IOU Project: Social Technology Meets Artisanal Tradition

“Transparency.” “Accountability.” “Sustainability.” “Authenticity.” In recent years, these moral ideas have been reduced to fluff-phrases empty of meaning, sprinkled atop just about every Fortune 500 corporate mission statement like some sort of odor-masking miracle candy on a sundae of bollocks. But what if they were to be taken in untainted hands, looked at with new eyes, resurrected with new spirit?

That’s what IOU Project is out to do. They produce handmade apparel from fabrics hand-woven in India. Because each textile is unique, you can trace the production process of your particular garment right back to the exact weaver who hand-wove the fabric using the IOU mobile app. The project is part storytelling experiment, part ecommerce venture, part social meeting place for a community that shares these values of authenticity and purpose, bridging centuries-old artisanal traditions with the promise of modern social technology.

In the rush to automate the world, artisans are being replaced with machines.”

Besides having what’s easily the most thoughtful visual identity we’ve seen in a while, IOU also features a number of beautifully filmed, warmly candid videos that capture the people and process behind the project.

IOU Project is still in stealth mode, but you can sign up for a heads-up about the official launch on the site, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

via Meta Filter

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PICKED: The Solar System at Your Fingertips

Last year, author Marcus Chown took a fascinating look at what everyday objects tell us about the universe. Now, he’s back with Solar System — his first-ever iPad book, a visually stunning and remarkably knowledge-rich interactive exploration of our corner of the cosmos. Created by the team behind Theodore Grey’s acclaimed The Elements and with original music by Bjork, the $14 app is worth every cent as it puts a mesmerizing 3D model of the Solar System at your fingertips, literally.

Solar System is the sophisticated cousin to the American Museum of Natural History’s Cosmic Discoveries and is the kind of cultural artifact that gives us true pause about the technology-enabled frontiers of human knowledge and curiosity in our era.

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Remote Palette: Warhol 2.0

In 1985, Andy Warhol painted Debbie Harry on the first Amiga, creating a timecapsule of cultural history as he illustrated — both literally and figuratively — the dawning possibilities for creativity in the digital era to come. But as Warhol placed his first pixelated technicolor-like strokes on the 16-bit beast, we have to wonder what he would have said, what he would’ve created, had he been able to envision, let alone play with, the remarkable advances in creative technology available to us today.

That’s exactly what inspired London-based digital agency Dare to create Remote Palette — a visionary iPhone and iPad duo app that demonstrates how the two devices can work together across space to empower rich and engaging drawing experiences.

Remote Palette does exactly what it promises to do — the iPad screen serves as the blank canvas, with several base colors available, upon which you can draw using the iPhone as a remote palette. Although the actual interface is incredibly simple and basic in terms of artistic capacity, we’re excited about what Dare calls “invisible technology” and its possible applications in everything from education to collaborative creation.

Meanwhile, a hat tip is due to the Dare team for the clever promo: To demo the app and pay homage to their inspiration, Dare got their own Innovation Director, Perry Price, to reenact Andy Warhol’s iconic hamburger-eating scene, only this hamburger is served on an iPad:

The app is only $0.99 in the App Store, so grab it and explore for yourself.

And for a related Warhol 2.0 bit, don’t miss the brand new Andy Warhol augmented reality app the Andy Warhol Museum in New York launched yesterday, which adds a layer of Warhol-related locations to the popular Layar augmented reality browser.

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Cosmic Discoveries: The Universe in Your Pocket

We love space, so we’re thrilled about the release of Cosmic Discoveries, the third excellent iPhone/iPad app from the American Museum of Natural History.

Fittingly described as “a mosaic of the universe in your pocket,” Cosmic Discoveries is the first app to offer nearly 1,000 breathtaking images of the Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy and beyond on a mobile device. From refreshing social features like sharing and commenting on photos to the home screen picturing a collage of all the photos stitched together into one of the most iconic astronomy images of all time — Saturn and its rings — reminiscent of National Geographic‘s Infinite Photograph, the app is an absolute treat, as visually stunning as it is educationally fascinating.

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