Wearable technology to help you live longer, ways to increase the impact of brands, and tools to save farmers sleepless nights: in creating solutions to problems, Sean McNulty understands the endless possibilities of design.
"Netflix describe their phenomenal growth as 'viewer feasting'. I think we are now 'design feasting' as we surround ourselves with services and products that reflect the image we want to project. We're visibly in a design led era. But design isn't just the 'item', it's the process by which it was made. That item must work for you, appeal to you, look good and be affordable.
"I was one of the first graduates of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and University of Limerick's combined Product Design course, and after working in Ireland and the US, I set up Dolmen in 1991. Since then we have gathered clients and awards from around the world.
“We start by identifying unmet, unarticulated needs, and then set about exploring and visualising new solutions. This means we can come up with solutions and technologies that are changing the market place.
“Moocall began with a farmer and his wife with a real problem: having to stay up all night, night after night, waiting for cows to calf. The farmer saw that his cows’ tails move more when they’re about to give birth, and he wanted to turn this insight into a market leading product.
“We joined him in sheds and fields, comparing and contrasting the tails of different cow breeds – not glamorous, but necessary! Moocall, is an SMS calving alert sensor, which clips onto the cow’s tail and sends the farmer a text when the cow is about to calf. It’s the first of its kind, is easy to use, non-invasive, and a low cost effective solution, saving farmers many sleepless nights.
“I think ID2015 will affect every sector across Ireland. This is a time for creative thinking; our challenge is to adapt constantly to the ever expanding possibilities in the field of design. What wasn’t possible yesterday will be possible tomorrow.”
Moocall is featured in both the Cabinet of Modern Irish Life in Liminal and in Connections, an exhibition touring to Irish embassies. dolmen.ie