Surprise!

Silvia Grimaldi has created a series of furniture designs and social experiments which cause surprise. She describes them as :-

An exploration of the use of surprising elements in design and the effect that surprises can have on emotional attachment and the memory of the experience.

(Un-)stable stool

When you sit on the stool its legs start splaying, and it feels like you're going to collapse, but after a second it stops and it is actually more functional because it's more stable.

on-edge lamp

The lamp is made of rubber but in the shape of a traditional glass table lamp. It turns on by sliding it off the edge of the table slightly; when it is fully on the table it is off.

moving cup

A person with a strong foreign accent starts reading a quote from a neurologist. The quote is long and boring, and after a minute people are not paying attention. That's when the cup moves a bit. Most of the people realise and stop paying attention to the reading and stare at the cup. The cup moves again several times, always increasing the viewer's interest and their mood.

- Surprise!

[Via. We Make Money Not Art]