Design Revolution on Colbert
Last night, GOOD 100 winner Emily Pilloton was on The Colbert Report to talk about her new book, Design Revolution. Pilloton wants to fix the world with humanitarian design. Colbert rightfully asks, what exactly is humanitarian design? She responds explaining it as, “taking design as a creative process, which is pretty much problem solving, and putting it to work with some of the biggest social issues were facing today, instead of just design stuff we’re finding solutions for people who really need them.” Humanitarian design not only looks cool and works well but it has a positive social impact and can be measured in life, community and economy.
She brought a few products to demonstrate. The item is called the Spider Boot. The are intended for Landmine detection teams. The biggest danger in looking for mines is not the actual explosion but the shock waves. The Spider creates a distance between your foot and the earth. Colbert of course had them on and mentioned that they also must be great to dance in.
The second item was the Adaptive Eye Care. This is intended to be used for people living in the developing world and don’t have access to an eye doctor or can’t afford glasses, you can simply adjust prescription yourself. The glasses are filled withsilicon oil that changes the way you can see.
The last item was the hippo roller. It’s a water transport barrel that can hold 22 gallons of water for house that are located far from the water source. If you tried to pick up the barrel it would way 200 gallons whereas if you push it like a lawnmower it only weighs about 40 pounds. Emily pushes it around the studio and Colbert tells her she looks like a “very suspicious flight attendant.” Oh, Colbert.
Can you make a ton of money from these inventions? Emily Pilloton says there’s not a bottom line but a triple bottom line; planet, people and profit.
Photo courtesy of Wonderlane, via Flickr
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
No Responses Yet to “Design Revolution on Colbert”