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A Special Series by ReD Associates
We believe we are witnessing a historic renegotiation of the most basic and sensuous element of our existence: flesh. There is a growing appetite for new ways of making flesh visible, to expand our thinking beyond traditional conceptions of matter to open up our understanding of human behaviour and the systems we inhabit. Through a renewed look at flesh and the body, we see an opportunity for companies to take an active role in solving some of society’s most urgent problems. Here, we gather our collective thinking in a multidisciplinary content series that brings together essays, interviews, film, photography and more, to encourage reflection and curiosity about a human phenomenon we believe is crucial to society and to business.
Sex &
Intimacy
On the sex recession, the evolution of natural beauty,
and the body positivity paradox.
Nature &
Decay
On the “germ renaissance”, the relationship between food and healing, and our evolving understanding of the gut microbiome.
Technology &
the Body
On tech and the senses, “artificial intimacy”, and how to get haptics right.
Sex & Intimacy > Nature & Decay > Technology & The Body
Sex &
Intimacy
Does sex still sell? What alternate ‘dreams’ will companies tap into to appeal to growing segments for whom romantic love is not an end goal? What new body aesthetics and beauty standards will take hold as we continue negotiating our relationship to flesh?
Our ReD dialogue with British artist Maisie Cousins and Pernod Ricard’s head of cultural foresight Daphnée Hor, on the representation of bodies, perishability, and the germ renaissance.
SEX & INTIMACY
Are we afraid of the body?
What is natural beauty anyway?
Haeckels CEO Dom Bridges speaks to ReD about nature as technology, changing perceptions around natural resources and why salt water heals all wounds.
Episode 9 of season 2 of our podcast with ReD partner Sandra Cariglio and Polly Rodriguez, founder of sexual wellness brand Unbound.
Nature & Decay
What is driving the desire for new ‘organic’ materials like mushroom leather and algae? Will successful future sustainability products and technologies be defined by clean techno-optimism or more harmonious or luscious relationships with nature? How will changing ideas of our place in nature and the coming ecological crisis shape the appetite for anti-aging, longevity therapies and our attitudes towards end-of-life care?
Are we listening to the gut?
Our ReD dialogue with Oluf Borbye Pedersen, a world expert on the gut microbiome, and Theis Brydegaard, head chef at the Alchemist restaurant, on the gut, food as preventive medicine and the relationship between what and how we eat and healing.
We need to talk
about death
Lauren Carroll and Erin Merelli of Deathwives talk desanitising the conversation around death, planning for the end, and confronting mortality.
Pangaia: pioneering a high-tech naturalism
Amanda Parkes, Chief Innovation Officer at Pangaia, on revolutionising the traditional fashion business model and the future opportunities in high-tech naturalism.
When food
becomes medicine
We speak to Season Health about how they started their food-as-medicine platform, adherence, and the challenge of introducing new approaches to healthcare.
Sex & Intimacy > Nature & Decay > Technology & The Body
Technology & the Body
How will human-like, but disembodied AI agents shape the roles for technology and its place in our networks? How will a renewed focus on viscerality reshape physical and digital product design? What kinds of media will capture the attention of future consumers?
Our ReD dialogue with Richard Newcombe, VP of Research Science at Meta’s Reality Labs, and Vivienne Ming, founder of Socos Labs, and a leading neuroscientist, entrepreneur and author, on the impact of AI on how we experience, use and think about our bodies.
TECHNOLOGY AND THE BODY
Do bodies still matter in the age of AI?
Understanding our hands
is key to getting haptic technology right
When it comes to haptics, getting the human value right is key to delivering on useful experiences. Our video essay on getting hands right.
Does artificial intelligence mean artificial intimacy?
Our long-read on what our deepening relationship to AI tells us about human intimacy?
Building for the senses in tech: super-human senses
Our perspective on how to anchor emerging technologies in a deep understanding of our sensory experiences.
Building for the senses in tech: transcending the stage
Dancer, choreographer and director Claudia Schreier and writer and director Adam Barish on capturing the visceral qualities of dance.
Index
Editorial
Matthew Janney, Sandra Cariglio, Ian Dull and Filip lau
Image credits:
Maisie Cousins, Alastair Philip Wiper and Adam Barish
Contributors:
Thank you to Daphnée Hor, Polly Rodriguez, Dom Bridges, Oluf Borbye Pedersen, Theis Brydegaard, Lauren Carroll, Erin Merelli, Amanda Parkes, Josh Hix, Morgan Flannery, Phil Ross, Claudia Schreier and everyone at ReD Associates.
Design
Nanna Sine Munnecke and Matthew Kay