DESIGNERS. Digital printing has empowered you to bring new levels of customization to retail, office, and residential spaces. Two recently publicized projects might enable you to do even more.
DEEP: 3D Wallpaper from twenty2
In a partnership with students at Pratt Institute, the wallpaper-design firm twenty2 developed DEEP, a curated collection of 3D wallpapers. The wallpaper-design project was part of a graduate design seminar on interactive pattern and ornament created by Yale Architect and Pratt Institute professor Sarah Strauss.
As mentors to the program, Krya Hartnett and Robertson Hartnett of twenty2 encouraged students to push the design limits of pattern repeat and dimension. Some of the most innovative designs from the students have been brought to life and are printed in the twenty2’s Litchfield, Connecticut studio.
Smart Wallpaper Include Printed Electronics
According to a story posted on International Business Times, researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore have developed printed electronics that can transform walls into digital devices that include miniature speakers, microphones, switches, and sensors.
With the electronics printed on your wallpaper, you can talk out loud to command your devices. The walls will then transmit your request or ask for further instructions.
Smart wallpaper could be helpful for elderly people who are living alone. People who fall and hurt themselves can ask the walls to contact the right people for help.
NTU Professor Joseph Chang told IBTimes UK that “Essentially we can print full, complex electronic circuits on any substrate, including paper, aluminum, and plastic film.”
Imagine what you could design with electronics on those types of materials. For example, residential windows could be overlaid with transparent film that includes circuits. Milk cartons could let you know when the milk is expired. Smart patches could monitor your heart rate or other vital signs.
What would you do with 3D wallpaper, smart wallpaper, or flexible materials printed with electronics?
LINKS
Smart Wallpaper Uses Printed Electronics to Transform Your Walls into Big iPhone
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