At this quarter’s STEP meeting, we presented a working paper on how networks are becoming more intricate and pervasive, and systems more interconnected and embedded.  This includes the interconnection between RFID and smartphone technology. I recently came across an example of how this integration is being applied in new and innovative ways.  DOK, a cutting-edge library center in Delft, the Netherlands, has been finding new ways to use RFID, smart and wireless technology as a way to inspire and connect its patrons through a variety of concepts:

DOK Agora: DOK Agora is a multimedia center featuring several “tell-­stories” stations, a video recording station, and a video wall. By scanning library passes on a screen with a built-in RFID reader, visitors can upload a chosen story, take it to the “tell-stories” tables, and attach their own content-photos, text, audio, and video. A built-in camera takes a visitor’s photo and adds it to his or her story. The stories are then visible on the DOK Agora screens for all to see. The exhibitions are based on themes that are relevant to a large number of people in the Netherlands, i.e. the drastic renovation of the downtown railroad zone.

Delft Heritage Browser: Users can dig into the Delft city archive using membership cards, which contain their age and locations. The system shows visitors images relevant to their lives, displayed as a “pile” on the screen. By touching the screen, visitors can browse images dating from when they were born, or depicting the street where they live. DOK is also working with multiple libraries and museums to create applications to access their collections.

Tank U: Tank U is a stand-alone, public download unit, at which people stop to “tank up” their mobile device via a Bluetooth or wireless connection.  It is being deployed in locations beyond the library proper, such as railway stations or supermarkets, where people can receive sophisticated and surprising content. The fuel in Tank U includes text, audio, and video from a number of sources.

Technology can now fuse many different types of systems into a unified platform, and examples such as this are just the beginning. The marriage of technologies could deliver many benefits to companies as it begins to be implemented in practical ways that provide clear benefits to businesses and consumers.

This is a test for all of you…Which sense is most closely tied to memory?  The answer? Smell.  A smell can bring on a flood of memories, influence people’s moods and even affect their work performance. Because the olfactory bulb is part of the brain’s limbic system, an area so closely associated with memory and feeling, smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously.

Marketers and advertisers are catching onto this.  A number of brands and social initiatives are now experimenting with sensory memory, looking to wield their own indelible stamp on consumers’ subconscious.  Here are some examples:

Meaty Billboards: Salisbury, N.C.-based Bloom grocery stores made history by erecting the first-ever scent-emitting billboard which sprays a charbroiled smell over a highway via a giant fan.  The billboard features a giant fork-stabbed bite, and emits a charcoal- and black pepper-scented oil to passing cars.

Toothsome Greeting Cards: American Greetings is introducing a new Tasties collection. Each card contains a dissolvable flavor strip that corresponds to the occasion it marks. A birthday card emblazoned with an image of a cupcake tastes like vanilla. Other reported flavors include “donut” and “margarita.”

Fresh Air Fund Fragrances: MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Majora Carter, founder and executive director of community organization Sustainable South Bronx, together with French perfumers Bruno Jovanovic and Pascal Gaurin, Carter created L’Eau Verte du Bronx du Sud (“Green Water of the South Bronx”), a scent containing essences of rain, grass and citrus fruit, with which to infuse the common areas inside an entire low-income apartment complex in the South Bronx. Carter believes that the Sister Thomas Apartments, located a little too close for comfort to a sewage treatment plant and a trash transfer station, will benefit tremendously from a real breath of fresh air.

Scenting an entire building is the latest ambition in a growing business that has, for years, gone unnoticed by most consumers.  There are now ~20 companies worldwide specializing in ambient scent-marketing and dispersion technology. Industry executives value the business at roughly between $80 million and $100 million.

According to a recent article in Business Week:

Scent branding is becoming just as prevalent in retail. Researchers believe that ambient scenting allows consumers to make a deeper brand connection, and data has led many other non-scent-related companies to join the fray. Recently, Gaurin helped create a fragrance for Samsung’s stores, which has been cited throughout the industry as a milestone in scent as design. He claims the research showed that not only did customers spend an average of 20 to 30 percent more time mingling among the electronics, but they also identified the scent—and by extension, the brand—with characteristics such as innovation and excellence. Credit Suisse, De Beers, and Sony have all been experimenting with ambient scenting in their retail spaces, too.

And starting this fall, you can even get a master’s degree in scent design at Parsons New School for Design in New York. As part of a “Scent as Design” seminar, organizers enlisted luminaries from various fields to collaborate with fragrance experts.

In previous posts, we talked about the eight distinct growth areas of the emerging Metaspace economy. One of these growth areas is design space (See our past blog post about design space here). We continue to scan interesting sites and blogs for emerging design applications that fit with not only the growing design imperative…but also with important marketplace trends.

Currently, and for the first time in history, more than half the world’s population lives in cities. This is a tremendous milestone with myriad long-term consequences. Urban planning, civil engineering, and architecture are among the disciplines that will be most profoundly impacted by the urbanization explosion. As the world becomes more urban, it inherently becomes more “vertical.” We often talk about the bourgeoning development of vertical farming as a future engine of both economic and environmental sustainability in dense urban centers. However, intriguing new design applications are also emerging that could one day redefine what it means to “live” vertically.

The longstanding norm of linear apartments stacked perfectly on top of one another in linear structures may soon be complemented by an entirely new paradigm. Those who desire urban living, but lament the forfeiture of many of the benefits of suburban/rural living may soon enjoy “stacked houses”. Could these types of designs ever take hold in a major urban metropolis? Surely, they would command a premium — not just for square footage, but also for cost of construction. However, this is a great example of cutting-edge engineering with an eye toward both the current design imperative and the global trend toward “vertical.”

We here at WEB often talk to our clients and conference attendees about the “Evolution of Economies” — a critical understanding of how economies have historically layered on top of each other, while the societies underlying them replace one another. It’s a complex issue to be sure, and one that is way too comprehensive to cover in one blog post. That being said, as we discuss the Evolution of Economies, we talk about how we have entered into (and are continuing to enter into) the emerging “Metaspace” Economy. The Metaspace Economy has sprung upon us at unprecedented speed, as economies are replacing one another at faster rates than ever before. Indeed the pace of change with respect to everything (especially technology) is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

Within the emerging Metaspace Economy, we have identified 8 distinct “growth areas” for business. They are all conceived within the framework of “space.” And one critical growth area that we talk to many of our clients about is “Design Space,” especially as it pertains to the organizational functions of innovation and product development. The purpose of this post is simply to introduce the concept into the vernacular of our blog, and to set the stage for frequent posts about interesting developments, articles and blogs that we see in the area of Design Space.

A great site for keeping tabs on novel applications that not only adhere to, but expand upon, this new design imperative is The Cool Hunter. The site is broken out into a variety of categories, but “design” is a good place to start for anyone looking to find something novel. While perusing the site, we saw an article about these great portable, modular designs for mini hotel rooms or “sleep boxes.” These have have actually already begun to appear in airports and other locations around the world. Kitschy and unnecessary, or innovative and adherent to both the design imperative and an emerging market need? We know that people are facing time pressures and multitasking more than ever before. You decide…but fascinating nonetheless. More to come…