Evgeny Morozov on Transformational Objects

I just finished reading Evgeny Morozov's To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism. Do you know this feeling: you turn the pages, thinking "I fully agree", "yes", and then the feeling turns into an "If he would only know our work" - sigh. On Sunday, I took on the final chapter "Smart Gadgets, Dumb User" (which starts with a Bruno Latour quote ;-)) and there on position 5951: "A trio of German designers at the Folkwang University of the Arts set out to build what they call 'transformational products' ... " followed by a little review of the Never-Hungry-Caterpillar extension cord and the Forget-Me-Not reading lamp. And in this keynote, Evgeny Morozov even talks about it (minute 20) (Seven on Seven Keynote, 20. April 2013, at The New School's Tishman Auditorium).

Presented by HTC, Rhizome's Seven on Seven Conference took place April 20th, 2013 at The New School's Tishman Auditorium.

[vimeo vimeo.com/64903468]

And this is what he talks about:

See our scientific paper: http://issuu.com/hassenzahl/docs/create_transformational_products_cr The Caterpillar is an extension cable intended to engage its owner into a dialogue about wasting energy with devices in stand-by. The Caterpillar has three different modes: It breathes slowly in the case of „normal“ energy consumption by a device, such as a TV. If the TV is switched to stand-by, the Caterpillar starts to twist and turn awkwardly, as if in pain. This can be resolved by disconnecting the TV entirely. The Caterpillar touches upon people‘s tendency to help and take care of living things. Through its behaviour, the Caterpillar conveys an attitude towards the consumption of electricity –, the „pain“ implied by stand-by – and offers a simply remedy, framed as an act of helping.

[vimeo vimeo.com/31947435]

See our scientific paper: http://issuu.com/hassenzahl/docs/create_transformational_products_cr Forget Me Not is a reading lamp. After being switched on, the lamp closes slowly like a flower, obscuring and dimming its light over time. By touching one of its petals, the lamp re-opens and shines bright again. This involves its user in a constant dialogue about whether she still needs the given light, thereby reflecting on the limitedness of resources and the respon- sibility of making appropriate use. We deliberately designed For- get Me Not as a reading lamp. This provides a suitable context for the intended dialogue. Using the same idea for the main lighting would be simply annoying. Compared to a regular light switch, Forget Me Not engages in a constant dialogue. Again, we built a functional prototype, filmed it and proposed the concept to peo- ple. One person, for example, argued that „...it should be possible to deactivate the dim-function or to stop it in a certain position“ whereas an other fancied the ever-changing light intensity and said that „...the lamp appeared like a living plant“. www.marc-hassenzahl.de

[vimeo vimeo.com/30893887]