You know the ideas we mean.
The ideas where you see them, slap your head in amazement, and think “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?”.
We’re only in June and 2016 has already produced so many head-slapping, envy-inducing, I’m-such-an-idiot-for-not-thinking-of-that ideas that we just had to share them with you.
Our most coveted ideas from 2016 come from many disparate worlds. Advertisers, scientists and artists are all given the nod - if the idea is great then it’s made it to our list.
Let’s take a look at 2016’s most inspired new thinking.
Packaging: Saltwater Brewery’s biodegradable six pack rings
Image via Saltwater Brewery/ We Believers
Here’s a problem that needs solving: 6.4 million tonnes of litter appears in the world’s oceans every year. Every year. Just some of the millions of tonnes of rubbish are six pack rings from your beer pack. We’ve all seen the images of them strangling fish or changing the shape of turtle shells. So, Saltwater Brewery decided to change that. They’ve come up with a biodegradable, edible beer ring pack. It’s even made from the leftover products from the beer making process; whey. Go ahead, slap your head for not thinking of it.
Advertising campaign: Hostelworld’s 50 Cent in Da Hostel
For those that grew up on a diet of mid-2000s MTV you’ll remember the awesomely cringe-inducing MTV Cribs. For those that didn’t see it, celebrities show you around their lavishly unnecessary homes all whilst telling you ‘the magic happens’ in their oversized hot tub or master bed. Hostelworld clearly remember the set up all too well.
Imagine the pitch: “So, we’d like to spend a load of money to get 50 Cent in to show some nostalgia-loving Generation Y’ers around a hostel in the style of MTV Cribs.” Sold. I’ll be booking a hostel with them soon and I don’t even have any holiday left.
Service: Deliveroo
Image via Deliveroo
Investment banker William Shu and software developer Greg Orlowski technically set up Deliveroo in 2013. However, Deliveroo has only entered popular vernacular this year. Deliveroo has stopped being a noun and is now a verb, just like Google. “Shall we just Deliveroo it?” Why did it take humans so long to come up with the idea of delivering restaurant-standard food to people’s homes? It’s takeaways with class - what a million pound idea. Or, a £17 million idea, which is how much funding Deliveroo got in January this year.
Invention: Gorilla Clear Repair Tape
Image via Jonathon Kambouris
What if you have a high-functioning, popular product but it looks awful? Duct tape is that product. It serves a great purpose - it can fix almost anything - but the execution is just a bit...clumsy. So, why don’t we just make it clear? Make it so it performs in the exact same way, but it’s invisible. Well, yes why don’t we do that? Gorilla tape did. Clear duct tape is your new best friend - use it to repair your phone, that dodgy bit on the car - anything, as your sins are now covered.
Wonderful and unnecessary: Google’s VR Painting Tool
2016 is going to see huge developments in VR and, as always, Google is leading the way. Just watch the video. It’s like they’re painting a video game.
Medical: A stomach-fixing origami robot
First of all, what a great idea line: a stomach-fixing origami robot. Second of all, if you see the mini-robot in action, you may not think ‘Why didn’t I think of that’ but ‘How did they think of that?’ Well it all gets explained and it’s kind of spectacular, in a Minority Report, Matrix, Orwellian kind of way.
Content: The real history behind Game of Thrones infographic
You know that TV show that some people are talking about, Game of something, well what if we showed the real history behind its subplots in an easy-to-digest way that will go down a storm with its fan base? Sounds like an idea. In fact, it sounds like Electric Literature’s idea - read it in full.
Art: Grayson Perry’s All Man series on Channel Four
Take a cross-dressing artist and place him in some of the most ‘masculine’ settings you can find; MMA clubs in Newcastle, a council estate in Sklemserdale and The Gherkin. Then, have him ask probing questions on what it means to be a man in 2016. Finally, have him create two pieces of art per episode and film the reactions of the people who inspired the art. Perry’s analysis into the male psyche is touching, tender and engrossing. It’s an ‘I wish Ii’d thought of that idea’ as it deals with topics that are getting a lot of coverage in 2016; men’s mental health, what ‘being’ a man means - it’s fascinating watching.
What ideas have you seen and been inspired by? Let us know on Twitter.
