Spent the afternoon at MOMA yesterday for SAFE: Design Takes On Risk, a collection of over 300 products and prototypes designed to protect us from dangerous or stressful circumstances...basically a paranoid hypochondriac's Christmas wonderland. Pretty interesting glimpse of where we are, and where we're headed, in this wonderful color-coded world of ours.
Check out MOMA's online exhibition here for a complete collection of in-focus images. (they don't allow flash photography and I was a little hung-over)
Cries and Whispers - The designer's sister died of cancer, and she wanted to restore a feeling of security for the seven-month old daughter left behind.
Suited for Subversion - A civil-disobedience suit for protesters taking on the man. Comes with it's own wireless video camera to record the tazery goodness, and (this is funny) a speaker in the chest amplifies the wearer's heartbeat so you can hear it beat faster as the action intensifies.
Nido - (Nest in Italian) the passenger compartment works like a sled on a rail with shocks in the front and back.
CraveAid - Patch dispensers...If it works for smoking, maybe it'll work for cheeseburgers...fat chance (that was terrible)
Identity Cards - I get the hair folicle and blood cards. Still trying to figure out the plant one, though.
GIANTMicrobes - Cute, cuddly stuffed viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms. Try giving her a little ebola virus to play with, and she might take the hint before you need to get the restraining order.
Urban Nomad Shelter - Inflatable housing for the homeless. Beats a cardboard box by about a bazillion times. The designer purposely kept the exterior see-through, so passersby can still see the person inside. Limits privacy but increases discussion.
TreeTent - For those who just can't get enough nature in their lives. Originally invented for activists protecting forests from developers.
