Fun is Fun

We were recently showed the work of a designer/artist that creates moments. Sound weird? I will explain, all of his designs are programs. One of these programs randomly generates images and music so that when it is viewed it is never the same thing, and that moment is lost forever, it is called Forever.

I'm looking At this not because it is randomly generated but because it is something that could potentially be part of an environmental in the future and I would love it to be, it almost looks like something from a 1980s sci-fi movie. Just watching clips in this video of the program makes me feel relaxed, if I spotted this in real like I would probably sit memorized for hours. It reminds me of snow globes, lava lamps and prophetical motion ornaments.

I've also been looking at other disruptive designs that improve peoples moods from performing everyday tasks. These are some winners and ideas from the fun theory, a competition that gets people to rethink ways of presenting everyday tasks as a more fun fresh experience.

This is an idea that it getting people to recycle more and have fun while doing it. The idea is that it works like an ordinary bottle collection machine except it behaves like a Blackpool arcade machine, you put the bottles in the corresponding holes when they light up. Simple yet effective, and it really brings people together at the same time making everyone feel better whilst having a great time. 

This does the same sort of thing, disrupting peoples boring lives and trying to make a task more fun. This idea for instance gets people to obey the speed limit by automatically entering them into a lottery when they drive under or at the speed limit. The people who speed past the camera don't get entered into the lottery but pay a fine as normal. The twist is that the lottery is made up of the combined fines of the people who have being speeding.   

This idea is my least favorite, but it seems to work. A sensor is attached to the inside of the bin and when rubbish is put in it, a sound is activated. The sound is a falling noise that gives the impression the bin is deeper than it actually is, I feel it lacks some of the charm of other ideas but as I said, it still does the job.

 This idea is trying to get people to wipe their feet before they come into a shop, when they wipe their feet it acts as if you're scratching a record. 

This idea is another recycling one, but is probably my favorite. You get your empty cans (which are currency) and recycle them within this beverage machine, then the machine gives you the chance to win another drink.