MEDIA SKIN

2007

ANNOUNCEMENT DATE	2007.03.20 （PASTEL BLUE 05.14）
RELEASE DATE	2007.03.23
Brand	au Design project
Type	Production Model
Designer	Tokujin Yoshioka
Producer	Satoshi Sunahara
Manufacturer	KYOCERA
Size ( W x H x D ) / Weight	50 × 110 × 13.1（maximum thickness 13.7) mm / 104g
Materials	Plastic, tempered glass display, electronic components

COLOR VARIATIONS

ORANGE / WHITE / BLACK / PASTEL BLUE（3000台限定 / Limited Edition of 3,000）

AWARDS

MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

ABOUT

「第二の皮膚」の量産

「第二の皮膚」というコンセプトを裏切らない「触感」をいかに量産レベルで実現するか。従来から心地よい触感をもたらすソフトフィール塗料が存在していましたが、ウレタン粒子から作られるこの塗料は、経年劣化してベタベタしてしまう加水分解が課題でした。しかし、幸運なことにMEDIA SKIN の開発と時を同じくして、塗料メーカーから耐加水分解性を持った新しいソフトフィール塗料の提案が舞い込んできたのでした。これで「第二の皮膚」の実現性が見え、最終的にMEDIA SKIN のブラックはソフトフィール塗料とシボ加工を組み合わせ、他の色はシリコン粒子を配合した塗料を用いて、コンセプトに相応しい触感を実現しました。MEDIA SKINは世界初の有機EL ディスプレイを搭載し、ワンセグ・おサイフケータイ搭載機として当時最薄を記録するなど技術面でも注目を浴びました。MEDIA SKINが発表された2007 年1 月は、ニューヨーク近代美術館（MoMA）の永久収蔵品にINFOBAR、talby、neon、MEDIA SKINが選定され、初代iPhoneが米国で発表された時代の転換点でした。

Mass-Producing the “Second Skin”

How could we reproduce, at a mass-production level, a tactile quality that remained true to the concept of a “second skin”?

Soft-touch coatings that provided a pleasant tactile feel already existed. However, these coatings, made with urethane particles, were prone to hydrolysis over time, causing their surfaces to become sticky. Fortunately, just as MEDIA SKINwas being developed, a paint manufacturer approached us with a new soft-touch coating that was resistant to hydrolysis.

This breakthrough made the “second skin” concept technically feasible. For the black version of MEDIA SKIN, we ultimately combined a soft-touch coating with a finely textured surface finish, while the other colors used coatings containing silicone particles. Together, these treatments created a tactile experience worthy of the concept.

MEDIA SKIN also attracted attention for its technological innovations. It featured the world’s first OLED display in a mobile phone and, at the time, was the thinnest handset to incorporate both One-Seg mobile TV and Osaifu-Keitaimobile payment functionality.

January 2007, when MEDIA SKIN was unveiled, marked a turning point in the history of the mobile phone. INFOBAR, talby, neon, and MEDIA SKIN were selected for the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, while the original iPhone was unveiled in the United States that same month.