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17 : 01 : 22

London – The public botanic garden is elevating its dining offering for families with an experiential restaurant centres on education and discovery. Created with design practice Mizzi Studio, the Family Kitchen takes inspiration from the fantastical world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, combined with a ‘nature-led laboratory'.

The space is organised into six learning zones: Spring, Autumn, Diversity, Science, Water and Sun. Through these zones, families can learn about the journey of food from plant to plate, with stories brought to life through interactive LED push buttons and infinity mirror periscopes. The restaurant setting facilitates intergenerational connections and nature-based learning through its Edu-play-tion strategy. Jonathon Mizzi, director of Mizzi studios, says: ‘Our goal has been to design a space that celebrates nature and learning, helping to make children and parents excited about food growth, hygiene and preparation.’

Such spaces also demonstrate how Discovery Dining can be adapted to appeal to young audiences through stimulating and sensorial placemaking.

Las Vegas – Adapting to the demands of contemporary gamers, consumer electronics company Razer is releasing a modular gaming 'battlestation' that raises the bar for at-home play experiences. Known as Project Sophia, this advanced screen and desk provides gamers with a high level of flexibility and haptic feedback.

Alongside a 65- or 75-inch OLED display equipped with Razer’s RGB Chroma lighting, Project Sophia also features 13 different modules and an assortment of accessories. Together, they offer myriad configurations to achieve a personalised setup for any player. To complement this battlestation, the company is releasing the Enki Pro HyperSense gaming chair, which provides more than 65,000 haptic variations to bring gameplay to life.

As gaming systems become more sophisticated, equipment and stations must keep pace with the level of innovation and immersion gamers expect. While a variety of price points are now available to gamers, Project Sophia demonstrates what is possible at the premium end of the spectrum.

As smartphone usage continues to rise, a report by Attentive reveals that companies are failing to capitalise on the device’s marketing potential. With the report finding that 90% of consumers are interested in receiving texts from their favourite brands, companies can seize upon this simple way to communicate more directly with customers.

While smartphones have developed drastically in last decade, the humble text message remains a key feature of these devices. Attentive reports that 90% of text messages are seen within five minutes of receipt. And since most consumers have only one phone number, which they rarely change, SMS messaging is one of the most valuable channels to gather first-party data points.

Text messages can also be used by companies as a loyalty tool. ‘[We have seen] things like discounting work best in order to drive the highest conversion from your traffic on your website, to subscribers opting into your SMS programs,’ explains Annie Roche, SMS strategy manager at Attentive.

With such a high percentage of consumers open to text communication, there’s reason to believe that SMS messages can help to transform customer service, cutting straight to the point in the age of digital distractions.