This project is the result of a year long research project lead by Clara Gaggero of Vitamins Design in collaboration with the Helen Hamlyn Center RCA and RIM, the designers and makers of the BlackBerry.The project looked at ways to mimic real-life interruptions, making smartphone alerts richer, more personal and less binary.
Concepts are built around a new type of digital protocol supported by two designs. The first, SmartCall, uses software and services to enrich voice calls with a deeper level of information. It communicates the reason for the call, the urgency and the time frame for response rather than just using a ringtone or vibration to notify. This information is attached as a short message to the call that will appear on the phone screen.
The second idea, SkinDisplay, makes the interaction with the phone more discrete and subtle, by allowing the receiver to read the SmartCall information without having to look at the phone.The receiver will read the information, magically, just by touching the device. A raised message will appear on the back of the phone, containing the caller’s identity, importance and reason for the call. This short message will be transferred through pressure: the receiver will just need to press the phone between their fingers and the message will be imprinted on their hand.The receiver will then be able to read the message on their skin and also erase it, easily, by rubbing their fingers together. Taken together, these ideas suggest ways of communicating digitally that are more closely based on face-to-face communication etiquette and on the complexities of human behaviour.
Thailand is the land of magnificent flowers, where people cultivate the value of decoration as a rediscovered function of the product. Flora is inspired by the Siamese delicacy and aim to bring in you green a touch of Thai colours and shapes.Flora is a kit of 6 flowers made of paper and balsa wood with the bottom end of the stems covered in seeds and nutritive ingredients to support their germination. The stems end in spikes to easily plant them into the ground and design your customised flower-bed.
Marbles and metal mesh trivet.This trivet, beside being a piece of jewellery for the table, is small to store and really practical. You can hang it on a hook, or roll it up in a drawer. It can be used with small or big pans and pots, even with two at the same time. The air cushion in between the glass pearls is a perfect insulator, to keep the food warm for longer.
Extract from Lighting Magazine article, Off Circuits:”The collaboration between an Italian designer and a Swiss theoretical physicist gave birth to CONTATTO, a lighting system inspired by symbiosis.The innovative project was born in the thrilling city of Berlin, where both designers live. The system is composed of an independent light core that lights up by magnetic contact with sheets of burnished metal of various dimensions.The stand at Salone Satellite 2005 (see video below)has usability as a main principle: all the lamps can be touched, removed, repositioned, and rotated without limits. To discover them is a surprise and to position them is a pleasure. Four versions of this innovative electric conduction principle are presented: three wall lamps, one of which specifically conceived for the bedroom, and one table lamp. The geometric plates allow various positions for the light core, and the inclination of the light spot permits to easily direct the light beam.The light source has 1.5W power consumption and 12V voltage, which are essential characteristics for an ecologically-aware design. Its low power consumption keeps the light core cool such that it can be handled easily and safely.” project in collaboration with Pietro Berkesnominated by Design Report Award 2005exhibited in Salone Satellite Milan/Italy
