TechniChrome: Revolutionizing Digital Displays

Carolyn Tam's Paintable Display Breaks Boundaries

Typically, digital displays such as LED screens or E-ink require complex manufacturing processes and come in fixed sizes, limiting their application. TechniChrome disrupts this norm by allowing users to paint displays onto any surface, including walls and furniture. This high flexibility invites more creative and novel configurations, opening up a world of possibilities for displaying digital information.

TechniChrome is achieved using two types of smart materials. The primary component is pixel paint, which changes color when electricity runs through it, similar to an e-ink display. The second component is silver conductive ink, which acts as a paintable wire to complete the circuit. This combination of materials allows users to create their own displays by painting them onto any surface.

The TechniChrome paint can be accessed via tool kits, enabling people to experiment and prototype their own vision of the paintable display. It can be used in advertising or other creative purposes and can be connected to a microcontroller for real-time data display on analog objects. With TechniChrome, digital information is no longer constrained by rigid rectangular frames, enhancing our experience in the analog world.

The development of TechniChrome focused on enhancing the performance of the paintable digital display. The pixel paint was optimized to run in a much lower power range, reducing energy consumption and increasing accessibility. The refresh rate of the color-changing effect was also improved, from 60 seconds to 8-10 seconds per color change.

Despite the challenges of using smart materials, which are generally difficult to use and have unclear applications, Tam overcame these barriers by designing a simplified process for using and applying these materials. TechniChrome, with its combination of paintable pixels and wire, disrupts the way users present digital information by turning any surface into an active display.

TechniChrome was awarded Silver in the A' Design Quality and Innovation Award in 2019, a testament to its outstanding expertise and innovation. This design imagines a screenless future, where digital data and internet content will be integrated seamlessly into every part of the built environment. TechniChrome is not just a product, but a vision of a future where the boundaries between the digital and the physical world are blurred.