Antenna / Sigi Moeslinger and Masamichi Udagawa

As the cult-like devotion to Apple's imac, iphone, and ipod demonstrates, how we access technology is as important as the technology itself. Antenna builds on this principle, creating easy-to-use objects and touch-interfaces that mediate the DMZ between high-tech developments and human behavior. Founded in 1997 by IDEO veterans Sigi Moeslinger and Masamichi Udagawa, the company—winner of the 2008 National Design Award for product design—develops proprietary hardware for such corporate clients as Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Fujitsu, and Bloomberg L.P. Work for the latter includes custom keyboards for the firm’s financial service subscribers, biomorphic security devices, and dual-screen monitors inspired by Olivetti typewriters and HAL, the wayward computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Yet Antenna also has a thriving transport practice. For the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority, the firm designed the interior and exterior of the R142, R142A, and R143 subway cars; two MetroCard vending machines; and help point intercoms throughout the agency’s 229-mile system. Antenna then the applied the lessons learned to fashion sleek, self-service check-in kiosks for budget airline JetBlue that cut transaction time by one-third.

Antenna’s seemingly contradictory client bases allow the firm to design for specific niches and mass audiences. The principals like the duality, as it reflects their own diverse backgrounds. Vienna-born Moeslinger, who exhibits experimental interactive projects at art spaces around the world, once was a research fellow at Interval, a computer R&D outfit founded by Microsoft whiz Paul Allen, while Udagawa, who hails from Tokyo, formerly designed musical instruments for Yamaha and laptops for, yes, Apple Computing.




bUnit (Bloomberg LP, 2004). Credit-card-sized biometric security device made of aluminum and chrome-plated parts.



Dual-screen terminal and keyboard (Bloomberg LP, 2003). Custom keyboard and monitor with dual screens that are able to be moved horizontally and vertically. Designed specifically to optimize use of Bloomberg financial services software.



Close-up of custom keyboard for Bloomberg LP.



Side view of Bloomberg LP terminal.



R142 subway car (MTA/NYC Transit 1997). Designed for New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, the wheelchair-accessible cars feature electronic strip maps that illuminate all stops on the journey, LED message displays, and a new PA system that gives automated instructions. The interiors pair dark shiny floors with light walls and ceiling to create the perception of a much larger space. 1500 R142 cars are currently in use throughout the system.



Interior of R142 subway car.



IP Telephony (Microsoft, 2007). Family of standalone IP-telephony products with peripheral speakerphone/handset and touch screen.



Help Point Intercom (MTA/NYC Transit, 2005). Customer information and emergency intercom system equipped with a video camera; designed to double as an ambient light fixture.