Mood rings may evoke feelings of nostalgia, but most children of the ’70s traded in their tween bling for real gems long ago. Modern creators, however, are reviving the Me Decade concept with clever new color-changing products in categories ranging from home decor to clothing. This emerging sector of
heat-sensitive consumer goods makes it unlikely that anyone will grow bored with their aesthetic choices.
Season Carpet: Fickle minds sometimes face commitment issues when choosing their homes’ color schemes. To help prevent palette regret, German artist
Siren Elise Wilhelmsen has designed a color-changing rug that reacts to seasonal temperatures.
The wool Season Carpet, which Wilhelmsen has dubbed a “soft thermometer,” is dyed with three heat-sensitive color pigments that shift in shade depending on the ambient temperature. The rug is still in the prototype stage, but the hues that Wilhelmsen currently has in mind are blue-to-mint and a purple-to-pink, each of which transforms along with the weather. While
color changing shoes also exist, we recommend leaving all footwear at the door.
Shader Printer: A consumer landscape dictated by customization and instant gratification calls for a DIY-approach to
Hypercolor apparel. So, inspired by advancements in
spatial augmented reality, researchers from
Japan Science and Technology Agency,
The University of Tokyo,
Keio University, and
MIT developed the
Shader Printer. The device uses heat-sensitive technology to tint objects such as clothing, home goods, and even furniture, with bi-stable color-changing dyes. A special laser, which heats the surface coating to 120*F, is then used to draw designs on the object. Freezing the piece overnight erases the doodle and returns the object to a blank canvas-like state, rendering the artistic process relatively fool-proof.
Linger A Little Longer: Not all
technology applications created to mimic the intimacy of human contact have romantic inclinations. UK-based designer
Jay Watson has created a table-and-bench pairing, called
Linger A Little Longer, that responds both to the radiant temperature of body heat and to that of a still-warm coffee mug. The dining room set is finished with
thermochromatic lacquer, meaning anything that emits heat on it will leave a light-toned, temporary impression on the surface: an imprint which Watson affectionately calls an "ephemeral watermark.” His prototype, which is painted black on solid European Oak, is also available in other colors and woods on request, and can be ready within 6-8 weeks.
