Apps as we know them will disappear. Luxury will trickle down to the masses. VR will go mainstream. These are just a few of the major design and technology trends shaping the world in 2016. The trends we’ve identified focus on issues we–a firm with over 600 designers and developers–expect to tackle in the coming year. They reflect what clients are asking for, our experiences as citizens and users, and our well-informed guesses (we hope!) on the impact of emergent technology. advertisement advertisement 1. Micromoments will be mighty. Today, someone is always listening. We have listening devices strapped to our wrists that encourage us to run farther or put down that extra slice of cake. Devices in our homes listen and respond. Listening technology allows us to act on any impulse whenever, which has broken down the customer journey into a plethora of real-time, intent-driven micromoments. It follows a very predictable pattern–immediate need, … [Read more...] about 10 Key Design Trends For 2016 (And How To Make The Most Of Them)
Virtual office texas
Magic Leap is going up against Microsoft and Google with its AR headset for businesses
Facing a consumer market that’s far from ready for augmented reality-based entertainment, the once-buzzy mixed reality company Magic Leap is setting its sights on the enterprise. advertisement advertisement The Plantation, Florida-based company says it’s planning to offer a slightly updated version of its mixed reality headset and a set of spatial computing services specially designed to help corporations collaborate in virtual spaces. It’s a logical next step for Magic Leap, which has now raised $2.6 billion in venture capital over eight funding rounds since 2014, and generated mountains of hype for its hologram-creating headset. But a recent report from The Information says the company sold only 6,000 units of the Magic Leap One Creator Edition in the first six months after it became available in April 2018—far short of Magic Leap’s CEO Rony Abovitz’s wildly optimistic goal of selling a million of the devices in the first year. The … [Read more...] about Magic Leap is going up against Microsoft and Google with its AR headset for businesses
The Hunt For The Next Portland: Hoteliers Bet Big On Small City America
On a corner in downtown El Paso, a sleek steel structure stands out on an avenue of warehouse complexes. The newly refurbished 50-year-old building rises above the dramatic red mountain skyline and a busy highway intersection that leads to Juarez, Mexico. advertisement advertisement It’s home to the Hotel Indigo, a new boutique inn whose industrial chic decor captures the region’s past and future: Cement floors and walls contrast with Southwestern-flavored cacti, adobe vases, and tapestries. The hotel opened last year as part of a larger experiment. If you plant a cool place in a deserted downtown, will the area bloom? The answer appears to be yes. The Indigo has helped usher in a new era for the strip, which was once a vibrant commercial hub. In the last two years, the neighborhood has become flush with art galleries, restaurants, cocktail bars, and a new baseball stadium. Three other hotels … [Read more...] about The Hunt For The Next Portland: Hoteliers Bet Big On Small City America
How to recycle a building
More than 38 billion tons of non-metallic minerals are extracted from the Earth every year. These materials mainly end up being used to build homes, schools, offices, and hospitals. It’s a staggering amount of resources, and it’s only likely to increase in the coming years as the global population continues to grow. advertisement advertisement Policies worldwide recognize that the construction sector needs to take immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, tackle the climate crisis, and limit resource depletion, with a focus on adopting a circular economy approach in construction to ensure the sustainable use of construction materials. Instead of simply knocking buildings down and sending the construction and demolition waste— CDW, as we call it in the trade—to landfill, circular construction would turn building components that are at the end of their life into resources for others, minimizing waste. It would change economic logic … [Read more...] about How to recycle a building
The simple yet elusive key to fighting the climate crisis: More trees
A new scientific report finds that human behaviors are driving the extinction of non-human species at a rate so severe that the subsequent disappearance of life will soon be a threat to human health and prosperity. Habitat destruction on land, overfishing in the seas, and overconsumption across much of the globe, among other things, now threaten to extinguish up to a million species in the near future. advertisement advertisement The hundreds of scientists who produced the landmark United Nations assessment say myriad solutions are needed to address and, hopefully reverse, this trend. Underpinning much of the loss is the growing global impact of climate change. One of the major tactics at humanity’s disposal is effectively managing and restoring the world’s forests–preservation and conservation efforts that could, quite literally, change the world. at a Google Earth image of the Rio Coco river, which forms much of the border between Honduras and … [Read more...] about The simple yet elusive key to fighting the climate crisis: More trees
