Ecological Design: natural systems technologies

Buckminster Fuller: A man well before his time

Back in my Secondary school years I remember hearing of a man called Buckminster fuller who had some spherical molecule named after him, it didnt mean much to me then but his name always sat in the back of my mind.

It wasn't until tonight when I was research for my dissertation that I found out how amazing the man was. He is what you would class as a true Polymath(a person of great and varied learning).

Buckys Attitude and approach to making the world better for everyone is truely awe inspiring.

Known as the earths friendly genius, a humour and heart warming character with a big vision.

Check out the videos and get a taster of the magic that is Bucky:

A meeting with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi showing the humanity and humour of Bucky:

Ferrofluid and Sonic Sculptures

Today In DIXD we got introduced to a project called Snoil run by Martin Frey an interaction designer from IDEO Munich. Frey used Ferrofluid which is a liquid that reacts to magnetic fields to create a very imaginative phyisical display.

Check it out;

Ferrofluid can be used over moving magnetically charged objects as well:

YouTube - Ferrofluid on the track of a Meatgrinder

Ok so maybe i got a little overboard on the ferrofluid links but this lead me to think what other sculptures can be made liquids using magnets and vibrations.

Check out what happens when corn starch/ water mix is placed on a vibrating speaker:

Then I found this magically sounding object made using metal tubes which pick up the wind:

Im really tempted to give this a try now that Ive got hold of a welder, I wonder if smaller sculptures like wind chimes could be placed in trees to create some really unusual sounds?

A love story: Companies and Clients

A wonderful video about how companies should work with their clients and communities.

Get Satisfaction is a simple way to build online communities that enable productive conversations between companies and their customers. It looks like they have really hit the nail on the head, its all about community engagement!!
Get Satisfaction tries to provide a more social support experience and a platform to build better products.

Check out the video and see what you think?