LABS Celebrates Six Years of Innovation!
This February, LABS opened its doors for a special celebration in conjunction with its partner Meetup Behavior Design Amsterdam (BDAMS) to mark 6 years of innovation. It was a big event, with a guest list of past and current supporters, funky laboratory themed touches, a ceiling of festive balloons, colourful vegan bites and bubbly drinks.
The official program was opened by info.nl CEO Jann de Waal. Recounting LABS Director Iskander Smit’s achievements over the years, he shared a photo with a quote in neon lights “the true method of knowledge is experiment.” Those words resonated as the underlying ethos of practice that has carried LABS from its birth to today. In thanking Iskander for his work with a touch of humour, he gifted Iskander a gardening kit; perfect for the techie who has everything.
Taking the mic, Iskander gave a retrospective on LABS’ research projects. Corresponding to the posters hung throughout the LABS space, the presentation wove through a timeline of subjects and technologies. From big data, to Google Glass, to smart watches, one could see how LABS’ finger was always right on the pulse, investigating the latest trends. The strongest take away from the presentation was the breadth of individuals and organisations involved in the projects and sitting in the audience.
The following speaker was chosen by popular vote by the BDAMS community from the entire history of BDAMS presenters. Kars Alfrink, independent designer and former LABS intern, spoke on the designer’s role in the face of Artificial Intelligence. Kars’ words struck the right chord for the audience, stressing the need for designers to prepare and acclimatise themselves in the advent of AI.
Extending the discussion of the known future, Scott Smith of Changeist took the stage. Combining research with narrative design, Scott explores the unanticipated. In his talk, he did just this, posing questions on what next, based on where we have come from. He could barely close his presentation to the crowd awaiting questions. In true BDAMS style, lively discussions began.
The lasting impression was not the decorations, nor the program, but the community within it supporting iteration after iteration of experiments.
