each weight reflects the form that aluminum takes as it is poured, as though it took that form naturally as the aluminum hardened. This decision resulted in three gentle, expressively tensile shapes. Unlike chrome plating, the soft lustre of the hand-buffed surface displays the minuscule scratches and tarnishing that occur over time. But it’s easy to restore the weights’ lustre by polishing them. We built this activity into the weights to give owners a way to explore and enjoy the charm of aluminum over time.