Bubelle

source: e-fibrecouk
vHM Designfutures is a London based consultancy set up by Clive van Heerden and Jack Mama which specializes in the design of future lifestyle scenarios based on socio-cultural research and emerging technologies. Jack is Creative Director of vHM Designfutures, Studiomama and former Creative Director for Visioning and Probing at Electrolux and the Probes program at Philips Design. In these roles, he articulated the vision and design expression of ‘far-future’ research initiatives aimed at identifying long- term systemic shifts and anticipating changes in future lifestyles. Examples of probes projects include Electronic Tattoo, Emotional Sensing Dresses, and Microbial Home and Livable Cities. Clive has spent over twenty years exploring new product genres, innovation strategy and vision projects for a series of global technology companies that has culminated in pioneering approaches to research, product innovation and new business. Clive became the director of the ‘Soft Technologies’ activity at Philips Design in 1998. The same year he also started the Intelligent Fibres group, consisting of engineers, scientists, textile technologists and fashion designers. This experimental group pioneered wearable electronic and conductive textile solutions that led to Philips partnerships with companies like Levis and Nike. In 2012 he joined Electrolux in Stockholm as Director of Visioning and Probing before returning to vHM Designfutures in London earlier this year.
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source: vhmdesignfutures
vHM Design Futures was started by Clive van Heerden and Jack Mama in London in 2011, after working together in different corporate positions for over 20 years.Their collaboration combines Clive’s social-science and interaction design experience with Jack’s product and user experience design backgrounds – a partnership that started at the Royal College of Art in the early 1990’s and developed through technology research labs in the UK and the US and culminated in the establishment of design research groups, vision activities and new product incubators in The UK, Netherlands and Sweden

Clive and Jack’s work has consistently brought very diverse skills together in new innovation processes. In the late 1990’s they took designers and other creative skills into Philips Research labs in the Redhill, London and New York and created a specialist studio in London to develop the skills, materials and technologies for a host of Wearable Electronic business propositions in the areas of electronic apparel, conductive textiles, physical gaming, medical monitoring and entertainment.

Working at the intersection of corporate groups developing long term technology and product strategy they developed new methods for integrating scientific, technical, design and artistic skills into vision projects and worked with strategy consultants to develop new product roadmaps.

They are best known for setting up and managing the Design Probe programme at Philips Design. The probe initiative was a long range research initiative commissioned by Stefano Marzano aimed at identifying systemic shifts and anticipating changes in future lifestyles. Design Probe Projects included Electronic Tattoo, Emotional Sensing Apparel, Off-the-Grid Sustainable Habitat 2020, Microbial home, Livable cities and the Food Probes covering Diagnostic Kitchen, Food Creation and Home Farming. The most recent Food Probe project is Multi-sensorial Gastronomy, developed in collaboration with Spanish Michelin star chef Juan-Mari Arzak.

Through this unique corporate experience they have consistently developed product strategy over three, five and 10 year horizons and specialised in methods to extract insights from probable future lifestyle scenarios.

ACADEMIC RELATIONSHIPS

Jack and Clive have been actively involved with many universities and creative institutions. They have collaborated with University consortia in Europe and in the US including the Royal College of Art, Media Lab (MIT), CSM London, NYU, the TUe and a host of fashion and textile schools in the UK and the Netherlands. They remain formally involved with various design schools in Europe including Clive’s roles as head of the Product Design Masters program at IED Madrid and external examiner, for Design Interactions department at the Royal College of Art.