Ding : A Beautifully Simple Smart Doorbell

I get hundreds of emails every day, and I mean hundreds. Most of them are pretty interesting but only a few will catch my attention enough to be considered to feature here on the blog. And then, just occasionally, there will be an email that gets me really excited and I know straight away that I have to share it with you guys because I know that you will appreciate it just as much. That was certainly case when I first heard about Ding.

Founded by John Nussey and Avril O’Neil of multidisciplinary design studio ONN Studio, Ding is a smart doorbell that allows you to talk to whoever is at your door from anywhere in the world. So far so good, right? I mean that is a pretty useful feature. I can think of plenty of scenarios where this would come in really handy. For example, you’re changing your baby’s dirty nappy when the doorbell goes, you can’t leave your baby to answer the door and you can’t take it with you either. By the time you’ve got the tot in a fresh nappy and reached the front door, whoever was calling by to see you has gone. Annoying! Or what about, you’re expecting a delivery and you’ve been waiting in for it for most of the day. You decide to quickly hop in the shower or go to the loo and it’s obviously at that precise moment that the delivery guy decides to arrive. You’re left with one of those little sorry we missed you cards so you can rearrange delivery. Really annoying! Or maybe you’re expecting a delivery but you work full time so you can’t be in to receive it. If only you had some way to tell the delivery guy to leave it in the porch or with a neighbour. Enter Ding!

Ding consists of a subtle doorbell button and an elegant chime and it is connected to your smart phone via a free app. When someone rings your doorbell, you will hear the chime at home, like a regular doorbell, but you will also get a notification on your phone allowing you to answer a voice call and speak to the person at the door, no matter where you are at the time. No more missed deliveries. Hurrah!

There is also a really great feature for parents that allows you to turn the chime off and instead receive quieter calls so that it doesn’t wake sleeping children. I could have done with that feature plenty of times, I tell you!

Doorbells haven’t evolved to suit our changing lifestyles. There are either ‘dumb doorbells’ that come with your house or are bought in a rush from a hardware store. Or ‘smart doorbells’ that are driven by technology, offering you more features than you could ever use. We have designed the Ding Smart Doorbell to be simple, beautiful and smart, improving the user experience and ensuring its design works elegantly with modern homes.

John Nussey, co-founder and CEO of Ding

Now as if those features weren’t enough, I have to say that I absolutely love the design of this doorbell. Who knew a doorbell could be so stylish? I mean, I’ve never been able to use those two words in the same sentence before, have you? Doorbells are normally boring, unattractive and uninspiring. But Ding looks beautifully contemporary and definitely has a Scandinavian design influence. This is one doorbell that I would absolutely choose for my own home. And actually, even if I was at home doing nothing and the doorbell rang, I’d probably answer it via my phone just to impress everyone who came round. If friends were coming to visit I’d be able to tell them to let themselves in without even having to move off the sofa…how lazy of me! But it would definitely be a talking point.

The chime is finished with high quality fabric and can be wall-mounted or conveniently placed on any flat surface. And what is so great about it is that it doesn’t look like a doorbell chime at all. It could easily be mistaken for an expensive wireless speaker or an internet router…no hang on, I’ve never seen a router that looks this good. Maybe John and Avril can design one of them as well? I’d buy that too, wouldn’t you?

Both the chime and the button also come in various colours so you can choose one that best compliments the style of your home. It’s no wonder that Ding is endorsed by John Lewis and The Design Council.

So how exactly do we get our hands on this beautiful bell? Well at the moment John and Avril are seeking funding through a worldwide Kickstarter campaign, which they hope will raise the $50,000 that they need in order to take the project into production. So the Ding Smart Doorbell is now available for preorder on Kickstarter with special pricing beginning at $119. There are plans for a premium version to be announced during the campaign, which will run through to 10th November, 2016. The estimated retail price will eventually be $159 so you might want to get in there early to bag a bargain and be one of the first people to own this super stylish smart doorbell. If you do decide to preorder, you can expect to get your hands on your very own Ding in August 2017. What are you waiting for? Join me in getting this beauty funded!