It is now over a century that we have thrived as consumers (read ‘the royalty’) driving market creation and direction; at the center of the industrial and information revolutions, happily swamped with the multitude of product, service and communication options of the era.

We have created demand and have determined the fate of industries, produce, products, services, countries, societies – and now – the planet.

So, is all this at the cusp of ‘change’? And, if so, then what form is the change going to take?

We are now entering the age of ‘contribution’ – of giving back, of participating, of producing and of sustaining as opposed to merely consuming.

Our basic resources – water, food and energy – are diminishing. In some cases our exploits and luxuries are under serious threat of disappearing. Whilst world leaders endeavor to unearth sustainable innovative solutions at a macro level – a new paradigm is bringing change at the micro level – a set of communities, networks and interest groups united by common goals of ’causes’ is emerging – catalyzing the ‘change’.

Its time for us to understand and embrace our new role as ‘producers’, …’contributors’, … ‘sustainers ‘!

The internet industry is not only a great example of this phenomenon of such ‘change’ but has also ended up being a catalyst to our efforts in creating a mutual ecosystem. The industry opened its doors to all ‘consumers’ of information, design and technology … and enabled them to ‘contribute’ & ‘collaborate’.

The emerging rock-stars of the industry (blogging, social networks, mobility et al) were judged to be ‘promising’ because of their ability to enable our natural enthusiasm to participate, share, and contribute. From microfinance (Kiva) to advertisements (Zooppa) to hand-made products (Etsy) to knowledge (Wikipedia); the internet also evolved to provide us with a number of effective platforms to transition to; to change from being consumers (of information, content, et al) to being producers.

This model of creating communities, of contributing, of participating is now clearly extending to other aspects of our life.

We will soon find ourselves growing our own food! Most food items that we are now accustomed to; travel from half way around the world. In future the logistical and environmental challenges associated will force us to look at local organic sources and eventually contribute to small scale and urban agriculture. We believe, that it is entirely possible that during the course of this decade, you may soon find yourself ‘supplying’ to your local farmers market and communities.

Analyst reports indicate a serious water crisis already in place. Many largely populated regions including California, Brazil, India are struggling with lack of resources for providing clean water to consumers. Our favorite industries are getting affected with limited water supply and are scrambling to implement water purification & conservation technologies as quickly as possible.

We believe that home-based water recycling and purification systems will become part of our lives in this decade. Recycle your own water, conserve and share it? You may soon become part of a water-’producing’ network for your community rather than a dreaded consumer!

Similarly, the ability to leverage renewable energy sources such as solar and wind is re-defining the utilities, appliances and transportation industries. Home based solar panels and wind turbines are making it easier for us to produce our own energy and conserve it. New technology in grid management will enable sharing of surplus energy with the larger network by those who generated it – and in the process, you, Mr/Ms Producer, will be eligible for ‘credits’, tax free credits, en-cashable credits and good human brownie points.

We believe that you may be soon find yourself tweeting and “facebooking” about surplus energy and produce available for purchase on that day!

We believe that technologies such as social networks, smart phones and mobile applications will be play a key role in bringing these changes in effect and enabling mass adaptation. We believe that Design (responsible, sustainable design) will be the inspiration for such change and influence emotional and social behavior.

We believe that consumers will soon become producers and make a positive impact to the world and society.

Read more about SKLAD on the IDMag Served site.

In one of the most renowned international design competitions, the red dot design award, the Buzbox by Raaya Design has just received an honourable mention from the top-class expert jury for innovative consumer product design. The design experts awarded honourable mentions to those products which distinguished themselves with particularly successful design details. The festive awards presentation with more than 1,000 guests will take place in the Essen opera house, the Aalto-Theater, on 5 July 2010.

The Buzbox is an innovative ice cube tray that features the Grid-Lid system (patent-pending); which makes it a very convenient and mess-free experience for the consumer to make and remove ice cubes. Made from BPA free materials the Buzbox is a must-have tool for any modern kitchen, an easy to use storage and freezing kit for mothers; it also makes a great gift for the design savvy. The refreshing square and stackable design makes it compact to use and store.

“All products that have won an award in the red dot design award had to convince an international expert jury of their quality. The products stand out from the masses with their excellent design and innovative approaches and proved their quality in one of the toughest design competitions worldwide,” explains design expert Professor Dr. Peter Zec, initiator of the red dot design award. This year, designers and companies from 57 nations with a total of 4,252 products took part in the “red dot award: product design”.

Together with the other award-winning products, Buzbox will be on display from 6 July to 1 August 2010 in the exhibition “Design on stage – winners red dot award: product design 2010” at the red dot design museum on the premises of the ‘Zeche Zollverein’ World Cultural Heritage Site in Essen, Germany. With approximately 1,500 products on more than 4,000 square metres, the red dot design museum houses the largest permanent exhibition of contemporary design worldwide.

Today, the red dot design award, the origins of which go back to 1955, is the largest and most renowned design competition worldwide. It consists of the individual disciplines “red dot award: product design”, “red dot award: communication design”, and “red dot award: design concept”. In 2009 the competition recorded about 12,000 entries from more than 60 nations.

For further information please visit the following website:

“www.red-dot.de/press“ or www.raayadesign.com

Press contact:

Ms. Justine Otto

Press and Public Relations

red dot design award

Phone: +49 (0)201-30104-35

E-mail: otto@red-dot.de

<a href=”http://www.red-dot.de/”>www.red-dot.de</a>

GOOD DESIGN aims to recognize “the world’s most prominent designers and manufacturers for advancing new, visionary, and innovative product concepts, invention and originality, and for stretching the envelope beyond what is considered basic product and consumer design.” This year’s competition received a record number of entries from over 40 countries.

The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, in collaboration with The European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies, has announced the winners of the 59th annual GOOD DESIGN award last week and the Buzbox has been awarded in the household products category. For further information visit the Chicago Athenaeum website.

The GOOD DESIGN competition was founded in Chicago in 1950 by Edgar Kaufmann Jr. and designers Eero Saarinen and Charles and Ray Eames. The competition bills itself as “the oldest and the world’s most recognized program for design excellence worldwide.”

Winning entries will be displayed at the annual GOOD DESIGN SHOW at the Chicago Athenaeum in June 2010. “We are excited about our work being appreciated at such a global and well-recognized forum”, said Rupa Chaturvedi, Designer and CEO, Raaya Design.

The Buzboxis a refreshing design for an ice-cube tray. It features the Grid-Lid system (patent-pending); which makes it a very convenient and mess-free experience for the consumer to make and remove ice cubes. As opposed to conventional ice cube trays; the Buzbox does not have to be turned around and no pressure needs to be applied to the tray to remove the cubes.
The Art toothbrushis a 100% recyclable toothbrush designed with the intention of minimizing plastic waste. The detachable bristle design, allows the user to discard only the bristle head when it gets dirty or old , whilst retaining the rest of the product. Moreover, the bristle head will also be recyclable and available individually for replacement purchase. The base serves as a stand for air-drying the brush after use and can also be used as a ventilated cover to keep the brush clean while in the cabinet or traveling. The base contains a placeholder for stickers that can be used as markers and expressions of one’s morning personality!

IdeasProject is an entirely new way to connect with some of the most visionary and influential thought leaders in communications technology and their disruptive ideas. Watch Rupa’s video on the IdeasProject site http://www.ideasproject.com/docs/DOC-5358