A credit card sized phone designed to be used as little as possible

“We realised that the last thing the world needed was another app and we wanted to build products that helped people live in the moment,” says artist and designer Joe Hollier explaining the inspiration behind a new, unconventional mobile phone. “That’s when we started building the Light Phone. We think there needs to be a balance to our connectedness.”

Developed with industry veteran, Kaiwei Tang, after a stint at the Google 30 Weeks programme, Hollier’s The Light Phone, currently seeking funding on Kickstarter is designed to be used as little as possible. The phone’s capabilities are pretty limited, extending only to making and receiving calls, and telling the time. Design wise, it’s the size of a credit card and is made with a simple blank plastic. Of course, this all ties in with the phone’s concept; it does hardly anything as it’s meant to be used as little as possible.

But with simplicity comes some practical benefits; the phone has 20 days of battery life (still not quite as long as the E-ink prototype's month long battery), and its design is timeless—you won’t need to replace it every year.

At the end of the day, The Light Phone was created as a way to give back more than just time, but also give us back a train of thought, and focus.  As Hollier says, “I think what really made me want to make this phone is that I think we need a balance. Living in the moment makes us happier.”