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Swedish designer Jan Klingler has created unusual lamps: bacteria live in them, which color the light in different shades. For this project, the designer had to do a lot of research and gain relevant experience, but now he can control the growth of bacteria so as to “grow” the desired color or pattern in his lamp bulbs.

To create these lights, Klingler himself grows bacteria, fungi and yeast, allowing them to grow naturally on a resin disc for 24 to 48 hours. Its “home” bacteria feed on agar-agar, a gelatin obtained from seaweed. At the beginning of the process, the culture medium becomes liquid, but by the time Klingler adds bacteria to grow, it begins to solidify.

The colors are provided either by food or by the bacteria themselves, for example, the serratia bacterium (such as live in the human mouth) gives an orange-red color. When the desired effect is achieved, the biomaterial discs are sealed to deprive the cultures of oxygen and stop their growth. The resin plates are then connected to the LED disk or module. It turns out that light is poured through a translucent layer of bacteria.

Bacteria lamps are manufactured entirely in Sweden and come in four variations, reminiscent of laboratory equipment. One is inspired by a Petri dish, one is a Collet flask that looks like a flattened light bulb, and two are made in the shape of a Fernbach flask in two sizes.

According to Klingler, the project challenges the user to “see a new connection between the object he created and himself, creating a visible connection through bacteria, shedding light on what we think should remain hidden, and exposing it to the public.”

Klingler clarifies that every living creature and even its place of residence has its own unique microbiological imprint. Combining science, art and industrial design, his Bacteria lamp harnesses this tangible fact to present a unique piece to the world, provoking thought and discussion.

The goal of the designer is to offer in the future personalized lamps made to order from biological samples of a specific client who wants to perpetuate himself in this way and make a part of himself a piece of contemporary decorative art.

Wie ich im vorangegangenen Blogpost erklärt habe, möchte ich mein aktuelles Recherche Thema in Frage stellen und entsprechend anpassen. Um meiner Arbeit eine Richtung zu geben habe ich zum Ende des zweiten Semesters meine ‘Vision’ als Designerin niedergeschrieben und auch wenn das ein wenig kitschig klingt bin ich nach wie vor überzeugt davon. 

Es lautet wie folgt:

As a media designer, I am aware how all kinds of media channels work and what they are capable of: Influencing our life positively but also negatively. I want to share this knowledge with others in order to make them benefit from media usage instead of suffering (mentally).

Diese Statement bezieht sich vor allem auf die mentalen Auswirkungen von Mediennutzung. Das beinhaltet Manipulation von Inhalten (Fake-News, Photoshop, …), Aufmerksamkeitsgenerierung (Clickbaits) sowie süchtig machenden Mechanismen von Apps und Websites (insbesondere Social Media und Gaming). Stundenlanges Social Media Scrollen, Realitätsflucht durch Serien Marathons bis hin zu körperlichen Beschwerden durch extensive Mediennutzung. Diese Phänomene sind heutzutage weit verbreitet und kosten uns einige Stunden unserer täglichen Lebenszeit. 

Wir leben in einer Zeit, die unsere volle Aufmerksamkeit fordert. Komplexe Themen wie den fortschreitenden Klimawandel oder eine globale Pandemie zwingen uns, Informationen, Berichte und Fakten zu bewerten und eine eigene Meinung zu bilden. Doch gerade jetzt gibt es vermehrt Unsicherheiten darüber, was oder wem man Glauben schenken kann und wie sich die eigene Meinung schlussendlich festigen soll. Anstatt sich einen Fokus zu setzen, Entscheidungen zu treffen und aktiv zu Handeln wird nach dem Smartphone oder der Fernbedienung gegriffen. 

Die Frage nach der richtigen oder eher bewussten Mediennutzung ist daher sehr essentiell. Und genau hier sehe ich Gestalter*innen in der Pflicht. All jene, die Medien konzipieren, mit Content füllen und in der Zielgruppe verbreiten sollten sich bewusst werden, welche Auswirkungen ihre digitale Produkte haben. Geht es nur noch darum, die User so lange wie möglich im Webshop zu halten? Wird dieser Gamification-Mechanismus das Suchtpotenzial des Spiels noch weiter steigern? 

Ich möchte auf keinen Fall die Design Ethik Polizei sein. Dennoch denke ich dass die ‘User’ am Ende des Tages Menschen sind, die mehr Transparenz verdient haben. Denen klar werden muss, dass Medien in den meisten Fällen so konzipiert werden, dass sie süchtig machen – oder zumindest so lange wie möglich Aufmerksamkeit auf sich ziehen wollen. Dass sie immer subjektiv sind. Dass sie niemals 1:1 die Realität abbilden. Gleichzeitig  sind es gerade digitale Medien die unsere Zukunft beeinflussen. Die das Potenzial haben den zuvor genannten komplexen Problemen die Stirn zu bieten. Die endlose, digitale Vernetzung von Menschen, deren Wissen und Informationen sind essentiell für das heutige globalisierte Miteinander. 

Das Ganze klingt im ersten Moment sicherlich sehr abstrakt. Dennoch möchte ich mich mehr in diese Richtung bewegen. Vor allem die Mechanismen, die uns nach digitalen Medien  wie Social Media oder Spiele süchtig machen interessieren mich. Warum sind diese Plattformen das erste, was ich am morgen checke? Warum hänge ich am Iphone anstatt im Zug einfach mal aus dem Fenster zu sehen? Warum kann ich die Stille nicht mehr ertragen und muss beim Putzen Musik oder Podcast hören? Zu dieser Thematik gibt es bereits viel Literatur und ich möchte auch einen Selbstversuch (Digital Detox) starten.

_{Bücher, die auf meiner Liste stehen:
– Seductive Interaction – Stephen P. Anderson (2011, New Riders)
– Social Media, a critical introduction – Christian Fuchs (2014, SAGE Publications)
– Soziologie vernetzter Medien – Andreas Schelske (2007, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag GmbH)
– Hooked: Wie Sie Produkte erschaffen, die süchtig machen – Nir Eyal (2014, Redline Verlag)}

According to Wikipedia, the reverse Krebs cycle (also known as the reverse tricarboxylic acid cycle) is a sequence of chemical reactions that are used by some bacteria to produce carbon compounds from carbon dioxide and water by the use of energy-rich reducing agents as electron donors.

Regardless of how you choose to call this cycle, it is the main engine of cellular respiration.

The tricarboxylic acid cycle is the center, where almost all metabolic pathways converge. Thus, the Krebs cycle is a common final pathway for the oxidation of acetyl groups (in the form of acetyl-CoA), into which most of the organic molecules that play the role of “cellular fuel” are converted during catabolism: carbohydrates, fatty acids and amino acids.

The tricarboxylic acid cycle is a closed cycle. The last stage of which transforms the molecule used in the first stage, if we calculate the total energy effect of glycolytic degradation of glucose and the subsequent oxidation of the two formed pyruvate molecules to CO2 and H2O, then it will turn out to be much greater. As well as the Design cycle starts from the Ideation and, passing all stages, finished with Definition. The cycle is closed system, so it can go on indefinitely.

In Design Thinking Cycle — the solution of the problem is divided into couple of steps, that are following each other, transforming and decaying into small and simple elements.

Six steps of the cycle are Ideate, Prototype, Test, Implement, Empathise and Define.

1. Emphathise

At the first stage of the cycle, acetyl-CoA combines with a 4-carbon acceptor molecule, oxaloacetate, to form a 6-carbon molecule, — citrate.

I would say (if no one throws stones in me), that designer is always an empath. He is looking for the most comfortable solution. It’s easy to do projects that you understand. If you are into rap, making a rapper landing page is easy. But if a customer trades on a financial exchange, he will have to delve into his business, understand the processes and understand how he feels when communicating with people. So, designer is forming with a client mind, to form an overall idea of a project.

2. Define

After small transformations, this 6-carbon molecule enters into two successive similar reactions, as a result of each of which one carbon atom is split off (it is released in the form of a carbon dioxide molecule), while producing one molecule each time.

Organize the information you get through empathy, analyze the observations, and highlight the user’s key problems. The purpose of focusing is to formulate a question to which you will produce an answer in the next step.

3. Ideate

Once you’ve identified the user’s problem, come up with and work out non-standard solutions. Give up the critical thinking we are all so used to. Criticism can ruin a good idea. Write down everything, even the most delusional thoughts. Once the creative is over, pick out viable ideas and move on to the next stage. Idea, in this case, — is the enzyme(isocitrate dehydrogenase) plays a very important role in regulating the rate of the tricarboxylic acid cycle.

4. Prototype

Here the task is to test the performance of ideas in practice. It is enough to make a budget version or low fidelity prototype of the product with functions that will help solve the indicated problem.

Prototype, as the enzyme, responsible for this stage is built into the inner membrane of the mitochondria, due to which it can transfer its electrons directly into the electron transport chain.

5. Test

Pretty understandable, right? Either it works, either not. And we adding, involving more people to it, as chemistry adds water to the fumarate molecule, resulting in another 4-carbon molecule – malate.

6. Implement

At the last stage of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, oxidation of malate again yields oxaloacetate — the original 4-carbon molecule that entered the tricarboxylic acid cycle, but with bigger amount of energy. Our small thought is still the same, but it is a big working project in reality now!