Designed hyperspace can be illustrated as shown in the above picture. The blue line represents the plan view of a plastic panel for a small electronic item such as a mobile phone. The red line represents the plan view of the device’s internal electronic components such as printed circuit boards. The space between the red line and the blue line is called ‘designed hyperspace’ because it has no purpose except to deliver the promises of marketing hype surrounding the product. It is also space that, though real and physical, has no place in the product user’s understanding of the product and its uses.
The images below show some of the insides of a Palm Pre, a product which uses façadism to suggest that its shape is ‘organic’. Only designed hyperspace makes it so, although the shapes of its real components are interesting in themselves. I doubt this sort of façadism serves any ergonomic purpose: a packet of cigarettes is as satisfying to hold as an organically shaped piece of moulded plastic, and its paper-based materials are arguably more pleasing to touch.
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