Interview with Nico :

What was the inspiration for your concept?
The inspiration was the experimental approach to molecular cooking. Even after several decades of molecular cuisine, it still seems to be an exclusive game for specialists. So it became my main goal to bring some of the fantastic possibilities and ideas of molecular cooking to all ambitious cooks with an easy to use, affordable appliance.

How does your concept fit into this year’s competition theme “Designs for the next 90 years”?
I think the idea of molecular cooking is forward-looking, but the procedures and methods of preparing molecular dishes are still conventional. I would like to change this with my concept. At first, the idea of printing food seems to be something straight out of a science-fiction movie, but on second thought it is not unrealistic at all. I even think that Moléculaire could be the future kitchen tool that opens up possibilities for food-makers interested in molecular cooking.

What are the main consumer benefits of your concept?
Moléculaire is a futuristic kitchen appliance that offers several new possibilities to professional chefs as well as home users. It’s based on a layer-by-layer printing technique that arranges small particles from a set of ingredients. Within minutes, it prints out three-dimensional desserts, complex structures, shapes for molecular dishes, and patterns for decorating a meal. In addition, it’s easy to use. You simply insert a blister pack into the reservoir, place Moléculaire on top of a plate, and press the start button. Users can also create their own recipes with special software and their own ingredients. Ambitious users can download recipes and share them with other users in an online community.

Describe the consumer research behind your concept.
I conducted interviews with chefs and did a lot of research on the Internet. These approaches helped me to understand users’ interests, concerns, wishes, needs and desires. The outcome shaped my initial ideas and helped them grow. The most difficult thing about designing for the future is predicting the possible social and technological developments (their direction and speed). Therefore, it was very useful to read reports like sociological studies about cooking and future scenarios about the development of new technologies.

What kind of materials would you use to build your concept?
For my concept, I would use polycarbonate as the main material. I plan on applying this material in three different variations, each providing the right characteristics for the different parts of my design. Transparent polycarbonate can be used for the window, black tinted for the lid/display, and white for the body. The robotic printer arm and head could be made from aluminum. A blue (O)LED backlight accentuates the processes inside the printer.

Who is your favorite designer?
I don‘t have a favorite designer.

What are your career goals?
After I graduate in 2010, I want to gain more professional experience in a product-design company. In the long term, I want to further develop my conceptual and strategic skills and step into product-related design management.

Designer : Nico Kläber

Martin interview with Electrolux :

What was the inspiration for your concept?
In my opinion, everything I have ever seen, read and heard is my inspiration. Every experience stays somewhere inside you, and if you are lucky, it will come out at the right moment. If I look back, this particular concept was definitely inspired by the book The Naked Sun from Isaac Asimov, the R2-D2 robot from Star Wars, an egg, insects, and whatever else I see every day.

How does your concept fit into this year’s competition theme “Designs for the next 90 years”?
Ninety years is very long time. Nearly four generations will pass through, every one of them with its own dreams, desires and possibilities. One long lasting dream is to reach the stars, but before that, we will have to reach Mars to see whether or not we can live without Earth. This is the time where my concept is relevant. At that time, we won’t think of machines as dumb boxes with buttons, but more as partners that obey our commands, but still have their own minds. They will be more autonomous and think and make decisions on their own. It may sound frightening, but it isn’t scarier than the first arrival of trains to the cities.

What are the main consumer benefits of your concept?
One thing you notice on Mars is the silence and serenity. That’s quite good for one week’s vacation in the countryside, but for modern people it’s very depressing to live in such a place for several months or years. Therefore, the main benefit of Le Petit Prince is that it’s not just a machine, but more like a pet or silent friend that you can speak to when you aren’t in the mood to talk to people. On top of that, it is a good gardener that grows any plant you want or need to bare life or just for its beauty.

Describe the consumer research behind your concept.
Well, I must admit it’s difficult to do any real research behind the concept since it’s designed for Mars. However, some of my friends said it’s cute (I always thought some of them have to be from Mars) and I consider their feedback sufficient.

What kind of materials would you use to build your concept?
Metallurgy, glass production and synthetic plastics have been used for a long time and will probably continue to be used in the next hundred years, so I didn’t feel an urge to use new yet unknown materials. Nanotechnology made giant leaps in the last few years and it will improve properties of material surfaces in the future, so they will be even harder and more resistant than anything we know today. More effective (even transparent) are solar panels, etc., but this evolution will not affect the fundamentals of my concept.

Designer : Martin Miklica

Designer : HJC Design

Text from designer:
Most of what we perceive is through sight and sound. The senses of touch, taste, and smell are secondary. Up until now we have consumed food mainly with our eyes. Visually challenged people have proven that we have the capacity to develop other senses to a greater extent… but do we truly need to lack a sense before we’ll put the others to greater use?

SENSE! is a set of tableware objects that challenges you to use ALL your senses and no longer ‘eat with your eyes’ only. SENSE! is a set of Scent Flowers, Hot Stone Plates, Palate Cleansers and a Hot Ice Tea Ceremony. The designs make you aware of your secondary sensory capabilities. They are surprising, fun to use and magical… turning an ordinary meal into an extraordinary experience.

Hot Ice Tea Ceremony
The table and tea set are both part of a modern tea serving ceremony. Placing the tea carafe on the table will set of the crystallization of the ‘Hot Ice’ that will run through the tabletop into the double walled tea glasses. Do not trust your eyes… the ice is hot!

Hot Stone Plates
The porcelain plates with inlaid warm basalt stones heated in stock or oil allow for slower and therefore healthier dining.

Palate Cleansers
The palate cleansers create a desirable break in the dining scenario. Sit back, relax and enjoy sipping the mint vapour, which cleanses you palate but does not fill your stomach.

Scent Flowers
The scent flowers can release a specific scent to accompany a dish. Do we actually need to swallow all ingredients to have the perception of eating them, or can we eat with our noses?

Designer : Mission Motors

Freedom Phone is a small pre-paid phone for travelers who cannot use their usual mobile phones while being abroad, or it could be a solution for those users who just don’t need all the fancy features a last-generation phone has to offer, that is unique in design and unique in out it works. Upon arriving into the new country, you have the option of purchasing the Freedom Phone with 60, 100 or 200 minutes. There’s no fuss remembering Roaming tariffs, no extra prefixes to remember when being abroad, you have complete Freedom when calling home.

No SIM card needed – no roaming charges and in 10 short minutes, the Freedom Phone is charged. The phone number, important service and other information are located on the back of the Freedom Phone. Best of all, the Freedom Phone is so tiny; there won’t be the frustration of lagging the phone around with you on your trip. The bottom line, Freedom Phone, is a perfect and new solution to your traveling needs.

Not all the manufacturers have realized that there’s a huge market out there for people who are just interested in making and receiving phone calls, no need for advanced and complicated devices, which are used only at 5% of what they could really offer. There’s also a huge market comprised of elderly users, not at all the tech-savvy type, for which producers should remember to keep things simple, as simple as possible.

This concept simply grants you a phone that is used for nothing more than making and receiving calls. Its design focuses on ease of use and practicality.

Designer : Vadim Kibardin

Designer : Mac Funamizu

Designer : Franco Marino Cagnina

Text from David:
Transportation is a key factor in our urban environments and most of our cities are now developed to match the scale and needs of cars, and car users. This reality raises issues regarding sustainability and environment, energy consumption and quality of life.

So, “How can public and personal transports be redefined in a sustainable way, delivering a sense of personal space and independence to its users?” This was the title of my Master of Science in Design and Transport Thesis, concluded in Coventry University, UK, with Distinction, in September 2008.

In other words, the aim of this project was to develop guidelines and a holistic solution for a new system of urban transport, composed of vehicle and infrastructure, in a sustainable way and adaptable to various urban environments.

To develop the project I needed information about: user’s behaviors and explanations for them; main trends; analysis of existing solutions and identification of their problems; definition of applicable technologies in a sustainable manner in a near future. This information was gathered through an online questionnaire, statistical data from several sources, literary research, internet articles, pictures, video and expert interviews and then compiled in my final report.

Preliminary research indicated that several attempts to tackle the issue of mass transportation are being tested and implemented throughout the biggest cities on Earth. Several solutions exist already, but people always seem to give preference to a personal vehicle of some kind to move, commute or make quick trips. Only when there is no other choice, people seem to engage in public transportation. Personal transport is the preferred mode of use and this is a trend that keeps increasing.

The conclusion of the thesis report was composed of guidelines and design specifications that served as basis for the development of a new type of transportation that is truly sustainable and that meets people’s requirements. This generic solution was exemplified through a typical design project that will act as future reference and that goes by the name of “SCARAB”.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
VEHICLE:
- The vehicle allows users to have freedom of use much like a motorcycle but with the convenience of having an enclosed private space and luggage compartments.
- The vehicle can be operated in several different positions depending on speed. It is parked vertically for easy ingress and egress and optimization of public space. When in speed position, the vehicle also tilts when curving or changing direction.
- When circulating in dedicated pathways, the SCARAB is controlled by a centralized computer or by a traffic management centre. Outside of the dedicated pathways the SCARAB is controlled by the user just like any other vehicle.

VEHICLE SPECS:
-The vehicle is composed of interchangeable modules that can be customized by the potential buyer/user.
-Powerpack module composed of a permanent battery plus 3 options for the main energy pack (battery, biofuel ICE or a fuel cell).
-4 wheel drive through electric brushless in-wheel motors with directdrive.
-Wheels with regenerative braking through EW Brakes.
-Drive by wire and tactile HUD embedded in the Lexan canopy.
-Structural elements in Carbon-Aramid composite.
-Embedded sensors, Lidar, radar, transponders, GPS. These serve to exchange information with the system, with other drivers and to have precise location data.

INFRASTRUCTURE:
-Communication nodes spread through roadways and traffic management centres in major conurbations.
-Dedicated paths with electromagnetic transponders embedded in the road.
-Parking facilities with solar/wind power generators.
-High speed/long distance travel provided through a railroad interface (not yet developed).

SYSTEM:
-Renting of the vehicle or modules that allows for a private/public/mixed utilization and transport access for people with less financial resources.
-Doesn’t need new infrastructures (uses the existing roads).
-Is backward compatible with current transport systems and uses current day technologies.

Designer : David Miguel Moreira Gonçalves

Yeh is a 22-year-old designer who studied industrial design at Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. The technology he envisions for Insecta is as advanced as its styling. The battery pack shifts according to the car’s direction to maintain balance and handling. It uses hub-mounted wheel motors. And the adjustable suspension is one part bug-leg, two parts Citroën, changing the height of the car to suit traffic conditions.

Yeh doesn’t see someone like General Motors or Toyota building the car of the future in the future. “I think there would be more and more independent companies building unique electric cars,” he said. “They will be looking for innovative design languages and building up their own brand identities.”