Thursday, August 1, 2013

'Animated' glass doors

Fridge manufacturer Skope is 'animating' the glass doors of its fridges.

Skope retail fridges now come with a clear LCD screen attached behind the door, turning the door into an advertising billboard that can show still or animated images. Skope is promoting the feature as a way for fridge-owners to add value to their purchase by using it to display advertising. The screen can be connected to the internet, enabling it to be updated remotely, including Twitter feeds to take advantage of (e.g.) hot days, special offers.

As a display space, however, such animated glass doors could have many uses other than advertising (think of the comparison with television!). They could be used to communicate to all sorts of audiences - whether the fridge is 'in-house' (e.g. employee information via the fridge in the workplace) or in a public space (e.g. promoting films forthcoming at a cinema).