Project The "He or She" Keyholder is perhaps the most direct exploration of gender symbols and identity within the Roby’story collection. Designed for Raro Design, this wall-mounted accessory addresses the "who" of the story. It is a functional home organiser that uses the collection's signature visual language to distinguish between, or interchange, gender identities.

Challenge The design brief required a solution for organizing keys that was both practical and symbolically potent. The challenge was to represent "He" and "She" using the simplest possible geometric forms, avoiding clichés while creating an instantly recognisable ideogram. Furthermore, the object needed to be modular, allowing the gender identity of the "character" (Roby) to change based on the user's needs.

Design I created a two-part system consisting of a main support and a removable cylinder key holder. The ingenuity lies in the assembly: when the cylinder is attached to the main body, the complete form reads as one gender symbol; when detached, the remaining silhouette reads as the other. This mechanical interaction allows Roby's gender to "change" dynamically, depending on whether the key is home (attached) or away (detached).

Results & Impact This Keyholder is a clever, minimalist triumph of semiotics. It effectively turns the presence or absence of a set of keys into a statement about identity. By stripping the gender symbols down to their mechanical essence, the design offers a witty, functional take on the "He or She" dynamic, perfectly rounding out the collection’s study of how simple visual messages can define our domestic lives.