NY Times Magazine: The Key

“Twice a year, New York Times Magazine publishes the “Key” – a section which discusses the housing market of the past 6 months, and where it’s headed.

In 2009 Design Glut was commissioned to design an object to illustrate the opening page of the section. In keeping with the economic times, the theme was rebirth and renewal.

Drawing on our experience in manufacturing, we wanted to show the transformation of raw material into something finished. This piece shows the surreal “birth” of an object, as a pool of molten metal rises up into a fully-formed key.

The final product depicted the transformation of real-estate market, and predicted an optimistic vision of its future. The image of the final key was so crisp, so perfect, that is was difficult to discern if it was real or a rendering.” www.designglut.com