Signet Ring for Flapping Airplanes
When my friend Aidan asked for help creating a “bespoke piece of merchandise” for the founding team at Flapping Airplanes, I wasn’t sure what would resonate with my audience. The project was defined negatively: not just a printed t-shirt, not adhering to their existing design strategy, and not something that could be recreated easily. Whenever I’m lost, I always start with research.
Compared to its long-term goals for research breakthroughs in AI, Flapping Aiplanes is in its infancy. Conceptually, a “flapping airplane” is a metaphor for AI’s relationship with the human mind. In an interview with Tech Crunch, one of their founders describes current AI giants as “Boeing 878s”: flying, but in the technical sense of being airborne. Flapping airplanes symbolize a return to evolutionary processes found in nature. I knew the piece needed an appeal to tradition, ornamentalism, and craft. I understood why Aidan wanted something “bespoke,” and not, say, an airplane plushie. That’s why I pitched the signet ring, even though I’d never made jewelry before.
Before they fled Indonesia, my Cantonese side of the family were jewelers. During the communist revolution, jewelry spent its time sewn into clothes and kept in secret compartments. On my Indian side, jewelry is bestowed upon birth, and it’s meant to be worn often and publicly. Jewelry has the most potent power of any wearable, with its direct connection to value at any given time. Growing up, the weight of precious metal on the body became synonymous with the weight of history. I thought this was the perfect object for a group of young people on the frontier of AI research, who feel the weight of the future constantly.
The feather and ornaments on the face are a call to the history of flapping, and the curved wings on the side feature sharp, technical elements that adhere to plane anatomy. Not pictured, the band of the ring secures the piece. The “F / A” text is reversed so that the ring can function as a seal.
Creative Director: August Hattiangadi. 3D Specialist: Micky Wright. Manufacturer: Kazuki Ue. For Aidan Smith.
Currently in production; photography will be updated once the pieces are finalized.
