When Technology Occupies the Everyday: Design Beyond Function

Toad Bakery in Paris’s 3rd arrondissement exemplifies the intersection of technology and design. Led by Studio NOCC, the bakery features a digital wall displaying the baking process in real time, from dough preparation to the final loaf. “We wanted to demystify what goes on behind the counter,” said Studio NOCC co-founder Julie Richer. This LED panel blurs the boundary between front-of-house and back-of-house operations, allowing customers to select bread options and trigger animations tied to specific recipes.

Richer’s design avoids the sterile feel of automated kiosks. By integrating digital elements into a warm, wood-panelled interior, the bakery maintains a tactile connection. Since opening in June 2023, it has become a neighbourhood landmark, demonstrating how thoughtful design enhances the experience of buying a baguette.

While Toad Bakery reimagines transparency, the Mur Mur speaker rethinks sound as a spatial phenomenon. Designed by Jean Coutu Studio in Lyon, Mur Mur is both a sculpture and audio equipment. Resembling a wall-mounted ceramic disc, it adjusts audio dynamics based on ambient noise, creating a ‘tonal dialogue’ with its environment.

Mur Mur embraces irregularity. Each piece features a unique glazed ceramic surface, resulting from handcrafting with local artisan Marianne Leclerc. “We wanted the speaker to be as individual as the rooms it occupies,” said Jean Coutu during the 2023 Paris Design Week, where Mur Mur debuted. Retailing at €2,500 (approximately $2,645), the speaker positions itself as a design object rather than consumer electronics.

Both projects challenge traditional views of functionality in design. Critics might argue that transparency in a bakery or sculptural irregularity in a speaker distract from their primary purposes. However, technology, once limited to gadgets, now inhabits walls, furniture, and food production processes. These examples illustrate that functionality can coexist with aesthetic and experiential concerns.

The integration of technology into design raises accessibility questions. While Toad Bakery and Mur Mur are innovative, they exist in exclusive domains: boutique shops and high-end interiors. “Design that combines technology and craft tends to sit at an intersection of luxury and experimentation,” noted Dr. Emilie Dubois, a design historian at the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille. Such projects often rely on small production runs and bespoke craftsmanship, driving up costs.

There are signs this trend might trickle down. Open-source platforms for digital fabrication, like Arduino and FabLab networks, enable smaller studios to experiment without exorbitant budgets. Whether mass adoption will dilute the design language remains uncertain.

The challenge is to embed technology meaningfully within design. Toad Bakery and Mur Mur interrogate their contexts. What does a bakery need from a digital interface? How can a speaker respond to a room sculpturally? By addressing these questions, designers can create spaces and objects that resonate with users.

As technology evolves, its integration into everyday design will deepen. How these interactions will be shaped—by artisans, technologists, or users—remains uncertain. The interplay of craft and code, of the tactile and the digital, is set to redefine the mundane. Whether this redefinition enriches or alienates everyday experiences is an open question.