Penny Webb's homeware changes colour in response to breath, touch or movement
Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Penny Webb has developed a lamp, a mirror and a textile that fluctuate in hue when subjected to different stimuli, even if they occur many miles away (+ movies).
The objects in Penny Webb's Separate Togetherness collection are designed to interact with each other, helping people anywhere in the world stay in touch without necessarily having to communicate directly.
![Separate Togetherness by Penny Webb](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Separate-Togetherness-by-Penny-Webb_dezeen_468_2.jpg)
Each home accessory is paired with a corresponding sensor embedded into a small object in a separate location, connected via Wi-Fi.
![Separate Togetherness by Penny Webb](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Separate-Togetherness-by-Penny-Webb_dezeen_468_4.jpg)
When someone stimulates the sensor by breathing, stroking or moving past it, its partner product reacts by changing colour – reminding the owner of the other person.
"On its own, the internet is a relatively lonely place void of human contact," said Webb. "The products each interact, and aim to engage your peripheral awareness as an alternative means of attaining distant closeness."
![Separate Togetherness by Penny Webb](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Separate-Togetherness-by-Penny-Webb_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
A hanging ring lamp – made from polyurethane resin mixed with phosphorescent pigment and small ultraviolet (UV) LEDs – glows in response to changes in lighting detected by a secondary object consisting of a light sensor and wireless Arduino, a customisable micro-computer.
![Separate Togetherness by Penny Webb](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Separate-Togetherness-by-Penny-Webb_dezeen_468_10.jpg)
Screen-printed onto fabric, a circular pattern of thermochromic pigment reveals layers of colours in response to a touch pad consisting of piezoelectric elements, which detects pressure when it is stroked.
![Separate Togetherness by Penny Webb](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Separate-Togetherness-by-Penny-Webb_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
Finally, a thermochromic mirror cast in epoxy resin on a copper plate changes colour in response to a distant breath detected on a third remote object.
"I wanted to escape as much as possible from what we perceive as 'technological objects' so I used combinations of smart materials to create the changing effect," said the designer.
![Separate Togetherness by Penny Webb](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Separate-Togetherness-by-Penny-Webb_dezeen_468_6.jpg)
The products share a palette of pastel shades and a common circular form. The phosphorescent pendant lamp is a horizontal loop, the fabric is a large sheet with a circle in the centre, and the mirror is a wall-mounted circular surface.
![Separate Togetherness by Penny Webb](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Separate-Togetherness-by-Penny-Webb_dezeen_468_11.jpg)
"The products aim to provide a subtle, somewhat subconscious change of appearance over time that communicates a distant presence," Webb said. "Something really important in the project is that it does not become a simulation of someone far away, but simply a suggestive presence."
![Separate Togetherness by Penny Webb](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/01/Separate-Togetherness-by-Penny-Webb_dezeen_468_13.jpg)
Separate Togetherness was Webb's graduation project from Design Academy Eindhoven and was shown at the degree show during Dutch Design Week in October.