Guest blogging for Elle Decoration.

The recent issue of Elle Decoration magazine here in South Africa is all about Eco design. Of course , there are other magazines attacking the subject, but Elle Deco is actually the first one to ... feature me in it as one of 7 'Green Keepers', 'Big thinkers helping to shape our eco-conscious future.'


Check www.elledeco.blogspot.com these weeks, since they've asked me to be a guest blogger on their site.

Fitness in third world countries.

I live in South Africa. In that part of Johannesburg where the rich black & white population enjoys supermarkets with an abundance of food, restaurants on a Friday night (and Saturday and Sunday since it's that inexpensive, for that matter), a braai now and then and an occasional robbery if you're popular as I am. (Or just bad luck, who knows...)
A place, where that richer population almost without exception has a a subscription to a golf course and a Virgin Active fitness chain.

And I know, since I'm member too. (Not the golf, that I still - wrongfully, I know - consider a sport I will take up in 30 years or so.) Who could have thought that I would once go 'work out' in a fitness center. The moral and ethical boundaries of running on a specially designed treadmill were to high, but my life (and my body) needed some sort of structural work, so I figured a fitness and workout membership could do the thing.

Running , on the streets, seemed not an option. That is considered dangerous. In many ways. yet after a while now, I'm running on the streets anyway. From my house to the gym. That way I skip the boring treadmill with built in TV screen and ipod connector, but keep the workout sessions.

Watch the guy that I caught on photo, in full exercise. Dragging a tire behind him up a hill towards township Diepsloot.
Respect.

trend research : The Penguin in all of us.

So here you go. The internet is doing what we all think it should have been doing 10 years ago. Until the bubble burst - and that was not my fault. I didn't find an investor back then. (Interested parties can always apply, though after the Kuwait Prince and the Malaga scam I am a bit, well, suspicious.)

But I wanted to point out a web 2.0 concept : I find myself throwing a party for my son Lucas, turning 8 years on Friday. Not a real one. A virtual one.

Both he and Emma, my daughter of 6, have understood what internet is about. If you look for something - for a project at school - you type orca, killer whale, My Little Pony or clown frogs in the little Google window on dad's computer. You select, you print, and hop, work is done.

It gets better. If your parents drag you from your friends in Belgium all the way to South Africa, than that's cool. You make new friends, discover new stuff, can swim while everyone in Belgium is freezing and hoping some sort of government actually would start to do something. But - you can stay in contact. Not with boring Skype and fractional images of grant mother, but ... by becoming a penguin.
So on Friday, Lucas' friends in Belgium will be joining him in ... his igloo, for which he 'bought' a dance floor, a DJ set, a palm tree and much more.
After the virtual cake, they will go and play in Penguin Land. Eat a virtual pizza, do some sledging, or stroll around the Penguin island to discover other friends.






Become a penguin here

All about Ann.

Running Addictlab has been a sort of rollercoaster experience.
This multilayered concept of creating platforms such as our books, or exhibitions, or consultancy towards brands, of being a gallery and doing trend research, it all makes sense to me. I realise that that's not always the case for everyone else. That's probably why running Addictlab sometimes was and sometimes still is a burden.

As opposed to my naive attitude of wanting to create a very creative global and fertile surrounding, of introducing creative chaos in a work environment as an asset,
I need an organisation and people whom I can build on.

And the last years, I've had the honour and privilege to be helped by Ann. She has the looks, but I won't go into that. She has also the brains. And above all, she has the emotional intelligence to take on life as it happens.

I realize that life is full of constant changes, and up until Addictlab has a major breakthrough and has the resources to create constant growth, it is quite normal to have a flux of people coming in and leaving the company. In Ann's case, it's a bit different. She has been watching over addictlab in a way I never could have hoped for. Reliable and loyal are understatements. A Beacon of Hope for people around her , that's more like it.

Today is Ann's last day on the job. She will go and take on other challenges. It wouldn't be fair to say the timing is wrong. That there are going to be some major changes in the Addictlab organisation, and all that. There are always major changes in a concept like Addictlab.
But there aren't always people like Ann to believe in it. To support it. To help it grow.
I'll miss her. And that too, is an understatement.

You romantic twit.

'Follow me'. That is basically what all your GPS navigation systems are saying. But they do that in a functional, dry , engineery kind of way.
Now forget the engineery, go fairy.

Meet Dandella, A GPS direction pointing device that works with the GPS mobile
phone to find direction. The idea was to replace the complicated
digital interface with a physical and intuitive device that shows the
direction by pointing.
Forget Tom Tom, go ET.

This project received the Grand Prix from
Osaka International Design Competition 2006.






contributed by Design Lab Researcher Giovanna Massoni

The Design Incubation Centre is a design research
laboratory which investigates and develops tools to help
us better understand ourselves and our environments,
and to find new possibilities and new relationships
between man, objects and his environment. The
Design Incubation Centre is part of the Department of
Architecture, School of Design and Environment,
National University of Singapore.

Makes you think.

Pretty well done, if you ask me.

trend filtering

Life goes on. Even without my stolen Macbook Pro. (Thanks Marike for helping out)
Here is my new selection of interesting stuff in the Addictlab community.




1. Ouch/Bling



These are called bling band-aids.
Wear as jewelry. or really turn your OUCH into BLING. Packaging : Three plasters in slide top tin.
One with ice white rhinestones, one with rose and one with red rhinestones. sterile.

I love it. It decodes objects from two different worlds, mixes it, creates an experience that is completely new. It also proofs that Swarovski not always needs to rent a huge space at the Salone del Mobile in Milan to mark the spot.
Turning to a truly creative labmember is good enough.
Beauty and pain in symbiosis. How true.




2.Dignity Toilet

Uploaded by Alexandra Fraraccio, HUMANITARIAN INTERNATIONAL DESIGN ORGANISATION

Cooler Solutions’ “Dignity Toilet” wins international design competition by providing sanitation for those in need

Sustainable green product design granted the International HIDO (Humanitarian International Design Organization) Design Award



Toronto, Canada and Golfe Juan, France – November 27, 2007–

Today, Cooler Solutions, a product design firm specializing in sustainable and health product innovations and HIDO, the Humanitarian International Design Organization, announced that Cooler Solutions has received the HIDO International Design Award. The Award was granted for their ground-breaking ‘Dignity Toilet’, a portable sanitation solution ideal for refugee camps and developing countries. Cooler Solutions developed this unique design as a part of their focus on sustainable product solutions. Images of the product can be found at http://www.coolersolutionsinc.com/pdf/CoolerSolutions-HIDO-DignityToilet.pdf

The dignity toilet is a solid waste storage and disposal system for locations where a sanitation infrastructure does not exist. It addresses the issues of sanitation compliance, health and personal dignity. The Dignity Toilet provides sanitary storage for solid waste for four people for approximately 7 – 10 days. After that period, the toilet is removed from its dock and taken to a controlled area. It’s then manually augered into the soil where it evacuates its contents, mixes the waste with soil and buries it in the ground for decomposition.

“As designers we feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to use our experience to assist the hundreds of millions of people who live without basic sanitation. It is especially relevant at this time of year as we celebrate and give thanks for everything that we have, that we think about how we can make a meaningful contribution to all the families who are struggling to simply live,” said Terence Woodside, Partner, Cooler Solutions. “We’re honored that this new Dignity Toilet design was awarded the International HIDO Design award and hope that this product innovation will be a help to control the spread of disease and contamination caused by unsafe sanitary practices.”

“We believe that the solution offered by Cooler Solutions can create a chain reaction,” said Alexandra Fraraccio, HIDO. “It will not only tackle the lack of sanitary facilities in developing countries, but at the same time improve hygiene and decrease diseases caused by faeces lingering in many of the world’s slums and infecting drinkable water. This solution could be THE step forward to a healthier and more dignified life.”


Read more on HIDO's Labfile:
http://www.addictlab.com/labfiles/index.php?page=workdetail&work=7708

Terrorist attack on South Africa

Tuesday night, October 30, 12 o clock. I work late on a new Ad!dict book that needs to go to the printer on Thursday. It’s a book that I’ve called WORLD 2.0.
Packed with recycling, rethinking stuff, with ideas from creative minds from the addictlab database from all over the world.
The baseline of the book will be: Ideas to create a better world.
Hilarious, if you know what’s coming.

I’m also finishing my presentation for my meeting in New York: I’m leaving tomorrow, October 31, for meetings and interviews on an exhibition on Nano technology, an outreach project combining industry, research & culture. Important meetings for me with the MOMA, So I decide to go to bed at about midnight.

Couple of hours later.

Two guys come in via a small window in our bedroom, with two guns. They force us to set out the alarm, then force us all (children and my mother in law who is visiting... ) to lay down on the bed. I hear them go down and open up for a third one.
One comes in with my squash shoe. I thought it a bit inappropriate to discuss a squash game at that hour.. He ties us up with the shoelaces, quite firmly, pulls up a children's chair and sits in the doorway.


Emma.
Emma needs to go to the bathroom. Of course, in every hostage situation someone needs to go to the bathroom. There would also be someone pregnant but that part was left out of our script. We ask our guard to let her, yet I don’t want her to go alone with him. Marleen goes with her. When Emma comes back, she whispers: ‘This one is nice, he lets us go to the toilet.’

Lucas is awake too. He rests his head on my leg, and has the best view of us all on the guard.

He is quite analytic.’Dad, if they have gone, can I then read a book? Or watch television? I‘m awake, I will not be able to sleep again.’
A bit later he asks me if I ever have been through something like this. I answer him no. His eyes light up. ‘Then I can tell this to my friends and my children when I’m older’. He has no idea how much I’m wishing that he will be able to tell it to whomever whenever.

I realize that with two guns there is not much one can do. Because they swap guns when they swap guards, I understand that one of the guns must be fake or not loaded.
Still with one gun, my biggest fear is what happens if they ‘re angry not finding what they’re looking for. Three, four times they come in to ask for cash, for the vault. They search the whole house, looking for precious stuff, hidden vaults.
We don’t have that.

I try to imagine how I can defend my family if ever they would turn against us. To Petra, to Emma. Horrific thoughts. And in no way I would let them do without putting up some sort of fight. I try to figure out how I ‘m tied up, how the knots work. The harder I pull, the tighter they get. Even today, two days later, my thumb is still numb.

I try to break the laces by rubbing them over the side of Emma’s bed, but that is obviously not sharp enough. I know that in Emma’s toy shop there are children’s toys to play ‘kitchen’. And I know there is a little knife as well, but it's out of reach.
I realize that I could put my hands from my back in front of me by sliding my hands underneath my body and putting my feet through.
The guy is sitting only two meters of me, so he could see that as an act of aggression. Which obviously it would have been. I keep it in mind, for later on, when things would go bad or when they’ve gone.


Emma’s savings.
Petra turns around. She’s having a hard time. It takes ages, and I know the shoelaces hurt, and the impossibility to move adds up to a claustrophobic feeling she can’t stand.
Yet she thinks about Emma’s saving money, and I agree. Maybe if we tell them where he can find Emma’s money we could fasten up the process , get them going. So we tell Emma, and we explain to the guy where he can find it.

He calls one of the others, and standing in the door, they’re splitting the R200 (20 euro). The guard then neatly closes up the piggy bank and puts it on the floor. He says ‘thank you’. How surreal can you get?


It takes ages.
I want him to think we’re human. So I ask our guard where he comes from. 'Are you from South Africa?' At first , he doesn’t understand. It is a question he doesn’t expect. I repeat it, and he says yes. I tell him we’re from Belgium.
Marleen turns to me and doesn’t get it. 'Are you socializing with the guy'?

They stayed for about an hour.. they found the remote controls of the car, the garage, the outside gate. So they took my whole work & more : 6000 digital pics, 2 laptops, desktop, digital camera, Playstation, PSP, ipod, cellphones, DVD camera, jewelry and a bit of cash. They locked us up in our bedroom, and drove away with Petra's company car. I cut myself loose with a razor blade then untie Petra and Marleen. I could escape via the outside window and open up for everybody.

The fear of what could have happened is bigger then the actual loss, yet my children seem to be ok.

Minutes after I have alerted the outside gate, our place is crawling with people. Security agents asking if we had a panic button. To be honest, I wouldn't have pushed it and be between three armed guys inside our house and the armed security forces on the outside.

The police arrives late - the security people gave the wrong address. Two cops, one more cop, two detectives. And the obvious guy from CSI Johannesburg doing the fingerprints. It is an interesting photographic process.

Missing.
They took all the electronic stuff. But a cellphone is not a cellphone. It is a container of contacts. A binary extension of our mind. It takes a while to retrace cellphone numbers and important contacts.

My loyal MacBook Pro is more then just a tool too. It's my office and reason why I could move to South Africa in the first place. For 80% of my job I use it to go online to the addictlab site that runs on a remote & protected server.
But both Mac and cameras are containers of history. The robbers have taken away 6000 images of my past and I hate them for that.


But it’s in those times of distress that you discover human beauty.

At school, the day after. It's Halloween. (How horrible can Halloween get?)
One of Emma’s class mates comes up to me: I’m sorry that you were robbed.' A girl of 6 being a grown up woman! Surprised , I thank her and turn my head away to avoid her from seeing the tears in my eyes.

Emma’s other friend Luz came with the idea to give back Emma’s saving money. Her parents Eric and Chris should be proud : raise a child with thoughts like that and your parental task is as good as finished.

Flowers from Eskom & chocolate eggs
The support from the people around us is moving. Petra’s client contacts drop by to chat or send flowers. Dupont arranges immediately for another car and cellphone. Dupont is sending someone from Geneva to check where the security can be better.
Marike drops of her computer so that I can continue working. Even though not Belgian the Christmas chocolates taste good with a glass of wine. We tell the story over and over.

The eternal optimist in me might be right: people are good from the inside.
A theory that is hard to defend, having had to call my parents and family who are staying all together in a holiday house in Belgium. The grief and sorrow and fear were unbearable.

I think of the extreme right comment one day on my blog. That we were stupid to go to South Africa. That we are putting our children in great danger. That the fences around us will never be high enough. I was disgusted by the tone of voice and the blind anger in that text. Yet how, today, can I prove them wrong?

I hate the robbers for putting suspicion in my mind. Looking around me while shopping, not out of fear, but hoping to run into them. Me, having organized an Open Lab in Bree street to give a platform to local creative talent. Where one - black - guy had come up to me asking - with tears in his eyes - why a guy from Belgium had to prove to all of them that Bree Street was not dangerous. I wanted to do my part of the job to work on the brand of South Africa.

Because there is more. Look at the speed with which the news travels. Our regular social networks, the compound where our house is, the kids at school, our friends, social & business network. Simply by having to cancel my meetings in New York you can add to that my network of creative thinkers from all over the world, this addictlab network. Everybody has heard: South Africa is not save. It is not ready to host the 2010 World Cup when people are threatened at gun point.

The walls, fences and security companies are a laugh. But Emma, Lucas, Petra, Marleen, we're all alive. We will cope. We're installing extra security systems, beamers, hell, even get a dog. And if we won't feel safe anymore, we will leave.

For South Africa, on the other hand, the situation is worse.
This was an act of terrorism.
Would someone acknowledge that?

'A knife, a fork, a bottle and a cork.

That's the way we spell New York.'

I've been to New York quite a number of times, since I once started up Addict Inc there.
I even took my then Addict employees to sign their contracts in the restaurant on top of the WTC building.
It was called 'View on the World' and I thought that was appropriate for what I wanted to do with Addict.
Right vision, maybe. Wrong timing, for sure.
And I still remember Heather's email on 911: I saw the first tower go down.

I did go back after 9 11 to do a much apreciated New York Mutation Project , in a local art gallery, with contributions of artists from all over the world on the event.
Addict Inc didn't quite kick off, and I needed to focus on the main office in Belgium, but my love for the city remains.

The reason now is quite interesting. I'll keep you informed.

Bokke Fan Fest.

So the heat is on in my new adoptive country.
And no, it's not about politics this time. It's about a game, and clearly not one for sissies.

Tomorrow, South Africa takes on England in the World Cup Rugby Final, and - how appropriate for 30 sweaty entangled bodies with carved out muscles and dito six packs - it's in the City of Love, Paris.
Ok, everyone is entitled to some caring & love. And it's allowed on prime time TV.

From a branding point of view it's quite interesting, to see an audience turn in to 'brand' ambassadors.
The concept started ages ago, with Coca Cola's tactics to 'Paint the town red'. And, just recently, The German World Cup football 2006 Fan Fest showed how to properly do it.

Obviously, the media plays an important role, leaving its original informative task and turning towards entertainment providers and experience creators.

Christmas, Halloween, any season is good to create a through the line brand experience. Why not a rugby game?
So today and Saturday up until 21, when the 'Boks' take on England in the World Cup Final, South Africa will be green and gold. A perfect example of the WE TM theory I've published in the Ad!dict book on branding.
We plug into a group, unplug , and plug in another. So it's dynamic. Yet when plugged in, we want to be branded as a group as much as possible. If that means we have to paint our faces or eat green bread, we'll do so.




Some examples from the bizcommunity site. I do believe that addictlab's concepts on coloured chocolates would have fit in perfectly... We'll have to get ready for South Africa 2010.




Steers has come up with a new initiative in support of the Springboks called ‘Bok your Burger'. The restaurant will be running this promotion until Sunday 28 October 2007. Customers are urged to show their support for the Boks by ordering burgers served on green buns at no extra cost. The green buns taste no different to the normal buns and are just as tasty as the usual fare, the group has assured customers!

“We are really proud of the Springboks' fantastic performance at the World Cup and it will be great to see South Africans getting behind their team by joining Steers in this fun initiative,” says André Piehl, Steers' marketing director.




Douglasdale Dairy, in turn, will be manufacturing limited edition ‘green & gold' 2 litre full cream milk bottles, which will be distributed across Gauteng for the duration of this week. Milk products now have a gold lid and the usual white bottle has been changed to a patriotic green. The Douglasdale Dairy slogan ‘Go for Gold' has been printed on a sticker and it includes the word ‘Bokke' – the colloquial term used for the Springbok rugby team – which is positioned on the gold lid of every bottle and reads ‘Bokke go for Gold'.


“We produced a limited edition ‘blue go bulle' milk bottle pledging our support of the Blue Bulls as they went into the Super 14 final in May this year, and we could not keep up with the demand for these bottles from Blue Bulls supporters. So, why not support the Boks in the same vein as they prepare for the biggest game in four years?” explains Douglasdale Dairy's marketing manager Marina Hanson.

(BIZCOMMUNITY.COM)

How did we cope with technology again?

1. It makes us uncomfortable.
To illustrate this, here is a piece from Ada Rajszys, called 'Uncomfortable Esmeralda'. It is a painting artwork of a high tech print plate that you can actually wear, yet that experience is quite uncomfortable, since your face is squashed against the back of the painting.



2. We reflect.
Look at the Fake Fur collection “a Hunt for High-tech” by designer Bart Hessa.
"In a world… where nature and science emerged, where technology breathes and where living without is impossible. This futuristic world is the inspiration for a collection of imitation fur, a collection for the fashion industry. The ‘future fur’ shows that it is more interesting to imitate an imaginary world… and is based on biomimetics of animal skins.



3. We learn and create.
Mussel Glue
It is almost impossible to make glue that will work under water. The blue mussel is able to steady itself under water by attaching itself to a surface by using its own mussel glue. Because the glue maintains its strength in a wet and salty environment, which resembles the human body, the mussel glue is suitable for medical purposes. TU Delft has been trying to develop a synthetic protein that resembles mussel glue protein for several years now. Important applications could be in gluing fractures and injured intestines. Research Material Sense, institute TU Delft, Holland, Technology of Natural Sciences, DeltChemTech




All of the above examples where published in our book #27 on Nanotechnology, with the collaboration of Material Sense, IMEC, RVO. The discussion on Nanotechnology is far from over. but forget about the technology part. It's all about scaling. It's about design with basic building blocks. Creativity in its most elementary status.
We're now preparing a conference on the matter in February 2008 with our partners from IMEC.

Solar Bottle

Solar Bottle

year: 2006
designer: Alberto Meda + Francisco Gomez Paz
company: Looking for a producer

Solar Bottle is a low-cost container capable of disinfecting water for people consuming microbiologically contaminated raw water; based in the SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection) system. The PET container has a dual face: a transparent face for maximum UV-A rays collection and a alluminium face that absorbs the infrared sunrays augmenting the temperature and improving disinfection. The reduced thickness assists the transportation and the storage. The handle integrates the angular regulation needed to improve sun exposure depending in which latitude of the world the process is executed.
Solar Bottle was awarded with the First Prize of the INDEX Award 2007 in the Home category.

now, what is design?
Look at this sample of out new book - and I'm not yet sure if this will be the new cover of out #27th research issue.


What is then 'design'? The image of the local people putting the bottles on the roof in order to get clear and drinkable water thanks to the solar warming up?
Or the creation of Alberto & Francisco needing western companies to buy into it and have their idea produced?


Thanks to research by Design Labresearcher Giovanna Massoni.

Everybody vip.

When VIP becomes a commodity.
How much of quality time do we seek? Via our glass fiber connections we see individuals having their 15 bits of fame, common people being blasted in and out of stardom, and Paris Hiltonites running around the globe and acting as if they own it. (Well, they probably do, but only the brick and mortar).
So yes, everybody is looking for some level of pampering and feels they should be part of an upgraded world. The success of even the cheapest products can be measured via their upgradability. So watch the rise of a better packaged world, yet the content still expires on the same date.

Look at this Wheel of Excellence. Everybody is in for the ride. For the happy few, you can take the VIP coach. Same tour, Same visual. But at least you have the idea of doing it in a special way.
I could think of a number of activities you could do in there, but I'll leave that to your imagination. And that is exactly what the tinted windows are for.

jan@addictlab.com

From Joburg to Venice and back.

Fancy a cup of coffee? Want to know more about some of our projects? In the upcoming weeks, we'll have a number of opportunities to sit down & discuss.

August 29
www.sanlamsafashionweek.co.za / Sandton Convention Center
Day 1: Business & Inspiration
Time: 14:00 - 14:40

Presentation Outline:
Addictlab: New Ways of Thinking
Testimony from an international creative lab with a remarkable global view on -designing the backbone of our existence questions our role as human beings. With developed and yet to be developed tools, we are close to playing God. Some believe we are coinciding with God‘s ‘job description'. An enormous task lies ahead for us, as a community, in defining the boundaries of this research.


September 6
18.00: Open Lab event, Johannesburg; Check our addictlab.com website for more info.

September 11
11.00: Industry : workshop on how to be innovative in your company and what Addictlab can do to help you.
Lister Medical Building, Johannesburg. Apply now.

September 13
Eco Awards, Design September, Brussels
Addictlab Brussels will be present at the opening of the exhibition at Design Vlaanderen. We printed a special edition of the Labfiles on the winners of the Eco Awards. I'll be in Italy at that time, I guess.

September 15
Mittelmoda Fashion awards, Italy
13.00: New Markets Conference: New developments, trends and business models in the creative industries.
Design Utopia or a brand new World? Introducing a crossover laboratory approach to get to another energy level. coordinated by Jan Van Mol, Creative Lab Researcher of Ad!dict Creative Lab @ Enoteca Gradisca, Gorizia.

So yes, I'll be spending my Sunday September 16 in Venice. Although I' m seriously considering flying back and forth to Brussels for a number of meetings. We'll see.

Olympic Thoughts. (trend_research)

Beijing 2008.
They will be ready. And it will be profitable. What am I saying : money will be made.
Don't misunderstand me. Of course, I'm all for the city branding approach, using marketing tools to build - and enhance - your society.
The buildings that are being constructed, the landmarks , both geographical as futureproof... it is a celebration of Human creativity. Is it not?
Yet when looking at all those architectural wed dreams, I can not NOT think about that image that Raf Willems made and we published in the Olympic issue. It reflects so well an alternative view on the Olympic Thought.
One of honesty, dreams, gathering hope and cheers.

Bamboo, a convenient root. (trend_research)

From now, I'll be posting on stories about concepts from Labmembers that strike me. That could predict trends, since we can use our growing database of concepts to see whether a certain story, product or habit, is being tackled by more people from different backgrounds and cultures. These stories will be published on different platforms, such as Flanders DC, Signs of the Times and other. More later.



About the concept

'Living Objects' is about furniture made of living organisms. The table on the picture gives us an example: the table litterally grows from the bottom up. Bamboo grows in 8 weeks up to the hight of a table, and maintains its hight & width for the upcoming three years. You can thus grow your own table legs. Living Objects is a concept by Floris Wubben.
Check Floris' Labfile on addictlab

More about Bamboo
Bamboo is a grasses family. Originally it served as a source for food as (its tiny bamboo shoots) but it can be used for many purposes. It is the giant of all grasses and one of the fastest-growing plants. Bamboo grows mostly in Asia (tropical -subtropical) and in warm places such as Central America and parts of South America. Its stem due to its hardness is very often being used for construction and furniture material. This character is formed from the mineral silica that absorbed from the soil stored in the hollow and the jointed stem while bamboo grows.

Why Bamboo on this trend lab pages?
It's quite in to discuss about global warming. Obviously a number of organisations and brands jump on this, as they hope the positive values for the good cause will reflect on their own.
Yet in how many cases the interest is genuine? What sustainable changes can we expect? Bamboo is a possible part of the solution. It can get an important part of C02 out of the air. You will be seeing bamboo back in different ways and usages.








Catch the new brand MOBBOA.
MOBBOA stands for fashionable bamboo shirts and bamboo bodywear. Mobboa also stands for a couple of "house values" : oneness, consciousness, honesty and respect for man and nature, all values we try to live to every day again. One euro per Mobboa bamboo shirt sold will go to a charitable thrust that support and practices the values described above. This bamboo t'shirt contains 70% of bamboo fabric making it supersoft, light, fresh and thus very comfortable to wear. Mobboa bamboo shirts are by nature anti-bacterial and hypo-allergenic. Its cut makes the shirt follow extremely well the curves of the female hips.When you wear bamboo, you actively give a positive contribution to our environment. An argument that counts in view of the important climatological changes worldwide.


Bamboo clothes are soft as silk and yet durable : bamboo feels as soft and light as silk and therefore makes it very pleasant and comfortable to wear, certainly on the naked skin. Yet, bamboo clothes are more durable and cheaper than silk and you can put them in the washer and drier.
Hypoallergenic : the risk of allergic reactions on contact with the skin is minimal, because growing bamboo does not require pesticides, insecticides or fertilizers.
Antibacterial : the natural bamboo fiber contains an agent with a naturally occurring bacteriostatic property. This means bacteria do not cultivate on them, thereby inhibiting the development of unpleasant body odours. Most other tissues get the same property by undergoing some chemical treatment (that can more often lead to hyperallergic reactions. Tests show that -even after 50 washes- 70% of bacteria, which were purposely incubated on the bamboo fabric, are still eliminated.
Breathable : because of its unique microstructure ( a matrix with various microscopic gaps) perspiration can be absorbed and evaporated much faster than is the case with cotton, wool or other e.g. synthetic fibers. That is why bamboo clothes stick much less to your skin, keep your body cooler (up to 2°C lower than when wearing other fabrics) and drier.
Biodegradable : bamboo fibers are degraded biologically within a short period of time .

Bamboo for kids : children will quickly discover the softness and comfort of bamboo towels, washcloths and bath robes !
Our woven bamboo bath robes for kids are "top of the bill" : they have a bunny design on the side pocket, are silky soft to wear and of high standard quality and finishing.
They absorb faster more moisture than 100% cotton robes and also dry faster.Bamboo by nature has antibacterial properties.The owner of a bamboo bath robe contributes to the preservation of our planet.This bath robe undoubtedly will become their number one outfit afther a bath, shower or sauna.

information gathered from different sources. Be sure to check :
Widianto Utomo
designlabresearch
Mobboa
Check Floris' Labfile on addictlab
Other related work by Labmembers
Dr. Bamboozle
Bambooligature
Aimulet

Reflections on new work uploaded on addictlab.com (1)

I'll be commenting some of the great concepts that are being uploaded on our addictlab.com site. Here is work from a Belgian promising talent, Gert De Clercq
It's called Black Box.
Technique used : Acryl on Carton boxes.
And the message ?
What first seems no more then boxes with well known brands printed on them, gets a twist when you focus a bit more.
All logo's have been subtily altered, changed, creating humoristic, sometimes cynical but always intelligent messages.
The boxes are conveniently empty... Aren't todays marketing hypes not all about the packaging and not about the content?





Go to Gert's Labfile

Can we Manage Open Source?

Some of you might know that I moved from Belgium to South-Africa, just some months ago.
Plenty of reasons, business & personal. On another moment, I'll talk about my new surroundings. It just seemed like a pretty good idea: giving my family the possibility to get inspired and discover another culture, and at the same moment taking some distance from the Belgian creative scene. About 9000 km, that is.

I've forced my self to speed up my strategic thinking about addictlab.com. Where do I guide this ship to? How do we go on , and more. What mistakes are we making? And above all, how do we learn from that?

It is now 10 years since I started Addict. and I did learn a lot. It doesn't help feeling dissapointed when someone doesn't see the bigger picture or your own vision on things. I used to think it was all the other's mistake or lack of open minded vision.
Now I know that I have to do all possible efforts to solve that. That's why we learn to communicate.


One of our own communication tools is the website. The addictlab site has been running for over 10 years, and , as all things with addictlab, it had its up and downs. I choose partners who I payed a lot of money , and then they went bankrupt. I had to restart with a simple database structure. Just like other things at addict, it was a roller coaster.
We had people registering, and then the site would stop working. We had people working with addict, but not registering.
If I add up all the names of the people that have been working with us on the 27 issues and other projects, I think it 's about 6000 people.

Today the database has been working with a remarkable stability. Today's database counts over 2600 registered people. And yes, we should communicate to the others to come join again.
The content of the homepages was already adjustable, so the changes these last months were noticable.
Based in South Africa, I've been updating the site. Apparently it worked, since the month of May will go up to 800.000 hits and about 16.000 unique visitors.
That is an all time record.

But there is more.
Today's new site allows us to do a couple of things more. My core team of Addict lab researchers can work on our communication. On making things clear. Pages for Labbies, pages on the publications, hell, finally pages for the industry to see that my view on design innovation and more really works.
After 10 years people can actually come and buy stuff...

But I wanted to take it a step further. To throw it all open. I hate it when people tell me that I am addict, that I'm the bottleneck and the driver at the same time.
Addictlab should be about collaborative processes. So I need to give the stage to others then me.
Today, with this wiki-system, anyone who we give a password can start creating their own pages.
I'm feeling a little boy with a new toy...... Someone once said I had succeeded in Managing open Source. A contradiction in terminis, sure. But that 's really what I 'm experimenting with.

Give an individu the possibility to express, to create, to support others.
That is a form of freedom we humans value too less.
The fact that you actually can SUPPORT others. ACCELERATE TALENT, unbiased.
I believe that is a very sustainable way of working on a prosperous society. Ethical and constructive creative processes, I could write a book on the matter.

Yet I believe that needs to be done in a certain canvas. So that the bigger picture remains, the bigger story keeps growing in the desired direction. Of course, individual opinions and expressions count, and are the main point of gravity. Yet it needs to be in some sort of system, that works as a clear framework within the surrounding society. We need to find a balance between that freedom, our respect for the individual and the sustainability of the overall process.
I believe it is actually a good theory for our society of tomorrow.

The site, now, besides everyones possiblity to create their own labfiles, can being updated via Labambassadors per country or city , and via labresearchers per discipline.
I' m curious to see if we can marshall people to work with us. To open up their minds and their business networks to attract more ideas, people and business.

Am I 'm making sense? Shall I explain more? Or shall I drink my glass of South African Stellenbosch wine, eat the last piece of a Belgian chocolate bar, and go to sleep?

Tomorrow is another day. Yet setting this up is something I would have liked to finish yesterday.

Jan@addictlab.com

the Nano Research

Here is a challenge.
Addictlab is full of references towards science. Our, name, our logo, our periodic table approach with creative disciplines replacing the chemical elements (thank you Mr Mendelejev), our formula’s and websites. We designed it that way as it was my way to try to structure creativity. I still believe creativity is chemistry. It’s al about people collaborating, creating something new because of the crossover collaboration.

The definition ‘creative lab’ I have patented and registered years ago, since at that time no one was combining the world of culture and that of labo’s, pipets and Geiger counters.

Yes, I know, these days, ‘Creative Lab’ is used by many others, and no, I didn’t start up copyright issues and juridical steps. Maybe I should, but I ‘m convinced that is some what of negative energy, completely opposite to my vision of a positive attitude in creative processes.


Nanwho?

One nanometer is about 0,000 000 001 meter. That’s rather small.
Nano technology for that matter, is science on that same 10-9 level.

Nano technology can be considered as design with essential building blocks, design on an atomic level, and with every small change implemented, the bigger picture changes.

It comes down to the utter essence of creation, re-designing the back bone of our mere existence. Being able to do that questions and defines our role as human beings, since the one thing that makes us different is our capability to be creative.

It defines and questions our role, since with the developed and yet to be developed tools, we’re close to playing god. Some people believe we’re coinciding with god ‘s proper job description.

An enormous task lies ahead for us as a community to define the boundaries of that research..

An example? Can we talk about genetically modified food? Is that a line not to be crossed?
But what then to say to those ingenious people that have developed a system to modify the DNA of a certain plant, resulting in a change of colour of the flower when it grows on top of a hidden landmine, making the landmine more easy to be detected…


On nano and history.

I love the similarities with history. Since, isn’t that the same? We live because there were creative processes before us. We live because one action (human or by nature) initiated another action, and thus creation is happening.

In nano research, those actions are the molecules. Change the sequence or the molecules, and you get an other outcome.


On a more personal note.
I must confess. I started my education as a civil engineer student. A logic next steps after my math specialty during high school. Add to that a slight parental force to have an engineer in the family.

It was all a bit to narrow minded – or unidirectional for that matter. I was busy, designing, drawing, photographing, writing. I met my future wife there – who is a civil engineer. So that solved my father’s problem.

When I finally quit and turned to art school and advertising, I remember my father being anxious. On the wide gap between the engineers’ world (and social surrounding) and that of the creative - or worse: artistic - scene.
And he is not the only one. We structured our society that way.

Wrongfully. With this collaboration between addictlab and imec, we are taking care of that fear. We are closing that gap.
With this book, we are trying to give a platform to those who are able to reflect from a complete other perspective and confront them with the usual suspects of the nano research.
In that confrontation lies the essence of true conceptual thinking.

Let this be a start, create the best of both worlds. And we have work to do: there is a whole place that needs to become a better one.



Allow me to thank Fenna Zamouri & Nuno Oliveira for their 109hours spend on 10-9. I also wish to thank Jo De Wachter from Imec, to have the open spirit needed to approach addictlab with this project.



Jan@addictlab.com

More?


[def. Nanotechnology is a field of applied science and technology covering a broad range of topics. The main unifying theme is the control of matter on a scale smaller than 1 micrometer, normally between 1-100 nanometers, as well as the fabrication of devices on this same length scale. It is a highly multidisciplinary field, drawing from fields such as colloidal science, device physics, and supramolecular chemistry. Much speculation exists as to what new science and technology might result from these lines of research. Some view nanotechnology as a marketing term that describes pre-existing lines of research applied to the sub-micron size scale.
Despite the apparent simplicity of this definition, nanotechnology actually encompasses diverse lines of inquiry. Nanotechnology cuts across many disciplines, including colloidal science, chemistry, applied physics, materials science, and even mechanical and electrical engineering. It could variously be seen as an extension of existing sciences into the nanoscale, or as a recasting of existing sciences using a newer, more modern term. Two main approaches are used in nanotechnology: one is a "bottom-up" approach where materials and devices are built from molecular components which assemble themselves chemically using principles of molecular recognition; the other being a "top-down" approach where nano-objects are constructed from larger entities without atomic-level control.]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On the creative industry..: How to give a company wings. And the designer with it.

It is not without pride and I hope I'm not boasting when talking about a recent succesful project confirming a bit addictlab's status as 'pioneer in the creative industry'.
A nice title, indeed. (Someone once called me personally the new Renaissance man, which was rather ok, because she was nice. But in the same event, a guy came by calling me Leonardo, stating that he then was Raphaello. It was in Australia, and yes, there were too much free drinks.)

But ok, let's bring on this exemplary work. Hm.

The briefing: try to captate the „brand essence“ of the new Diesel collection.
The system: select innovative work from our addictlab.com database.
The result: production, sales and exhibition of Light objects designed by Swedish Labmember Malin Lundmark, in the Diesel concept stores of Amsterdam, Brussels and Antwerp.


The new 2007 Diesel collection is based on aviation and neon lights.
With that information in mind, we could dive into our constantly growing database of concepts and ideas. And it was logic to present to Diesel the Paperplane Lights.
The Paperplane Lights are now being produced in Sweden and will be exhibited in the different stores mid April. The Paperplane Lights look like little paper planes, but are made of aluminium and are actually lighting objects.

About Labmember Malin Lundmark (Sweden)
Malin Lundmark mainly works with functional design, where a poetic value is added. Her creations always tell a story. More information on Malin Lundmark can be found on her Labfile on Addictlab.com.

I'm proud since I believe this really shows how Addictlab can and should work. First Malin became a Labmember after she met us in Milan. I approached her at her booth at the Satellite during the Salone del Mobile.
She registered on the site and uploaded a selection of her work on her Labfile.
We then selected her work in our publication, Ad!dict 's Inspiration book #27 with the theme Gaming, that was linked to a travelling Gaming exhibition.

And now we are making the link with the industry, and thus creating a win-win situation for Malin Lundmark as a designer, Diesel as a brand, and Addictlab as a 'facilitator'.
It means that we were able to understand the artistic level of a concept, and bring that to a larger audience. But also,
not less important, create a bridge towards the industry that needs to be innovative.
In other words: a creative industry can work if you can match economical rationalism and artistic chaos. Or at least try to control the confrontation between those two.


Thought one: we need more creative work from that level, from all different people.
Thought two: we need more businesses that understand the proactive work from Addictlab and tap into our lab.

Bring it on....