When it comes to checking the day's weather forecast, you can of course just look at your smartphone. Melbourne, Australia-based startup Typified, however, has created something that designer Oli Woods claims is more artistic and less obtrusive – a limited-edition poster that changes color according to the upcoming weather.
Made of conventional extra-thick paper, the Typified Weather Poster is mounted under glass within an oak frame, over top of an electronics-containing plastic back plate. The real action, however, lies in the heat-sensitive "smart" ink which is used to screen-print the poster's weather symbols.
Four times of day are listed (8am, 12pm, 4pm and 8pm) with three of these symbols (a sun, a cloud, and a rain/precipitation cloud) assigned to each time. As the poster receives updated forecasts from the internet via your home Wi-Fi throughout the day, its back plate selectively heats one of those symbols for each time – this causes the relevant symbol to stand out by turning white, while the others blend in with the background by remaining blue.
The whole device weighs a claimed 1.6 kg (3.4 lb), and must be plugged into an electrical outlet. It should be noted that the smart ink may not work properly in room temperatures over 29 ºC (84 ºF).
If you're interested in getting a Typified Weather Poster, you can do so via its current Kickstarter campaign. A pledge of AUD$189 (about US$137) is required, which will include two years of access to the online weather service – after that, you'll have to pay a subscription fee of US$7.50 a year. The planned retail price is around US$179.
Assuming the poster reaches production, it should ship in July.
Source: Kickstarter
