Watts up: Project puts the spotlight on energy use

Stockholm – Infographics come to life in a new project designed to make factory workers aware of how much electricity they’re using. Watt-lites, designed by Loove Broms and Li Jönsson as part of the IndustryWise project at experimental media research organisation the Interactive Institute, rely on beams of light that shrink or grow larger depending on how much energy is being consumed. The spotlights are an illuminating take on sustainable energy use in an era of Prohibition Culture.

Watt-lites work in real time to provide instant feedback: a white light represents electricity usage at any given time, while blue and orange lights respectively demonstrate the lowest and highest amounts of energy used in that day for comparison. Exemplifying Infostethic design, Watt-Lites effectively translate numbers and meter readings into quickly understood information.