Melvin The Traveling Mini Machine

Why take the path of most resistance, when there’s an easy way to go? This is almost a universal agreement. In the case of technologies, they can provide us with a simple solution for more complex problems. Efficient is the way to go. However, a Rube Goldberg machine like Melvin the Traveling Mini Machine by Eindhoven-based design studio HeyHeyHey turns this exact logic around and shows that inefficiency has its endearing qualities.

With Melvin the Machine, the people of HeyHeyHey resurrect the art of performing a simple task in an inefficient way — in this case writing a postcard out of a pair of suitcases. The most random stuff sets a chain reaction in motion and add up to the the initial act. The suitcase machine is the little brother of Melvin the Mixed Media that the studio has shown previously.