Due to the success of the first round table event in June, the participants from ‘Part 1’ were keen for Irini and I to organize a follow-up discussion, which would provide our invited guests with a chance to see how the project had progressed and how the technology had been developed, ahead of the public launch at the Digital Design Weekend next month.
Equally, the nebulous and shifting debates that surround the future of currencies and economies, and the impact of digital technology on concepts of value, were all themes that inevitably demanded a lot more time and consideration, beyond the lively two-hour discussion at the start of the project. Irini and I were delighted that the participants were so enthusiastic to continue exploring these ideas that are inherent in Money No Object, and to give us the benefit of their unique perspectives on the issues at stake.
The second round table event therefore, gathered the original diversity of leading specialists, with additional guests, including curators, bankers, designers, technologists, analysts, economists, researchers, and representatives from the Royal Mint. It was an invaluable opportunity to hear industry insights and experience, as well as to glean broader reflections on the subjects of money and value.
Industry specialists discussing currency and value in the V&A Design Studio. (Photo: Jonathan Rowley)
The artist, Heidi Hinder, giving a presentation about the latest ‘Money No Object’ developments at the V&A. (Photo: Jonathan Rowley)
Similarly, it was a chance to share the latest working prototypes and give a demonstration of how the embedded technologies can now visually register each donation made via the wearables and social gestures, using a circuit of neopixels, and audibly record this at the point of contact with the sound of a transactional beep.
Demonstrating the technology prototypes in development. (Photo: Jonathan Rowley)
It will certainly be interesting to see from next week’s public testing session at the Digital Design Drop-In, just how the museum visitors respond to donating to the V&A via handshakes, hugs, high-fives or tap-dancing… Let’s hope they enjoy it!