TelKom

Project with Museum of communication Bern

This project was developed as part of a design brief to create a sustainable and meaningful product for the Museum of Communication's gift shop. The goal was to design an object that reflects the museum's themes — communication, knowledge-sharing, learning through play — while remaining functional, affordable, and relevant to its audience. 

My response is a modern take on the classic tin can telephone — a playful, analog device that invites two people to speak and listen to each other. But instead of using actual cans, I designed a modular speaker made of eight interlocking parts, each available in different colors. The idea is that each customer can choose their own combination of colors, and build the object together with someone else — for example, a parent and child. 

The string that connects the two ends is made from repurposed climbing rope, giving a second life to a strong and tactile material that also adds to the product’s storytelling. The process of assembling the object reinforces themes of collaboration, creativity, and curiosity — values central to the museum experience.

More than just a toy, TelKom is a physical metaphor for shared discovery: build it together, talk into it, and pass on knowledge — one word at a time.