Doors of perceptions 2: At home: the intro movie.

“Chris Pacione […] cofounder of BodyMedia took a communication design course at an engineering school — Carnegie Mellon University — and fully expected to become a product designer. ‘But as soon as we started BodyMedia,’ says Pacione, ‘it became clear that our object was only one part of a bigger picture. We had to become service designers — and after that, business model designers — in order to survive.’ *

BodyMedia’s product is a hybrid of hard and soft features. What you see on Pacione’s arm is a wearable computer, with wireless capabilities. The company develops and sells wearable body monitors and software that collect, store, analyse, and display continuous and accurate physiological and lifestyle data, such as energy expenditure (calories burned), level of activity, sleep states, and other important physiological data — anytime, anywhere. A website shows wearers charts that their body’s performance to average or ideal charts, thus enabling them to see at a glance if they are getting enough exercise, sleeping too much or consuming too many calories. As well as object design — the industrial design of the object on your arm, its shape, weight, materials, engineering and so on — Pacione and his colleague had to design the appearance and organization of information on the website. They also had to design the ways people would buy the product and pay for it; they have had to adjust the company’s business model continuously. At first, they thought consumers might obtain the product free of charge and pay for a ‘wellness monitoring service,’ in much the same way as we sometimes get a satellite dish, or television set-top box, free and pay for programs through a monthly subscription. But the marketing costs of that business model were too high, so Bodymedia switched to selling the product to sportsmen, and -women as a high-tech training aid. This did not work — the unit price was too high — so now BodyMedia sells its hybrid product- service to insurance companies and health care providers in a business to business model. Says Pacione, ‘we never stop designing the object, the way it’s used, the way the information is presented, and the way people pay for it.’ * BodyMedia’s story is pragmatic of the way traditional ‘thing’ design is evolving.”

John Thackara, In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005). This book has been recommended to me by my dear friend Cati! According to her, Bill… (Mitchell) says it is a must read :)

* Chris Pacione, “BodyMedia Case Study” (keynote address at Doors of Perception 6: Lightness, Amsterdam, November 11-13, 2000)

mobile fest 2008: international festival of mobile art and creativity happens in São Paulo Brazil!

“How can mobile technology contributes to democracy, culture, art, ecology, peace, education, health and third-sector?”

“Mobilefest is an event that aims to question and discuss the advent of the new mobile technologies in their relationships with the various segments of society, being the first International Festival of the kind.

The main objective is to provide a multifaceted and heterogenic environment of discussions, actions and creations that seek intelligent and innovative solutions, through the virtualities of the new mobile technologies, to solve or even discuss the issues that trouble contemporary societies.

The effort of the event in regards to the new communication technologies is based on the perception of its potential growth - there are more than 3 billion active mobiles nowadays. The increase of its use is not only for communication between people, but also for activities of education, social inclusion, varied artistic productions, entertainment, security, content production and distribution, socialization networks, activism actions, health, commerce, advertising, etc.”

Via networked_performance

In the same vay as sparespace, the work of Phillippe Malouin, Grace table and Hanger chairs:

The crate project by Jack Brandsma. An office in a box that can be moved in the instant:

Mobile unit for RestRuimte [sparespace]

“SpareSpace transforms empty shop- and office buildings into mobile offices. SpareSpace offers beginning entrepreneurs in creative industries affordable and representative offices in an inspiring environment. As soon as the empty space is put up to let or for sale, the entrepreneurs will move to a new building.

Using specially designed crate furniture by designer Jack Brandsma, SpareSpace gives substance to the term Mobile Office. Work spaces can be folded and transported in no time, as can the bar, the meeting table and the foldable wall (in progress).

SpareSpace expects the temporary reshaping/redecoration of the buildings to give a new impulse to creative industry. Additionally, SpareSpace expects a positive outcome for real estate owners since unused space is given a representative goal.”

Via Marketing Alternatif.

“Address is a handmade electronic jewelry piece. When you first acquire the pendant, you select a place that you consider to be your anchor – where you were born, your home, or perhaps the place you long to be. Once the jewelry is initialized, every time you wear the piece it displays how many kilometers you are from that location. Prototype done, working towards production.” missmoun

View project: Address necklace by Mouna Andraos & Sonali Sridhar

Listen to the music on Myspace; Get it on iTunes or through tamasheq.net. Ishumar features 10 Touareg [guitar] music groups!

Excerpt from the booklet. 

No need to pollute the environment with disposable plastic or cardboard tableware; no need either to carry fragile and heavy tableware… eat it!

Picture via Dezeen: “Japanese designer Nobuhiko Arikawa of Rice-Design has created edible tableware for Orto Cafe in Japan.”

Reminds me of the bread with a handle.

“L’ESPACE est le charactère numéro 32 du code ASCII. On s’habitue assez facilement à l’idée qu’un espace est un charactère comme un autre: après tout, il correspond, comme les autres, à une instruction ayant des effets reconnaissables sur le papier ou à l’écran.”

Dan Sperber > Les Immatériaux, Épreuves d’écriture, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1985 in Annick Bureaud et Nathalie Magna eds., Connexions : art réseaux medias (Paris : Ecole nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, 2002); p.11