Let’s move beyond the steampunk stylings of the Bioshock games of the past and bring a new neo-punk style to the game fit for the year 2024-25. This Geiger counter designed by Max Kibosh takes a potentially apocalyptic instrument and gives it a new-world cool aesthetic that could just as easily pass off as a tech product from the mind of Nothing or Teenage Engineering.
Dubbed the GC-01, it simplifies an otherwise complicated-looking piece of machinery, with a minimalist aesthetic that trickles all the way down from the exterior to the interface and even the user experience. Is it weird that I now want a Geiger counter??
Designer: Max Kibosh
The GC-01 is simple because why not? Geiger counters have one singular function – detecting and measuring radiation levels. To that end, Kibosh designed a handheld device that looks good on your person, and feels good in your hand. The simplified control panel makes measuring easy, and a monochrome display gives you a clear reading without any fluff.
The counter is conceptual, so any details/controls are purely speculative – however, the idea of bringing minimalist styling to something as unique as a specialist device for measuring radioactivity feels, well, inspired. You’ve got a Bluetooth button on the side (I honestly don’t know why), and a yellow switch that allows the user to switch between different operating ranges to get an effective reading. It’s perhaps the only detail on the GC-01 that has any color, hinting at its significance – sort of like the International Orange color used for the Action button on the Apple Watch Ultra.
Being modern shouldn’t come at a cost of being useful, and I guess Kibosh realised that slapping a touchscreen on a Geiger counter made no sense – especially given that you’re probably in a hazmat suit if you’re using a Geiger counter. The buttons on the GC-01 are large, tactile, and have indents in them that make them easy to intuitively control with minimal error. A loop on the bottom left corner makes tying a lanyard easy so your counter is always at arms length, and here’s the best part, the GC-01 even comes outfitted with a built-in flashlight on the top, allowing you to see where you’re walking as you take readings – pretty useful in a post-apocalyptic abandoned building when the electricity grid’s collapsed. I won’t lie, that makes for a pretty compelling video game – Hey 2K Games, I call dibs.
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