Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh

0:22Thanks mother. And so I've kind of actually assumed cuz your designers I've kind of assumed that most people do you know what sugru is and that you probably good for yer probably users already and so the guys asked me just to kind of talk about my kind of take on technology and like the rest of them and and for me I find the most useful way of looking at technology for me is to look at it as as tools and as designers I think and the reason.

1:02That's useful is because it moves you from thinking about the thing that you're designing to the thing. That's going to happen because you designed it. And so you'll see what that is so all about subaru but and if we take an example of some technologies like for example and I thought about polyester and and what happened because polyester was invented or somebody invented that.

1:31And then somebody else invented the polyester shirt and the world got a little bit more sweaty and somebody invented Twitter and what happened the world got a bit more connected and and after that the right people started using it and the world got a bit more witty and and I think that just a useful way of thinking because it's not a beige and when we design things it's not about the technology it's about what it enables what new behaviors does that enable what new cultures and do we want to see in the future when you design your thing you want the world to be a bit more this or a bit more that. And so sugru is the irish word for play and and it started as an idea I was staying product sign that the real college first ten years ago. So it's a long time. Basically you know as as we heard it starts like play-doh and sticks to almost anything and turns into rubber overnight just by being in the air so it enables people to fix things when they couldn't fix things before it enables people to redesign things imagine better ways that things could work and and and as I said started when I was a student and the idea really was a bit well you know it's not really enough for me to be a designer how you know how much impact can I have if it's just me what about if it was everybody what about if there was a way to activate the little piece in people's brain that they think they've been told for years and years through school and everything else you're not creative he's the creative one not you. And we actually all have the ability to solve problems and and so I ended up kind of this concept and yeah we'll play with play-doh when were kids what could be easier than that and what if everyone could be a designer and improve things and spent about five years developing the material because I knew it needed to be you know it needed to really have properties that nothing else could have so that it would stick to almost anything and have all those nice tactile qualities and but one early lesson that I learned was that the technology and the material would only be a very small piece of what would enable this culture to to be to happen to flourish and and the rest of it would be all the communications and design decisions around that I guess science and and that is about everything so everything else apart from the material so that's about you know the the fonts to choose the tone of voice the the photography the projects you choose to champion or not and if you have a look on our website or social media you'll be able to see that it's actually all about championing a way of life in a way of seeing the world and that is basically a little bit more empowered and a little bit more playful and so we've been we've been for about five years and growing suger's in over a million homes around world now. And we've gone from selling on our own websites to selling nationwide and being q and maplin and wilco lots of retailers I remember something 10 years ago in front of my teachers me this got to be in Tesco okay you're weird but it's a it's getting there.

5:16And we're we're launching right across the u.s. At the moment through those home improvement and target which is one where sort of like dream imagine if it could be in target someday and so I'm gonna talk a little bit niobate and the community and and give you a feel of what the Subaru culture is through some stories from the community and in terms of thinking about you know I want to want the world to be a bit more XY said whatever I want the world to be a bit more and I can do it. And I see a solution. And I can do yes I can and and this is Joanne she's she's from Canada and she's a really good canoeist and she always wanted to do this a really big long marathon canoeing race like 700 kilometers up the Yukon River and but the only problem was that to be able to do that she she she has no fingers on her left hand and to canoe for that long she'd make it need to be able to canoe with the paddle on both sides if you know what I mean so for short distances she could just use one side and a friend so she was like I wanted to do this raised around to this race and and a friend helped her. Basically just put a screw into the paddle and like paradise with zoo brew so that she could get a grip on the paddle and she sent us these pictures after she had completed the full race in three days and three nights were no sleep and that's her and her team haven't finished the race and you know if somebody sends you an email like that and you've seen this like like awful looking little piece of crap that you like made and somebody's more than thing and you just go the connection between wow this is you know she's saying this is one of the best things I've done in my life. And I couldn't have done it without Subaru and you cannot imagine how amazing that feels and you know we've stayed in touch and no since met up with her for lunch and stuff and it's just like what this is unbelievable honestly that little piece of crap and you know. And it doesn't have to be this epic this is pretty epic and this like little pains right.

7:47So this is a guy who you know is like you know they're uploading these pictures onto facebook all the time.

7:53So this is a guy he needs me this for his granny and he's like you know before I used to have to hold the glass for her because the straw it's light it always keeps popping up and he used to have to hold the glass fair now he can sit there and she can drink her own drink without her grandson having to hold the glass fur and this one are the one yeah somebody made for their brother-in-law he's disabled and visually impaired and it lives in a home I'm huge thing for him as these audio books and so this is what he does for his brother-in-law he gives some audiobooks and brings new audio books whatever but she likes to listen to several of them at once and the USB keys he can tell the difference between what they are so he's used a little bit of savory to just kind of texture the thing.

8:41So the guy can go yeah this is this book we're thats that book. And this is the user blender but these look recently it's like and her husband yeah visually impaired can't use microwave and she's just designs a brew real thing on the microwave and it's just like for me.

9:01That's just it's amazing it's about honestly there's like I said it's a piece of crap it's just a little dumb robert e material but a sixth of things. And we've helped people to through the communications and through the brand we've helped people to access that part of their brain where they're thinking laterally and they're thinking I can do it sometimes and I want to show this one because we we make little videos and things to help kind of reinforce this whole kind of way of living this one happened again disability story that happened and we made a film about it because it you can see in it like sometimes you don't get it on the first go and something with sugru is a bit it's just jump in and try it. And if it doesn't work the first time you'll try again and so hello James this is for reader and this is the problem okay.

10:23So this is Frida's joystick that Emmert ride to fix before.

10:31But it didn't work you're better than the black one which would you prefer okay thank you for coming to help me I love your yellow in the bling see you Wednesday James and Wednesday you can have to fix it hopefully this one works touchwood yeah and for me that video well first of all it has the whole thing of like helping people see look just give it a go it might not work out the first time but just just keep going and but it also told the story of and I think something that we saw in it was jeez like that was so easy to solve like she had no one in her life that could solve that problem you know her carer her teachers her parents they didn't know how and so she couldn't move and we're sitting like you know mile half of the road the schools in Whitechapel we were up in London Fields and it was only one spot of the postcode they were like well there's no point in giving a voice over the internet we might as well just go down and James my husband co-founder is in that film. And it. Basically sparked a whole kind of train of thought and conversation and that.

13:12Basically you know there's all these latent skills and you know all the super community all these design students designers we actually look it's so easy for us to just go down to the 40 model shop and get a bit of thing and chop it up and put it into the wheelchair and there's the problem solved she can move around and be independent it costs whatever three or four quid and two or three hours of time. And so that. And I think just the overarching toward here is about like the idea of enabling like what you design and what you make whether it's like the you know the films that we make around sugra whatever all enable new conversations and new ways of looking at things.

14:00But then enable other things so out of that film with Freda what happened next was we started this conversation with Daniel chiney and fix brits happened so I don't know if you guys know no fixed brits but it's fixed brittle work. And it's basically promoting exactly what we did there with with Freda it's connecting designers and design students with people in their own community who have needs that are so stupidly simple to solve sometimes it's like the fridge is too low down.

14:30And I can't see what's in there because got arthritis oh you can put a wooden block underneath it. And so this is one of my favorite fix Ritz films and to Kingston students that I first met Elena her VMA shop when she asked me to post my book as she couldn't read the title we've kept in contact ever since and when the fixed Burt's project came up we thought she'd be the perfect fixed partner I think Russia cited now for that 10 years. And it's still been getting worse and some things I've been able to cope with there's some things which I used to do quite a lot the forward to impossible Sarek even small repairs yeah animal because I can't threaten eagle no and I tried doing it on a magnet man but it's impossible we've heard that you can't see the eye I can't see I just can't get sort of it's too fine which is a pity is it I'm knowing where the eye is in your in relation to your hand or is that is that is that hard finding the eye of the needle or is it just more the thread getting this right in well it's it's getting this region yeah.

15:50So we work with the idea of rather than using thread to thread through you get this metal hook needle here.

15:57And it's a bit a bit you push through and it's far far easy to do it because it's Richard you can keep pushing again and again it stays in place and yeah it always maintains its position but what we've done with this is provided you know a big stable base so she can work on a table with two hands and it's easier to hold as well it's something that she can you know really hold on to you mm-hmm and we've done in a way that we've got white for dark threads and then we've got black for ride to a wide so all colors will be visible yeah we've also made the hooks coliform contrast against the background color so that she can always see it and she can really pick out against against the product the product works really easily with three motions first you sort of needle into the groove then you hook over the thread and with one pull the needle threaded yeah I love you really mean oh nice here's the thread and is it in the right position doing yes look if you can let go that's fine we'll sit into the groove then lovely don't hold both sides just quit em you just stay holding the one you're holding you just go let go of the right.

17:30And then you just grab the needle top and pull up yeah yeah you got it who's not and so there is the beige I think there's almost 200 films on fixed bridge to work now vanished run across lots of different and universities here in the UK and during the world and lots of individuals as well there's lots of inspiring films on there and but I guess the point is that you know there's designing for impact on that one person. And that's what fix Ritz is awesome at it's all about like one client one designer and solving that problem but the bigger thing is making the films and that helps to design for a bigger impact so that more designers get involved and want to do the same thing in their community so that's the point and I've gone away over 10 that but and it's just that little shift in thinking that it's not about designing the thing it's about designing the outcome that will happen as a result of that Peggy existing yeah and so that's me I just want to say two things before a finish is and we're always creating films and stuff like this.

18:56So if you're a freelancer design student come and talk to me because we always need new people. And I've got some Subaru so if people want it I'm gonna throw it out into the audience so you've got to be good