Suan

This redesign of the Abacus serves to simplify the use of the traditional analogue calculator. The abacus, a traditional calculation tool in China, has been on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2013. Today, the electronic calculator has displaced the abacus in most places, but in the respect of training fingers’ flexibility and boosting brainpower, the abacus is of great importance which cannot be ignored

However, the usage of the abacus is somehow too complicated to be understood worldwide. To make it more interactive and understandable, a more universal way of numbering is applied to this design — use the ternary numeral system to divide the main parts of the abacus. The embedded magnets on sides can help joining the parts together as well as separate, which is totally user controlled. This new design keeps the traditional material and operation while combining the universality of numbering.