Our sense of touch grounds us in the world around us, offering constant feedback from our environment. Recent studies show that cultivating this environmental awareness can increase brain plasticity, strengthening neural connections. In an increasingly untactile world, the Skymill – designed by engineer Gustav Rosén in collaboration with Swedish design brand Klong – brings the dynamic energy of the outdoors inside. Translating meteorological data into an experience that’s intuitive, engaging, and beautiful, the Skymill uses moving metal arms and warm light to convey forecasts, location, and temperature, gently reminding us of the unseen forces that shape our daily lives.
Utilizing nine different symbols that can create 35 combinations throughout the day, Rosén feels the more we can revitalize our relationship with the outdoors, the better. ”As our everyday lives become increasingly digital, I felt a longing for something more tangible. People have long built complicated mechanical objects, both for function and for pure entertainment – everything from barometers to cuckoo clocks and music machines. With Skymill, I wanted to create something that respects the way we used to look at the sky. It doesn’t reduce the weather to numbers on a screen, but lets you reconnect with it,” says the designer. Indeed, designers in the past have led with the how, but forgotten the why, behind their designs. Now, an object has to deserve to exist, necessitating the energy, time, and raw materials used on a project. Skymill falls neatly into this category, bringing us all closer to a sense of unity with ourselves and with nature. ”Our vision is to develop objects where function, material, and form merge into something valuable – objects that last, that people appreciate and never tire of. Our brand is based on care, from production to delivery – care for both people and nature. We only work with designers who dare to create their own expression without following trends,” says Klong’s CEO Georg Hedendahl.
Weather symbols affixed to the arms, representing the sun, moon, clouds, rain, wind, thunder, snow, drizzle, and fog in any combination, shift and reposition to mirror real-time conditions in the sky, creating a constantly evolving sculptural display that’s as functional as it is beautiful.
Skymill delivers a thoughtful suite of smart features that blend seamlessly into its sculptural form. A physical button allows users to check the forecast at a glance, with options to view the current conditions or look ahead by 3, 6, 9, or 24 hours. Once activated, a subtle light at the top glows, transforming Skymill into a warm and ambient mood light.
Through a companion mobile app, users can select any location to monitor while a sleek diode display embedded in the outer casing shows precise indoor and outdoor temperatures. Skymill also quietly monitors indoor air quality, measuring CO₂, dust, and other pollutants. If the air becomes unhealthy, a small bird emerges from a cage – a charming and clever tribute to the canaries once used in coal mines as early warning systems. Crafted from premium metals and powered via USB-C, every detail of Skymill is designed with durability, beauty, and a deeper connection to our environment in mind.
Gustav Rosén is a Swedish designer and engineer, graduating from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. In 2014, he established his own design studio, taking on projects from software development, electronics, and concept generation, to prototyping, construction, and manufacturing processes. A sense of fun radiates throughout his work, unafraid of a splash of color or an icon of a freed bird, to shake us out of our everyday.
Klong was founded by Eva Hjertberg, beauty and responsibility at the core of her work. Through countless iterations, they have created production processes new to the industry, employing systems design thinking to their advantage. Only accepting the highest standards, Hjertberg has celebrated difference and diversity in her work at Klong, where aesthetics and altruism combine.
To preorder the Skymill by Gustav Rosén for Klong, head to their Kickstarter page here.
Photography courtesy of Klong.