Soft,  not  slow.    Defining a design process for

the internet of things

Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino @iotwatch

alex@designswarm.com

Tinker London 2007-2010

Homesense project Autumn 2011

First UK distributor of the Arduino R&D projects for BT, BBC, Nokia, BFI, Arup…

Bottom-up smart homes Now part of MoMa’s permanent collection

IDII 2004-2006

Good Night Lamp March 2012

#iot    The internet of things can be loosely

defined as:

1. what happens when we embed connectivity in everyday objects.

2. what happens when those objects are designed with an understanding

of the affordances of the web.

the  shape  of  the  conversation  

Hardware (open/closed)

Connectivity

(wifi, zigbee/radio, GSM)

Battery life

Standards

Privacy

Security

What things?

What things?

Smart cities

Smart cars

Home automation

Products  as  part  of  an  ecology.  

3  approaches.  

1. Design to extend. 2. Design to comfort. 3. Design to disrupt.

Your product extends the capabilities of an existing device. It’s tethered to a screen. If connectivity is lost, the object becomes unusable because its control interface is inaccessible. Non-objects, more like accessories.

Design  to  extend.  

Nike +

Green Goose

CubeSensors

Olly & Molly

Piggy-back on an existing product and augment it with connectivity. Technology is invisible so everything looks normal. This is Big Brother territory. You may be redefining a user’s assumptions about a product.

Design  to  comfort  (or  trouble).  

Ambiant Umbrella

Calypso Key

Develop a design language that is unique to users’ interaction with a new technology. Developing a new visual language consumers. Develop a new space in retail.

Design  to  disrupt.  

Google Glass

Nabaztag

Fitbit

Good Night Lamp

BleepBleeps

Little Printer

Uncanny  valley  of  products.  

gadget object

iot

An #iot pop-up shop August 2013-Christmas In collaboration with

Cyprus  

Mallorca  

China  

Cyprus  

Cyprus  

Thanks.    @iotwatch

@GNLteam @CFretail

Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino alex@designswarm.com