I’m so inspired when good design can break the boundaries that we build around ourselves based on current technology, social norms, and perceptions. These incredible new designs have reminded me to keep looking and working outside our own perceived limits.
1. Live Anywhere Lighting by designer Linda Allen
Linda Allen, who has years under her belt as an established interior designer, just launched her first line of lamps called Live.Anywhere, which are exclusively available at David Sutherland showrooms.
Why the name Live.Anywhere? Linda wanted to create a line of lamps that could be used literally anywhere. When she realized that the technology for what she was trying to create didn’t exist though, she decided to invent it herself.
Linda Allen has re-designed the LED bulb to 7 watts, which emulates the power of a 50-watt bulb. The lamps are wireless, rechargeable and waterproof. They can be used indoors or outdoors, and might revolutionize the way we use outdoor space. They give consumers the ability to put a lamp in the middle of a room without cords to trip over, or on an outdoor deck for reading after sunset. Using this patented technology, you can — as Linda says — live anywhere.
2. KonnectUs – Cloud-based software allows for easy cross-platform sharting
Web design is becoming portable and will need to be able to shape shift for whatever device it is called to. KonnectUs is a brilliant first step in what I hope to see more of in the very near future.
Last year, we expressed a yearning for something we called the Continuous Client that would allow us to pick up on one device where we left off on another, and in less than a year we saw the advent of HP’s“Touch-to-share” technology, but our dreams weren’t fully fulfilled — we longed for a platform that would offer seamless sharing across all of our devices. Well, it’s like we rubbed a bottle and KonnectUs popped out. The cloud-based software is a collaborative effort between Sensus and Open Exhibits that enables you to transfer files and information across platforms — including Windows, iOS, and Android — with a simple swipe of your finger. As it turns out, KonnectUs was built with museums in mind, but the company is offering APIs for integration into third party applications — so maybe the perfect world isn’t that far off after all. ( Engadget, 3.24.2011)
3. Ecovative Design that could replace plastics.
Growing eco-friendly packaging from Fungi
Ecovative’s vision is to grow sustainable products that directly replace plastics. Its products require far less energy to create, can be grown from many different regional feedstocks and can be composted without processing in backyards and gardens.
Ecovative’s technology has the potential to eliminate a significant amount of environmentally harmful foams, including the expanded polystyrene used worldwide in packaging, automobiles, building construction and consumer goods.