1/
Meaning
Economy
In a Meaning Economy, things are tailored to the individual. This goes beyond normal customization; we will create products that respond to something deeper and dynamic. Imagine clothing that could respond to your mood, or jewelry that can sense your emotions.
The challenge here is that we often don’t even understand our own feelings. So how will products begin to help us understand ourselves? And how will we record this new data, and what meaning will we make from it?a / Understood Self
Today, people use devices to monitor their behaviors. If we can do it, we can track it–steps taken, food eaten, calories burned. But measurements are only part of it. For this data to mean anything, we have to change our behavior. We have to move beyond the idea of quantified self to an Understood Self.
We are wondering how we might follow the less obvious parts of our lives, like our attitudes or our feelings. What would we do with that data? Would it make us more mindful? We wondered if we could embed these sensors in our clothes to learn more about ourselves.
Play Empathic Threads 0:33
Early Evidence:
Narrative a tiny, automatic camera that gives you a searchable and shareable photographic memory.
Shadow a mobile application that helps you remember and record your dreams.
b / Tangible Stories
People associate stories with familiar objects. A favorite sweater, a treasured gift - we create bonds with things that represent important moments. But instead of associating a story with the object, what if telling a story created an object?
We know that people who have visual associations to a moment create more lasting impressions. How might we design for more persistent memories? How could this experience be different than drawing a picture or taking a photograph? We wondered how we might translate a story into meaningful objects.
Play Sculpted Memory 0:54
Early Evidence:
Sunny Little Studio creates stuffed toys based on childrens drawings.
