What Happens To Our Devices:
after we’re done with them? About 70% of the world’s discarded electronics are not recycled, and much of the waste is illegally shipped to developing countries, where poor workers—many of them children—mine the contraptions for precious metals under dangerous, unregulated conditions. Ore Streams, one of this year’s Innovation by Design (IBD) honorees, proposes a novel use for all those old phones and laptops: Turn them into office furniture, such as filing cabinets made of aluminum computer cases and chairs inlaid with mobile phone components that literally force people to sit with the consequences of their consumerism.
The project hints at an important new role for the design industry. Since the early days of the digital revolution, design has catered to users’ insatiable appetite for instant gratification. Sleek interfaces let us hail rides at the press of a button and summon cheap clothes to our doorsteps. But all that seamless, fast design has a cost. It hides from us the immense environmental toll of our everyday habits, turning us into great consumers of technology, but terrible stewards of the earth. If there’s one thing that this year’s top designs illustrate, it’s that the Jobsian quest to create one perfect “revolutionary” device has ended. Today’s most compelling design innovations tackle big, systemic problems—including how to dispose of products without damaging the planet.
Denne historien er fra October 2019-utgaven av Fast Company.
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Denne historien er fra October 2019-utgaven av Fast Company.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Campus Radicals
Welcome to UATX, Austin's new well-funded and controversial anti-woke university.
What Went Wrong at 23 and Me
The company's DNA spit tests were going to remake healthcare. The science proved more complicated.
Toxic-Workplace Avenger
Her landmark lawsuit helped ignite the Me Too movement. Gretchen Carlson is now on a crusade to protect all workers.
A Lousy Bet
Sportsbooks, leagues, and networks: the new unholy alliance to promote legal gambling.
CAN'T STOP ROLLING
MOBILE GAME MAKER SCOPELY TOOK IN $2 BILLION IN JUST 10 MONTHS FROM ITS HIT GAME MONOPOLY GO. PLAYERS, IT SEEMS, ARE ADDICTED TO THE FUN.
A minimum hourly wage law for NYC delivery workers has boosted their pay-but not everyone is reaping the benefits.
$19.56, the hard way
IT'S A TOUGH JOB BUT GENZ NEEDS TO DO IT
HOW DAVID HOGG IS RALLYING YOUNG PEOPLE TO PURSUE ONE OF THE TOUGHEST AND MOST IMPORTANT CAREERS IN AMERICA: POLITICS.
INNOVATION BY DESIGN
For 13 years, our Innovation by Design Awards have been shining a light on stunning creations. The following pages highlight 20 of this year's winning projects, from an app that helps resettle political refugees to a massive restoration project in Detroit. Plus, a list of winners and finalists in all 50 categories.
How's This for a Cliffhanger?
That poor henchman over there has a hammer stuck in his forehead.
CREATOR ECONOMY
Carpe DM New platforms monetize intimate\" bonds between creators and their fans.