I was reading this article about industrial design the other day and it got me thinking. Most people tend to think about "design" and "fashion/style" as one and same. In fact, it would be more appropriate to think of "design" as the aspect of product engineering that answers the question, "does it work?" While "fashion" and "style" should answer the question of "does this look good?"

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that design and fashion are mutually exclusive arenas of product development. On the contrary, concept phones tend to be designed around the notion that design and style should be married into a highly functional, yet cool-looking device. Enter the "Edge" concept phone.

Designer Chris Owens came up with this edgy (see what we did there?) concept phone that is most assuredly aimed at the fashion-forward demographic. The sleek, shiny-black finish of the diminutive "Edge" houses a pop-out keypad under a glossy touchscreen. The keypad is constructed of glass and retracts into the handset when not in use. And, of course, there's the obligatory camera adorning the rear-end of this Edge concept phone, but the real attraction is the design. Not only does this thing look spiffy, but it looks like it'll work well too. With a touchscreen and pop-out keypad, I'm itching to see this thing materialize.

Does it work? Sure looks like it would.

Keep reading for more pics…

[Via: YankoDesign]

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