No other four words (three and a hyphen) have ever brought such joy to my heart: Pop-up cardboard furniture.
A brilliant use of low-technology and screwing with expectations of scale. I fully expect this to take off.
Category: Playful Communication of Serious Research
Popcorn Monsoon
If it was possible to fall deeply and madly in love with a mechanical object, this would be my Juliet.
This is a clever, delightful, and elegant solution to a common problem – un-popped kernels messing up your otherwise delicious bowl of popcorn. What’s even more important is that it’s a re-imagning of what this machine traditionally looks like and what the experience of making air-popped popcorn is. The unexpected change in form creates a new way to experience something you take for granted.
Project by Jolene Carlier
Week 1 Swipe | Raw Edges Gallery
Endgrain is London design studio Raw Edges‘ colorful wooden floor and seating installation.
This a wonderfully heuristic technique to guide someone through a space. The paths are clearly defined but seamlessly integrated into the experience of being in the space.
Rarely are we aware that we’re influenced by the colors around us, but it still happens. The colors here are both making us more aware of the space (which is great for a sculpture gallery) and they’re helping us feel a part of the space (which is great for a flowing-through-feeling experience).
Playful Comm – Researching Researchers
In my search for an excellent research partner I cast a wide net across NYU’s many nooks and crannies. Here’s who I’ve reached out to so far and their areas of research:
- Jun Zhang. Professor of Applied Mathematics, Courant Institute – Flow Systems
- Joo Kim. Asst. Professor, NYU Poly – Robotic Exoskeletons
- Anthony Townsend. Adjunct Professor & Research Director at NYU Wagner – Longterm Technology Forecasts, Urban Development
- Mark Tuckerman. Professor of Chemistry, Courant Institute – Phase Changes
- Nadrian Seeman. Professor of Chemistry – Nanomaterial Structures
- Dr. Chris Barker. Chair Department of Linguistics.
- Michael Ward. Professor of Chemistry, Director of Molecular Design Institute – Molecular Design
- Yao Wang. Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NYU Poly- Video Lab
- Maurizio Porfiri. Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering – Dynamical Systems
- Jennifer Berg. Clinical Associate Professor of Food Studies – Food and Cultural Identity
- Ikuko Acosta. Clinical Assistant Professor of Art and Art Education – Art Therapy
- David Darts. Associate Professor of Art Education – Contemporary Art & Open-Source Software and Culture
- Alex Galloway. Professor of Media, Culture and Communication – Critical Theory, Semiotics, Aesthetics, Digital Media, Networks, Software, New Media Art
And now we wait…