Need to Know
13 : 06 : 22

Italy – Connectivity Concept is a new range of six smart telecom products that are designed to complement home interiors, including a router, a soundbar with a detachable webcam, a set-top box and a remote control.

Envisaging the future of more discreet interfaces in the home, design studio Layer and Deutsche Telekom have joined forces for the collection, presented at Salone del Mobile Milano 2022. Designs include a mesh repeater for extending wifi that mimics a decorative item made from timber, but when touched it displays information via an LED matrix. The set-top box and soundbar, which is an all-in-one media hub, is inspired by hand-crafted ceramics to blend into modern home settings. The remote control is self-balancing and has a large trackpad that provides maximum control when navigating streaming apps.

‘Connectivity devices are an increasingly important element of the home and how we live – yet, they often don’t truly reflect our highly valued home environments. Connectivity Concept takes important products intrinsic to our day-to-day and introduces a sense of craftsmanship,’ explains Benjamin Hubert, founder of Layer.

Italy – Students studying Product Design at Écal (University of Art and Design Lausanne) are using the occasion of Salone Del Mobile Milano 2022 to re-invent music sound systems for the Transformative Twenties.

Created in collaboration with Yamaha and its Design Laboratory, the students were tasked with documenting different contemporary processes of listening to music and applying their findings into the creation of new music playback that fosters relevance and innovation for a new generation of music listeners.

With the help of specialists from Yamaha in Japan, six projects were finalised and made into prototypes. Focusing on how sound and music exploration can be built into wellbeing practices, Ka Yin Cheung created ASMR Instruments, a listening device that creates soothing moments for listeners through relaxing sounds, free from distracting digital screens and videos that often accompany ASMR tracks. Sound Frame by Jisan Chung taps into memories and emotions through a speaker that allows people to listen to music through their favourite objects.

Audio and music are emerging as the next frontiers in holistic wellbeing. For more, explore our Music As Medicine microtrend to understand the positive effects of incorporating sounds into brand strategy.

Buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) schemes are driving young people into debt. According to research by Citizens Advice, 51% of 18–34-year-olds in the UK have resorted to borrowing money to pay outstanding BNPL fees.

Although younger consumers are the most likely to take out a loan, 39% of 35–54-year-olds have also borrowed money to repay BNPL debt. Overdrafts, borrowing from friends and relatives, payday loans and credit cards were among the various borrowing methods, with the latter the most common (26%). Of notable concern, more than one in 10 BNPL clients did not fully comprehend how the repayments would be set up when entering the agreement. ‘Most of the people I speak to who are using buy-now, pay-later live off overdrafts and credit cards, so are using these for repayments. It’s just relying on one debt to pay off another debt,’ explains Millie Harris, debt adviser at Citizens Advice.

Although the BNPL market continues to grow at breakneck speed, the sector remains largely unregulated. Generation Z, who account for the bulk of the market, are among those suffering the most from debt.