Inventing Interactive
I’ve just fallen in love with “The Flavor Thesaurus” by Niki Segnit. The book takes 99 basic flavors and examines how each pairs with the remanding 98. The author acknowledges that the list of 99 and the pairings were only semi-scientific — instead it’s more a way of exploring pairings, categorizing recipes, and sharing personal […]
I just realized that I’ve been collecting food-related links. I think it may have started with Why Menus Suck + Other Deep Thoughts on the Food Tech Revolution. In the post, Dave McClure starts with the premise that “menus suck” and then goes on to offer some opportunities to improve the restaurant experience. The most […]
I had lunch today at genes@CO-OP, the cafe at Barneys New York‘s Madison Avenue store. It’s a remarkably restrained, and so quite pleasant, interactive dining experience designed by 2×4. It’s simple enough… a long double-sided table, and at each seat, a touchable monitor under the glass surface. You can choose what you want to eat, […]
Here are three interesting vision scenario projects from Michaël Harbourn, a designer currently studying in Paris. There’s a fascinating aspect to these projects — I’m not sure if the student, foreign (non-US), or product-design orientation is the source. But his use of morphable surfaces, and quiet, almost meditative, presentation style, is pretty neat. Aeon is […]
This is interesting… Intel Labs’ Oasis Project uses your kitchen countertop to recognize the foods that you place on it, and projects a variety of interactive content. It’s still early research, and so the sorts of interactions possible, as well as the content that’s projected, are pretty basic. But the video suggests a variety of ways people […]
This is interesting… an ice cream vending machine that’s smile-activated. The system recognizes a user’s facial expression and, if they’re smiling, rewards them with free ice cream. It’s a great example of creatively using advanced technology for a brand-relevant experience. Created for Unilever (who own the brands Ben & Jerry’s, Good Humor, Breyers and Klondike), […]
In a recent post Golan Levin writes about how adding the term “computational” to various non-science fields allows you to imagine all sorts of new subjects. Specifically, he “created” Computational Gastronomy, only to realize that the field sort-of actually exists (!), and so started an interesting list of articles and research in the emerging field. […]
Last year I was in London with some friends and we ended up having dinner at Inamo in SoHo. They’ve developed an interactive ordering system that uses your entire table as a display, using ceiling-mounted projectors The basic dilemma with these sorts of restaurants is that the novelty, whatever it may be, is what attracts […]