Herman Miller, one of the most highly-regarded office chair designers and producers, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its brand name. To celebrate, they will have an exhibit of the rich history of their company’s graphic design journey. The exhibit will begin at the Milan Design Week and eventually go to Chicago in June. You would think that this exhibit is all about the furniture but is more the visual journey of their design and marketing materials.
Designer: Herman Miller
Founded by D.J De Pree, Herman Miller was launched back in 1923 and by 1930, they hired Gilbert Rhode to bring modern design sensibilities to their previously traditional furniture. His wife Peggy Rhode was his partner as she took charge of designing their marketing materials, matching the new direction that the company was taking. When George Nelson started designing for the company in 1945, pioneer graphic designers like Irving Harper and Tomiko Miho also brought in a new look to their designs.
Designer John Massey and eventually his protege Steve Frykholm then brought the Pop Art look to the designs in the 60s and 70s. Barbara Loveland and Linda Powell then brought postmodern sensibilities in the 80s and 90s. For the textile division of the company, Alexander Girard is the name to remember as he used “graphics to create motifs with meaning” during his tenure as the founding director. His designs will also be on display at the exhibition. They will also be selling limited-edition prints of the Eames Soft Pad Group poster which is an iconic look for the brand.
The exhibit not only shows Herman Miller’s visual design journey but also looks like a history of graphic design over the past 100 years. You can see the various design movements for every decade so it’s also interesting how the company was able to keep up with all of that. It makes sense that they would put on this kind of exhibit rather than just show off their chairs or furniture (although they’re mostly pretty nice as well).
Dezeen has teamed up with Audi during Milan design week to capture its installation featuring mirror-clad monoliths lined up like dominoes around the brand’s Audi House of Progress exhibition exploring circular design.
Called The Domino Act, the installation was designed by Gabriele Chiave, former creative director of Marcel Wanders Studio and co-founder of design studio Controvento.
It was intended to symbolise the progress that Audi has made towards introducing some of the principles of circular design into its design and production processes.
As its name suggests, the installation draws on the concept of the domino effect – how one action can set off a chain of events that build up cumulatively to have a bigger impact.
Audi commissioned Gabriele Chiave to design The Domino Act installation for its House of Progress
The installation comprises 22 monoliths covered in reflective surfaces that interact with their surroundings and natural light.
The circular configuration is intended as an artistic representation of the principles of circular design.
The installation featured mirror-clad monoliths arranged in a circular configuration
Through the theme of interconnectedness, Audi aims to highlight how a single strategic decision could set in motion a virtuous process that results in greater conservation of resources and recycling of materials.
Steps the brand has already taken towards circularity include extending the lifespan of its vehicles, as well as conserving energy, minimising waste and mitigating carbon emissions during the production process.
Audi debuted its “skysphere” electric roadster concept during Milan design week
The installation was designed as part of the Audi House of Progress exhibition and is on display in the Piazza del Quadrilatero courtyard of the Portrait Milano hotel from 17 to 23 April, as part of Milan design week 2023.
It’s never too late to switch careers into industrial design. Michael Dziewior is a marketing consulting with both a Bachelors and Masters in International Entrepreneurship, Management and Marketing, but after founding his own company and spending eight years in the workforce, he’s gone back to school to pursue his design dream. Dziewior is currently studying Product/Industrial Design at the Berlin University of the Arts. Here’s his latest project, a sustainable storage unit:
“An easy to assemble, modular sideboard made from recycled aluminum and honeycomb-cardboard. FRAME provides an alternative to laminated chipboards. They are coated with resins, contain toxic adhesives, and are often incinerated during their disposal.””
“The frame made of recycled aluminum provides stability, durability and is easy to assemble and disassemble. The honeycomb-cardboard is 100% recyclable, lightweight, and simply plugged into the frame.”
On a trip to Indonesia, industrial designer Julian Reuter spotted some rattan handicrafts at a local market. He was fascinated by the pliability of the material. Imagine, for instance, achieving these kinds of bends with conventional timber:
Upon returning home to Germany, Reuter contacted fellow industrial designer Peter Kraft. The two had been buddies at design school in Aachen and were “always looking for materials and solutions that combine ecology, design and economy.” What could they do with this new material?
Investigating the material, they learned that rattan is a monocot, like bamboo. Monocots do not exhibit secondary growth. What that means is, unlike a tree that gets thicker as it grows taller, rattan only grows upwards, staying at a constant diameter. It also does not develop branches. So unlike wood, a milled rattan beam would have no knots, and no growth rings in its cross section. It would also have, on its own, no ability to form structure beyond holding its own weight up, which is why you don’t see rattan beams.
Reuter and Kraft came up with a clever manufacturing technique. The two formed a company, Karuun, after coming up with not one, but four different previously-unseen applications for rattan.
All four products start off with the same production method: Rattan trunks are milled perfectly square on four faces. A number of these milled trunks are then laminated together.
With multiple trunks thus laminated together, none of them can bend, and structure is achieved. And because the grain lines in rattan are dead-straight, there’s no visible joint where one piece has been joined to another. This resultant monolith is the first product, Karuun Block.
Karuun Block can be machined using ordinary woodworking tools. It doesn’t splinter and there’s no knots, making it ideal for furniture.
The second product is Karuun Stripe. This is created by peeling off a layer of Karuun Block, creating a veneer that is then laminated with a thin cellulose coating to prevent cracking. It can be dyed with colors. Also, the stuff can be cut so thin that light can be passed through it.
The third product is Karuun 3D. By laminating together multiple layers of Karuun Stripe, and alternating the fiber direction of each layer in the manner of plywood, the resultant material can be molded into extreme shapes rivaling plastics or fiberglass.
The fourth product is Karuun Shine. This is created by slicing a 3mm- to 5mm-thick horizontal layer of Karuun Block. This allows light to actually shine through the capillaries of the material, as well as allowing airflow. These Shine pieces can be used as acoustic panels or incorporated into lighting design, and they also have a degree of malleability.
Here’s a rundown from the company:
You can learn more about any of the specific applications by clicking on its link above. If you’d like to learn more about the material in general, they’ve got a technical FAQ here.
The exhibition titled Ecocentrico forms part of the Alcova design fair and includes multimedia installations and workshops, which address the topics of urban regeneration and memory.
This year’s Alcova fair takes place in the neighbourhood of Porta Vittoria – the former butcher’s district of Milan – and many of the student projects use local materials recovered from the area and engage with the history of the site.
One of the seven workshops taking place is Fluid Shapes by student at IED Mauro del Santo, which uses soap bubbles to explore ideas around complexity and harmony. Participants are invited to play with the material properties of the bubbles and discover “different ways of making”.
The Alcova design fair at which Ecocentrico takes place was founded by Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima.
The workshop is held inside a gold geometric dome, which references the architecture of traditional steppe nomad yurts. A second silver yurt acts as a workshop and exhibition space for students’ work.
One of the student projects featured in the exhibition is 1/1000 – Bangs of Life by Paola Riviezzo, which is informed by Alcova’s history as a site traditionally used for animal slaughter.
1/1000 – Bangs of Life includes organic packages made from soil and seeds called “life bombs”, which aim to counteract the number of animals killed with “new life”.
As part of the project, visitors can take home digital formulas and instructions on how to re-create their own life bombs at home through QR codes.
The packages are fully compostable and made by 3D printer
Other projects exhibited make use of projections, audio and found objects to reflect on urban regeneration.
Throughout Ecocentrico’s runtime, IED’s student collective called Fanzine will record the events taking place, through photography and video.
After the fair is complete, the former butchery in which the exhibition takes place will be converted into a new IED International Campus.
IED is a design school based in Italy, with nine international campuses situated across major Italian cities, Spain and Brazil. The school was founded in 1966 by Italian painter Francesco Morelli.
Milan design week 2023
Econcentrico takes place as part of Milan design week from 17 to 23 April 2023, at Via Molise 62, 20137 Milan, Italy. See our Milan design week 2023 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the week.
Partnership content
This video was produced by Dezeen for IED as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen’s partnership content here.
The Milos collection includes sofas, armchairs, sun loungers and coffee and side tables, all made of soft, organic shapes.
The Milos outdoor collection is designed to reference the landscapes of the Mediterranean
“For this new collaboration with Vondom, I wanted to evoke the original identity of this brand born between the sea and mountains in Valencia,” said Massaud. “Milos’ different pieces are like a collection of rocks gently shaped by winds and waves that create a typical Mediterranean landscape.”
“My intention was to bring to Vondom a non-Cartesian planning that you can combine organically, as life on a reef.”
The collection includes sun loungers and side tables
The seating’s organic shapes and colours are designed to blend harmoniously with the natural surroundings and Massaud envisions them situated on a terrace or a garden.
The Milos collection is launching at Milan design week 2023, and will be presented at Salone del Mobile at Hall 2 | Stand M22.
Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen’s huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.
Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.
At Yanko Design, we believe in constantly innovating, creating, and evolving. It’s a philosophy that serves as a lifeline for us, and one of the results of this lifeline is the YD x KeyShot Inspiration Hub! The Inspiration Hub is our ‘ever-expanding encyclopedia’ of design work for you to participate in, to inspire designers, and to get inspired by. Created in collaboration with KeyShot, the Inspiration Hub is your one-stop space for inspiration where designers like you can submit your impressive designs and be awarded to stand out in the crowd and to inspire other like-minded designers.
To kickstart your journey and send some motivation your way, we’ve curated some of our favorite 3D-printed from the Inspiration Hub. These unique and uber-cool 3D-printed designs will motivate you to create something spectacular and submit the design, as a gateway to sharing it with the best of the design world. Additionally, we will also be picking our favorite Design of the Week, Design of the Month, and Design of the Year – every week, month, and year from the submissions on the Inspiration Hub. Keep an eye on our Instagram page and the Inspiration Hub to see if your design gets picked. Fingers crossed!
Click here to Download KeyShot Pro (Use Code ‘KSYANKOHUB’ during installation for full Pro + KeyShotWeb trial) to take your sketch from concept to render!
1. Karen Ultralight
Visualized by Anima Design for Katahashi Instruments, the Karen Ultralight is a dynamic and uber-cool-looking electric violin that features a relatively hollow body and dumps the traditional wooden acoustic chambers. It features a 3D-printed generative frame that sits on a carbon fiber body, with a birchwood fingerboard for an even better but still familiar violin-playing experience.
2. The Throne
Designed by Spanish design studio Nagami and To: this 3D-printed toilet is called The Throne and is made up of three parts – a teardrop-shaped body, a double-curved sliding door, and a bucket for solid waste. The various parts of the toilet were printed within three days – pretty quickly! This includes the base and multiple other smaller accessories that were either injection molded or ordered. It also includes an off-the-shelf separation toilet seat to separate urine from solids for composting.
3. The Cryptide Sneaker
Designed by Stephan Henrich for Sintratec, the Cryptide Sneaker is a pair of full 3D shoes that are laser sintered with a flexible TPE material. The shoes were printed using a Sintratec S2 System 3D printer. The Cryptide features a sole with an open design. The designer said it was made possible by SLS production (Selective Laser Sintering) and a material called Sintratec TPE elastomer.
4. The Polyformer
The Polyformer is made from recycled plastic PET bottles and features an interesting translucent white appearance. Designed by Reiten Cheng, the 3D-printed machine slices up PET bottles, and melts them, turning them into filaments only 1.75 mm in diameter. These recycled plastic threads can then be used in normal 3D printers to create more things, probably with the same distinctive translucent appearance as the Polyformer.
5. bFRIENDS
Pearson Lloyd teamed up with 3D-manufacturing studio Batch.Works to create pen pots, trays, and a mobile-phone stand made from discarded food packaging. They created this collection for the office brand Bene, and it is called bFRIENDS. The products were 3D-printed using recycled polylactic acid (PLA) sourced from food packaging by Batch.Works.
6. 3D Printed Chairs
Johannes Steinbauer Office For Design created these 3D-printed seats that can be built without fabrics, springs, and foam, and they still manage to be comfortable and functional. The chairs use rigid prints instead of the usual racks from chairs. The different parts are easy to assemble and disassemble and once it reaches the end of life, you can dispose of the different parts separately and recycle them accordingly. Yes, the chairs are easy to assemble and sustainable – the best of both worlds!
7. 88M Pegasus
Jozeph Forakis and his strategic design agency conceived the world’s first 3D-printed superyacht. It has been equipped with a multitude of sustainability features, and “Tree of Live” as its centerpiece. Called the 88M Pegasus, this is the superyacht of the future. With a layout that renders it completely invisible floating on water, it operates completely emissions-free – making this yacht a pretty drool-worthy one!
8. Cozy Cleo Lamp
Based in Germany, the design studio EveryOtherDay designed this 3D-printed table lamp. It was created using recycled plastic bottles and cardboard. This sustainable product is a fine specimen of circular design and wholly embodies minimalistic design principles. This process involves recycled cardboard being pressed and molded into shape without the use of any kind of additives. It is shredded into pieces by adding water and then pressed into shape by applying 5 tons of pressure using a hydraulic press.
9. The Kelp Mini Clutch
Designed by Julie Koerner, the Kelp Mini Clutch features interesting organic patterns that are based on 3D scans of natural topologies from kelp collected from the Malibu coastline in California. The unique and innovative design not only gives the clutch a rather natural charm but also makes it easier to use. The voids created by the patterns not only let you have a slight view of what’s inside the bag but also make it more lightweight.
10. The Vine Collection
The Vine collection features a variety of interesting 3D-printed products – including a vase-like vessel, basket, bowl, and dish tray that look as if a bunch of wooden rods were twisted and played around with to create pleasing shapes and curves. Designed by fuseproject, the products are quite sustainable and recyclable since no adhesives and extra connecting parts were used to create them. The twisting shapes serve as metaphors for the organic nature of trees that eventually end up as source materials for these products.
This year’s theme, “Possibility,” highlights the controversy around developing responsible, safe, unbiased and accurate AI
Artificial Intelligence is a global topic as innovators and tech giants like OpenAI, Google and Microsoft work toward increasingly intelligent chatbots and artificial systems that leverage the trove of information that exists on the web today, alongside predictive models and deep neural networks. Touted as one of the biggest tech disruptions and innovations since the invention of the internet, it’s no wonder that AI, in all its forms, is one of the center points of this year’s TED 2023 gathering this week in Vancouver. TED organizers kicked things off with a bang during a session dedicated to AI with headliner Greg Brockman, the president, chairman, and co-founder of OpenAI—the creator of the controversial ChatGPT platform.
Greg Brockman speaks at SESSION 2 at TED2023: Possibility. April 17-21, 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_2GT6266-medium.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_2GT6266-medium.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1″ class=”size-large wp-image-310005″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_2GT6266-medium.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1″ alt=”” width=”1024″ height=”683″ data-recalc-dims=”1″ />Greg Brockman speaks at SESSION 2 at TED2023: Possibility. April 17-21, 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED
Brockman started the session by showing off the newest features of his company’s controversial AI, ChatGPT-4. He asked GPT-4 to create a unique and appealing gourmet vegetarian meal. From there he demonstrated a new set of plug-ins for the system, which include the popular text-from-image AI DALL-E, the grocery delivery service Instacart and Zapier, an automation platform that Brockman used to send a tweet about the meal that ChatGPT4 created. Later in his TED Talk, he showed off the new plug-in that allows the AI to access the internet to fact-check information, and a Python programming feature that allows it to parse through large amounts of data (Brockman used an Excel sheet that had a list of more than 167,000 AI papers that have been published in the last 30 years) in the same way a data scientist might to create visual representations.
“What is so interesting to me about this whole process, is that it’s this many-step collaboration between the human and AI,” Brockman said during the talk. “Because a human, using this back checking tool, is doing it in order to produce data for another AI, to become more useful to a human.”
<img data-attachment-id="310006" data-permalink="https://coolhunting.com/culture/ted-2023-the-future-of-ai-cannot-be-modeled/attachment/ted2023_20230418_1gt7927-medium/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_1GT7927-medium.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1200,800" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"4.5","credit":"Gilberto Tadday / TED","camera":"ILCE-1","caption":"Host Chris Anderson and Greg Brockman speak at SESSION 2 at TED2023: Possibility. April 17-21, 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED","created_timestamp":"-62169950612","copyright":"Gilberto Tadday","focal_length":"68","iso":"3200","shutter_speed":"0.0052631578947368","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="TED2023_20230418_1GT7927-medium" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="
Host Chris Anderson and Greg Brockman speak at SESSION 2 at TED2023: Possibility. April 17-21, 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_1GT7927-medium.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_1GT7927-medium.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1″ loading=”lazy” class=”size-large wp-image-310006″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_1GT7927-medium.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1″ alt=”” width=”1024″ height=”683″ data-recalc-dims=”1″ />Host Chris Anderson and Greg Brockman speak at SESSION 2 at TED2023: Possibility. April 17-21, 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED
The presentation and Brockman’s exceedingly promotional and sunny view of AI was met with applause, and a handful of TED attendees gave Brockman a standing ovation, but following the presentation Chris Anderson, the head of TED, pushed back on the founder’s positive view of the future of AI and how it will impact society—especially when it comes to human ethics.
TED speaker Yejin Choi, a professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, presented her TED Talk following Brockman’s. She said the current iteration of AI systems are “shockingly stupid,” when it comes to common sense and human ethics. She pointed to what computer scientists call the paperclip problem: a game designed in 2017 that demonstrates how AI could destroy humanity when tasked with the seemingly simple and benign activity of maximizing the number of paperclips it could make.
<img data-attachment-id="310007" data-permalink="https://coolhunting.com/culture/ted-2023-the-future-of-ai-cannot-be-modeled/attachment/ted2023_20230418_2gt7426-medium/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_2GT7426-medium.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1200,800" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"4.5","credit":"Gilberto Tadday / TED","camera":"ILCE-1","caption":"Gary Marcus and Host Chris Anderson speak at SESSION 2 at TED2023: Possibility. April 17-21, 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED","created_timestamp":"-62169948191","copyright":"Gilberto Tadday","focal_length":"197","iso":"3200","shutter_speed":"0.0052631578947368","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="TED2023_20230418_2GT7426-medium" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="
Gary Marcus and Host Chris Anderson speak at SESSION 2 at TED2023: Possibility. April 17-21, 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_2GT7426-medium.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_2GT7426-medium.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1″ loading=”lazy” class=”size-large wp-image-310007″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_2GT7426-medium.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1″ alt=”” width=”1024″ height=”683″ data-recalc-dims=”1″ />Gary Marcus and Host Chris Anderson speak at SESSION 2 at TED2023: Possibility. April 17-21, 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED
Choi wasn’t the only TED presenter who discussed the significant risks that AI poses to humanity as a whole. Author and self-described “AI Prognosticator,” Gary Marcus highlighted that AIs could become intelligent enough to trick humans (as the systems already have, like they did at CNET) and that the current AI iterations often create both misinformation and disinformation, including false Washington Post news stories, to support its outputs. Marcus argued during his TED Talk that AI needs to have global oversight and governance and that the technology poses a significant risk to humanity on many fronts.
The picture got even more dire when Eliezer Yudkowsky, an AI researcher and a very late add to the TED 2023 event, took the stage. “We are not remotely approaching this issue with the gravitas we need,” Yudkowsky said, “This is not a gap we can overcome with a six-month moratorium on AI development.” Yudkowsky was referring to the open letter about pausing AI development for at least six months to ensure its safety. That letter has been signed by tech leaders, including everyone from polarizing Elon Musk to Apple co-founder and tech visionary Steve Wozniak. Yudkowsky argued that AIs could do everything from introduce and create new biological and chemical weapons to manipulate governments and influence people through the use of false information.
<img data-attachment-id="310003" data-permalink="https://coolhunting.com/culture/ted-2023-the-future-of-ai-cannot-be-modeled/attachment/ted2023_20230418_1gt8712-medium/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_1GT8712-medium.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1200,800" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"4.5","credit":"Gilberto Tadday / TED","camera":"ILCE-1","caption":"Alexandr Wang speaks at SESSION 2 at TED2023: Possibility. April 17-21, 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED","created_timestamp":"-62169946757","copyright":"Gilberto Tadday","focal_length":"46","iso":"3200","shutter_speed":"0.0052631578947368","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="TED2023_20230418_1GT8712-medium" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="
Alexandr Wang speaks at SESSION 2 at TED2023: Possibility. April 17-21, 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_1GT8712-medium.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_1GT8712-medium.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1″ loading=”lazy” class=”size-large wp-image-310003″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/coolhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TED2023_20230418_1GT8712-medium.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1″ alt=”” width=”1024″ height=”683″ data-recalc-dims=”1″ />Alexandr Wang speaks at SESSION 2 at TED2023: Possibility. April 17-21, 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED
Alexandr Wang, the founder, and CEO of Scale AI, followed Yudkowsky’s talk, discussing the data challenges and growing military threats that AI poses. He argued that more technology companies need to partner with the U.S. government to ensure that the technology is used to support democracy. He also argued that deterrence was key and that an AI war will define the future of our world, using the analogy of the atomic bomb as his example.
On the positive side, the final session of the morning was presented by the Khan Academy founder, Sal Khan. The Khan Academy is an education platform for students and teachers, and the company worked closely with OpenAI to incorporate a chatbot tutor into its platform. The AI helps students do an array of things—for instance, utilize the Socratic method or chat with AI-created book characters like F Scott Fitzgerald’s Gatsby or chat embodiments of the Mississippi River.
As the world grapples with the implications and evolving iterations of AI, one thing is clear: the leaders on stage at TED 2023 view the rapidly advancing technology as a mixed bag of incredible positives and potentially humanity-ending negatives, and the development of AI and advanced chatbots like GPT-4 needs continued discussion, thoughtful debate and human and government oversight to reach its full, safe, inclusive and positive potential.
The number of brands selling foldable phones has started to rise, but sales of these still niche devices haven’t increased significantly yet. There are a number of factors contributing to this slow adoption, including the hesitation to invest in a still unproven and fragile technology. Perhaps a more important reason, however, is the prohibitive price of these smartphones, with the cheapest going for above your average flagship. Making foldable phones more accessible could also help make them more common, and it seems that Motorola will be attempting to address that problem, but it will be making one critical change to reach that price point, one that loses one of the new Razr’s biggest appeal.
The RAZR is one of Motorola’s most iconic phones, at least for those old enough to remember the original non-smart feature phone. Its razor-thin profile, from which it gets its name, was revolutionary even in the age of flip phones. The company revived that name back in 2019, and it also transformed the design into a foldable clamshell. Although it is hardly the only player in that arena, the Motorola Razr still has one important feature that none of its rivals have.
The new and foldable Razr has one of the biggest external screens as far as clamshells go. More than that, however, that screen can also run the full Android interface rather than a small custom UI with limited functionality. It is indeed cramped, but it at least gives owners the freedom to use it the way they want rather than constricting them to the manufacturer’s vision.
It seems that the Motorola Razr 2023 will be singing a different tune, though. It might even go by a different name. Based on renders generated from leaked information, this foldable clamshell will do away with the larger cover display. Instead, the dual cameras on its back will sit beside a small rectangular screen no taller than those cameras. Naturally, this would suggest that there will also be a reduction in capabilities, limiting its use to displaying notifications and the like.
Fortunately, this Razr “Lite” is expected to be accompanied by a Razr+ flagship model that would hopefully retain the foldable phone’s key feature. In exchange for that loss in functionality, the Razr Lite is expected to start with a lower price tag. How low that price will be is still unknown, but it better be accessible, or else Motorola will have a dud in its hands.
The Apple BKC store occupies a prominent corner of Bandra Kurla Complex, an office and shopping development in Mumbai, and is the technology brand’s first flagship store in the country.
Apple BKC is the first flagship store in India
“We are delighted to collaborate with Apple on their first flagship store in India,” said Foster + Partners head of studio Stefan Behling.
“Apple BKC embodies the creative spirit of Mumbai,” he continued. “The design incorporates finely crafted elements, locally sourced materials and lush greenery – to stimulate the senses and lift the spirits.”
The roof was made from 450,000 pieces of oak
The triangular-shaped store is enclosed by two eight-metre-high glass walls that allow natural light into its double-height interior.
Within the main space, display tables show Apple’s products while two rows of ficus trees placed in planters double as seating next to the windows.
A feature staircase made of stainless steel with two 14-meter-long glass balustrades leads to a mezzanine level overlooking this central space.
The store has stone walls from Rajasthan
According to the studio, the store’s interior was designed as “a symbiosis of Apple’s unique design approach with finely crafted elements and locally sourced materials”.
The walls of the store, which were made from stone sourced from Rajasthan, have a fine grain that is intended to evoke the texture of luxurious Georgette fabric.
Above the store and extending to form a canopy around it is a timber ceiling, which is made with 450,000 hand-crafted oak elements that are formed into 1,000 triangular tiles.
The tiles were arranged to resemble a lattice pattern that was informed by the work of rattan weavers in Mumbai.
The wooden tiles are intended to resemble the work of rattan weavers
“At Apple, our customers are at the centre of everything we do, and our teams are excited to celebrate this wonderful moment with them as we open our first retail store in India,” said Apple’s senior vice president of retail Deirdre O’Brien.
“Apple BKC is a reflection of Mumbai’s vibrant culture and brings together the best of Apple in a beautiful, welcoming space for connection and community.”
Apple BKC in Mumbai is the latest retail outlet designed by Foster + Partners for the tech giant.
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