Data is the fuel of the connected world, and aspects like value, trust, transparency and ultimately ownership have been a continuous source for debate. As our technical capabilities and our comfort with and within the connected world evolves, so does the conversation about our habits and practices around customer data. As a product strategy and design company that has been leading the industry for more than four decades, I believe that frog is in a good position to reflect forward.

1. NOW THAT
DATA IS
EVERYTHING
frog Point-of-View
!
Illustration by Ailadi Corteletti, frog Shanghai

2. WAKING UP TO
A NEW REALITY.
Data is the fuel of the connected world, and aspects like value, trust,
transparency and ultimately ownership have been a continuous source for
debate. As our technical capabilities and our comfort with and within the
connected world evolves, so does the conversation about our habits and
practices around customer data. As a product strategy and design company
that has been leading the industry for more than four decades, I believe
that frog is in a good position to reflect forward.
I wonder whether our relationship with personal data is undergoing
yet another change.
Installation by James Alliban & Keiichi Matsuda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A28Ih64927Q
2

3. IS OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH
DATA CHANGING AGAIN?
FROM PRIVACY TO RECIPROCITY TO UBIQUITY

4. LIVING AND WORKING
SPACES BEGIN TO
OBSERVE AND LISTEN.
Having witnessed the evolution of personal computing- from fixed and
isolated desktop computing to mobile and contextual devices- we are
excited to discuss what the next era of personal computing could look like.
One possible direction is that spaces facilitate selected personal computing
scenarios, listening to our conversations and responding to our actions.
Personal computing becomes calmer and less attention hungry. It
makes itself heard and seen only when and where it matters. As a
result will computing become ubiquitous?
A smart kitchen counter concept, by frog Austin
4

5. LIVING AND WORKING
SPACES BEGIN TO
OBSERVE AND LISTEN.
Having witnessed the evolution of personal computing- from fixed and
isolated desktop computing to mobile and contextual devices -we are
excited to discuss what the next era of personal computing could look like.
One possible direction is that spaces facilitate selected personal computing
scenarios, listening to our conversations and responding to our actions.
Personal computing becomes calmer and less attention hungry. It
makes itself heard and seen only when and where it matters. As a
result will computing become ubiquitous?
Room E, a concept prototype by frog Austin
5

6. TOGETHERNESS IS
NOT ONLY A SPATIAL
CONDITION.
Connected devices and services have changed the way we communicate.
But communication is as much about the things we do say as it is about
what we don’t. Closeness and intimacy are often created through quiet
time together - moments that don’t always require our full attention. We
find comfort in the fact that a loved person ‘is around’ without the need to
give them our undivided attention.
Have we become more comfortable with ambient, ubiquitous
technology and services that enable a new type of togetherness?
Skype family portrait, by John Clang
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/06/03/magazine/skype-portraits.html?_r=0
6

7. DATA COLLECTION
IS NO LONGER LIMITED
TO THE PRIMARY
DEVICE OWNER.
I believe that Google Glass and similar products and services that apply
real-time analytics to the video and audio streams they capture present a
next step in personal computing and data collection. With our desire for
increasingly context-aware technology we have also brought about a
generation of devices and technologies that are capable of deciphering our
social context, no matter if our companions share our excitement.
Is the traditional opt-in/out model losing relevance?
Face-tracking app indicates Jonathan Yan in a Google Glass screen grab is happy.
7

8. BIG DATA CHANGES
THE EQUATION.
Today’s connected world is based on the principle of reciprocity and the
idea of a “new data economy”, in which consumers who surrender their
data expect that equivalent value be generated and returned to them
directly. Big Data challenges this basic equation as much of it is not
collected for the purpose of immediate value creation, but simply to be
stored and to answer questions that may arise in the future. How can we
leverage Big Data and get consumers to warm up to the idea of continuous
data collection without compromising on trust?
Must Big Data-driven companies redefine their relationships
with customers?
Illustration by Ailadi Corteletti, frog Shanghai
8

9. FUTURE CITIES
MUST USE DATA
TO BE FAIR AND
SUSTAINABLE.
In the future he largest portion of humanity is likely going to live in urban
environments (China has decided to push ahead with a sweeping plan to
move 250 million rural residents into newly constructed towns and cities
over the next 12 years. This will be - by far - the largest mass-migration in
human history). To be sustainable, the city of the future must become
better and more dynamic in allocating scarce resources like space,
emergency response, education, health care, transportation etc.
Can we afford not to share our data as an enabler to allocate the
limited communal resources in a fair and sustainable fashion?
Sketches for the meta city, concept visualization by frog
9

10. DATA IS.

11. DATA IS.
NO OPTION TO
OPT OUT.

12. SENSORS ARE
EVERYWHERE.

13. SENSORS ARE
EVERYWHERE.
IS THAT CREEPY
OR AWESOME?

14. HOW TO DESIGN FOR
THIS NEW REALITY?
14

15. MAKE DATA
COLLECTION YOUR
PRIMARY PROMISE?
Average air pollution of Chinese First-Tier Cities (Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou etc) totaled at 76 µg/m3 while WHO suggests a critical level at
32 µg/m3. Peaks in air pollution can easily exceed the 100 µg/m3 mark.
The AirWaves mask filters and feeds pollution data it collects into a smart
phone application to visualize and share with the network. AirWaves
enables a network of like-minded people to benefit from the collective data
that has been gathered. Users can view and interact with the data through
a smartphone app.
Airwaves connected breathing mask, frog concept
15

16. MAKE DATA
COLLECTION YOUR
PRIMARY PROMISE?
Average air pollution of Chinese First-Tier Cities (Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou etc) totaled at 76 µg/m3 while WHO suggests a critical level at
32 µg/m3. Peaks in air pollution can easily exceed the 100 µg/m3 mark.
The AirWaves mask filters and feeds pollution data it collects into a smart
phone application to visualize and share with the network. AirWaves
enables a network of like-minded people to benefit from the collective data
that has been gathered. Users can view and interact with the data through
a smartphone app.
Airwaves connected breathing mask, frog concept
16

17. ENABLE THE NEXT
GENERATION
OF MAKERS?
This wearable technology kit, consisting of accessible Arduino projects that
are designed to get girls playing with technology during the pivotal tween
years and connects preteen girls with technology and maker communities.
No programming skills are needed and the modular design gives girls the
freedom to combine pieces and express their unique styles.
Hello World DIY Kit, frog Seattle concept
17

18. BUILD TRUST BY
SHARING THE DATA
YOU GATHERED?
The frog Shanghai Studio API is an initiative that was conceived in the
summer of 2013. Our initial focus was to serve as a platform for
experimentation using sensors rigged up in different location inside the
studio. We wanted to create a platform for experimentation, where we can
easily design, test and deploy sensors, displays or interfaces both for
internal use and for client projects. We also wanted to see if giving the
public access to some or all of this data, using a simple API that anyone
could access, would result in interest and ideas from the general public.
frog Shanghai Open Studio API
18

19. BUILD TRUST BY
SHARING THE DATA
YOU GATHERED?
The frog Shanghai Studio API is an initiative that was conceived in the
summer of 2013. Our initial focus was to serve as a platform for
experimentation using sensors rigged up in different location inside the
studio. We wanted to create a platform for experimentation, where we can
easily design, test and deploy sensors, displays or interfaces both for
internal use and for client projects. We also wanted to see if giving the
public access to some or all of this data, using a simple API that anyone
could access, would result in interest and ideas from the general public.
frog Shanghai Open Studio API
19

20. BE THE BRAND THAT
MAKES EVERYTHING
‘HACK-ABLE’?
Kimono’s mission is to create APIs where they don’t exist, in an easy to use
way. Kimono’s idea is based on two basic insights: First, only a fraction of
existing websites and services offer APIs for developers. Second, especially
amateur developers tend to spend more time on collecting, cleaning and
structuring the data their App uses than they invest in the actual coding of
the App. Kimono allows their subscribers to point to specific information
shown on a website and turns it into a structured API. But turning
websites into APIs is only the first step for the ambitious startup …
Kimono API service, by Ryan Rowe - former ACD at frog Shanghai
20

21. WE BELIEVE IN …
OPEN, PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA AS
A DRIVER OF TRUST AND
ENGAGEMENT TO ENCOURAGE BOTH
INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES
(SMALL OR LARGE) TO INNOVATE
AND SHAPE OUR FUTURE CITIES,
WORKPLACES AND HOMES.

22. thank you
rainer.wessler@frogdesign.com
frog is a company of Aricent.
© 2014 frog design inc.