Next time you decide to walk in the rain be prepared to shake a leg too. If the concept of a rain ‘drumbrella’ by the South Korean designer Ding Min Park turns into reality, walking through the rain may not be boring any more. Gone will be the days of pitter-patter rain drops for there will be drum sounds playing over our heads – now whether it is music or noise is the listener’s choice to decide.
The ‘drumbrella’ concept consists of an umbrella the shade of which is made up of five wax cloths of varying elasticity. Each wax cloth produces sounds of different tones and frequencies when hit by water drops. It has snare, tom-tom, bass, crash-cym and hi-hat cym. The size and speed of the drops also decide upon the sound being produced.
When you first look at this product you might take it to be a toy, thanks to the vibrant colors and unusual design. How often have you come across an umbrella that is made of five different sized circles and each circle in a different color? Moreover, unlike the usual umbrella, the ‘drumbrella’ shade is not a symmetrical circle. It is a collection of circles brought together at one joining point with each circle maintaining its own curvature. While its sight is bound to be an eye catcher its music will be an ear catcher.
Like any other budding concept the ‘drumbrella’ to has its issues – is the umbrella collapsible, will the cloth get wet and soak water, won’t it be making too much noise thereby causing noise pollution, etc. Well, the design and technical aspects can be handled by the maker but issues like noise are completely upon the user to decide.
Scopes of designing are limitless. An innovative mind, by applying simple techniques, can give simple day-to-day objects a completely new face. You might be compelled to think, ‘why did I not think of this’. The ‘drumbrella’ is one such innovation. We have all grown up singing rhymes of pitter patter rain drops. Did we ever imagine what sound would be produced if these drops fell on drums? Even if we did think about it did we ever think of creating such an object? Ding Min Park took the efforts to extract an idea from his mind and bring it out into to the real world. All that remains to be seen is when his concept takes concrete shape and we get to see the ‘drumbrella’ in shops and on rainy streets.
Isn’t this an impressive way for enjoying the rains. You can also check out other umbrellas like Cool Umbrella Designs and Umbrella Changing Colors.
Via: Geekologie
