'X-Ray' phone by Tokujin Yoshioka

(Image credit: press)

Product designer Tokujin Yoshioka turns the mobile phone 'inside out' with his new X-Ray design for Japanese brand KDDI, making a surprisingly slick featuring out of circuit boards and internal mechanisms.

Made from a combination of polycarbonate and glass fibre, the skinny flip-phone sports an LED strip that lights up to show who's calling, the time and the message. It's the latest in a series of explorations into the concept of transparency by the designer, ranging from a giant crystal window in Seoul to an 'Invisible' chair for Kartel. 'I am attracted to objects that reveal their nature through the transmission of light,' he explains.

The X-Ray's smart graphics were handled by Groovisions - under the guidance of Yoshioka - and include three types of world clock, while the clear sounds come courtesy of

http://www.anore.co.jp/kujun/index.html" target="_blank" >Kujun. Other impressive specs include a high-speed CPU, which dramatically boosts processing speed, an 8 megapixel camera, and a 1-Seg TV tuner.

The X-Ray is also equipped with a transparent stand. Just like Yoshioka's Invisible chair did for the sitter, the stand makes the mobile phone appear to float in the air.

X-ray phone is made of combination of polycarbonate and glass fibre, the skinny flip-phone sports an LED strip — Made from a combination of polycarbonate and glass fibre, the skinny flip-phone sports an LED strip that lights up to show who's calling, the time and the message

X ray phone display — Electronic components, like PC board and integrated circuits, visibly emerge through the phone's skin

&#65279;The X Ray's graphics were handled by Groovisions — The X-Ray's graphics were handled by Groovisions - under the guidance of Yoshioka - and include three types of world clock

The phone is also equipped with a transparent stand, which makes it appear to float in the air

Malaika Byng is an editor, writer and consultant covering everything from architecture, design and ecology to art and craft. She was online editor for Wallpaper* magazine for three years and more recently editor of Crafts magazine, until she decided to go freelance in 2022. Based in London, she now writes for the Financial Times, Metropolis, Kinfolk and The Plant, among others.