Visual Voltage is a Swedish initiative in which the Interactive Institute in collaboration with the Swedish Institute presents research aimed at providing a different perspective on energy use. The exhibition has previously been shown in Shanghai, Washington DC, Brussels, Berlin, Beijing and Tokyo.

Visual Voltage will be exhibited in Eskilstuna November 8 - January 31.

Power-Aware Cord that is one of the exhibition objects part of the exhibition Visual Voltage has been selected to one among 50 coolest inventions of the year by the TIME magazine. The Power-Aware Cord is a results from the Interactive Institute’s research project STATIC! that investigates interaction and product design as a way of increasing our awareness of how we use energy in everyday life. The Flower Lamp, also one of the exhibition objects and a result from STATIC!, was among TIME’s Best Inventions 2006.

TIME’s motivation: “We’d all like to be more energy-efficient. But watching the meter doesn’t intuitively show how much juice is being used minute to minute. The Interactive Institute, a Swedish nonprofit that explores technology and design, had an idea: what if you could actually see the electricity flowing into your machines? The Power-Aware Cord embeds wires around a cable that pulse light in relation to how much electricity is being drawn off the grid. The more current, the brighter and faster the blue light spirals. In testing the device, researchers found that making the invisible visible tuned consumers in to their bad habits, nudging them to power down and offering some surprising appliance insights: when a radio broadcasts drumbeats and bass riffs, its electricity consumption jumps. Talk about being plugged in.”

Read the article in the TIME magazine here
You can read more about STATIC here
See images of the Power-Aware Cord and the Flower Lamp here

List of Presenters

Nada Debs : East & East sarl
Oscar Diaz : Oscar Diaz Studio
Koichi Suzuno + Shinya Kamuro : Torafu Architects
Marcus Bird
Keiji Ashizawa ：Keiji Ashizawa Design
sugiX : Smile Park
Sara Backlund : Interactive Institute
Kyoko Inoda + Nils Sveje : InodaSveje
Zachary Lieberman
David Fisher : Seymourpowell
Tatsuya Maemura : the new market
SuperDeluxe
Klein Dytham architecture

Interactive Institute’s Magnus Jonsson and Sara Backlund gave a talk at Mirakan in connection to the inauguration, as well as a seminar at the Swedish Embassy the day after the opening, with invited guests from Japanese industry and academy.

The exhibition opened for the public October 21 and will be on display at Miraikan until November 15.

The inauguration speeches by the Director of Miraikan and the Ambassador of Sweden.

Interactive Institute’s Magnus Jonsson and Sara Backlund presenting at Miraikan.

Mr. Stefan Noreén, Ambassador of Sweden in Tokyo, and Sara Backlund, Head of Marketing & Communications at the Interactive Institute, are discussing the Energy AWARE Clock.

Mr. Kaj Reinius, Counsellor at the Embassy of Sweden Tokyo.

Birgitta Tennander, the Swedish Institute, and Nahoko Ando, Miraikan.

The Ambassador of Sweden presents Magnus Jonsson and Sara Backlund at the seminar at the Swedish Embassy the following day.

Venue: Miraikan – National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation
Date: 21 October – 15 November 2010

Inauguration 20 October, 2010
– Press conference and inauguration
– Talk by Sara Backlund and Magnus Jonsson,
“Swedish frontiers – design trends and innovation”, by invitation only

Seminar 21 October at Swedish Embassy in Tokyo
Finding the Frontiers – Open up for new Innovations using Design, Art and Storytelling in ICT Research – by invitation only. For information please contact: birgitta.tennander@si.se

Pecha Kucha 27 October, 2010
27 October, 2010 8:20 pm – 11:30 pm
Adress: Tokyo #77 at SuperDeluxe 1000yen /1 drink B1F 3-1-25 Nishi Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0031
Sara Backlund from the Interactive Institute, Sweden will talk about “Energy as Design Material”
For more information please visit: http://www.super-deluxe.com
http://www.pecha-kucha.org/night/tokyo/77

“Visual Voltage - a Design and Art Perspective from Sweden”
Organized, produced and developed by the Interactive Institute in collaboration with the Swedish Institute
Co-hosted by the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan)
Supported by the Embassy of Sweden

「ヴィジュアル・ヴォルテージ－スウェーデンのデザインとアートの視点」
主催・企画制作：インタラクティブ・インスティテュート、スウェーデン文化交流協会
共催：日本科学未来館
協力：スウェーデン大使館

情報については、www.visualvoltage.se/other-languages/ をご覧ください。

Read pressrelease in Swedish here
Read pressrelease on Miraikans’s homepage here
Read pressrelease on the Swedish Embassys homepage in Tokyo here

Visit Miraikan´s website here

This book presents the design examples from a project called Static!, that was led by Interactive Institute and funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, as well as perspectives on issues in (sustainable) design today. Grounded in passion and humor, as well as rigor and research, the book asks designers and consumers – that is, all of us – to rethink the form, and future, of electricity in the world around us.

Static! explores design as a basis for increasing awareness of energy. Familiar furnishings and products have been reinterpreted to materialize electricity, to make it more visible and tangible for people. The results; a series of conceptual design examples that express the poetics – and politics – of everyday electricity consumption, were the starting point for the exhibition Visual Voltage.

The book is commissioned by the Interactive institute, the Nordic Culture Fund and the Swedish Energy Agency.

Editor: Ramia Mazé

Authors: Ramia Mazé, Christina Öhman, Sara Backlund, Johan Redström, Sara Ilstedt Hjelm, Sara Routarinne 

Graphic Design: Christian Altmann

ISBN: 97-91-85689-34-7

Read the press release here (in Swedish): Ny bok från Interactive Institute: “Static! Designing for Energy Awareness”

“Change only challenge the prepared mind” Prof Svante Lindquist (Nobelprize presentation)

On the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sweden and China the Sweden-China Innovation Forum took place the 21st of May 2010. Leading government’s officials such as Maud Olofsson, H.E. Li Keqiang, First Vice Premier of the People´s Republic of China and His Majesty the King Carl Gustav. This Forum discussed and provided insights from many different aspects with talks from leading Swedish Academics and CEO´s.  The Forum discussed issues like national policies for innovation with examples how to create entrepreneurial bridges between academia and other sectors. But the most commented topic from the Swedish speakers were addressing questions how to create innovative environments in companies and academia, both from an organizational standpoint but also how this should be addressed on the individual level. One interesting speech on this topic was Professor Svante Lindquist presenting insight about the 829 Nobel Prizes, how these individuals have been challenging known facts and what milieus that had foster their thinking and development towards breakthrough work. A lot of the facts he presented were very intuitive like; courage, challenge earlier paradigms, see new ways, high degree of freedom in competitive environments but also pinpointed facts like more elements of chaos and structural instability. The Chinese delegates were very interested in this topic obviously as China still haven’t produced any Nobelprize winners. The Visual Voltage was presented to the delegates both by showing parts of the exhibition, but also through CEO Christina von Dorrien presenting the Interactive Institute´s research under the topic of Finding the Frontiers: how Interactive Institute is developing new fields within research through new combinations with experimental work-methods . This presentation was in the context of the growing creative industries and particular how art and design play a more important role in the future of innovation. I don’t know if innovation will save the world but it is very clear that innovation is the new black in the global economy.

Welcoming words were given, amongst others, by Mr Mikael Lindström, Swedish Ambassador in Beijing.

More than 100 guests attended the opening whereof more than 20 from different media. The recently opened China Science and Technology Museum is located next to the Olympic Park.

The visitors are welcome to free guided tours given by graduates from the prestigeous Tsinghua University throughout the exhibition period.

If you would like to join the guided tours please contact Li Xiaohan, 13911325175 or Pan Fei, 13520213459 or email Beijing@visualvoltage.se for an appointment.

You will see electricity as never seen before!

China Science and Technology Museum
Adress: No 5 Bei Chendong Road, Chaoyang district, 100012 Beijing
地址：北京市朝阳区北辰东路5号 邮编：100012

Welcome!

In collaboration with China Science and Technology Museum, the Embassy of Sweden and Academy of Art & Design at Tsinghua University the Swedish Institute is proud to present the Visual Voltage Exhibition – A Design and Art Perspective - in Beijing.

The Visual Voltage exhibition has been produced by the Interactive Institute for the Swedish Institute. The exhibition is part of the Swedish Institute´s environmental initiative – Facing the Future – Sustainability the Swedish Way. The aim is to promote discussion about sustainable societies and to make people more aware of environmental issues.

The Visual Voltage exhibition has received a lot of media attention during the international tour which started in October 2008 and has been greatly appreciated by more than 50.000 visitors in Shanghai, Washington, Brussels and Berlin.

Now it is time to present the exhibition to the audience in Beijing who are welcome to visit  the exhibition and to join a free guided tours.

The exhibition Visual Voltage enables visitors to explore various forms of electricity and to experience and reflect on energy consumption. Some of Sweden’s best known artists and designers have been brought together with engineers, technical know-how and environmental consideration in this ground breaking exhibition. You will see electricity as never seen before.

Welcome!

By The Swedish Institute and the Interactive Institute in collaboration with China Science and Technology Museum, the Embassy of Sweden and the Academy of Art & Design at Tsinghua University.
Read more about the Interactive Institute here
Read more about the Swedish Institute here
Read more about the Embassy of Sweden here
Read more about the Academy of Art & Design at Tsinghua University here
For more information please contact:
Li Xiaohan 13911325175, Pan Fei 13520213459, or email Beijing@visualvoltage.se

China Science and Technology Museum
Adress: No 5 Bei Chendong Road, Chaoyang district, 100012 Beijing
地址：北京市朝阳区北辰东路5号 邮编：100012