Category: Emerging Technology

Technology in 2014

A 2014 screen daydream from The Astonishing Tribe

This is essentially an experience video by Swedish interface gurus The Astonishing Tribe, envisioning the future of screen technology with stretchable screens, transparent screens and e-ink displays, to name a few. An experience video is a short concept film that prototypes interface behavior and user flows before the underlying hardware is ready for the market. E-ink is a reflective display technology designed for readability and low power use.

How the film turns “new screens” into real interactions

Instead of listing specs, the video uses everyday moments to make the screen itself feel like a material you can bend, place, and share. The point is not the exact device. The point is the interaction model that becomes possible when the display is flexible, see-through, or paper-like. That works because a familiar human moment makes an unfamiliar screen feel usable, not speculative.

In consumer electronics and enterprise device ecosystems, display form factors shape interaction patterns, content formats, and the business models built on top of them.

The real question is which interaction model you want your screens to enable before you commit to devices, layouts, and content formats.

Concept experience videos are still one of the fastest ways to align teams on interaction shifts before the hardware is ready.

Why “stretchable, transparent, e-ink” is a strong provocation

Stretchable screens challenge the idea that UI must live inside rigid rectangles. Transparent screens challenge the idea that a screen must block the physical world. E-ink displays challenge the assumption that every screen is emissive, high-refresh, and power-hungry.

Extractable takeaway: Pick one screen assumption to break (rigid, opaque, emissive) and demonstrate the behaviors that follow.

Steal these moves for your next interface pitch

  • Show behaviors, not features. Demonstrate how people move, share, and switch context when the screen stops behaving like a slab.
  • Prototype the handoffs. The “wow” is usually in the transitions, not the destination screen.
  • Use one material shift as the story engine. Flexible, transparent, or reflective. Pick one and build a coherent set of moments around it.
  • Make it boring on purpose. Ground the future in ordinary work, home, and commuting situations so the audience focuses on usability.

A few fast answers before you act

What is “Technology in 2014” about?

It is a concept experience video that imagines how screens could evolve by the year 2014. The focus is on new display form factors and the interactions they enable.

Which display ideas does it highlight?

The video spotlights stretchable screens, transparent screens, and e-ink displays. Those three examples are used to suggest different ways UI could live in the physical world.

What should marketers or product teams take from it?

Use concept films to communicate interaction shifts early, when prototypes are still rough. Anchor the story in everyday scenarios so the intended behavior is unmistakable.

How do you apply the idea without future hardware?

Focus on the interaction principles: continuity across surfaces, simple sharing moments, and readable, low-friction information layers. You can prototype those behaviors with today’s devices and materials.

What’s the biggest pitfall when making this kind of video?

Over-indexing on visual spectacle and under-explaining the user flow. If viewers cannot repeat the “how it works” in one sentence, the concept will not travel inside an organization.

Facebook integration at the Coca Cola Village

A teenager enters Coca Cola Village in Israel wearing a wristband that carries their Facebook credentials. Each time they swipe at an attraction, their Facebook status updates instantly with what they are doing. The village behaves like a live social feed, powered by real-world actions.

The activation. Turning an event into a live Facebook layer

Publicis (E-dologic) and Promarket develop an experiential event for Coca Cola Israel that syncs everyone who participates with their friends on Facebook in real time.

Here, “integration” means the event turns real-world actions into predictable Facebook posts and photo tags.

The real question is whether you can turn on-site participation into shareable proof without asking people to stop and post.

This pattern beats “share this” prompts because publishing becomes the default outcome of participation.

How entry works. Caps plus friends

The Coca Cola Village 2010 event runs through Facebook. Teenagers collect 10 Coca Cola caps, plus eight friends who do the same. After registering online through Facebook, they receive exclusive entry.

How the wristband works. Swipe to post, shoot to tag

At the Coca Cola Village, participants set up a special wristband designed to securely hold their Facebook login and password. In practice, it is a scannable wristband that identifies the participant at event touchpoints. Every swipe triggers an immediate status update about what they are doing at the event, keeping friends up to date as it happens. The wristband also enables automatic tagging of photos taken at the village.

In youth-focused FMCG activations, the win is to make sharing a byproduct of participation, not a separate task.

The scale effect. When participation becomes publishing

The event holds 650 teenagers a day. With seamless Facebook integration, they generate 35,000+ posts per day across three days, totaling 100,000+ posts for the event.

Why this works. Social actions move from screen to space

This is what “integration” looks like when it is not a logo on a wall. The social network becomes a behavior layer inside the event. Because the swipe is the trigger, posting becomes as easy as participating. The wristband reduces friction, the swipe makes publishing physical, and the photo tagging closes the loop by spreading proof of participation back into the feed.

Extractable takeaway: If you want social scale from an experience, bind sharing to a simple physical ritual people repeat, not to a “remember to post” moment.

Design moves worth copying

  • Credential once. Do the setup up front, then let participation drive sharing automatically.
  • Make the trigger physical. Tie posting to a repeatable on-site action (the swipe), not a manual step.
  • Close the proof loop. Auto-tagging turns attendance into visible evidence that travels beyond the venue.
  • Design for repetition. The easier the ritual is to repeat, the more output you get without extra prompting.

A few fast answers before you act

What is Facebook integration at the Coca Cola Village?

An experiential event in Israel where an RFID-style wristband connects on-site actions to real time Facebook posting and photo tagging.

How do people get access?

By collecting 10 Coca Cola caps and eight friends who do the same, then registering through Facebook for entry.

What does the wristband do?

It securely holds Facebook login details and posts instant status updates whenever participants swipe at attractions. It also enables automatic photo tagging.

What is the reported scale of social output?

650 teenagers per day, generating 35,000+ posts per day across three days for 100,000+ total posts.

What is the transferable pattern for brands?

Make social sharing an outcome of physical participation, not a separate step. Reduce friction and tie posting to clear, repeatable actions.

Tissot Augmented Reality Product Experience

You hold your wrist up to a webcam and a Tissot watch appears on your arm in real time. You switch models instantly, compare styles, and explore the range without touching a physical display.

The idea. Try before you buy, without inventory

Tissot uses augmented reality to remove friction from product exploration. Here, augmented reality means a live webcam feed with a watch overlay that tracks your wrist as you move. The experience delivers the “try-on” moment digitally, so the brand can show more models than a physical counter typically allows.

The real question is whether your customer needs to see the product on themselves, and whether you can make that comparison instant.

For products where “look on me” drives choice, a fast try-on loop is worth building.

How it works. Wrist tracking plus real-time overlays

  • The user places their wrist in front of a webcam.
  • The system tracks position and angle so the overlay stays aligned.
  • Different watch models can be selected and applied instantly.
  • The experience helps users compare look and fit before committing.

In consumer retail and ecommerce, webcam-based virtual try-on is a practical way to expand assortment and comparison without stocking every variant.

Why it works. The product benefit is visual

Watches are bought with the eye as much as with the spec sheet. Because the overlay stays aligned as the wrist moves and switching is instant, the user can judge look and fit in seconds. Augmented reality makes the key decision input. How it looks on me. Available immediately, with minimal effort.

Extractable takeaway: When the decision hinges on “how it looks on me,” prioritize instant, body-anchored comparison over more static content.

What to take from it. Make comparison effortless

  • Anchor the experience to the body. It turns browsing into ownership imagination.
  • Optimize for fast switching. Comparison drives choice.
  • Keep the setup simple. A clear “put your wrist here” moment lowers drop-off.
  • Scale the catalog digitally. Show the full range without needing the full range in-store.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the Tissot augmented reality product experience?

A virtual try-on experience that overlays Tissot watches onto a user’s wrist via a webcam in real time.

What does the user do?

Hold their wrist in front of the camera and switch between watch models to compare styles.

Why is AR a good fit for watches?

Because the decision depends heavily on how the watch looks on the wrist, not only on specifications.

What is the main business benefit?

It enables broad product exploration and comparison without requiring physical inventory or a large display.

What is the transferable pattern?

If “fit and look” drives conversion, build a fast, body-anchored try-on loop that makes comparison frictionless.