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Tim Brown: The powerful link between creativity and play

Posted byElijah B'Sheart
At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play -- with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn't).
 
 

HP innovation goes for fashion Must Have

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester

Vivienne Tam unveiled a hot new fashion accessory at her fashion show during Bryant Park’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week - a red hot HP laptop with her signature peony design.

 

The HP Vivienne Tam edition laptops made their debut down the runway looking like the latest designer clutch bags. This is an innovative move by a computer company to seek out a top designer to makeover their high tech products into high fashion must-haves. Tam also redesigned the accessories and packaging including a complimentary embroidered storage sleeve.

 

Her peony design was inspired by Tam’s ‘China Chic’ style, a blend of East and West. The peony is the national flower of China and symbolises beauty, prosperity, good fortune and happiness.

 

Tam said of her collaborative project,“The notebook is a true reflection of the needs of a modern woman who cares about fashion but is also passionate about her technology. I wanted to create a notebook that would appeal to women of all ages, ethnicities and income levels across the globe.”

 

HP has also launched Vivienne Tam’s virtual fashion catwalk where you can fun with fashionable outfits. - TrendHunter

 

High Tech Fashion Runways - Vivienne Tam’s  HP LapTop Makeover (GALLERY)

 

High Tech Fashion Runways - Vivienne Tam’s  HP LapTop Makeover (GALLERY)

 

 

 

 
 

Smart Post-it Notes

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester

Smart Stick-On Notes - Electronic Version Of The Popular Post-It-Type Reminders

(TREND HUNTER) Stick-on notes are about to become digital and re-usable! One of the problems with the popular Post-It brand notes can sometimes be that they are just too darn popular. It is so easy to write yourself a note and stick it up somewhere, that you can easily create a Post-It jungle in no time at all.… [More]

 
 

Surface Computing

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester

Microsoft's surface computer - a paradigm shift in computing and personal interaction?  The surface computer utilizes a series of infrared cameras to “see” what’s on the tabletop surface so it can recognize what’s on the surface and interact with it. 

 

For instance, without wires or synching, you can immediately transfer a digital picture to the tabletop or to a cell phone.  Or order a beer.  The intent is commercial application first such as casino's, but could your your workplace wall become the next usable interface display?

 

Cool stuff - even if it has been around for about a year now.

 
 

Vertical Eco Farm - Las Vegas Goes Green

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester
 
 
Vertical Eco Farm - Las Vegas 30 Storey Garden
 
The world's first vertical eco farm will be in Las Vegas, a $200 million project expected to open in 2010. 

 

According to TrendHunter, the developers expect it will serve as another tourist destination, and that it will grow enough crops to feed 72,000 people for a year. It will grow around 100 different kinds of crops including fruits and vegetables, with ideal growing conditions created in individual tower sectors.

 

“The World currently uses about 80% of the available farm land and 60% of the earth’s population lives near or in an urban environment so the logical choice for farming is to go up for land where the environment can be controlled and where distribution is local,” NextEnergy News explained.

 

“Las Vegas is seen as the perfect location for this project by Nevada State officials who would like to demonstrate their sustainability and environmental awareness instead of projecting an image of waste and excess.”

 

$200 million may sound like a lot, but the builders anticipate it will bring in just as much cash as a new casino at a projected annual revenue of $40 million and only $6 million in operating expenses.

 
 

Charge Your Cell Phone by Dancing

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester

(Reuters) LONDON - What do you do if you're stuck in a field at a pop festival but there's trouble ahead because your cell phone's battery is about to run out?

Thanks to a new gizmo, you now just need to face the music and dance.

Mobile phone operator Orange said on Tuesday it had teamed up with GotWind, a company specializing in renewable energy, to produce a recharger powered by dance energy alone.

The portable kinetic energy chargers will be given a test run at this year's Glastonbury Festival, the world's biggest greenfield music and arts celebration that begins on a farm in Somerset, southwest England on Friday.

Orange said the prototype chargers weigh the same as a phone and are about the size of a pack of cards.

Attached to the user's arm, they employ a system of weights and magnets, which provide an electric current to top up charge in a storage battery. This can then later be used to recharge the phone.

"We wanted to create a fun, engaging and interactive product which would encourage users to have a laugh while charging their mobile phone and at the same time test out a new energy-efficient prototype," said Hattie Magee, Head of Partnerships at Orange UK.

 
 

Billboard Made of Lettuce - McDonald's "Fresh Salads" Ad

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester
A different and very cool approach to outdoor advertising makes big impact.  McDonald's wanted to promote their health-conscious menu items, so agency Leo Burnett created a billboard a few months ago that had green lettuce planted in it to form the words "Fresh Salads".  The video shows the sign coming alive from seeds to full-bloom over a few weeks.
 
 
Billboards Made of Lettuce - McDonald’s Growing Fresh Salads Ad (VIDEO)
 
 

South African Prefab Provides High-Quality, Affordable Housing

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester
African Prefab Houses - The Abod (GALLERY)
 
(TrendHunter) - Known as the Abod, BSB Design has developed a low-cost, high-quality, prefab house for South Africans. The entire home is shipped in one box and can be easily assembled in one day by four people, using only a supplied screwdriver and an awl. The home’s shape is the Catenary Arch, a curve frequently found in nature, that makes the 10’ x 12’ footprint seem larger. Approx. $1,500.
 
African Prefab Houses - The Abod (GALLERY)
 
African Prefab Houses - The Abod (GALLERY)
 
 

RFID Social Networks

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester
RFID Social Networks - Jive
 
TrendHunter - Jive is brilliant concept device to allow the elderly and technophobes without computers to still participate in a social network. Their needs are no different from the rest of us; the need to communicate, socialise and generally have fun is universal. Jive delivers through radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in order to store and retrieve data. There is a “tangible user interface - place something on the screen and the screen will co-respond to what you just did.”
 

Jive is a “one-plug router” so all the necessary setup information is already inside it. The user just plugs it into the phone jack and turns on the power. The user places a friend pass in the device and any updates, news and messages will be displayed. The user is able to see aggregated information such as grandchildren who are on Facebook or who have uploaded pictures on a photo site. Messages can be sent with a pull-out keyboard. If Jive were used for targeting advertising, then the internet connection would be subsidised which is an important consideration given the target market.

 

Jive has been patented by British born Ben Arent, the inventor who amazingly came up this device as part of his Product Design Degree. The project goal was to create “the best communication device for the late majority” and keep them socially active in today’s high tech world.

 
 

Philips Demonstrates "3D TV" Without Glasses

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester
AP - EINDHOVEN, Netherlands — Even before we get used to high-definition TV, researchers are planning to place "3D" TV in our homes — but without the funny glasses.
 
Philips Electronics NV gave a peek into its research pipeline Tuesday, demonstrating a prototype that was still fuzzy around the edges. Operating like a holographic greeting card, it combines slightly different angles of the same image to create video that appears to have different depths as your eyes scan it.
 
The result is uneven, at some moments blurry, and at others merely two dimensional. But sometimes the apparent depth or protrusion can be startling.
 
"We say the market progression is black and white, to color, to high definition, to 3D," said Bjorn Teuwsen, demonstrating the product. "We estimate in a few years these will be in homes."
 
Specialized models have been sold to corporations — mostly movie theaters and casinos — where they are usually used for advertising signs, since 2006. But Philips said the product is not yet ready for consumer rollout.  Samsung is demonstrating its own no-glasses 3D television concept model this week in Las Vegas.
 
Philips' 3D television is one of several products shown to reporters Tuesday, ranging from space-age lighting for shop windows to energy efficient water purifiers intended for the developing world.
 
The company has sold more than 2 million televisions with "ambient" backlighting to heighten mood effects. The company's vice president for research, Fred Boekhorst, said Tuesday that Philips plans similar features that would involve "other senses."  Such as smell-o-vision? A TV that reaches out and punches you in the nose? Boekhorst wouldn't say, other than that it would "involve emotions."  "What next step could you take in the area of relaxation and emotion?" he said, in answer to questions.
 
 
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About YSA
Developed by the creatives of EWI Worldwide to inform, inspire and engage.  YSA promotes innovation and creativity within the world of Live Communications, by sharing fresh ideas and creative applications from a variety of perspectives.
 
"Creative in our industry is no longer about architecture and design, but understanding the most effective means of communicating a client's story and meeting their business objectives.  We built YSA to provide a source of inspiration in our industry, where creative and storytelling come together to achieve a higher meaning and a greater result."
                      -- Bud Price, CCO, EWI Worldwide 
 
For more on "Live Communications", visit www.ewiworldwide.com.

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