Let's Catch Up. #1
What's happening across Innovation, Design, Sustainability, Product. Interesting News, industry updates, showcases, media from around the globe.
Welcome to Let’s Catch Up.
I used to always have Monday morning WIPs (work in progress) where the team would catch up on whats going on. Continuing that trend but with a twist, so grab your coffee or hot cuppa and get informed for the work week.
This weekly digest is a curated range of news and updates from across the web covering innovation, design, sustainability, products, technology, materials, policy and much more… And of course with a little bit of my take on them.
70% Recycled, increased user repairability, Fairphone 5 shows us the way
Image: Fairphone
Mobile phones have empowered many groups to access internet and connectivity, discussion and discourse. Over time they have become an unsustainable product through consumption habits, fast fashin and sheer wastage of raw materials, energy and logistics expenditure just to get into our hands. Fairphone is shaking that up making a phone from 70% recyled materials and fair mined sources. Enabling users to make their own repairs easily is another benefit. In the future I hope to see easy upgrades and customisation due to the easy accessibility and changing of componantry rather than buying a complete new phone.
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Source: Design Week
Lyten Featured in Chrysler Concept Car with 50% Reduced Footprint EV Battery
Image: Stellantis
New batteries from Lysten (US Tech Startup) have shown their advanced graphene product has the ability to reduce environmental footprint compared to standard batteries by upto 50%. When powering the clean electric transition we have a massive requirment for new batteries which have quickly become a sore point due to the energy expended to produce and their afterlife. Hopefully this technology helps pave the way to reduce the carbon footprint required to create batteries powering the transition away from fossil fuels. I’ll be keeping an eye on Lyton and their battery tech development.
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Source: LinkedIn
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Source: Design News
Packaging Design Shake-up in 2024
More equitable, inclusive and socially representative packaging is coming in 2024 as brands and business move to ensure they’re packaging is engaging their target audience. Transparency is key to ensure your brand, business communication is clear and easy to understand.
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Source: Design Week
SMART Clothing - Adobe Dynamic Dress Heralds New Era in Fashion
Image: Adobe
Fashion often thought of being at the forefront of trends has finally stepped into the sci-fi realm it normally creates through discourse. Adobe has collaborated with Christian Cowen on this dynamic tech enabled dress constructed from laser cut polymer with liquid crystal over the top of a flexible printed circuit. The result a shimmering dress. The potential is amazing for wearable technology.
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Source: Design Taxi
Fossil Backed Plastics Producers Actively Decieved Public for Decades on Recycling
Image: Pexels, Credit Magda Ehlers
The center for Climate Integrity (CCI) recently found that many fossil fuel companies and plastic producers were aware and decieved the public about recyling being a short term non permanent solution. As designers we have been part of the problem but can now be part of the solution in this difficult task of eliminating uneccessary plastic from the world. Us as business, brands, companies and individuals have to battle with over half a century of economies adopting and increasing dependancy on plastics. Reports such as this should be a call to arms for business to make the change into more sustainable solutions.
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See Full Research Report Here
Source: Ecowatch
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE :D
Making Waste Desirable
Image: Gomi Design
Wonderful design studio out of the UK utilising waste for their electronic devices. Gomi are utilising waste materials to reduce impact and reliance on virgin plastics for new products. Their portable speaker battery is taken from damgaged e-bikes as well as pioneering their own process for recycling soft plastics deemed ‘unrecyclable’ by local councils and waste collection services shows how through design and concious decisions we can reduce the impact of plastic and pollution.
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Source: Gomi Design
Thanks for Reading…
A little about me. I grew up in nature on an island state off south coast of Australia (Some say you need a passport). Design has always felt natural to me, problem solving and providing the best solution to a given challenge. Over the last 12 years I have been working as an innovation specialist and industrial designer across multiple industries to drive business and product innovation. I have worked in large multinational companies and brands as well as some of best and brightest start-ups, small and medium enterprises, education and government sectors in Australia. A passion for design, a deep need for a better world.