Off to New York City

I'm studying for my film history exam, which is tomorrow afternoon and is my last exam ever.
Therefor I've been supernervous for the last couple of days. The professor is also the promotor of my thesis so off course, I want to make a good impression.

At the same time, I'm also very anxious for tomorrow to come since -as I mentioned before- my boyfriend and I are leaving for New York City on saturday morning. I still have a million things to do and I haven't even packed my bag yet. Every time I go to my aunt's to borrow her super-sized luggage, she says: "Honey, you don't need to carry along so many things, you just need your passport and your credit card!" But last year, during our previous NYC-trip I learned the hard way, how much damage a VISA can do.

I'm still wondering if I should bring my little Chanel-bag. At least so I won't be tired dragging my bag around after a whole day of walking. My boyfriend on the other hand, prefers the Balenciaga cause that way he can drop al his stuff in my bag and don't have to worry about his wallet getting stolen...

Anywho,
I'm back to my studying. And I'll say goodbye with images from my new favorite "store/blog": The Bergdorf/Goodman-blog! I'll be back next weekend with some NYC-pictures...



The Sex and the City 2-windows at Bergdorf!

(source: Bergdorf Goodman Blog - Pictures: Julia Chesky)

Btw. what will Chanel come up with next? Chanel cotton pads for 20$, crazy!

(source: Bergdorf Goodman)

Louis Vuitton and Environmental Design

A few weeks ago, I had my oral exam of Human-Computer Interaction. One of the questions I had to answer was how context-aware interfaces can be relevant for augmented reality. I answered with what I wrote down in class and with the content of the slides and I think that went pretty well. It was harder though to give a precise, and original application-example of the two technologies combined.

How I wish this news got out before the exam took place: Louis Vuitton has developed a jewelry line, to attach to your bag or wallet, that detects the user's emotions. Kind of like those old fashioned mood rings, only digitally and so much cooler.

Art director Fernando Lahoz explaines: "The bag incorporates a new HERM (heart and emotion rate monitor) in the form of a beautiful piece of jewelry which can be purchased with a bag or separately at Louis Vuitton stores. When attached to a bag the HERM automatically transmits your location and heartbeat via Bluetooth/WiFi to the owner’s smartphone. This heart and emotion rate monitor is automatically tracking the heartbeat and transmitting the information via Bluetooth/Wi-Fi to a smartphone, creating a heartbeat path and storing all the data. The bag is connected to the owner more than ever, saving a trustworthy reminder of the feelings and emotions of the owner during each journey." Plus, the journey the bag's owner made, is then laid out in a map through an iPhone application.


Not only is this a great example of experience design, but it also contributes to the relationship between the 'user' and the brand. And even cooler, and in relation to the context-related exam question, the walls of a Louis Vuitton-store can then e.g. reflect the customers' excitement when visiting the shop. Red being then the color of passion for Louis Vuitton's latest handbag collection for instance.


More info on Lahoz' website, which was also the source for these pictures.