This week we’re talking shop with Jon Troutman and James Krause–AKA the guys behind the design of the Indiegogo sensation, Canary! The Canary is a multi-sensored home monitoring device that aims to replace existing home security systems. We’ll talk to Jon and James about the ins and outs of developing a smart home product, why they chose Indiegogo over Kickstarter, what their design process is like, and how does it feel to have raised over a million dollars through crowdfunding?
What is a ‘smart home’ supposed to look like these days? How is the sudden increase of smart products on the market going to shape the future of home living both from aesthetic and convenience standpoints? NYC-based trend research company PSFK set out to create an interactive smart home experience for the urban environment that contains the latest in future-forward home gadgets and designs with their Future of Home Living exhibit in midtown Manhattan. Featuring everything from a household 3D printer to DIY speakers and modular furniture that can change throughout the day to an iPad-controlled micro-farm…are these products going to be commonplace in our homes within the next five years? We stopped by to check out it out.
It seems like we’re in no shortage of inspirational short maker films these days, and The Secret Story of Toys is the latest to catch our attention. Kansas City, Missouri-based filmmaker Anthony Ladesich of Mile Deep Films has documented the often-overlooked craft of toy sculpting and the processes behind making those toys real manufacturable products…much to our enjoyment.
You can have my new XBox One—this is the only toy that I really want this holiday season. Glassified is a modified ruler with a transparent display that supplements physical strokes made on the paper with virtual graphics—consider it an augmented reality of sorts for simple lines on a page. Before I make it sound all complicated, just watch the video.
Remember when regular 2D paper printers were all the rage? Neither do I. However, as much as we’ve taken the paper printer for granted it’s still one area that has been plagued with bad design time and time again: flimsy plastic components, cumbersome ink cartridge replacement experiences, and overall bulky awkwardness all remind me why I’ve gone paper-free. Recently, Samsung took a unique approach to redesigning the 2D printing experience with three new printer prototypes. While they’re most certainly just testing the waters with internet-based feedback at this point in time, are they actually improving the 2D printing experience or just building ‘pretty little boxes’?