Konstantin Grcic: thinking outside the (Black²) box

From the Bible to a petrol can; a tomb stone to the iPhone: once you start looking, the black square is prevalent in the design of countless everyday objects down the ages. How has this carried on into modern design? How might this continuation affect future creativity? What connotations do we naturally associate with 'black' and 'square'?

These concepts are the main starting points for Black², currently on show at the Instituto Svizzero di Roma (until 12 February), an exhibition conceived and curated by German industrial designer Konstantin Grcic.

Showcasing 50 relatively common products, including light switches, speakers, chairs and particular objects such as the BASF cassette tape - crucially the first object produced by the plastics industry without precedent and, we are told, fashioned in a black, square shape to make it marketable - the exhibition 'pursues theoretic reflections and the proposals for interpretation on the topic of the contemporary object at a time when experimentation is in need of new orientation capacities.'

Follow the link to designboom for images and further details about the displayed objects.