Button pins with graphic prints haven’t exactly been in high demand since the 80s. Sure, they’re still around, but you won’t see people wearing them just for the heck of it. Pins Collective, however, thinks it could change that with their Digital Pin that displays any GIF of your choosing.
That’s right, your favorite animated image can now live out its existence on a button pin attached to your vest, jacket, or backpack, allowing you to accessorize your everyday outfits in entirely new ways. And by new ways, we mean your favorite GIFs of goofy cats, out-of-context movie scenes, and whatever other animated foolishness you spend your day laughing at online.
The Pins Collective Digital Pin comes with a 1.34-inch round display out front, showing whichever GIF you chose to display there over and over. It comes with backlighting to ensure it stays visible even in the dark, with a slightly reflective top glass that makes the image look sharper in direct sunlight. An accompanying app (iOS and Android) lets you create or upload any GIF, with an existing library so you can have something playing on the button as soon as you get it. Features include a battery rated at 2.5 hours of playback for animated images and 74 hours for stills, a capacitive touch button on the side for pairing with devices, and, of course, a small needle in the back for pinning to your bags and clothes.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the Pins Collective Digital Pin. Pledges to reserve a unit starts at $59.