window.__reach_config = { pid: '51828e6b642b244682000001', title: "2 Makers Build a Better Home for Your Keys", url: "http://sale-online.click/2014/09/09/duality-change-dish/", date: "2014-09-09 15:30:03 UTC", authors: ['Lauren Drell'], channels: ["tech"], tags: ["gadgets", "supported", "Duality", "Tech"], iframe: true }; (function(){ var s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true; s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = document.location.protocol + '//d8rk54i4mohrb.cloudfront.net/js/reach.js'; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(s); })();
Matt Richardson and Ben Light are working on an Internet-connected change dish -- a place to keep loose change and house keys. The dish will alert users with a subtle signal that you can program with a reminder for when you're on the way out the door or just coming home. This isn't the first time Light and Richardson have worked together -- the two are friends and frequent collaborators. Richardson is a skilled programmer and computing guy who’s well versed in electronics and microcontrollers, whereas Light is more of a physical builder and designer. They're both, however, interested in physical projects as opposed to on-screen activations. “Our two skill sets really work well together,” says Light. Their areas of expertise have a shared base of design knowledge, but they each have additional talents in diverse and complementary realms on top of that. “We speak the same language when it comes to tech and design, but we're on opposite sides of it,” explains Light. “Matt’s much more technical than I am, and I do more engineering, fabrication and design work. We know a little bit about what the other does, and it works out really well.”But while it helps to know what one another is good at, Duality presented a unique challenge -– a short timeframe and a long-distance project, since Richardson recently relocated to San Francisco. “The big unknown is what he’s working on in San Francisco, and his unknown is what I'm working on in New York,” says Light, who communicates with his partner via Skype on an Intel-powered tablet. “We're keeping it simple from a design and build process, and it’s a tight deadline, so there’s really not a lot of room for error … we have Plan B, Plan C and Plan D.”
Thanks to their history of collaboration, the two designers have developed a large element of trust. The pair is honest with each other when it comes to what will work and what won't, and they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and can design and adapt accordingly. This makes collaboration seamless. “Luckily his strength is my weakness, and his weakness is my strength,” says Richardson. “There’s no ego, and we're on the same page usually.”To start the project, the duo brainstormed for a few days and set some parameters -- they decided they wanted to make something beautiful and Internet-connected. Matt came up with the idea of an Internet-connected device that you'd see for sale at Crate and Barrel or West Elm. "We decided on the idea of a change dish that alerts you,” says Ben, who worked on the wood and metal dish’s look and feel, while Matt worked on the wiring and programming. The dish is designed to complement an upscale contemporary home as a keys and change dish, but it also acts as a passive indicator of the owner's life online, connecting via Wi-Fi to IFTTT, which allows the device to show you a slew of different possible notifications. "This project was a good fit for us because Ben has a lot of experience making objects that fit beautifully in the home," says Matt. "Together, we've done our fair share of Internet-connected projects, but nothing specifically meant as a piece of home decor.“We both knew this was playing to our strengths and that we could pull it off in the short time,” says Light. “We're born makers, and I love making -- it’s sort of my drug of choice,” says Light.