Artists of the past who are thought to have “painted” sounds include Vincent Van Gogh and Wassily Kandinsky, and many more share their works with the public today. But have you ever seen this unusual talent used to produce moody interior designs?

HomeAdvisor asked two synesthetes, Rachel and Michael, to digitally redecorate a single room design across a range of musical genres by listening to ten songs from the top of each of Billboard’s genre charts.

“I actually hear colors and motions, whereas some people just hear colors,” says Michael. “For example, if I hear drums in a song, I can see the colors moving based on the sound. I predict that having chromesthesia probably boosts my creativity, but I don’t know what it’s like to hear music without it. Maybe if I didn’t have it, I would still love music the same amount!”

While the music was played, Rachel and Michael listed the colors they experienced, and HomeAdvisor added the colors agreed upon by both to the genre’s “palette.” The results might not be exactly what you’d expect.

Rock Room

A playlist of rock songs including Ozzy Osbourne’s “Under the Graveyard” produced this black, white, and gray room with pops of red, champagne, and cream.

“Different instruments carry their own color,” says Rachel, “blending with the hue of the notes being played on them and with the way each artist plays that note. But these colors also have a sort of texture, like metallic, wet, velvets, speckled, or smatterings of paint on a screen. The smoother the vocals, the more petal-like the sound.”

Country Room

To Rachel, “country music is a brown genre,” with more limited instruments, melodies, and influences than other genres. The resulting room is fittingly the most conservative of the bunch, even with contemporary songs like Dan + Shay’s “10,000 Hours” featuring Justin Bieber.

Pop Room

The pop playlist, featuring “Circles” by Post Malone, evoked a predictably brighter color scheme, including navy, jade green, metallic gold, and ecru. While these are bolder choices, they still blend together relatively easily, with enough harmonies to feel easy to live with. And given the broad popularity of pop music, it actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

Rap Room

Here’s where things get really surprising. This vivid, cheerful, almost child-like color palette might not be what you’d normally associate with rap, but it could reflect the diverse array of influences and samples that go into a typical rap album. It gets a little clearer when you catch the influence of Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts.”

Check out the rest — including a J-pop room, an R&B room, and a heavy metal room — over at HomeAdvisor, where you can also listen to the playlists that influenced each result.

The post Chromesthesia: HomeAdvisor Turns Different Music Genres into Colorful Interior Designs first appeared on Dornob.

Appropriately named “FocusBuds,” these earbuds actually study your brain and work with your natural biorhythms to improve your focus and productivity. This process, known as EEG Neurofeedback, isn’t new. In fact, it’s been around for decades now, helping NASA astronauts, athletes, and corporate CEOs perform their best. But FocusBuds is still the first product to bring this technology to the average consumer.

Here’s how it works. The user wears the brain-scanning product like a pair of regular earbuds. When turned on, EEG biosensors scan the activity of your brain, gathering and calculating data along the way. With this information, the program is able to evaluate your focus levels based on 400 unique metrics. In the end, this means it knows when you work best, how long you can maintain focus, and during which activities you are most distractible. FocusBuds uses this data to then provide you with audio cues that redirect you when you become distracted, keeping you on track and improving efficiency.

The inspiration for FocusBuds came when Sahin Ozsoy, co-founder of Potential X, ran across data showing that the average person reportedly takes 23 minutes to focus, but is interrupted roughly every 11 minutes. Feeling this lack of focus himself when working in public places, he decided to use his background in EEG and signal processing to come up with a solution.

Ozsoy and his team have since found that EEG Neurofeedback increases the brain’s ability to get into a flow or highly focused state quickly, even when the earbuds are removed later on. Essentially, the device teaches the brain to remain focused even when surrounded by potential distractions.

In addition to providing instant feedback regarding your level of focus, FocusBuds also monitors your activity for a bigger overall picture of your concentration prowess, and will provide reports with information showing peak focus periods and top distractions. This allows you to avoid certain environments and inefficient habits. With this information at your disposal, you can reorganize your schedule to complete difficult tasks during your most natural productive times and rest during unfocused times.

FocusBuds are much more than a mind trainer. They also offer a superior earbud product with a proprietary noise-isolation sound seal technology that blocks out highly distracting noises while providing a low-level background murmur. Think of it as white noise rather than complete silence. Of course, if you prefer to listen to music, FocusBuds not only provides premium audio, but the EEG Neurofeedback actually tracks what type of music makes you most productive. There’s also an embedded microphone for one-touch call connect, and Bluetooth 5.0 so you can wirelessly connect to all your devices.

FocusBuds are currently trending on Indiegogo, with a campaign that was fully funded within the first hour of being launched. Now nearly 1000 percent funded, the campaign ends the last week of November, with shipments of the final product set for Spring 2020.

The post Smart Earbuds Train Your Brain to Stay Focused first appeared on Dornob.

A new furniture collection by Tink Things uses a theory called Dunn’s Model of Sensory Processing to accommodate the diverse needs of children as they interact with their everyday environments. Physical movement and good sensory integration not only help kids focus, but they’re also crucial for learning, development, and overall well-being, explain designers Dorja and Ivan Benussi. Some kids are sensation-seeking, meaning they’re always in motion, while others might be more sensitive, requiring a little more of a buffer between themselves and their surroundings.

The Ika Swing Chair and the Mia Hoodie Chair are two different responses to two different ways of processing stimuli. The Ika features a minimalist wooden frame and a suspended, non-fixed seat, allowing kids to rock and bounce while seated so they can expend a little energy and calm themselves down.

The fabric shell of the Mia works like a cocoon that can be lifted or lowered on demand depending on how the child is feeling. The designers note that this chair offers mild deep-pressure soothing to boost serotonin levels and alleviate stress. When both models are available, kids can switch between them at will as their moods and energy levels shift throughout the day, and sitting never has to be boring again.

“Children differ in their ability to process and respond to sensory stimuli within an environment while engaging in activities,” add the designers. “One child may have difficulty sitting still during group time, while another may move little during free play outside. They react in different ways because each child integrates the information obtained through their senses from the environment differently.”

“Sensory intelligence is encouraged by sensory-rich environments that are designed based on understanding children’s neurological thresholds & their behavioral responses. Those kind of spaces are dynamic and fun, but [they] also work as a food for the brain. They help with emotional regulation and aid concentration and memory skills, as real learning always involves patterns of physical activity.”

Not only do these two chairs approach the sensory needs of kids in two completely different ways (with multiple ways to use each one), but they’re also beautifully designed. Tink Things used sustainable materials like solid FSC-certified ash wood, 3D mesh fabric, and aluminum to make them, and their production process is as eco-friendly as can be, yielding minimal waste. The Ika and Mia chairs offer long-lasting value, and they’ve already been tested by families all over Europe. Both are currently available for pre-order, with shipping set to commence in January 2019.

The post Hide, Observe, Concentrate, or Fidget: Sensory Kids Furniture by Tink Tings first appeared on Dornob.

Wouldn’t you rather open your eyes to the scent of freshly brewed espresso or invigorating peppermint? A new kind of alarm clock aims to stimulate your senses with pleasant smells, sights, and sounds instead of prompting you to hurl your iPhone across the room. The Sensorwake Trio lets you choose from nine scents, five melodies, and a few different dynamic lighting options to get you going in the morning.

“What if you could wake up happier, more motivated, and ready to take on each day? With Sensorwake Trio, you choose from a wide variety of smells, like coffee, the beach, forest, or peppermint. Change them out as often as you change your mind. Stop hating your alarm clock. Start making your mornings better.”

Refined based on early feedback, the second-generation Sensorwake Trio design uses silent, oil-free scent capsules for easy operation. Just plug in the clock, insert a capsule into the port on top, and activate your alarm. The clock employs both cold and dry diffusion to release fragrances at preprogrammed times, and since there’s no heat involved, each capsule can be used up to 30 times. The scent choices include cappuccino, seaside, peppermint, pine forest, orange juice, cookie, tropical fruit, grass meadow, and chocolate factory.

All of the fragrances were designed in France by Givaudan, an international leader in fragrance and flavor creation, and all of them are described in great detail on the Sensorwake Trio Kickstarter page. For example, the “Cookie” scent features top notes of cocoa butter and chocolate chip, middle notes of coconut and nuts, and base notes of caramel and vanilla. Capsules can be purchased on the Sensorwake website when you need to stock up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_363dmIdZRE

One minute after the scent begins to waft over to your sleeping nose, the clock begins to light up, mimicking the effects of sunrise. Then, three minutes into the process, the sound you selected will start to play. These “motivating melodies” are the opposite of the standard alarm clock sounds, aiming for a calm and uplifting vibe rather than a harsh one that shocks you into wakefulness.

“It has cartridges that release different smells… like, ‘Honey, wake up! I just made fresh croissants for you! Just kidding, it’s time for work,’” joked Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show.

Founder and CEO Guillame Rolland was just 18 years old when Google chose the project he started in a garage as one of its “Top 15 Inventions That Can Change the World” at their annual science fair.

Want to nab one for yourself? The Sensorwake Trio was 100 percent funded on Kickstarter in just three hours. At the time of writing, pre-orders are still available, but if you miss out on backing the project, it’ll likely become available to the public around the same time the Kickstarter rewards start shipping in late 2018.

The post Sensorwake Trio: The Smell-Based Alarm Clock first appeared on Dornob.

Developed by scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder, the e-skin takes the form of a thin, semi-transparent material that can mimic both the functional and behavioral properties of actual human skin. While it’s intended to give prosthetics the ability to provide sensory feedback to their users, the technology has also been touted for its potential among robots. More specifically, the e-skin could allow robots to experience human sensations by way of touch. These sensations are triggered by sensors embedded in the skin, which themselves will be able to gauge temperature, pressure, humidity, and airflow.

The e-skin boasts several unique properties, including its incorporation of polyimine, a polymer base known for its strength and electric conductivity. It also contains silver nanoparticles for chemical stability. When compounds found in ethanol are mixed with these materials, the e-skin is able to miraculously repair itself. On top of that, it’s completely recyclable — which is exactly why researchers are saying this material is so unique.

“What is unique here is that the chemical bonding of the polyimine we use allows the e-skin to be both self-healing and fully recyclable at room temperature,” says Jianliang Xiao, the mechanical engineer at UCB who led the study. “Given the millions of tons of electronic waste generated worldwide every year, the recyclability of our e-skin makes good economic and environmental sense.”

Another benefit of the e-skin is that it can easily conform to curved surfaces like robotic arms and hands. All one has to do is apply moderate heat and pressure to it without introducing any excessive stresses. If the e-skin is wrapped around a prosthetic hand, it will allow the prosthetic to sense for pressure when picking up an object, such as a glass of water. The skin would then tell the hand how much pressure to use, thereby preventing people from accidentally crushing the cup.

“If you think about what real skin can do, real skin can prevent people getting burned [and] can prevent people getting hurt,” says Wei Zhang, a chemistry professor at the university and the co-author of the study. ”E-skin can basically mimic those [preventative] functions. At least that’s one big part of the electronic skin.”

Should robots ever have to handle babies in some capacity, they would find the e-skin immensely helpful, as it would allow them to feel out the appropriate pressure and temperature. “Sensing is critical because when human beings interact with robots, we want to make sure that robots don’t hurt people,” Xiao explains. “When the baby is sick, the robot can just use a finger to touch the surface. [Then] it can tell what the temperature of the baby is.”

He adds: “I think we are the first group to demonstrate recycling of such multifunctional e-skin.” To recycle the skin, it must be soaked in recycling solution, which causes the polymers to degrade into smaller molecules like oligomers and monomers. “The recycled solution and nanoparticles can then be used to make new, functional e-skin. What drives us to make such devices to be recyclable is because, nowadays, we are facing very serious environmental pollution due to tens of millions of tons of electronic waste.”

The post “Self-Healing Skin” Brings Feeling to Robotics first appeared on Dornob.

The post Stores That are Good for Your Health first appeared on Dornob.

“Mylines Westlake” in Hangzhou, China aims to redefine what a “love hotel” can look like with a dynamic modern design by LYCS Architecture. The firm came up with five categories of room themes based on their “studies of primal human desires:” narcissism, lust, exposure, fantasy, and romance. Each theme comes with its own particular set of evocative design details, including lighting, color schemes, materials, layouts, acoustics, and windows.

The art hotel‘s common areas feature sensually undulating pixelated ceiling installations, lip-shaped cushions, and lots of red and pink popping against white and gray surfaces. But enter any one of the 33 rooms, and you’ll be immersed in a private world that’s either dark, sultry, and neon-lit or cold, hard, and dungeon-like, depending on the theme. The “sadism” rooms, for example, might contain gridded metal walls.

“Lust: When it comes to love affairs, waiting isn’t always so bad,” say the designers. “Prolonged waiting time spent in solitude accumulates growing yearning for rejoice. Accordingly, a unique room type is designed using the psychological pattern as such.”

“The room plan is completely reconsidered: conventional subordinate spaces such as bathroom, shower, and corridors are reorganized to create a sequence of meandering space that enforces a period of inspiring waiting. Lovers are guided separately through two independent doors into his or her own bath, dressing area, and eventually into the bedroom. The separate circulation creates a strong sense of ritual, while the longing for intimacy drives the guests for further exploration.”

The “suppression” rooms are decidedly more masculine and free of any touches that could be called overly cutesy or precious. In the “romance” rooms, you’ll find billowing textiles, soft surfaces, and murals of pastel skies. The “fantasy” rooms are all relaxing watercolors, and the “narcissism” rooms are predictably covered in mirrors. Finally, the “exposure” rooms play with the concept of voyeurism, featuring soaking tubs at their centers and cushions designed to fit the curvature of the supine body set right beside wide expanses of windows.

“In the rooms themed ‘Narcissism,’ mirrors become an instrumental element for creating the atmosphere,” explains LYCS. “From the ceiling of the aisles to the surface of the curtains, mirrors aroused generously as the wall finish. The shifting materials give ordinary objects additional dimensions. On the sensory aspect, mirrors do not only fulfill the narcissistic pleasure, but also extend the spatial perception of the room beyond its physically bounded dimensions.”

Such carefully considered ambiance, which lacks anything particularly lewd or graphic, lends the Mylines Westlake renovation an air of sophistication rather than one of seediness and normalizes the act of seeking out a special place to take a romantic partner with a specific kind of activity in mind.

The post China’s Mylines Hotel Stimulates Both Mind and Body first appeared on Dornob.

Sometimes you need to hide from prying eyes, even in the supposed privacy of your own home. The concept of requiring a sanctuary within a sanctuary inspired ‘Orwell’ by Alvaro Goula, a piece of furniture that combines a sofa bed with a cabin-like outer structure that enables the users to completely shut themselves off from the rest of the room.

Referencing the author of the iconic dystopian novel ‘1984,’ this piece could certainly satisfy the privacy needs of the ultra-paranoid, but it also recalls the magic of building blanket forts as children, feeling safe and cozy inside.

Made of heavy quilted curtains that insulate against sound and light, the removable cover rolls up to reveal a semi-enclosed space that can e used either sitting up or lying down.

“Orwell is a piece of furniture somewhere between a sofa, a bed, and a ‘cabin’, as it was called in the design studio before it was christened with the surname of the ‘1984’ writer. The name references the original idea of ​​the product which was to recapture that intimacy which can sometimes be lost, even within our own homes.”

“Orwell invites you to rest it in its interior and resuscitate that childhood memory of a ‘cabin’, that magical, hidden place that all children wished they had. The heavy quilted curtains insulate against sound, and its size, similar to that of a bed, allows it to be used either sitting or lying down.”

About designers Goula / Figuera:

“Pablo Figuera (Madrid 1988) and Álvaro Goula (Barcelona 1989) are design graduates from Elisava (Barcelona) and Bachelor of Arts by the University of Southampton. After working for a few design studios, in 2012 they set up Goula / Figuera.”

“Since then, their work has been in the middle point between conceptual and commercial design, where the industry values and the creativity converge and feed back each other. When designing, Pablo and Álvaro hold from the beginning to an undeniable principle: the obsessive care about the object’s shape, which expresses aesthetic values through its material, the respect for the fabrication process and, of course, usefulness. Their works expect to be elegant and easy to understand, but always running away from funny references and superficial decoration.”

The post Orwellian Cabin Sofa: A Private Blanket Fort for Adults first appeared on Dornob.

It takes someone who has had panic and anxiety attacks to understand how to halt them in their tracks. Designer Ramon Telfer has drawn on his own experiences with anxiety to create a hand-held calming device that can help alleviate anxiety.

Telfer’s Calming Stone uses sensory experiences to help calm the nerves and create a sense of peace. It is shaped like a smooth pebble that’s easy and pleasant to hold in the palm.

A small opening in the face of the pebble releases cool air to help the user breathe easier. A cartridge can be added to release a calming scent like lavender, and a removable earbud can be used to walk the user through guided meditations.

A built-in nightlight lets the user find the calming device even in the middle of the night. Telfer has created a 3D printed prototype and has tested the concept during his own panic attacks to refine and improve on the idea.

“I have always felt compelled to design solutions to help people. When I take my own personal morals and experiences into consideration I believe mental health comes before anything else. Without our sanity and well-being we are helpless. Designing specifically to improve the situations of others who are struggling with their mental health only seems logical.”

“Due to my personal experience, I have developed a strong insight into panic attacks. This allowed me to test out ideas for the ‘calming stone’ while experiencing real panic attacks during the developing process. In addition, discussing my ideas with professional anxiety psychologists allowed me to develop ideas with complementary psychological techniques. I discovered that breathing is one of the most important aspects of controlling emotion, whether it be anxiety, anger, or sadness. By controlling your breathing and focusing on fresh, cool air many people have found that they can relieve stress. However, the depth of anxiety lies within the psyche. Anxiety can lead to irrational thinking and it is important to control these thoughts through guided meditation. Being able to focus on a soothing voice, reiterating positive ideas, while being guiding through several breathing techniques, can help to encourage someone undergoing a panic attack to think positively and control erratic breathing.”

“With these two highly effective techniques I have developed the ‘calming stone’. The form was inspired by the idea of Japanese Zen stacking stones, which are traditionally used to reduce stress.The ‘calming stone’ has an organic design that fits into your palm. The form is relaxing, non-intrusive and ergonomically designed to naturally fit in the hand. Integrated into the design is a breathing cavity where cool air is released out onto your face for a cool, calming sensation and is to be inhaled by the user. Smell capsules, such as lavender, can be additionally inserted to accompany the sensation. An easy to use wireless earbud can be simply removed from the side of the calming stone as a discrete audio experience for the user. There are also a series of simple to use buttons that run down the side of the calming stone, which are designed align with the fingers to create an intuitive user experience. It was important to design a device that was uncomplicated to use for a person in a state of panic.”

The post Beautiful Handheld Object is Multi-Sensory Anxiety Relief first appeared on Dornob.

Sometimes, the traffic noises, television, bright lights and frenetic activity of the outside world gets to be too much, and you just want to close yourself up in a dark, cozy space to get away from it all. Perhaps a giant skull isn’t the most relaxing and comforting shape imaginable for that space, but in this case, it’s an apt metaphor for escaping into your own mind — at least, according to the designers.

The Sensory Deprivation Skull by Dutch design firm Atelier Van Lieshout features two large doors that open out to reveal an ergonomically curved, sheepskin-lined space. Shutting out the distractions of the surrounding environment, it offers a peaceful getaway for napping or daydreaming. That is, if you aren’t so creeped out by skulls that you shudder to imagine crawling inside an oversized one. It would be hard to blame someone for experiencing just a little bit of existential dread while contemplating this unusual object. But for those who dare, the inside actually looks pretty cozy.

The design firm calls the object purely sculptural, but it clearly has a valuable use. Just add a light, and you’ve got a handy reading nook. It takes a slightly less extreme approach to sensory deprivation than an object like the ridiculous-looking Ostrich Pillow, a cushioned head cover that blocks out stimuli so you can nap anywhere.

“This small skull is inspired by the Study Skulls and other Skulls Joep van Lieshout made in the late nineties,” say the designers. “Making use of the minimal space needed for the body to relax this unit opens out to reveal a room in which the user can escape the sensory clutter of modern life.”

Atelier van Lieshout is known for its prolific history of strange and interesting sculptural creations, which you can browse at their website.

The post Sensory Deprivation Skull Chair first appeared on Dornob.

The post Nap On: Head-Hiding Ostrich Pillow Lets You Nap in Peace first appeared on Dornob.

Ever feel like wrapping yourself in a warm woolen sweater and hiding from the world? Now apply that idea to a crowded library, bustling airport, open-plan office or CCTV-filled civic structure and you have yourself the core concept of a Hush Pod.

Designer Freyja Sewell notes that urbanization of populations is not stopping anytime soon, and nearly two dozen cities are already home to over ten million residents. Crowding comes with the territory too, so to speak, as real estate prices respond invariably to supply and demand.

Created from a single-cut piece of 100% wool felt, sewn together with wool yarn, and filled with recycled wool fibers, these seats are made to be soft, dark and warm spaces in which to retreat from what is around you, if only for a few minutes.

Wool is also flexible, breathable and durable, making it an excellent all-purpose material for something made to enclose a whole person on demand and subject to the wear and tear of non-domestic uses.

More details on the Hush Pod via designer Freyja Sewell:

“Open plan offices and public buildings, CCTV, online profile sharing, cameras built into our laptops; never has it been easier for us to connect, but what about when we want to withdraw? There are now 21 cities with populations larger than ten million, and it is predicted that there will be many more in the future. It is essential to continue to develop new ways of allowing people to comfortably co-exist in these increasingly densely populated environments.”

“By creating an enclosed space HUSH provides a personal retreat, a luxurious escape into a dark, hushed, natural space in the midst of a busy hotel, airport, office or library. HUSH provides a quiet space in an age of exponential population growth, where privacy and peaceful respite is an increasingly precious commodity.”

The post Shhh!!! ‘Hush Pod’ Brings Blissful Silence to Public Seating first appeared on Dornob.