AN INNOVATORS TRIP AROUND THE WORLD Saskia Doets & Floortje Meijer
WHAT IS THE OF ENERG
E PURPOSE GIZERS? During our Antwerp trip we had a few moments when we needed to do an energizer. For instance we had to form ‘Designfull innovation for one billion people’ with our bodies. It was a funny assignment, but what is the purpose of an energizer? After an energizer we feel more energized than before. An energizer is also a way to create more bonding in a group. We learn to work together and step out of our comfort zone. Which is important, because of the fact that we have class for half a year with a lot of collaboration assignments. An other important purpose is the start of the creative brain. Which is helpful to think out-of-the-box.
WHAT IS THE OF INNOV
E MEANING VATION? According to the people we spoke to in Antwerp, innovation can not be described in one sentence. We spoke to 6 different people from the average age of 25 years old. The words they mentioned were: change, make better, transision, comfort, different perspective and technology. Before the interviews we visited the museum ‘MAS’. A museum with a beautiful panorama on top and inspiring floors. On every floor we needed the find an object which can be linked to innovation.
MEANING OF LIFE For us the most inspiring object in the museum ‘MAS’, was an artwork about the meaning of life. The description of the artifact asked us if we really didn’t learn about the past. This question can easily be linked to innovation. Innovation is about learning from the past and improving.
TECHNOLOGY Another part of the museum was focused on the digital world. There was a wall full of numbers which can be refered to the digital world. Nowadays a lot of innovations are based on technology.
NATURE
Being innovative has also a lot to do with looking to natural phenomena. The vikings used a compass made of polarizing gems to know the position of the sun. They convert natural phenomena to efficient objects. Being innovative is not only about modern technology, but can also be in the nature.
CURIOSITY
In the past the explorers of the world used to travel by boat. They were curious about the world and their inhabitation. All innovation starts with curiosity. All parts of the world have different habits and cultures, which is very important to take into account while creating an innovative product.
BICYCLE
Innovation is about iterations. For instance we noticed an old bicycle in the ‘MAS’. The bicycle had one big wheel and a smaller wheel. People used to think that the big wheel resulted in a fast driving bicycle. As a result of making mulitple iterations we discovered this is not the solution for a fast bicycle.
CONNECTION BETW CULTURE VS. INNO
WEEN OVATION Globalisation. The world is getting smaller and smaller. People don’t stay in there own countries anymore and travel to metropoles, what makes cities like Antwerp big multi -cultural cities.
Hi there, i am sarah and from Africa and I’d like to share my beautiful culture with you. So, shall I braid your hair?
HANDCRAFT
You can take people out of there culture, but you can’t take the culture out of the people. They want to show what their culture is about and bring their craftmenship. For example, this lady brought her sweet mama textiles from Africa. We think that a lot of people don’t want to be mainstream anymore, so the market is getting bigger for native products like this.
Hello, I’m lilly and I have a lot of nice stuff that I don’t use anymore. Can I make someone else happy with it?
SHARING ECONOMY Nowadays the sharing economy is increasing. For instance Spotify is a big company that gives us access to a great amount of music. In the sharing economy it is all about getting acces, without owning it. In Antwerp the sharing economy is visible. You could rent bicycles on every corner in the city. By the one simple rule that you have to put it back on another station. People can rent their bike and use it as long as they want, they don’t actually want to own the bike itself.
Hi men, I’m that guy that likes vintage and wears bowties all the time. I would like to do a time travel back in time.
VINTAGE Not only the native market is getting bigger. There is an increasing demand for old stuff, like polaroid camera`s and gramophone players. Nowadays you can look up everything on your mobile phone, but it looks like people still want to feel something tangible. A big target audience for this trend are the hipsters.
It’s Vincent! I want to make this world a better place to live in. So I do everything to keep the world clean. My kids have to grow old as well..
SUSTAINABILITY All around the world people become more aware of the fact that we have to be careful with our earth. Thats why you see a lot more sustainable products these days. For example: Buildings made with wooden constructions and garbages with the opportunity of seperating our trash.
Hello, I’m Rose. A healty eating lady with her own vegetable garden. I feel like what you eat is what your exterior radiates.
GREEN MOVEMENT This trend is all about living healthy and protecting our natural environment; for example by decreasing the global warming and the climate change. Antwerp supports the green cityparks and the flowbeds in every street. To keep more attention they put little signs in the flowerbeds, so that more people wil become aware of the green movement.