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DUTCH DESIGNERS CREATE INTIMACY 2.0, A SUPER-SEXY, E-DRESS THAT BECOMES SEE-THROUGH WHEN THE WEARER GETS TURNED-ON

The Intimacy 2.0 hyper-sexy e-dress by Dutch designer Studio Roosegaarde

Granted, it takes a mountain of courage to wear.

For ladies who don’t have the patience for coy flirtation, here’s something that gets the job done quickly: a sensor-enabled cocktail dress that flashes a whole lot of skin the more excited you get.

 

So say you meet some guy who sends your heart aflutter. The dress responds to your elevated pulse by growing transparent around the (already plenty skimpy) plunging neckline. Conversely, if he’s such a snooze that you’re about two seconds away from flat-lining, the dress stays opaque, sending an instant “no, thanks!”

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Intimacy 2.0 is latest in a series of hyper-sexy e-dresses from the techie Dutch designers Studio Roosegaarde in collaboration with V2_Lab and fashion designer Anouk Wipprecht. Each dress combines embedded sensors and conductive “smart foils” that become see-through when zapped by electricity. But whereas previous iterations would’ve landed you in jail for indecent exposure (one dress went transparent simply by being around other people and covered less than a pastie), Intimacy 2.0 is designed to be flaunted outside of the bedroom. It's still pretty damned racy, though. Big up to anyone who's daring enough to wear it. The rest of us will have to stick to batting our eyelashes.

The secret to the Intimacy 2.0 e-dress is the technology underneath that reacts to the sensual mood of the wearer.  

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Dresses are available in black or white on custom order through Studio Roosegaarde. More info here.

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COMMENTARY:   The Intimacy 2.0 e-dress is from out-of-this world.  I do hope that see-through e-dresses are the next big thing in fashion.   I truly expect Lady Gaga to add one to her dress collection.

Courtesy of an article dated October 24, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design 

 

MUTEWATCH: A SLEEK, MINIMALIST TOUCHSCREEN WATCH THAT'S EQUIPPED WITH A SILENT, MOTION-SENSING ALARM

Mutewatch responds to swiping, tapping, and pinching just like a touchphone. But its real appeal is a silent, motion-sensing alarm so that you--and only you--wake up naturally.

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Is stabbing at an iPhone more intuitive nowadays than glancing at your wrist? The makers of Mutewatch seem to think so. A sleek, minimalist timepiece, Mutewatch behaves more or less like your iPhone. To access the functions--the clock, the alarm, the timer--you swipe. To set the alarm, you tap directly on the digits. To turn off the alarm, you pinch.

 

Call me an old fogy, but I prefer good old-fashioned analog knobs. I don’t find swiping and tapping particularly intuitive, especially since it usually takes a few taps and a few swipes to get my iPhone to do what I want it to do. Why would Mutewatch be any different?

Mutewatch comes in three colors: white, charcoal black and red

The timepiece has one advantage that your standard strap-on watch does not: a built-in motion sensor that adjusts the strength of the alarm, which pulses silently against your wrist, in response to your movements. So the more you stir, the more it vibrates, gently rousing you from slumber. That means you wake up naturally--and don’t wake up your partner (or whoever’s in bed with you).

Mutewatch comes in red, white, or gray and costs $259. Available at the A+R Store and elsewhere.

COMMENTARY:   Mutewatch is a Swedish company based in Stockholm.  The company works at the center of a constantly growing international network that includes people from the film, design, fashion and music industries as well as young entrepreneurs and professionals.  They are driven by curiosity and have a simplistic and human approach to technology. This is why this network is the perfect place for the company to develop and test their innovations and designs, letting them have a conversation about how they can adjust and improve their products. 

The comany's goal is to develop products that give people the tools they need to manage their time in a sustainable way.  They believe in the pursuit of dreams, ambitions and personal fulfillment - whatever they may be - and embrace the possibilities and opportunities of contemporary life. The Mutewatch works for everyone who has a set of tasks, a goal to achieve and only 24 hours a day to do so.

FEATURES

The Mutewatch is designed to be simple and intuitive. Just tap the flat surface and the touch screen lights up, then swipe through the functions clock, alarm and timer. 

You set the time for your alarms by tapping directly on the digits – tap on the top of the digit for a higher number or on the bottom of the digit for a lower one. When you want to erase an alarm, simply pinch the touch screen. 

The Mutewatch also features a built-in motion sensor that registers your movement and automatically adjusts the strength of the vibrations. So, whether you're sleeping, on stage giving a presentation or doing your work out, the Mutewatch will keep you updated on your next step.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATONS

Display - Glowing Perfection

• LED display at 100 Hz rate
• Capacitive and easy-to-use touch screen
• Automatic adaptation to the surrounding light intensity for optimal glow

Model & Dimensions - The One Size Adjustable Wristband

• Total weight: 40 grams
• Minimal wrist size: 14 cm
• Maximal wrist size: 18,5 cm
• Bracelet width: 25.4 mm
• Bracelet thickness: 12.5 mm

Battery Power - Energy Management

• Normally around 1 week of operation depending on usage
• Device warns when battery level is low (by showing “BATT”)
• 2 hours charging (from USB-port) refills battery
• Enters into hibernation mode when battery is too low
• 1 week without usage automatically sets device in hibernation mode
• Plug device in USB-port to awaken from hibernation mode
• Device arrives in hibernation mode

Motion Sensor - Detection of Your Motion

• High level of movement, triggers an increase in the intensity of the vibrating alarm
• A simple flick of the wrist activates the glowing display

Product Care - Give A Little Love

• Hand wash
• Protect from strongly colouring substances (for example: soy sauce, tomato, jeans)

Software - Upgrade and Move On

• Mutewatch firmware can be upgraded via USB
• See webpage for news: mutewatch.com

That's what I call one sweet watch.

Courtesy of an article dated October 19, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design 

 

KICKSTARTER'S BIGGEST SUCCESS EVER, SCOTT WILSON'S NANO WRISTBANDS RAISES $1 MILLION, NOW AVAILABLE AT THE APPLE STORE

The success of the LunaTik and TikTok wristbands proved every expert wrong about what would and wouldn't work in retailing.

It’s the ultimate Kickstarter success story. Unable to secure a manufacturer, the Chicago-based designer Scott Wilson placed his TikTok and LunaTik wristbands -- which convert the Nano into a watch -- on the funding site. Within a month, he raised nearly $1 million from 13,500 backers -- a Kickstarter record. All of a sudden, retailers came calling, including the most prestigious of all: Apple, which is rolling out the wristbands in North American stores this week.

“A lot of people just don’t have the instincts to know whether it’s going to sell, so they just don’t want to gamble,” Wilson says. “But to see it globally accepted across 50 countries, that’s not much of a risk.” But before operation Kickstarter, even Apple wasn’t convinced people would pay more for high-grade materials. “I bounced it off of different contacts at different retail channels, and they all decided that it needed to be in that $34.95 to $35.95 sweet spot,” Wilson recalls. 

The Kickstarter experiment proved them all wrong: Twice as many $79.95 LunaTiks, the bands with the premium aluminum case, were sold than the plastic $39.95 TikToks. “And then we added a black one for $89, and it actually sold better than the other two combined,” Wilson laughs. He sold 21,120 units on Kickstarter and went on to sell roughly 20,000 more through LunaTik.com. That caught Apple's attention.

As did another intriguing piece of data: In a survey sent to his backers, the designer asked, How many of you bought the Nano because of the watchband? Turns out, a whopping 76% of them. Consumers thought the Nano was cool, but it had been eclipsed by the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad. Wilson’s products, in his words, “gave the Nano a home.” It’s one of the few cases of an accessory generating sales of the core product and gave Wilson the leverage to negotiate with Apple as an independent producer.

The wristbands will still be available at LunaTik. Apple will be carrying the LunaTik in silver and red ($79.95) and the TikTok in black and white ($39.95).

COMMENTARY:  Scott Wilson's Apple Nano watches are my favorite, not because it's a great idea, but because Scott was able to raise more than $1 million using crowdfuning site Kickstarter   I covered this incredible story in two previous blog posts dated dated November 22, 2010 and March 30, 2011.

Courtesy of an article dated May 18, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design

 

BRAUN PARTNERS WITH WATCHMAKER ZEON TO DESIGN A STUNNING BRAUN WATCH INSPIRED BY DIETER RAMS DESIGN

Braun teams up with Zeon to redesign and relaunch the timepiece line made famous by Dieter Rams.

Braun doesn't just make beard trimmers and juicers; they were once also known for making ridiculously stylish watches by Dieter Rams and others. Now, after years of absence, Braun is relaunching a line of wristwear -- designed by Zeon, who's no slouch in the style department themselves -- with head-turning designs that still look timelessly classy. In other words, this is the watch you wear to when you go to pitch VCs on your hot new startup. (Or if you just want to look like you do.)

As Zeon says on their site, "With Braun timepieces there are no superfluous details: every features directly reflects a function." They ain't kidding: one artfully recessed button and a distinctive scroll wheel is all you get on this swoonworthy digital watch. Zeon tells Co.Design that they came up with this design (the button illuminates the watch face and the scroll wheel switches between different functions) in-house. It looks a bit like that Kickstarter Nano watch that was all the rage last year, but a thousand times more suave. (Plus, that scroll wheel probably beats the Nano's cramped touchscreen hands down.)

COMMENTARY:   That is some watch.   I love the sleek black (or silver) "monolith" design which is reminiscent of the monolith from the film "2001: A Space Odyssey".   The scroll wheel reminds you of the scroll wheel on the original iPod.  This is a watch that could be a day and evening watch. Love the LED display.  I would definitely buy one, but would hate to know how much these Braun watches cost.  Could not find a price.   

It's funny that the folks at Fast Company Design would mention Scott Wilson's famous Nano Watch which was listed on Kickstarter and raised, are you ready for this?  $900,000 plus. You will learn more about that watch HERE.

Zeon is a very interesting company.  Their website says,

"Zeon is the largest watch company in the UK.  Our annual sales of our 2.5 million timepieces represent approximately 13% of the total UK watch sales, and we have a growing position in the World marketplace."

Zeon's business is built around brands.   They are licensee's and designers of branded watches, jewelry, gifts and electronics gadgets for some of the most famous brands, including Braun, Bench, Ed Hardy, GANT, Ingersoll, Lambretta, Mini, Playboy, RAF, Disney, etc.   Zeon outsources production to some of the top watch makers.

Zeon explains its licensing philosophy as follows:

"Zeon brings a straightforward philosophy to its brands.  Product, Packaging and Marketing all must reflect the essence of the brand.  In approaching any license, our goal is to develop a commercially successful line whose product and presentation enhance the brand's image and reputation. To do this, we begin by making sure that we understand the philosophy and direction established by the brand's owner. Only then can we use our vast experience in the watch, jewelry and gift industry to translate that philosophy and direction into a representative collection." 

Zeon also designs and market licensed character watches for the likes of Disney (Cars, Princess, Fairies), The Simpsons, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Hanna Montana, Hello Kitty, Fame, Power Ranghers, to name a few.   I have seen some of these watches, and often worndered who made them.  

Zeon is a subsidiary of Herald Group a Hong Kong publicly traded company and is headquartered in London, England where its corporate sales and administration, warehouse and showroom are located. They are not a big company, employing 100 employees. They maintain a Hong Kong office in order to be close to their product suppliers.

Courtesy of an article dated April 12, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design

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