Two days of non-stop design and innovation had worn us down, so we missed most of the morning panels. However, we did wake up in time to attend the annual A Better World By Design Expo, featuring both students and professionals exhibiting their organizations, products, and ideas.
1/2 Project's half-items caught our attention right away. The half-wine glass was especially fun and playful, as were the fork and spoon, and conveyed the organization's mission of helping consumers perceive donations in a different light.
This silicone take-out container called "I Am a To-Go Box" from McKenzie Powers (Art Institute of Boston) was a runner up in ABWBD/DCI's Consumer Product Challenge. The product rethinks the idea of a disposable container, turning it into a washable, reusable container instead. Although the concept is extremely similar to DCI's "I Am Not a Paper Cup," it still made a great follow-up product.
The winning product from the competition, the Trilife Ecotray from Angie Lee and Queenie Fan of RISD, was also on display. The tray is a single piece of plastic and allows users to hold it balanced on one arm and hand while placing food on it with the other.
These plates were made out of the fallen leaves of a tree from India. We never thought of leaves making their way into our kitchens as anything other than decorations!
Shelter Box, among other disaster shelters, was on display at the Expo, keeping with one of the conference's themes for the year. The company's representative stated that the Box contained everything a family could need post-disaster, but apparently had never considered the inclusion of a toilet in the collection of necessary goods. This followed right on the tail of yesterday's keynote panel, where Mobilize for Haiti's Dominique Toussaint preached, and rightfully so, that designers should never design a shelter they wouldn't want their own families to have to survive in.