I’m a writer, illustrator, and child of the 1960’s. What do I know about designing for the future? I grew up with Star Trek and could relate to its creator, Gene Roddenberry. What we have in common is imagination. When I was a kid, I used to have a recurring dream where a Polaroid picture would move like a video for about five seconds. When I saw Harry Potter for the first time, I loved seeing the wizards’ newspapers. Moving photos on paper. I’m still waiting for that.
All technological breakthroughs start with an idea.
Creative people are the indispensable cogs which jump start the design engine. With the ignorance of engineering and technology, they can brainstorm all kinds of crazy ideas. I am the queen of crazy. There are no rules for imagination. So here goes.
Windows for the World
We all love windows. I can’t imagine living in a home without them. What if you had to create a livable environment in an undesirable location? It may not be cost effective to have windows. Homes built in extreme climates like in the Antarctic, Arctic, desert, or Mars could have live feed windows. A camera mounted outside could project the image inside on a faux window/television screen. This would provide the link to the outdoors needed for mental health. Mine especially. It could be programmed to provide a completely different picture if the environment wasn’t so great like in heavily polluted areas or looking at a building’s brick wall.
The creators of LG Ultra put their screens to the test.
Fabric Encryption
If fabric could be encrypted, then it could be programmed. We could decide the appropriate color for our favorite dress depending on the occasion. Black, print, or why not those moving pictures from the newspaper?
Same thing with furniture or walls. We could change the color with the ease of a keyboard. Bought a new couch and it clashes with the rest of the room? Type in a new code.
Wanted to go stealth? We could key in a code so our clothing matches the outdoor environment. Same for cars and airplanes. “What was that?”
Health
Many already own fitness trackers, like Fitbit, and wear them on their wrist. The elderly have First Alert for emergency situations.
Soon our homes will be designed to sense our heart rate, sleep patterns, and monitor our health with the ability to collect comparative data. Baby Boomers may be reluctant to wear a bracelet signifying old age. Sensors installed in the home could react when a person needed help. It could be interactive. That would be especially good for me since I might appear to be struggling to get up off the floor while flailing around with exercise equipment.
Holograms
Forget photo albums or digital pictures. There could be a room designed to make our home videos and photos come to life, holographically. Wouldn’t it be cool to almost the time you shot the rapids or repelled off that cliff in the Grand Canyon? Maybe watching your kids blowing out their birthday candles would be cool enough.
Can’t take a vacation?
We could download holographic vacations and feel like we’re back in a Scottish castle, a Parisian café, or Versailles. Maybe developers could delete the other tourists.
Work Spaces
The trend of open space work stations will stick around, but what if there were partition walls on either side of seating arrangements similar to hotels where private conversation and work could be done without feeling exposed? Some could be mirrored to expand the space. A step up to comfortable couches and chairs and a step down to others would give the impression of being in a separate room. Keeping colors in soothing tones and neutral or cool colors would provide a welcome work environment. Throw in a few of those televisions screen windows and a few desks and you’re good to go.
The Grange Wellington in London
Travel
With more people traveling for work and vacation there will be a higher demand for lighter weight, wrinkle-free fabric clothing. That’s a no-brainer, but what about a suitcase that compresses and compacts with the touch of a button?
Harness the power of a wild imagination
These ideas came from a thirty-minute brainstorming session. I love brainstorming even if no one is listening. Many of us have this creative ability. What if there was an online site where we could brainstorm our creative ideas. Hmm…
Some of my ideas may already be for sale or in development. I sure hope so.
Do you have any design ideas for the future? Do you like to brainstorm?
This blog post is a part of Design Blogger Competition organized by CGTrader
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