Boundless energy

Faster internet bandwidth and increased processing power means mobile battery lives are shorter than ever. Designers at Yolk believe the answer is up in the sky and have created Solar Paper, a super-thin, iPhone-sized solar panel that offers a ready power source, even in cloudy conditions. 

'Solar Paper is designed with everyone in mind,' Yolk founder Sungun Chang tells LS:N Global. 'In the past solar chargers were specifically geared towards 'outdoor' use, whereas Solar Paper is sleek and stylish enough to look comfortable in the city, while being light and robust enough to be the perfect energy essential for those in the great outdoors.'

With a modular design, two or more Solar Paper devices can be joined to create an energy converter capable of charging devices such as smartphones, tablets, video cameras and portable games consoles – anything that requires a USB cable to charge – in a matter of minutes.

The Big Picture: In our Whole-system Thinking macrotrend, we look at the artists, designers and brands taking solar power one step further.