MEMENTO

MEMENTO is an art installation designed to bring people together. Plugging in a phone triggers an experience that grows with every device — an invitation to focus on the moment, away from the screen. Instead of another digital photo, it hands out a printed receipt: a physical memory that lasts.

MEMENTO — the glowing pixel panel lit up while phones are plugged in

MEMENTO — close-up of a hand plugging a phone into the deposit box

MEMENTO — glowing light cells of the installation in soft focus

When a phone is unplugged, MEMENTO prints a receipt — a small, physical token of the moment. Instead of yet another photo lost in a camera roll, you walk away with something tangible to keep.

MEMENTO — the printed receipt dispensed after unplugging a phone

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Module

Interaction Design Process 2022

Collaboration

Lars Ziegler, Elena Walther, Carina Good

Description

MEMENTO is an art installation designed to bring people together. Plugging in a phone triggers a unique experience that continues to grow with each phone, giving the opportunity to focus on the moment and away from the screen. It also offers an alternative way of making memories, as it hands out receipts — generating physical memories that last instead of digital ones.

On the deposit side of MEMENTO, people can plug in their phone and charge it. The prototype is optimised for a club, but could also be used for other event locations. At a later stage of the project, the boxes would also act as a safe deposit, so that people can leave their phones for hours.

When a phone is plugged in, the lights on the other side light up. The intensity of each pixel is generated individually and changes over time, which makes the installation «alive». The more phones that get plugged in, the more intense the experience becomes.

After unplugging a phone, MEMENTO gives out a physical receipt, so that people do not just have another photo on their smartphone, but rather something physical.