Pentagram and Map have set out to prove that computer hardware doesn't have to be "cold, dark boxes", by designing colourful products for machine-learning technology startup Graphcore.
The two design agencies have collaborated on the industrial design of Graphcore's artificial-intelligence chip system, which helps speed up the process and resource-intensive deployment of AI.
This includes an intelligent processing unit (IPU) – the company's own version of a central processing unit – and the rackmount chassis that contains it.
Pentagram and Map have collaborated on the industrial design of Graphcore's artificial-intelligence chip systemLondon-based Pentagram partners Luke Powell and Jody Hudson-Powell had already developed a visual identity for the brand, which includes a pixelated typeface and a bespoke software tool called Quadtree that is used to generate unique geometric patterns. They enlisted London studio Map to help transform this into a physical design, able to represent individuality and "the potential for change".
Their aim was to create an alternative to "anonymous" computer systems, which typically "live in cold, dark boxes in even colder, darkened rooms".
Graphcore's intelligent processing unit (IPU) is made of a system of modular tiles that can be assembled in various waysPentagram's design consisted of a series of colourful...