Raine Allen-Miller’s new film hits the spot for Masturbation Day

Entitled Wank Wiggle, the video brings together women from around the world to pay tribute to the joys of the female climax – particularly its use to assuage the unending boredom of lockdown. Consider it a rallying cry for anyone who’s sick of sourdough and quarantine craft projects.

The film features a tongue-in-cheek song written by Allen-Miller, which encourages women to embrace the possibilities of self-pleasure – whether that’s via a dildo, vibrator, washing machine or, really, anything you’ve got to hand.

The director herself appears in the video, making good use of a mouse scroll wheel ( a handy visual metaphor).

Despite being filmed remotely, via Zoom, Wank Wiggle still manages to look relatively polished – which is a testament to Allen-Miller’s directing skills. It might be silly, but it’s a welcome distraction at the moment.

Credits:
Director: Raine Allen-Miller
Production company: Somesuch

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How coronavirus is redefining the magazine cover

From frontline workers turned cover stars to messages of hope, the pandemic has forced publications to rethink their covers in creative new ways. We speak to magCulture’s Jeremy Leslie and the Telegraph’s Kuchar Swara about the role of magazines in our current crisis

The post How coronavirus is redefining the magazine cover appeared first on Creative Review.

The Lowdown: how brand purpose might evolve post-coronavirus

Laura Jordan Bambach and Michele Oliver

Brand purpose has been a marketing trend for several years now, resulting in advertising campaigns that have been greeted by a mix of cheers and jeers. With the world now facing seismic change, brands face an evolving role in how they may help their customers navigate the ‘new normal’.

In a new conversation for The Lowdown, led by Creative Review editor Eliza Williams, Michele Oliver, Global Marketing VP at Mars, and Laura Jordan Bambach, Chief Creative Officer at Grey London, will discuss the part that brands can play in a changing world, and how brand purpose may develop.

The trio will be in conversation live on Wednesday, June 3 at 11am. To join the conversation, please sign up here.

This conversation is part of The Lowdown, a series of regular broadcasts from Xeim brands including Creative Review, Marketing Week and Design Week on how marketers and agencies can help address the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic. More info is here

The post The Lowdown: how brand purpose might evolve post-coronavirus appeared first on Creative Review.

Scavolini's BoxLife is a "fully adaptable concept for micro living"

BoxLife is a modular furniture system designed by Rainlight for Scavolini

Rainlight founder Yorgo Lykouria explains how a modular furniture system called BoxLife allows users to organise their living spaces, in a video produced by Dezeen for Scavolini as part of Virtual Design Festival.

BoxLife is a furniture collection designed to allow its users to adapt the interior of their home for different uses at different times.

The furniture collection was designed for Italian kitchen brand Scavolini by Rainlight, a design agency founded by its creative director Lykouria, who spoke to Dezeen in a video interview recorded using Zoom as part of Virtual Design Festival.

“BoxLife is a fully adaptable concept for micro living,” said Lykouria.

BoxLife is a modular furniture system designed by Rainlight for Scavolini
BoxLife is a modular furniture system designed by Rainlight for Italian kitchen brand Scavolini

The collection is based around hiding or revealing elements with differing functions according to when they are needed. These elements are stored in box-like structures in order to transform and maximise available space.

The project won the Storage award at this year’s NYCxDesign awards, which were announced in a virtual ceremony earlier this month. While the festival has been postponed until October due to the spread of coronavirus, the awards programme was held digitally.

Initially, Scavolini approached Rainlight to design a space-efficient kitchen, but the scope of the project expanded during the research and development process.

“When Scavolini approached us to design a micro-kitchen, what we discovered was that the kitchen wasn’t the only problem in a small apartment.”

“We looked at designing the entire apartment, and that’s how BoxLife came to be.”

BoxLife is a modular furniture system designed by Rainlight for Scavolini
The collection allows users to adapt the interior of their home for different uses at different times

The modular system features fittings for kitchen, bedroom, office, laundry, dining, storage and entertainment spaces.

“The idea is effectively taking a certain amount of space and transforming it to become the kitchen, to becoming an office, a bedroom, a dining room, a place where you can have a party,” explained Lykouria.

BoxLife is a modular furniture system designed by Rainlight for Scavolini
Boxlife features elements used to form kitchen, bedroom, office, laundry, dining, storage and entertainment spaces

Lykouria described BoxLife as the equivalent of a smartphone, in the sense that it is an organising tool that allows users to dip in and out of a diverse range of functions when needed.

“You’re able to use your apartment in the same way that you use smartphone,” he stated. “The idea of the smartphone that organises your life in time, your communications – BoxLife is organising your living space in much the same way.”

BoxLife is a modular furniture system designed by Rainlight for Scavolini
According to Rainlight founder Yorgo Lykouria, BoxLife allows people to use their home like a smartphone

This video was produced for Italian kitchens brand Scavolini by Dezeen as part of Virtual Design Festival.

Virtual Design Festival runs from 15 April to 30 June 2020. It brings the architecture and design world together to celebrate the culture and commerce of our industry, and explore how it can adapt and respond to extraordinary circumstances.

To find out what’s coming up at VDF, check out the schedule. For more information or to join the mailing list, email vdf@dezeen.com.

The post Scavolini’s BoxLife is a “fully adaptable concept for micro living” appeared first on Dezeen.

City Hall: Masterpieces of American Civic Architecture

Within City Hall: Masterpieces of American Civic Architecture, photographer Arthur Drooker presents expressive, exacting imagery of the administrative hubs of various local governments. The chronological chronicle travels from the early 19th century to today—representing the wonders of Buffalo, Boston and beyond while showcasing styles that range from Federalist to modern. The book includes a foreword by historian Douglas Brinkley, and mayors (current and former) offer stories to accompany Drooker’s images.

An Eco-friendly wireless fan for the island breeze and aesthetic!

I am currently quarantining in India and it is peak summer here. When I say peak I am talking about 108°F with 80% humidity – think of it as a sauna room without any temperature control and you can’t leave. So naturally, the spots right under the ceiling fan are prime but since I share the house with more than one person, we have a cooler which brings another problem to the scene – you can only sit near a plug point. Times like these are when I think about fans being wireless like most of our home appliances and little did I know that it already exists and that too a rattan fan – technology and tropical aesthetic in one!

The rattan fan’s form has been inspired by some classic rattan pieces like the iconic chair, woven baskets, beach bags, and lightweight cabinets that you find on islands. It is airy, it technically has to be, but it visually adds a ‘lightness’ to the room it is in. Rattan is a natural sustainable material that is versatile (talk about being used from furniture to fashion) and sturdy. It also adds a touch of luxury while remaining subtle and unobtrusive to the existing interior design. Unlike coolers, the wireless rattan fan is not an eyesore and provides the flexibility to sit anywhere because the power of the breeze is in your hands now.

While it may look like a simple appliance, this appliance has all the features of a modern fan – swing, timer, and speed controls all seamlessly integrated on the back as slightly-dipped buttons so the form remains smooth. It also comes with a matching neutral-tones remote and a charger that goes on the base of the fan. I also love the fact that it has a handle which makes it easy to move around and that actually works in places where wheels aren’t the most efficient (like carpets or tiles that you don’t want to have skid marks on!). The earthy tones make it fit within any space and I am sure no one would complain as long as they have almost-island wind blowing right at them.

Designer: MMM Design Studio

rattan fan

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Alma-nac wraps London home in brick to create House-within-a-House

House-within-a-House by Alma-nac

Architecture studio Alma-nac has extended and added a second grey-brick skin to a 1950s property in Brockley, south London to create a contemporary family home.

Named House-within-a-House, the home has been built around a modest two-storey property that dates back to 1957.

Originally built as a replacement for a bomb-damaged semi-detached home, the house had come to look “incongruous and uninspiring” compared to other properties along the same street.

Alma-nac was brought on board to transform it into suitable living quarters for a couple with five young sons.

House-within-a-House by Alma-nac

“At the outset, we did of course consider demolishing the existing building and starting afresh,” said the studio’s director, Tristan Wigfall, “in many ways, this would have made our lives a lot simpler not having to work around the retained structure.”

“However, while the building was visually incongruous it was structurally sound and it felt disingenuous to endeavour to create a sustainable project in the knowledge that we had not made use of the existing materials,” he told Dezeen.

“We were excited by the challenge of transforming this ugly duckling into a striking contemporary piece of architecture that sat comfortably with its neighbours.”

House-within-a-House by Alma-nac

Alma-nac first removed the roof of the original home, before using timber beams to construct a second floor.

The three-storey structure was then overlaid with pale-grey bricks, matching the materiality of surrounding properties, which are clad with London-stock brick.

In keeping with the shape of the property next door, the structure has also been given a pitched roof.

House-within-a-House by Alma-nac

A single-storey side extension has been made at ground level to form a short covered walkway that takes inhabitants up to the front door.

“It leads you past an exposed brick wall of the original house, emphasising the house-within-a-house effect,” explained the studio.

House-within-a-House by Alma-nac

Inside, the layout of the front half of the house has been mostly preserved – an existing room has been turned into a cosy snug and study.

It looks out to the front garden through one of the six expansive windows that has been punctuated in the house’s front facade.

House-within-a-House by Alma-nac

More significant changes have been made to the rear of the property, where an extension has been erected to accommodate an expansive open-plan living area.

Like the main house, the extension has been finished with a skewed pointed roof, but instead of brick its exterior has been covered with white-stained timber planks.

House-within-a-House by Alma-nac

One side of the extension contains the kitchen, which has been finished with simple white cabinetry and a jet-black breakfast island.

The other side has a dining area, its central table surrounded by apple-green tub chairs.

House-within-a-House by Alma-nac

A couple of steps lead up to a sitting room that’s dressed with mustard-yellow and grey sofas. Floor-to-ceiling shelving also provides a place for inhabitants to display books and personal trinkets.

The exposed timber framework of House-within-a-House’s roof can be glimpsed through a central void that sits above the stairwell.

House-within-a-House by Alma-nac

It leads to the first floor, where there is a trio of double bedrooms as well as a family bathroom.

Up on the second floor are a further three bedrooms, which the studio describes as having “cathedral-like proportions” because they sit directly beneath the peak of the roof.

House-within-a-House by Alma-nac

Similar to downstairs, pops of colour have been introduced here to offset the home’s oak floorboards and neutral white-painted walls.

For example, in the master bedroom, the ensuite bathroom is enclosed by a Klein-blue timber volume.

House-within-a-House by Alma-nac

Alma-nac was established in 2010 by Chris Bryant, Caspar Rodgers and Tristan Wigfall.

House-within-a-House is one of several projects the studio has completed in London – others include Cornwall Mews, a home in Chelsea that’s arranged around a twisting cream staircase, and Slim House in Clapham, which measures just 2.3 metres wide.

Photography is by Jack Hobhouse.


Project credits:

Architect: Alma-nac
Project architects: Tristan Wigfall, Joe Reilly, Simon Campbell
Building contractor: David Stewart Building Contractor
Structural engineer: Constant – Brian Constant, John Goodwin
Project manager: Client – Dan Witchell and Michelle Anderson

The post Alma-nac wraps London home in brick to create House-within-a-House appeared first on Dezeen.

Surreal Design Creations from Landscape Photographs

Fubiz et Adobe Stock proposent une nouvelle collaboration d’artistes autour d’une tendance design 2020 identifiée par Adobe.
Après la tendance “Handmade Humanism” pour laquelle Sacrée Frangine avait repris des images de Nadezda afin de réaliser des créations minimalistes tout en douceur, nous abordons la tendance design du “semi surréalisme”.
Une tendance qui fleurit actuellement, notamment sur les réseaux sociaux, avec l’intégration d’éléments oniriques et surréels au sein d’environnements quotidiens ou de paysages.
Une invitation au rêve, un monde qui se compose et se recompose au bon vouloir des artistes qui travaillent ces univers imaginaires.

Un photographe et un artiste digital ont travaillé ensemble autour de cette tendance : Julien Missaire, un designer 3D et le contributeur Adobe Stock Matthieu Métivet qui capte l’environnement à travers son objectif.

A partir des images de Matthieu Métivet, Julien Missaire a réalisé 2 créations originales en intégrant son univers et un imaginaire surréel.
L’artiste digital a choisi des photographies à partir desquelles il pouvait créer de nouveaux environnements. Il propose deux mondes, l’un peut sembler dystopique mais qui aborde la rêverie et donne envie de plonger dedans, un second plus onirique aux couleurs chaudes qui nous invite à la contemplation.

Un résultat fantastique qui révèle l’infinité des possibilités créatives grâce au digital et donnant envie de composer un monde fictif à sa façon.

Ne manquez pas la Masterclass Illustration avec Julien Missaire qui sera retransmise en direct sur la chaîne Youtube d’Adobe France ce jeudi 28 mai de 10h30 à 12h.

Bonjour, pouvez-vous vous présenter en quelques mots et nous en dire un peu plus sur vos univers créatifs ?

Julien : Bonjour, je m’appelle Julien Missaire, je suis un “3D designer” (ou généraliste 3D) basé à Liège, en Belgique, et j’ai 23 ans.

Mon univers créatif tend vers le surréalisme ou le fantastique. J’aime créer des compositions fortement inspirées de photographies et ensuite y ajouter une touche qui rend la scène impossible à réaliser dans le monde réel. Mes créations représentent la plupart du temps des paysages assez naturels avec un élément minimaliste en plus.

Matthieu : Bonjour à vous, je m’appelle Matthieu Métivet et je suis photographe indépendant depuis 5 ans maintenant. Je fais partie du collectif The Agency et j’ai étudié deux années à l’ESMA en tant que praticien photographe.
À la suite de mes études, j’ai décidé d’aller vivre aux États-Unis pendant un an afin de parler couramment anglais, mais aussi pour pouvoir enfin réaliser un de mes rêves : photographier les États-Unis.
C’est là que j’ai vraiment découvert ma passion pour le paysage, l’aspect documentaire, mais aussi le minimalisme des images que je pouvais créer.
Mes parents m’ont toujours bercé dans la photographie. Ma mère ayant toujours son appareil photo à la main pour ne rien manquer de mon enfance, et mon père qui a toujours été passionné de photographie, qui la pratique depuis longtemps, que ce soit en argentique ou en numérique maintenant. C’est grâce à eux que j’ai pu me lancer dans une carrière de photographe indépendant, et je ne les remercierai jamais assez de m’avoir aidé à pousser ma passion pour en faire mon activité professionnelle.

Julien, dans ton travail, tu parviens à créer des univers uniques et hypnotisants.
Comment en es-tu arrivé à cet univers ? Et quelles sont tes inspirations ?

L’univers visuel dans lequel je baigne actuellement a été le fruit de nombreux essais et crash-tests. À un moment donné, je me suis juste rendu compte que j’aimais créer des univers assez réalistes pour y croire mais assez surréalistes pour surprendre.

Mes inspirations viennent de partout. Je passe une (trop) grosse partie de mon temps sur Instagram à suivre ce que plusieurs designer 3D ou photographes talentueux produisent. Je pourrais mentionner Quentin Deronzier qui est une grosse inspiration ou encore des artistes tels que Aeforia, Victor Mosquera et Mathieu LB qui sont des personnes dont j’admire beaucoup le travail.

Matthieu, ton travail dans la photographie permet d’aborder des environnements dans leur simplicité et de réveiller des émotions très singulières en les captant à travers ton objectif. Quelles sont tes inspirations ?

Mon travail se tourne essentiellement vers une approche documentaire et une esthétique épurée.
Je suis constamment à la recherche d’un cadrage qui sera composé d’éléments singuliers, graphiques, et je cherche à inciter les personnes à regarder plus attentivement ce qui les entoure, ce qui semble ordinaire, tout en travaillant sur une esthétique simple, pure et directe. Je suis très inspiré par des photographes comme Josef Hoflehner, William Eggleston, Joel Meyerowitz, tout d’abord pour leur travail documentaire, mais aussi pour le minimalisme présent dans beaucoup de leurs images, ce qui se reflète énormément dans mes créations.

Comment s’organise vos journées types de création? Où vous sentez-vous le mieux pour créer?
Pouvez-vous nous en dire un peu plus sur vos processus créatifs?

Julien : Une journée type peut beaucoup varier en fonction des projets en cours, s’ils sont conséquents ou non. Je pense que le meilleur endroit pour créer reste mon bureau. J’y ai aménagé un setup de création qui me convient et il serait difficile pour moi de travailler autrement.

La création d’un artwork passe tout simplement par une idée, je les répertorie dans une note sur mon téléphone. Quand je pense qu’il est temps de créer quelque chose, je regarde les idées que j’ai noté et je pars de l’une d’elle. J’essaie de trouver des références sur lesquelles je peux me baser et je teste des choses.

Il faut savoir que peut-être la moitié de ce que je crée n’est pas publié. Je peux me rendre compte une fois l’image finie que le résultat n’est pas assez original ou alors que je ne suis tout simplement pas satisfait. Je préfère montrer uniquement les choses dont je suis fier.

Matthieu : J’aime commencer ma journée tôt, je prépare toujours mes affaires la veille, surtout quand je voyage. Tout d’abord afin de ne pas perdre de temps mais également pour profiter de la journée entière et ainsi avoir des lumières différentes et propres à chaque moment.
J’adore explorer, rechercher de nouveaux endroits, aller à la rencontre de nouvelles personnes, de nouvelles cultures, et ainsi rester créatif. Je suis toujours en quête de nouveaux sujets, de nouvelles formes, lignes, ou d’une certaine ambiance, qui enrichiront mon image. Je recherche simplement à transmettre une émotion, une réflexion, un questionnement face au sujet que j’ai choisi.

Julien, pour cette création originale, tu as collaboré avec Matthieu Métivet, un photographe et contributeur Adobe Stock qui nous plonge dans des atmosphères et des environnements quotidiens, avec une façon d’aborder les choses de façon plus concrète. En reprenant ses images, tu as apporté à ses ambiances ta touche personnelle et leur a donné cette dimension surréelle. Que t’a apporté ce travail collaboratif?

Ce n’est pas du tout rare que j’utilise les travaux d’autres personnes pour créer. Dans chaque image publiée presque tous les ciels dont je me sers sont des photos mises en ligne sur des sites de “stock image”.

Ce travail m’a permis de réfléchir la composition autrement. Avant, la recherche d’images stock (de ciels ou nuages) se faisait à la fin du processus pour finaliser ma scène. Ici c’était l’inverse, je suis parti des créations de Matthieu pour imaginer les compositions.

Matthieu, tu es un contributeur Adobe Stock. Selon toi, quels sont les avantages pour un artiste de pouvoir proposer et publier ses créations sur la plateforme ?

Je pense que l’avantage principal d’Adobe Stock, pour un photographe comme moi, est de pouvoir créer des contenus et de les proposer à son rythme, mais aussi d’être visible par un plus grand nombre de personnes.
Je trouve également intéressant ce mélange de créatifs, que ce soit des designers, vidéastes ou photographes, qui peuvent ainsi profiter d’un accès à des contenus de qualité pouvant les aider dans leur propre travail.

Julien, Adobe a sélectionné dans les tendances visuelles de 2020, la tendance design du « semi surréalisme ».
Une tendance qui rejoint ton travail et l’intégration libre d’éléments dans des lieux réels.
Selon toi, qu’est-ce que cela représente ? Comment cette notion peut-elle se rapprocher de ton univers et comment s’intègre-t-elle à ton art?

De plus en plus de personnes s’essaient à cet univers du “semi surréalisme”, chacun y apporte quelque chose. Ce qui est intéressant c’est qu’il n’y a finalement pas de limites aux outils utilisés. Certains utilisent uniquement des images et créeront sur Photoshop, d’autres se rapprochent plus de l’illustration et de la peinture.

Cette notion se rapproche parfaitement de ce que j’aime faire et l’utilisation de la 3D dans mon travail me permet d’être plus libre. Il n’est pas du tout impossible de créer un univers intéressant et d’en sortir des vidéos avec des plans de caméra permettant ainsi une meilleur immersion.

Matthieu, Adobe a sélectionné dans les tendances visuelles 2020, la tendance design du « semi-surréalisme ».
Une tendance intégrée à ton travail qui se mêle à des univers qui s’éloignent du réel et qui s’invitent dans l’onirisme.
Selon toi, qu’est-ce que cela représente ? Comment cette notion peut se rapprocher de ton univers et comment s’intègre-t-elle à ton art?

Tout d’abord, je trouve que le « semi-surréalisme » est un sujet intéressant, dans le sens où il invite les personnes à questionner la barrière du réel. Cette démarche me semble proche de la mienne car je cherche par mon travail à motiver les gens à questionner l’ordinaire et à remettre en doute l’évidence.
Je pense donc que mes images incitent aux questionnements : Qu’est-ce que la normalité ? Qu’est-ce qui est banal et pourquoi ?
Je cherche à dépasser cette routine visuelle en essayant de la rendre intéressante. Et c’est là où l’aspect minimaliste de mon travail se rapproche de cette tendance et le rend pour ainsi dire « semi-réel », car il est issu de la réalité du quotidien tout en cherchant à la dépasser.

Si vous pouviez résumer votre travail en une phrase, quelle serait-elle ?

Julien : Ce serait : univers simple et coloré invitant au rêve.

Matthieu : Documenter la vie de tous les jours et casser la banalité.

There are only five days left to enter Dezeen Awards 2020

There are just five days left to enter Dezeen Awards 2020, so here are five reasons why you should enter our award-winning awards programme today.

1. You’re running out of time! The deadline is on 2 June at 23:59 BST. Complete your entry today so you don’t miss out.

2. You can save 50 per cent on studio categories. Fancy being named architecture, interior design or design studio of the year? Use 50STUDIO at the payment stage to enter at half price!

3. Have your work seen by our stellar lineup of judges including Norman Foster, Michelle Ogundehin, Patrik Schumacher and Paola Navone.

4. If you get shortlisted we will publish your project as a story on the main Dezeen website. You’ll also be mentioned in our newsletter and on our social media channels.

5. It’s easy to enter. Dezeen Awards has the simplest, most intuitive entry process of any awards programme.

Enter Dezeen Awards 2020 today

Entries will close at 23:59 on Tuesday 2 June.

If you have any questions you can email our awards team at awards@dezeen.com.

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Norimaki Synthesizer device uses electrically charged gel to simulate different flavours

Norimaki Synthesizer device by Homei Miyashita uses electrically charged gels to simulate different flavours

Japanese researcher Homei Miyashita has developed a lickable device that uses five gel nodules made of dissolved electrolytes to replicate different food tastes without the user having to ingest anything.

Called the Norimaki Synthesizer, the rod-shaped device is able to simulate any flavour represented by the five universally accepted basic taste sensations: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami.

Miyashita – a researcher and professor at Meiji University in Tokyo – and his team believe the discovery opens new possibilities for human-computer interaction.  The Norimaki Synthesizer, they believe, could provide an entirely new medium for multimedia experiences.

Norimaki Synthesizer device by Homei Miyashita uses electrically charged gels to simulate different flavours

The gadget uses five gels made of dissolved electrolytes that, when electrically charged, provide controlled amounts of each of the five basic tastes to deliver a combination of tastes to the user’s tongue.

The research team liken the process to optical displays that produce many colours from lights of three basic colours (red, yellow and blue).

Each of the gels are made by dissolving five different electrolytes – sodium chloride, glycine, magnesium chloride, citric acid and glutamic sodium – in a small amount of water in separate solutions to create highly concentrated blends.

Food colouring was also added to distinguish each substance, including black (sodium chloride), red (glycine), brown (magnesium chloride), yellow (citric acid) and pink (glutamic sodium).

Heated agar – a jelly-like substance obtained from red algae – is then added to these solutions, which are inserted into a tube with a diameter of 6 millimetres and left to cool and harden into a gel.

Norimaki Synthesizer device by Homei Miyashita uses electrically charged gels to simulate different flavours

Platinum wire electrodes are inserted into the each of the five gels before being placed into the rod-like device, which has a diameter of 20 millimetres.

Each isolated gel can be given a different current intensity to individually control its taste.

Miyashita likens look of the hand-held device to a norimaki – a sushi roll wrapped in dried seaweed – from which the project takes its name.

The Norimaki Synthesizer is wrapped in copper foil, which acts as an anode, while the wire acts as a cathode. Together with the human body contact, these work to form an electrical circuit.

Norimaki Synthesizer device by Homei Miyashita uses electrically charged gels to simulate different flavours

The other end of each wire is connected to a variable resistor, attached to a central controller.

By adjusting the sliders, Miyashita and his research team could change and transition between tastes, including going from a sweet taste like “gummy candy” to the salty and sour taste of sushi.

Fragrance, however, cannot be reproduced, the researcher told Dezeen, or the pungency of something spicy.

Norimaki Synthesizer device by Homei Miyashita uses electrically charged gels to simulate different flavours

“When applied to the tongue with no voltage, the user can taste all five tastes,” explained Miyashita in his research paper on the Norimaki Synthesizer.

“However, when an electric potential is applied, the cations (positively charged ions) in the gel move to the cathode side and away from the tongue, so that the flavour is tasted,” he continued.

“In this way, we have developed a taste display that reproduces an arbitrary taste by individually suppressing the sensation of each of the five basic tastes (like subtractive synthesis).”

Many tech designers are experimenting with ways to use technology to replicate physical experiences. Students at the RCA have creeated a device that licks you during a phone conversation, and Studio Tada has developed a haptic fingernail that lets the wearer experience touch virtually.

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