Held at the Dott 07 (Designs of the time 2007) Festival, the presentations – the first running at 2pm and the second at 5pm on 23rd October, will show how a mobile phone can be used to scan products and give an interesting glimpse into their past.
Vibrant young design talent, Ulla Maaria Mutanen, will demonstrate how, by simply touching items with a mobile phone, their unique story can be told. The phone is used as a scanning device, linking with individual tags placed on various items displayed at the festival. The phone then uses a database called Thinglink, which will source the full history of the item and send this information back to the mobile phone.
The details of the item are displayed on the phone in various forms including audio messages and even colour displays to show if the product is made of recycled material. The project is the result of a collaboration between Social Objects, a Helsinki-based development project, and the Touch Project.
This project is yet another great addition to the exciting line up already appearing at the Dott 07 Festival. The twelve-day event is already proving to be a huge success, with almost 11,000 people attending in the first five days.
The free-to-enter festival aims to explore what life in a sustainable region could be like and how design can help us get there. It is a one-off opportunity to see some of the fantastic projects that have been running in North East England throughout the year, as well as providing practical help and inspiration on how to start or participate in similar projects and accelerate the region's transition to sustainability. The festival ends this Sunday, but is set to leave a lasting legacy in the region, with many of the community projects set to continue long after the end of Dott 07.
For further information please contact Louise Robinson of Press Ahead on (0191) 516 6235 or lr@pressahead.info or Saskia Sissons on 020 7420 5248 or saskia.sissons@designcouncil.org.uk
- Dott 07 (Designs of the time 2007) is a year of community projects based in North East England that explore what life in a sustainable region could be like - and how design can help us get there.
- Dott 07 is a partnership between the Design Council and One NorthEast
- Dott 07 is the first biennial in a 10-year ‘Designs of the time’ programme of design innovation, developed by the Design Council, and taking place every two years in a different region or nation across the UK.
- Dott 07 asks the question ‘Who Designs Your Life?’ and looks at six key themes: health and wellbeing, food and nutrition, school and community, energy and environment, sustainable tourism, and mobility and access.
- Dott 07 is ‘user centred’ – it enables communities and individuals in the region to collaborate with designers in realistic situations.
- Dott 07 projects address real questions and issues, using design principles to find solutions.
- Dott 07 is being led by programme director John Thackara, renowned internationally for his work as director of design futures network Doors Of Perception, which encourages designers, technology experts and grass roots innovators to work together in new ways.
- Executive producer is Robert O’Dowd, who has extensive experience in business and creative development. He was a founding director of Classic FM and is now chief executive of Real Health (UK) Ltd and 180 Solutions (UK) Ltd.
Dott 07 forms part of North East England’s world class programme of events and festivals for 2007, managed by Culture10.
- The Design Council is the UK’s national strategic body for design. It aims to strengthen and support the economy and society by demonstrating and promoting the role of design in making business and public services more effective.
- Dott is one of two national programmes of social and economic change driven by the Design Council. Designing Demand, its national business support programme, rolls out in the region later in the year.
- One NorthEast is the Regional Development Agency covering North East England. It was set up in 1999 to transform the area through ‘sustainable economic development’ and to create jobs, prosperity and a better quality of life for residents. It covers the region comprising County Durham, Northumberland, Tees Valley and Tyne and Wear.
- Culture10 is an annual curated programme of exceptional cultural events and festivals across NewcastleGateshead and North East England. Established in 2004, it is managed by the Culture10 team based at NewcastleGateshead Initiative and is funded by Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council, One North East, Tyne Wear Partnership, Northern Rock Foundation and Arts Council England, North East. For further details see www.NewcastleGateshead.com