June 15 2010
June 15 2010
Smart phones (iPhone, Android) have allowed us to think more laterally about how we connect the physical world with the digital world. As we know the iPhone is a lot more than just a phone or even an information display. It is a environmental sensor in our hand: Location aware (GPS ), motion aware (accelerometer), directionally aware (digital compass) visually aware (camera for QR codes and AR) and sonically aware (microphone and speakers). Not to mention connected 24/7(wireless or 3Gs).
There is enormous potential to make our lives healthier, easier, safer and more environmentally friendly by creating a ‘smart web’ of products and services that link our physical and digital worlds. Many companies, organizations and designers have realized the huge value of this and begun to experiment with embedding sensors in their products and developing interfaces that can be used for self assessment and or compared/shared with others.
Nike+
Nike has built the largest
online running club based on its Nike+ technology. Effectively a smart shoe that monitors and communicates individual runners stats, goals, progress, routes and music choices to a community of competitive worldwide runners. Runners place a sensor directly into their shoe under their sole that connects to their iPhone, iPod, iTouch or Nike+ watch. Running activates the sensor and immediately records your progress while updating you and your community on your progress against desired targets. The Nike+ is a good example of a platform that links a smart device, community and digital resource together with products to add genuine value to runners’ lives.
Zipcar
Zipcar has created a whole ecosystem of smart objects to create a seamless car-sharing experience. The Zipcar app enables users to identify available car by type and model, reserve them, locate them through maps or make cars honk in a crowded car park. Before the car will unlock its doors, sensors in the car linked to Zipcar’s database verify that the user and car match. Refueling is done with a credit card that resides inside the car. This series of interconnected devices and back end technology make the process of connecting customers with their cars both simple for the user and secure for Zipcar.
Xbox Kinect (formerly Project Natal)
Out in November Kinect will remove the traditional game controller completely, leaving only the gamer’s actual body movements to guide the experience. The proprietary system has the potential to connect a whole array of household objects acting as an information hub for the home.
The Copenhagen wheel
Launched at the Copenhagen 15 conference the Copenhagen wheel is a bicycle wheel that has buried within it a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS), sensors, a smart lock, and a Bluetooth connection to the rider’s iPhone. The KERS system allows you to capture the energy dissipated while cycling and breaking and save it for when you need a boost. The sensors capture your effort level and environment, including road conditions, traffic congestion, carbon monoxide, noise, ambient temperature and relative humidity. All controlled through a smart phone, users can access this data and use it to plan healthier bike routes to achieve exercise goals or share data with friends.
Energy Aware Clock
The energy aware clock is the most recent of a bunch of in-home smart devices that have been developed to provide residential customers with visual displays showing their energy usage and the relative costs of using it. Developed by Sweden’s Interactive Institute, the device resembles an ordinary kitchen clock with a simple graphic display. But when, for example the dishwasher is switched on it shows immediately on the display of the unit. Graphs of previous consumption fade away slowly, making it possible to compare your energy use for several periods. By increasing awareness of cost usage users could increase energy efficiency and reduce costs. This can also apply to Commercial customers to shift energy-intensive processes and production away from high-priced periods.
As we progress customers will demand the seamless and customized experience enabled by ‘smart objects’ and their network. Brands will need to think innovatively about how to deliver experiences and interactions across many more touchpoints. All brands will need to be dynamic, flexible and iconic through physical shape, display, movement and sound. Those that do will create revenue streams and position themselves for future success.
April 30 2010
The ChiChu art museum design by Tadao Ando
In 1992 the Benesse Corp., a Japanese publishing and educational company that owns Berlitz, chose Naoshima Island in southern Japan as the setting for its growing collection of contemporary art. Inspired by the island’s stunning natural beauty and thinking beyond the typical museum they set out to create an environment that would be a ‘symbiosis of nature, art and architecture’.
Today, the entire island is dedicated to displaying contemporary art. There is artwork scattered about the coast and surrounding forest, two museums designed by maverick architect Tado Ando, one of which is part hotel and a spectacular series of installations inside some of the local village houses referred to as the Art House Project.
Clockwise from left: Yayoi Kusama pumpkin, Hiroshi Sugimoto ‘Time exposed’
Most of the artwork has been created specifically for the Naoshima environment by a host of renowned international artists. Wherever you look among the forests or along the seashore are permanent, unique, site-specific works of art. Yayoi Kusama 6 foot tall black- and yellow-dotted pumpkin greets you at the pier. Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Time Exposed photographs of the inland sea hang along the coastal cliffs, Walter De Maria’s imposing marble balls look out over the coast.
Clockwise from left: James Turell’s Open sky, Chichu museum angled architecture, Benesse Museum Oval
Although both museums created by Ando are architectural masterpieces that fit seamlessly into the landscape. It is the ChiChu Art Museum that is his tour de force of architectural expression (see top picture). Chichu is Japenese for underground as the building is below grade featuring several open spaces puncturing the hillside, which act as the only light source. The Museum was conceived in collaboration with artists James Turrell and Walter De Maria. The work of Claude Monet is also featured here but Monet (sorry Claude) is completely overshadowed by Turrell and De Maria’s fascinating pieces that play tricks on the mind. This is art that makes you sense and feel each of the pieces is an immersive experience to be treasured.
The Art House Project, although more understated than Ando’s architecture is perhaps more interesting. Half a dozen traditional village houses have been restored and turned over to contemporary artists to use as the setting for some impressive permanent installations. Many of these houses are over two hundred years old. Traditional craftsman and contemporary artists have worked together to create the final pieces.
The contrast between the traditional and the contemporary is abrupt yet refreshing.
Art house Project Exterior and interiors From top: Kadoya by Tatasuo Miyajima, Minamidera by James Turrell, Go’o Shrine by Sugimoto
Minamidera Backside of the Moon by James Turrell in collaboration with Ando involves the viewer sitting in pitch-black room where you can’t see anything or anybody until your eyes adjust and the pieces are revealed. Kadoya by Tatsuo Miyajima is one of the most stunning and fresh Art house projects. In this house a pool of water has been inserted with about 40 digital counters flickering as they count down. It is abstract, mesmerizing and thought provoking. Another piece makes uses of liquid crystal that punches opaque shapes out of stenciled numbers in the window.
Although other outdoor art parks exist around the world–Gaudi and Guell in Barcelona, Storm King and Dia Beacon in upstate New York, this is an altogether more extensive visual experience. It’s an experience designed to really create fresh thinking and inspire. Artists from all over the world compete to create work for this environment. Next year a third museum designed by Ando will open, and other islands in the Inland sea are beginning to get involved in creating an art area.
March 26 2010
Now that law has been passed to extend healthcare to nearly every US citizen it is easy to think that the job is done. However, Insurers, entrepreneurs, NGO’s, healthcare professionals and particularly the patients have their part to play in lowering costs and creating a better healthcare experience for all Americans.
Hello Health is one such idea. An online database of board approved doctors and health specialists that sidestep the exhausting rules and regulations created by insurance companies. “Your Hello Health-empowered physician will give you great care without long waits and red tape. Need an appointment asap? Wondering if you need to see your doctor at an in-person appointment or if a video visit will do? Hello Health is all about you.” The founder Dr J Parkinson has also set-up a design cosultancy The future Well which promises to use creative design to improve health
A number of Apps have also been created that empower people to take control over their own health. From monitoring and charting their eating habits and sleeping patterns to even helping the blind.
March 24 2010
Grand openings is a small store front on the lower east side that holds differently themed interactive events. In the past six months it has hosted a ping pong tournament, a drive in movie theatre and a wedding chapel. Its latest venture is a series of interactive dinner parties hosted by hilarious comedy duo Vicky and Lycendar. The store has been converted into the hipster couples dining room with a single antique 12-person wooden table, bookshelves, and personal effects.
The mustachioed Lysander and his “girlfriend” Vicky will greet you as your age-old friends who are just having you over for dinner, and proceed to do whatever you want—spur stimulating dinner conversation or create an evening of frivolity that may include Pictionary, a “Purple Rain” dance party or some amateur fortune-telling. The improv from the hosting couple is top class and guaranteed to be a lot of fun.
There are 12 reservations available per night. Most have sold-out but they have just added some other nights. Make a reservation here.
March 23 2010
“Saturday Comes Slowly” is fifth in a series of seven films commissioned by Massive Attack to accompany their latest album ‘Heligoland’. The video explores the effects of sound on the human body. The song (sung by Damon Albarn) includes stunning visuals alongside the first-person testimony of a Guantanamo prisoner, subjected to sound torture and scientific talk about the implications of this kind of interrogation.
The short film was made by renowned photographers Adam Broomberg of Colors magazine, Guardian newspaper and Oliver Chanarin. It’s a poignant, powerful, timely and emotive piece of work.
Massive Attack have always visually pushed their music from album covers to their live acts. The film is hosted on twitter feed site Tweatre, which allows users to view comments and feel the audience.
As album covers fade into art history, it’s great to see musicians take on the challenge and exploiting other visual mediums and new technologies. I can’t really think of any bands embracing this apart from the Gorillaz and Radiohead. More of this please.
March 12 2010
For those of you who read his book, Let my people go surfing: The education of a reluctant businessman you will know that Yvon Chouinard is a unique person in every way– rock climber, environmentalist, writer and successful outdoor industry businessman. His company Patagonia has demonstrated again and again that environmentalism can mix with sound business practices whilst still making a profit.
180º south is a low budget film that follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey made by Chouinard and his friend Doug Tompkins founder of North Face and Esprit to Patagonia in Latin America. The film is a homage to Chouinard’s vision inspired by Patagonia’s breathtaking beauty that is now itself besieged by environmental threats.
180º South will be available from Netflix on March 30.
March 9 2010
As we wait with baited breath for the iPad’s release on April 3, it’s easy for us to think that the shake up in the publishing industry is only being led by e-book readers. However, there are a multitude of other new ideas, mechanisms and projects all driven by new technology that are challenging the traditional rules and business models of publishing and print. These new technologies are liberating people to become their own publishers, printers and distributors. Here are some of them:
The Espresso book machine
This machine (seen above) created by On Demand Books can print and bind a paperback book in about three minutes. It is also about the size of a small wardrobe, which enables it to be housed in a host of bookstores and libraries around the world, adding a little bit of theater to your book browsing. Amazon is said to utilize print on demand machines in their distribution (though they won’t reveal to what extent), and Google has partnered with On Demand Books to allow over 400,000 titles to be printed when needed in stores.
Lulu, CreateSpace and Blurb
A host of self-publishing websites with easy to use software, quick delivery and cost effective solutions enable not just novelists but photographers, designers and artists to print their book of choice with high quality standards. Users have different sizes, paper stocks and cover solutions to choose from. The software can also integrate with existing publishing programs like Adobe Indesign. The sites also allow users to publish and sell their books on the sites.
Magcloud and The newspaper club
Perhaps more niche. These two sites enable users to publish their own magazines and newspapers. Magcloud is a project from HP labs that enables people to create their own magazines and distribute them via its website to a wide audience. It costs about $.20 a page and has had success in producing and selling several thousand magazines since it launch a year ago.
The Newspaper Club is a tool to help people make their own newspapers using online content. It allows users to tag online content, collect and curate the stuff they want and turn it into a really good-looking printed product. Funded by 4IP, the investment arm of Britain’s Channel 4, the site is currently a beta version, but it will launch officially in summer 2010. They have already produced some newspapers for the BBC and Wired. Long live newsprint!
February 22 2010
Last week Spanish culinary wizard, Ferran Adrià announced he will be closing his world famous restaurant El Bulli, due to the massive monetary loss it was incurring and instead be opening a culinary institute for ‘kicking around ideas and experimenting.’ ElBulli is considered to be the worlds greatest restaurant. Chefs from around the world jump at the chance to work under the great Ferran. Diners need to book a year in advance and the waiting list for reservations has been at 3000 for one of twelve tables.
What makes ElBulli so special is its desire to immerse the diner in a total experience. The kitchen is a laboratory for innovation where chefs work at creating and developing dishes that provoke, surprise and delight the diner– a “cappuccino” of guacamole, liquid ravioli: caviar made from Olive oil that is pure liquid; pine cone mousse; ravioli of cuttlefish wrapped around coconut milk; and Parmesan snow. Nothing is what it seems. Even utensils and tableware are specifically designed and produced for each dish.
Clockwise from top: Mojito sticks, a liquid olive, Edible flower carpaccio, Coral
chocolate with raspberry powder
The restaurant will close for good in December 2011. With Ferran already referred to as the Dean, the ElBulli academy or school seems the perfect progression for an ElBulli brand that espouses creativity and experimenting at its heart. One can imagine a kind of Bauhaus for cuisine, hopefully with the odd meal still served every now again.
February 9 2010
The internet has spawned many online brands that harness the power of crowds– Ebay, Etsy, Threadless. But few have been really successful in allowing users to connect their ideas with capital and talent, and vice versa. Now with the advent of an open-minded public, new technologies and social media, new brands touting virtual marketplaces, innovation malls and online forums have really begun to take off and create sustainable business models. These new brands are built as communication vehicles in themselves and act as their own marketing. From funding creative endeavors to answering scientific problems these are some of the brands of the future.
Quirky : The social product developer
Purpose: Quirky aims to get anyone’s product ideas developed and taken to market. Users post their ideas to the marketplace where they are discussed, refined by other members and then (hopefully) fast-tracked through to development. The plan is to launch a new product every couple of days with profits split between the website and the originator (although Quirky takes a 70% cut and keeps the product license).
Impact: Some of the products are already available to buy from the company’s website, like a toothbrush holder that keeps your brush upright and clean. After they reach a certain level of sales they’re green-lighted for store distribution.
Kickstarter : Fund-finder for creative endeavors
Purpose: An online funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers to bring their projects to life. Users submit project ideas with their desired funding amount. Once a project idea is posted open $$$ pledging begins. Projects must be fully-pledged before actual money changes hands. Project creators make their own incentives for funders to pledge including pricing and quantities. Projects to be posted are currently “by invitation only”.
Impact: Check out the kickstarter blog for the best of Kickstarter in 2009
The Idealists: The creative matchmaker
Purpose: A site that brings together clients briefs and creative ideas. Creatives can upload ideas and clients can upload briefs to a bulletin board with each able to respond to those that interest them. Members are vetted by the Idealist team–they need a strong portfolio with relevant experience to be accepted. Built-in Non disclosure forms allow for monitoring of what ideas are seen by whom.
Impact: The site already boasts some 400 quality members encompassing a broad spectrum of creative disciplines and has already garnered briefs from The Guggenheim Museum, Diesel Jeans, Incase and the Kanye West Foundation.
Innocentive: Scientific innovation mall
Purpose: ‘Seeker’ organizations (Proctor & Gamble, Eli Lilly, and the Rockefeller Foundation to name but a few) post ‘Challenges’ on the InnoCentive website in the Open Innovation Marketplace along with an appropriate award. ‘Solvers’ from the science community submit solutions to these ‘Challenges’.
Impact: Innocentive has built a global network of over 160,000 problem solvers that respond to companies, academic institutions, public sector, and non-profit organizations scientific problems. Innocentive has a seven year track record, paying out more than $3.5 million in awards to over 300 winning ‘Solvers’.
January 29 2010
Book series are big business. In the last ten years we have seen a number of titles take the world by storm– Harry Potter, Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code and most recently Twilight. All have their film versions and are branded franchises in their own right.
A Brilliant series of books known as the Millenium trilogy is just about to publish it’s last volume in the US. It has sold more than 12m copies around the world and is a masterpiece of the crime/thriller genre.
The books are set in Sweden and centered around a girl Lisbeth Salander, a tattooed bisexual waif with astonishing computer skills and an extroverted investigative journalist. They make for an unlikely couple to spawn an international publishing phenomenon but the trilogy’s success demonstrates that unique, complex characters, a fast-paced narrative and a stunning array of challenging plots are the ingredients to building a succesful book brand. What is more amazing is the sinister conspiracy stories played out in the books mirror the author Stieg Larsson’s own pioneering investigative journalism of exposing far-right and neo-Nazi movements. He was repeatedly threatened and in fact died of a heart attack before the first book was published spawning many new conspiracy theories.
For anyone looking for a thrilling read these books are a masterpiece of the crime/thriller genre. There has already been a Swedish film made and a US remake is already in the works.
