We love the slim, sleek design of portable electronics these days, like the iPhone. One of the only reasons phones and MP3 players haven’t shrunk beyond human visibility is basically because, well, the buttons need to go somewhere.
As mobile devices get teenier and tinier, manufactures have been trying to fit buttons and controls onto the diminishing surface area. But with a brand new technology created by researchers at Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft called Skinput, this may never be a problem again.
Skinput is a bio-acoustic sensing device that uses your own skin (your arms and fingers) as a space for buttons and controls. The user wears an armband with a small projector that displays menu options on the arm. When the users touches a button, an acoustic sensor analyzes distinct sounds made on the surface of skin related to specific bone density, joints and tissue. That information is delivered through a Bluetooth device back to the device to determine what button has been pressed.
So if you thought people looked funny walking down the street talking into invisible earpieces, imagine people on the subway tapping their own fingers to change a song on their iPod.
Watch the video to see Skinput in action:
Category: Innovation
Skinput Turns You Into Your Own Keypad
Experimental Luxury
The next best thing to traveling to exotic places, bumming around the beach and hanging out with fabulous people, is reading about those that do. Gypset Style, written by Julia Chaplin for Assouline, is “about an emerging group of artists, musicians, fashion designers, surfers, and bon vivants– who lead semi-nomadic, unconventional lives.” Hence, gypsy + jet set=Gypset.
The true Gypsetter leads a life of experimentation, forever on the lookout for the most deserted beach cove, the chicest beach party, or the sexiest caftan. The Utopian life of the true Gypset is aspirational, to say the least. And it makes for a seriously hot beach read—whether you’re in Formentera or Fire Island.
Home-Grown Media In The Most Obvious Of Places
Forget the digital space for second. Take a look outside. The next new thing has been following you around your whole life. Shadows are just waiting to come out and surprise, provoke, compel. By using shadows creatively, we can engage people in a way they wouldn’t expect. Imagine the possibilities.
A statue casts a shadow with painted running shoes on its feet. A parking meter casts a shadow of a palm tree for a beer brand. A car casts a shadow of a woman driving with her friends.
The possibilities are endless, limited only by your own imagination. Next time you need to be lulled out of your everyday, just remember, the idea might literally be lurking around the corner.
Tastemakers, Meet Pacemaker
We love DJ’s. Their dedication to a party and it’s atmosphere is nearly the same as a Ninja’s commitment to staying quiet and calm in sticky situations. In this day of space technology and ipods, carrying a record stash from gig to gig just doesn’t make sense. It is true that there are other options. The problem is CD’s and ipods tend to interrupt the flow of tunes that keep our feet moving all night long.
Tonium to the rescue!
Thanks to the wonderful people at Tonium in Stockholm, professional quality DJ’ing is now accessible to all. It was not designed to replace vinyl, but to simply complement it. That being said, the amazing Pacemaker has made it possible to carry a full on DJ set up that fits in the palm of your hand. The device itself possesses the ability to magically transfer DJ powers to anyone who wishes to have them. Within days of obtaining a Pacemaker you will be able to walk into a club, and throw down a face melting set. The only feature Pacemaker seems to lack is a built in record contract. Viva la Pacemaker!
All Space Is Good Space
The idea of making ugly space look pretty and interesting has been around since the late 80’s when they invented the plastic “yard rock” to cover ugly pipes and drains so your neighbors and maybe even enemies would not know you were hiding a bomb shelter, wishing well, or food stockpile. This idea has recently been re-discovered by the advertising industry. Now everyday eyesores can be used as a channel for branding!
The Brand of Barack Obama
After a historic week it is hard to deny the power of the Barack Obama Brand. Through simplicity and consistency, scores of Americans passed messages of “Hope” and “Change” along to their friends and family. For almost 2 years-President Elect Obama’s constant, simple, and clear message was spread virally into the lives of Americans. The campaign formatted and recorded events so they could be used as content on YouTube. The use of technology including email, text messages, and social network seeding gave us daily updates which generated almost an insider connection to the daily operations. This idea was not mind-blowing or new but the level to which these methods were utilized has never been done before. Obama’s campaign showed by example that if these tools were activated all at once, for an extended amount of time, it is possible to create a large social network who in the end elected him President. The only thing that seemed to be missing were personal profiles of workers, donors, volunteers, and supporters on Obama’s website. What they will do with that massive database now has yet to be seen.
Given the the sheer scale of genius and depth which could be detailed here, a single blog post will never cover it. Here are a few of our favorite elements from the past election cycle.
Ads in video games?
A Great Logo.
An easy to remember and powerful Message…Less is more
The Final Product
Amazing Couch
Chanel Mobile Art
New York can always make room for more exciting architecture. The latest wonder belongs to Zaha Hadid. For the next couple weeks the Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion will be at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. The pavilion was conceived of as a mobile gallery to house artwork inspired by Chanel’s quilted chain-strap 2.55 handbag. A true classic.
Inside, Karl Lagerfeld’s hand picked artists from around the globe introduce guests to conceptions such as a guitar and couch designed around the elements found in the 2.55. These pieces give the classic handbag fresh legs in the ever evolving worlds of art, music, design and fashion-showing that through the years the popular accessory has not lost an ounce of its everlasting brand identity.