turning tech into art – Phandroid

Being a tech nerd comes with some pros and some cons. The pro is that you can get your hands on some of the best tech in the world. As someone who likes to be on the bleeding edge of technology, it means that I’ll end up having some of the most important pieces of technology in the world.

My love affair with technology started early in my life. Photos lurking in my family attic are of Baby Spec lugging around Game Boys of all variations, as well as the newest handsets. I was never someone who was interested in clothes or makeup. I was a tech nerd through and through. When I wasn’t playing games or scouring through PC magazines, I was regularly bricking Nokias and finding ways to push the technology to its limits.

It would come as no surprise then, that the older I got the more tech I was accumulating. I was much better than my dad at getting rid of old technology that had served its purpose (and making a small profit from it). As I got my first home, I was still lugging around a substantial amount of technology and old phones. I was determined, much to my ex’s dismay, to hang things on our walls as display items.

And so the Tech Wall 1.0 was born! And as you can see, it leaves something to be desired. I had initially had many heavier items attached with heavy-duty 3M tape or some sort of hook and loop system. But as you can see from the gaps, some of the heavier items, like the original Game Boy and Game Gear, did not survive the wall. The strips were failing due to the weight of the items, and since I didn’t want to break anything, I had to wonder if there was a better way to display all of my beloved items.

This is where Xreart comes in. Thankfully, for those of us who love our tech and want to show it off in all of its glory, there are better ways to do that than just taping on the back of your devices and hoping for the best.

What is Xreart?

Xreart Company is a photographic studio that specializes in “back then” product photography. It was founded in 2019 and ever since then, they have a history of producing top-notch electronic item images and videos for clients. By 2022, their crew consists of a bunch of young folks that are passionate about photography, knowledgeable about electronics, and convinced that technology can revolutionize the world.

I got the Game Boy Color Yellow to look at for Phandroid and to say that I’m impressed is an understatement.

It came in a solid black box with silver lettering and an embossed Xreart logo. The rigid cardboard contains the well-packaged square shadow box. It is surrounded by foam strips, that support the item without compromising its security or its presentation upon opening the box. Once you get the shadow box out of its packaging, you’ll notice little things that speak to its attention to detail, like the protective film on the glass that would protect it from scratches or breaks in the glass that may happen in transport. It’s got a solid black frame that highlights the components inside it, and it immediately catches your eye.

The shells of the Game Boy Colours are well preserved and immediately draw your eye to them as soon as you see them. It’s not just the shell of the back but the front itself as well as its battery back panel. Its components, from its display down to the membrane for the buttons and d-pad, are disassembled and labelled. It can be hard to imagine, sometimes, just what goes into our technology in order to make it tick.

With the way that the console and its components are laid out, you get a greater sense of what exactly goes into each device. Yet, it’s laid out and labelled in a way that would make even novice tech nerds appreciate and know what each component does and how it makes each device unique and special.

For me, one of the things that I appreciate the most is the attention to detail within the layout itself. There is a play with colour here that is so subtle but very effective. For example, there is a contrast in the motherboards going from the deep green with the flecks of gold and silver from the soldering to the light green, almost teal colour of the rest of the board, which is for the membranes for the buttons and screen.

You’ll notice that the teal colour is also shown off in the membranes shown off to the sides, while the buttons themselves are solid black. This allows the colours to complement each other and bring out the other colours that are playing off in the components. For those who appreciate the colour, colour theory and how colours can complement and show things off, you’ll know that Xreart knows what they are doing when it comes to showing off the very best of what these components have to offer.

You may be wondering if there are options available for those who may already be dismantling their tech already, and to that, the answer is yes! Xreart has a range of templates for layouts and components to buy so that if you do find yourself with the right tools for taking your beloved gadgets apart, you can use their templates to help lay things out and label them appropriately. Their iPhone 4 layout is free on their website at the moment, and it gives you an idea of what to expect when you are taking things apart. They have other layouts available for a nominal fee (less than €10 in most cases), so you can explore more options than just phone layouts.

You can check out all of these options and more over at xreart.com and if you do pick one up, tell us what you got! We’d love to know!