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.Category Archives: multifunctionality
Design for Behaviour Change
Exercise more. Turn off the lights. These are among many messages we receive about how we should change our behaviour for the better. Now a German designer, Matthias Laschke and a team of students are proposing designs that help us make the changes, reports co-exist.
“if you choose the car key, the bike key drops to the ground, forcing you to pick it up and reconsider your decision.”
He calls them “pleasurable troublemakers” and they include:
- an elevator that takes you to the floor below where you’re going so you can walk up the last flight of stairs
- key hooks that will drop the key to your bike lock on the floor when you choose your car key
- a light turns off slowly unless you keep touching it to indicate you still need the light
On the project’s website, http://www.pleasurabletroublemakers.com, each object comes with a short paper that details the concept. Handy for researcher types!
distributing cloud computing to generate heat where it’s needed
A new German company called Cloud&Heat has reimagined cloud computing to double as a heating service for residences, TechRepublic reports. The company places a secure server cabinet in the residence and conducts necessary maintenance (once or twice a year) at agreed times. The Coud&Heat secure server cabinet Not only does the unwanted heat find a… Continue Reading
sustainable clothing
A few interesting groups have come across the desk lately… Seamly is a U.S. company that specializes in using offcuts to design single garments that can be worn in as many as 30 different ways. Redress is a Hong Kong advocacy group working to reduce waste and consumption in the fashion production industry. The group… Continue Reading
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