Apart from a couple of notable exceptions, it’s fair to say that TV design has become a uniform affair in recent years, with a brand badge and choice of stand legs the only differenting factors within the chrome bezel, black plastic archetype we’ve become accustomed to.
A wild new proof-of-concept unveiled this week by Seoul-based Jei Design Works in conjunction with LG, however, aims to cast aside old ideas on what a TV should look like.
Called the LG Display Showcase TV, the design does away with traditional bezels, instead hanging the thin OLED panel in a skeletal rose metal enclosure.
LG features highly in our current Best OLED TVs list, with the LG C2 and LG G2 both notching up glittering five-star reviews, but the design aesthetic within both of those models looks decidedly standard when lined up against this major reimagining of the TV form.
First showcased in the online magazine Yanko Design, the goal of the team behind the concept was to have a television that could look like a work of art, and one that would work in a home or office environment, as well as being beautiful enough to display in a gallery or entertainment space.
The suspended frame design means the TV can be placed on a console table as well as being able to be hung with hooks as a centrepiece on a wall, while its see-through construction should allow it to blend in with any décor, despite its striking appearance.
Analysis: Could the LG concept OLED signal the end of cookie-cutter TVs?
While the concept nature of the LG Display Showcase TV means it’s unlikely to ever be available to consumers (at least, not the average consumer), its already done its job in provoking plenty of debate online around the topic of TV aesthetics.
As displays have shrunk ever-thinner (while at the same time growing taller and wider), there’s been less of an opportunity for TV designers to make a statement with their frames. But could we now be entering an era where the venerable TV set no longer slips into the background?
The likes of Samsung and Loewe have both tried something radical with select models recently, and this effort from Jei Design Works shows that you can still have a slender panel while building out from display to create something of a statement piece.
As spec sheets become more standardised and panel manufacturers become more homogenous, it wouldn’t surprise us if more out-there frame designs start appearing as brands look to differentiate their new TV lines.
