The Fair Tracing Project

The Impact! Exhibition catalogue (see previous post) included the following description of Nicolas Myers’ design – “Does It Smell Like Fair Trade?” – inspired by the Fair Tracing project:

“If the surface of a product could react and reveal its composition, how would it tell its story? What is it made of? Where has it been? Inspired by the way the natural world communicates, this design project envisions an alternative to labels and packaging: a living skin, translating consumer information into patterns, smells or textures. In the same way a fruit tells us about its nature, could products themselves inform us of their ethical credentials in an immediate and physical way?”

The "Does It Smell Like Fair Trade" exhibit on opening night. In conversation are Dr Apurba Kundu, principle investigator of the Fair Tracing project, and Professor Tim Unwin, a member of the project's advisory board.

Guests taking a closer look at the "Does It Smell Like Fair Trade?" exhibit on opening night.

These thoughts were represented by a table on which were placed eight generic objects wholly covered in white. This allowed moving images to be projected onto each item in turn, showing how the item’s “skin” could reveal information over time. At the same time, written text was projected onto the table to illustrate just how complex the information represented might be in the future. Note that, while the exhibit represented information visually, in the future information might also be conveyed by changes in the smell or texture of a product’s skin.

The Impact! Exhibition catalogue contains a two-page entry for each design project; the first gives a very brief description of the research project which inspired the design, while the second shows a preliminary illustration of the design.

Immediately below is the two-page entry for the “Does it Smell Like Fair Trade?” design inspired by the Fair Tracing project. (Click on the image to get a larger size, and then on the larger size to get the full, original image.)

A description of the Fair Tracing Research project:

Project 3: "Does It Smell Like Fair Trade?" catalogue text entry

“It’s a familiar dilemma for shoppers. How do you know exactly what you’re buying? Where supposedly ethically produced goods are concerned, how can you tell precisely where your hard-earned money goes and how much ends up with the producer?

‘Fair tracing’ digital tagging systems could provide the answers. It may soon be possbile to access the back story of any product, simply by pointing your mobile phone at a special barcode. Instantly, a world of dtat would be dispatched to your mobile, covering every stage of the chain linking producer and consumer — and enabling you to make genuinely informed purchasing decisions.

This research hasn’t just underlined the viability of such technology. It has also identified the kinds of data that producers in developing countries can realistically provide.”

A description of the designer’s inspiration:

"Colour, smell, texture -- could products communicate their ethical credentials in an immediate and physical way"

“If the surface of a product could react and reveal its composition, how would it tell its story? What is it made of? Where has it been? Inspired by the way the natural world communicates, this design project envisions an alternative to labels and packaging: a living skin, translating consumer information into patterns, smells or textures. In the same way a fruit tells us about its nature, could products themselves inform us of their ethical credentials in an immediate and physical way?”