KidStyleFile

Every so often a concept design comes along which really makes me look twice. The Plable is one such example.

Designed by Royal College of Art student Yumiko Tanaka, the Plable is a fantastic design blend of adult and child, with surfaces for both.

In any house, the spaces that children claim for themselves tend to be lowdown and often hidden away, and the Plable recognises this in its design.

On the top, and to all initial appearances, the Plable is a standard table - fairly minimalist, white gloss, would go with any decor. Look on the underside, however, and you’ll see that this table is far from ordinary: instead of the standard reverse tabletop, it presents a magical world for kids to play with and explore, with events and movement activated by what’s happening on the table surface.

It’s really quite remarkable the way that Tanaka has designed the Plable to be interactive so the lives of children and adults can intersect, even when they aren’t relating to each other directly. Place a coffee cup, or other objects, on the table and it will cause a reation on the underside: planes fly, cars shoot around roads, lights come on. How utterly ingenious!

Watch the video to see the Plable in action.

The Plable comes to us via Pixelsumo, a *wonderful* and though provoking blog about play, in which its writer Chris O’Shea, explores the boundaries of interaction design, video games, toys and playgrounds. There are lots of fabulous products, ideas and experiences chronicled here, so head on over and have a read.At this stage the Plable isn’t available for purchase, but we’ll keep you updated should that change.