Good product design has always been measured by its ability to solve a functional problem, but does using this as a starting point limit design potential and perhaps stifle creativity?

Berlin design student Weng Xinyu has gone against the design grain and created a series of products that don’t necessarily satisfy any needs, instead he’s attempted to create products that are “not so useful but have good intentioned messages inside.”

The Good Medicine Tastes Bitter series is a speculative design concept inspired by the words of Confucius. Angry Lamp keeps an eye on how people use energy, turning off  if the room is too bright or if another lamp is already on, it also turns off if the user forgets about it. Tangible Memory is a photo frame that, if left alone for a long time, will blur the photo as if the memory itself is being forgotten. Shadow Play is a lamp that turns its light and shadow into a fascinating shadow puppet theatre and Time Killer is a tragic clock that attempts to saw itself in half when no one is about.

What these products lack in functionality, they make up for in personality - even if they are a bit needy. When a product is made for its own sake rather than to provide a solution, the imagination can really come into its own.