Future convenience

As part of its Design Futures exhibition, VSOON re-imagined humble sari-sari convenience stores, which are responsible for as much as 40% of all retail sales in The Philippines.

The same design team behind New York’s DataCafe took an equally tongue-in-cheek approach to the project, imagining the potential utility of conventional items in a world in which today’s future has become the New Normal.

Among the ramshackle shelves of the sari-sari, visitors could browse everyday goods from imported Extra Virgin Canned Air and remedial Nanobot skin cream to Vintage water and InVitro meat products.

The Big Picture: Looking back from the future can help us think more innovatively in the present and avoid mistakes as we move forward. Read our Backwards Forecasts microtrend for more on how artists and designers are adopting this approach in their work.