PPB October 2017

by Jen Alexander SELLING POINT BeyondThe Box Design firms elevate humble cardboard with innovative, sustainable pieces When you look at a cardboard box, what do you see? Laura Maldonado and Edgardo Rodriguez, the husband-and-wife team behind GOKARTON, see nothing but possibilities. From office furniture to pop-up displays to exhibition booths—and even theater stages—GOKARTON is giving corrugated cardboard a new purpose. The properties that make corrugated cardboard an ideal material for sturdy packaging, say Maldonado and Rodriguez, are the same ones that make cardboard an eco-friendly alternative to standard construction materials. GOKARTON’s designs are portable and light, easy to store as deconstructed pieces, and ultimately much easier to recycle than traditional booth materials or office furniture. GOKARTON is just one of many companies that is thinking beyond the box. Design firm KARTON (no affiliation with GOKARTON) and Chairigami are among a handful of companies building furniture out of cardboard for home and office use. But even when it’s still being used as a box, cardboard is becoming a vehicle for storytelling. Mary Dobsch, president of supplier The Chest in Washington, Missouri, says the right packaging distinguishes the giver from the competition. “You have the edge,” she says. “It’s not just a pen, but instead a promotional product inside a marketing piece.” Companies that adhere to principles of sustainability can reinforce their messages with recycled or recyclable packaging, she says. “If the package is necessary to the delivery system, make the package reusable so it will have an afterlife, and not go to the landfills.” TECH TALK The Power Of Evolution USB changes are coming. Get plugged in. Apple turned the wireless world on its head when it eliminated the jack for earbuds from the iPhone. In September, another connection revolution was taking a turn around the sun with the introduction of the USB 3.2 standard. So, what’s the big deal about upgrading USB technology? It’s all about speed and compatibility. USB 1.0, when it was introduced in 1996, transferred data at 1.5 Mb per second. Fast forward to today’s version, 3.0, and data is transferred at a whopping 10 Gb per second. The star feature of 3.2 is the ability to run data at two speeds simultaneously, thanks to extra wires housed inside the cable. This means faster writing and reading of data, as well as quicker charging times. USB ports and connectors have also changed size and shape. The original USB port, or USB-A, is mainly at home on devices such as computers and game consoles. Connector versions 1.1 through 3.0 have an A design on one end, allowing a 3.0 external hard drive to be plugged into a 2.0 port. On the other end of a connector (a cable), you’ll find USB type B. It’s this end, which attaches to devices such as cameras, phones, desktop printers and scanners, that boasts a variety of shapes—for brands such as Samsung and Apple; the B side features a 30-pin or lightning connector. Two years ago, the tech world welcomed USB-C. This version redefines device/cable compatibility with identical connector ends, shaped so they fit into ports no matter how they’re oriented (no more flipping the plug to fit the port), and allowing for bi-directional power. This means peripheral devices can charge the host devices, not just vice versa. If you have a Samsung Galaxy S8, Moto Z or LG G6, you’ve got a USB-C. With one port, one cable and faster data transfer, the days of multiple connectors may soon be behind us. The USB Implementers Forum, a group of tech leaders who are behind the development of USB, intends for version C to remain compatible with future versions. 74 | OCTOBER 2017 | THINK