72U & NOTlabs: Social Impact Project- 04.11.14
In continuing this year’s trend of trying new things ~ for the last two weeks Shawn and I led a workshop with the 72U Winter Session 2014 class to create a Social Impact Project to make people smile. 72U is a special project inside global ad agency, 72andSunny, which takes place right in the middle of all the action in their Playa Vista office, which is housed in the old offices of Howard Hughes. Self-described as “an intensive one-of-a-kind learning experience designed to open people up to new ways of thinking, collaborating, and tackling modern communication problems,” 72U feels like a creative take on The Real World (yes, there’s even a 72U house), where around half a dozen chosen applicants from around the world, with a myriad of backgrounds, are fully immersed in the world of 72andSunny (assisting and learning on various accounts), inspirational guest speakers, workshops/projects, field trips, and more for 12 fast paced weeks! Even spending a mere 2 weeks with them, I’m amazed at the pace they are running at! It’s no surprise that the majority of participants who survive the program become a part of the 72andSunny family.
But back to the Social Impact Project NOTLabs just completed with 72U! The group was tasked to ‘engage people and make them smile’ - to ultimately create an object that can also be easily shipped and activated around the world. Of course the biggest challenge of all wasn’t concepting or creating, but being realistic about what is feasible in the short time frame to bring an idea to life ~ and they were armed with the new 72andSunny laser cutter! Keep in mind that beyond this project, they are simultaneously planning a HUGE mural, an art show, and assisting on various secret projects and more… So head to the next page to see what they came up with!
Just inside the 72andSunny offices, you’ll find the expansive 72U room, probably with sketches and post-its on the walls, a sunlit disco ball illuminating the room, and a makerbot whirring away… they shared their initial ideas after doing some real world recon to observe people and their interactions in Santa Monica.
As ideas refined, a cellphone kaleidoscope to help you change perspectives and sunshine in a box emerged…
… as well as an awkward elevator button!
Here’s a peek from the 72U Instagram of prototyping, laser cutting, and constructing in progress… and as a side note, they even pulled an all nighter this week which resulted in some instagram video fun.
And here’s a peek at Shawn on the laser cutter that surfaced on our NOTlabs Instagram… their mannequin that is being transformed into a lamp was just too perfectly positioned!
So here’s what they ended up with!
From Joseph Saroufim, Dafna Linden, and Jessica Garcia Robles: A can of California Sun that will illuminate once you pop it open!
From Wesley Haines: An Awkward Elevator Button complete with braille and a squeaker button.
From Andrew Lindley and Emilio G Canton Ruz: The Cellphone Kaleidoscope that you can either use your camera with, or even just scroll through instagram, emails, wikipedia pages and more…
The effect is stunningly mesmerizing!
So what’s next for these ideas? Perhaps videos will be coming soon! If you’re lucky, you may even get one of the special packages they will be sending around… Thanks again, 72U, for having us join the fun! We can’t wait to see what’s to come!
