Muji Wall-Mounted CD Player

The Muji wall-mounted CD player designed by Naoto Fukasawa looks like a ventilation fan and plays music when you pull its hanging cord. Interaction is the entire product. The disc spins visibly behind a clear cover, the single cord starts and stops playback, and the volume dial on the side is the only other control. Hang it on the wall and it becomes a piece of furniture that also makes sound. The deliberate resemblance to an exhaust fan is what makes it warm rather than cold. I saw 1 in a design store near campus and stood there watching the disc spin for probably 2 minutes before the store clerk explained the concept. Pulling the cord connects to something familiar and domestic, a bathroom fan or a ceiling light. Familiarity makes the product immediately understandable even though a wall-mounted CD player is genuinely unusual. People keep these even though they rarely use CDs anymore, which tells me the object has transcended its function.