 In its fourth edition, this year’s Philips Simplicity Event held October 15-17 on Moscow’s Red Square – with the theme ‘Healthy People, Healthy Living, Healthy Planet’ – introduced a new collection of simplicity-led design concepts that embody the brand promise of "sense and simplicity" and give an insight into future product development for a more sustainable world.
Evolution of the Simplicity Event
The first Philips Simplicity Event took place in Paris in 2005, one year after the launch of the ‘sense and simplicity’ brand promise. The Simplicity Event was designed to allow visitors – such as customers, media, government representatives and employees – to experience Philips’ brand promise first hand. At the Simplicity Event, Philips showcases a series of simplicity-led design concepts to communicate a vision of how sense and simplicity could be brought to life in the future. Next to the future-concepts, the Event highlights some of Philips’ current products and services that bring sense and simplicity to life today.
The design concepts featured at the 2005 and 2006 Simplicity Events focused on identifying relevant and meaningful solutions for people within their domestic environment to simplify healthcare and lifestyles. In 2007, the Event broadened this approach to focus on the professional domain and illustrated both existing solutions and concepts in which Philips can help professionals to better ‘Care for people’s well-being’ in both the healthcare and hospitality domains. The 2008 Simplicity Event adds a new dimension of ‘Care for the Planet’ to the theme of Health and Well-being that has been the constant thread of the Event since its inception.
The 2008 Concept Collection - Three Key Areas of Exploration
The latest Concept Collection focuses on the theme: ‘Healthy People, Healthy Living, Healthy Planet’. The collection’s overall aim is to increase people’s daily awareness of and contribution to a better environment. Beyond raising this level of understanding, the concepts explore solutions that deliver both emotional and tangible benefits to those who engage in responsible activities.
Philips continuously researches global trends and cultural patterns, identifying the eco-societal challenges of the future and how those challenges will shape consumer living on an everyday basis. Based on the insights, three themes were selected for exploration as part of the 2008 Concept Collection.
Conscious domestic consumption: Green Cuisine Concept
Green Cuisine is an integrated kitchen solution comprising several domestic products that work together. The Interactive Kitchen Table is the centerpiece. It enables social, intuitive and eco-friendly cooking thanks to a Dynamic Table Top Interface. Among other products, a sink with a Smart Tap and its touch sensitive controller are built into the Interactive Kitchen Table. Docked under the Table’s grinder, is the Bokashi Composter that produces soil tablets to grow fresh herbs into the Garden.
Through this concept, Philips explores the most pleasurable, engaging and educational ways to sensitize people to their domestic consumption of resources such as water, electricity, gas and even food. In addition, Philips looks to identify the kind of long- and short-term rewards that individuals may gain as a result and the motivations needed to ensure sustained, positive engagement.
Harnessing renewable energy: Light Blossom Concept
The Light Blossom outdoor lighting concept is a light pole that collects its own energy from the sun and wind by transforming its appearance throughout the day. At night, it’s efficient LEDs beam light only where needed – and only when needed – through proximity sensing. The Light Blossom's LEDs use half of the energy of traditional street light for the same light output. With its efficient, integrated solar cells and wind rotor, Light Blossom doesn't require power from the grid. It relies on itself, even through power shortages and other calamities.
By transforming its appearance throughout the day to collect energy from both sun and wind, the Light Blossom outdoor lighting concept not only provides truly green lighting, but can actually supply power back to the grid. Involving people in or confronting them with the way in which their energy is generated increases awareness of energy consumption. Through Light Blossom, Philips addresses aesthetic and real experiences to encourage the harnessing of renewable energy, while encouraging the aesthetic and ecological transformation of cities.
A responsible consumption of goods: Circle of Life Concept
Circle of Life is a shop experience that promotes a new type of consumption by re-examining the recycling process. The ‘Circle of Life’ is a closed loop that ends at ‘Ownership’, but starts with ‘Recycling’ – acknowledging that nothing disappears or emerges out of nowhere: everything is the result of transformation. Old products can be returned, recycled and re-used, and new products are assembled on-site and co-created with the customer.
When shopping, people know what their goods do and that they can be disposed of when they become redundant. Philips is approaching the issue of educating consumers about products’ provenance and lifecycle and deepening the personal value of products through co-creation. The aim of this concept is to prevent the indirect production of waste by encouraging consumers to think beyond the use and disposal of goods, and make choices based on the entire chain of the product’s life.
Bringing Simplicity to life Through Design Concepts
All Philips simplicity-led design concepts meet certain criteria. They answer the needs and aspirations of people and society. They are technologically viable within a three to five year timeframe. And, they demonstrate Philips commitment to improving the quality of people’s lives. Philips simplicity-led design concepts use and anticipate skills across the organization and identify new areas in which Philips has the ability to innovate, demonstrating what the company is capable of now and in the near future.
The concepts are not intended for introduction to the market in exactly the form seen at the Event. Instead, as part of its innovation enrichment strategy, Philips expands insights through the concepts and can apply elements from the concept themes that address market needs. Indeed, certain Philips concepts from past Simplicity Events are now available to consumers in real products.
For example, in 2005, an LED touch-sensitive control that changes the color and ambience of surroundings was showcased; this came to market as the LivingColors lamp that today allows consumers to create different atmospheres at home by projecting 16 million LED colors via a remote color spectrum touch circle. In 2005, Philips presented the ideas of an interaction-based energizing light solution for use in the bedroom, at work and on the move; this inspired the goLITE energizer now available. Also at the Simplicity Event in 2005, Philips brought to life the vision of a kitchen tap that provided healthy water sterilized with UV light, chilled with a cooling system and mineralized with an all-in-one cartridge; today, the Philips Intelligent Water Purifier has been launched for pure and safe drinking water.
The ability to reasonably predict our complex world of tomorrow is essential to achieving simplicity. Brilliant concepts sometimes remain ideas because their scope and potential are not fully explored. For this reason, the Philips Simplicity Event will feature concept demonstrations that enable people to see, touch, feel, taste and hear these ideas. By recreating the concept in a real-time experience with all its benefits and context, Philips can clearly communicate its vision of Healthy People, Healthy Living, Healthy Planet.
For further press information, please contact:
Philips Design/ Communications
Ange Dunselman
Tel: +31 6 2032 4488
E-mail: info.design@philips.com
Website: www.design.philips.com
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a global leader in healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle, delivering people-centric, innovative products, services and solutions through the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 134,200 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 27 billion in 2007, the company is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, as well as lifestyle solutions for personal wellbeing. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
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