P'3140 Porsche Design Shakepen writing instrument

red dot: best of the best
red dot award: product design 2006

High-speed - brand and association
A brand always implies a complex statement - it is about both brand worlds and life environment scenarios, which the semiotician Roland Barthes accurately described in his book "Mythologies". For him, the creation and maintenance of "brand spheres" through new products is a difficult task that must skilfully combine the spirit of the times with the associations of a brand. Porsche Design - founded by Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche in 1972 - stands for functional, timeless and puristic design, and technically innovative products. The most recent example of this complex kind of design is a writing tool by Porsche Design that goes by the name "Shakepen". It communicates statements such as technical perfection, sporting elegance and high-speed. The pen is lightweight and measures only 11cm in length, makes it extremely compact. The materials used, such as chrome-plated metal and natural rubber, create a high-value appearance and make this writing tool pleasing to the touch. The design is well thought-out and functional: a semicircular projection at the end for instance prevents the writing tool from rolling off inclined or flat surfaces. What is innovative about the P'3140 Porsche Design Shakepen is, above all, its surprisingly simple shake mechanism: a brief flick of the wrist is enough and the point extends ready for writing, and with a similar movement it retracts into the housing again. What this swift movement of the wrist evokes is an association of astonishing functionality that is compliant with and typical of the entire Porsche Design brand.