Talk given at the Ideo Make-a-thon in Munich on July 6th 2013.

1. Designing
chocolate,
not
aspirin.
Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino
@iotwatch
alex@designswarm.com

2. Tinker London
2007-2010
Good Night Lamp
March 2012
First UK distributor
of the Arduino
R&D projects for corporates
A family of
internet-connected
lamps.
IDII
2004-2006

3. #iot
The internet of things can be loosely
defined as:
1. what happens when we
embed connectivity in everyday objects.
2. what happens when those objects
are designed with an understanding
of the affordances of the web.

4. the
shape
of
the
conversation
Hardware
(open/closed)
Connectivity
(wifi, zigbee/radio,
GSM)
Battery life
Standards
Privacy
Security
What things?

5. What things?
Smart cities
Smart cars
Home automation
Products
as
part
of
an
ecology.

6. 3
approaches.
1. Design to extend.
2. Design to comfort.
3. Design to disrupt.

7. Your product extends the
capabilities of an existing device.
It’s tethered to a screen.
If connectivity is lost, the object
becomes unusable because
its control interface is inaccessible.
Non-objects, more like accessories.
Design
to
extend.

8. Nike +

9. Green Goose

10. CubeSensors

11. Olly & Molly

12. Piggy-back on an existing product
and augment it with connectivity.
Technology is invisible so everything
looks normal.
This is Big Brother territory.
You may be redefining a user’s
assumptions about a product.
Design
to
comfort
(or
trouble).

13. Ambiant Umbrella

14. Calypso Key

15. Develop a design language that is
unique to users’ interaction with
a new technology.
Developing a new visual
language consumers.
Develop a new space in retail.
Design
to
disrupt.

16. Google Glass

17. Nabaztag

18. Fitbit

19. Points

20. Good Night Lamp

21. BleepBleeps

22. Little Printer

23. Uncanny
valley
of
products.
gadget
object
iot

24. Delight
sells.

25. Retail
&
invention
is
changing.

26. Sometimes
about
hockey
sticks
or
watches.

27. Delight
is
harder
Retail spaces will change to accommodate
story-telling.
Consumers love it if it’s clearly useful or
clearly beautiful.
Delight might not get you funded but it will
get people talking.

28. Danke.
@iotwatch
Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino
alex@designswarm.com