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Hikawa iPhone Cases Are Uncomfortably Comfortable Sculptures for the Hand

03.02.23 | By
Hikawa iPhone Cases Are Uncomfortably Comfortable Sculptures for the Hand

“Currently, we design 3D ergonomic iPhone cases and custom toilet seats” may read like some random word salad spit out by the AI-operated ChatGPT, yet it is the genuinely strange descriptor greeting visitors at Bailey Hikawa’s site dedicated to the disparate category of objects. As weird as that may all seem, the designs themselves are even more surreal…

Woman in yellow turtleneck sweater holding up matte green blobby shaped iPhone case in opaque polyurethane.

The self-taught industrial designer takes a sculptural approach to iPhone case design unlike any others out there. Far out there. How else could one describe the Ishi iPhone Case in Lil’ Shrimp as anything but a sizable gummy bear that seems to have indulged in enjoying a shrimp cocktail (or spaghetti) before melting into a slightly amorphous blob reminiscent of colorful indoor rock climbing wall grips? We’d imagine Matthew Barney would be rather envious of these designs.

iPhone case in transparent 100% clear polyurethane with shrimps inside.

Young woman with short hair and glasses lying down on her side staring at her iPhone in a semi-transparent blue phone case with large vented grip.

Large chunky vented design iPhone cases in yellow rubber staged next to marigold flowers in glass vase and buddha's hand citrus and spiky kiwano melon.

Or how about the Geta Phone Case in Marigold, a large vented back design that operates as a very secure grip, phone stand, possibly the most protective case we’ve ever seen… and a pressure point massage tool?

“Wave” in Japanese, the Nami phone case’s soft waved edges allow for fingers to slide into each groove for a secure grip while also making it easy to prop up.

My personal favorite is the Nami Phone Case in Onyx, a wavy gripped case made to order and amusingly Hikawa’s “slimmest phone case yet!” Not quite subtle, but compared to this eye-catching design, practically under-the-radar.

Designer Bailey Hikawa hugging a humanscale iPhone case in purple.

Bailey Hikawa

We’ll leave the toilet seat selection to your own imagination.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.