Turn Frustrations into Innovations: Free Half-Term Exhibition Reimagines Everyday Objects

Infuriating Objects 27 February – 2 March 2025 Farrell Centre, Eldon Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RD Admission Free farrellcentre.org.uk | @FarrellCentre | #InfuriatingObjects

The IOCT™ (Internet of Caring Things) programme by the National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA), in collaboration with the Farrell Centre, is excited to announce the launch of Infuriating Objects – a free, interactive exhibition running over the Half-Term holidays 27 February 2025 to 2 March 2025.

Bringing a unique and family-friendly showcase to the Farrell Centre, in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, the exhibition will highlight some of the most frustrating everyday objects and offer innovative design solutions to improve them, transforming everyday annoyances into delightful experiences.

The exhibition is built around 15 prototypes which visitors will be able to try out for themselves. These prototypes include:

· Sensor-sational – a spice rack that self-detects when its spices are out of date.

· Toasty Tray – a stylish tray that keeps your food heated without burning your knees.

· Slide n Wipe – a toilet roll holder with an extendable sliding bracket which brings the toilet roll closer to the user.

· Neuro D Bowl – a neurodiversity-friendly breakfast bowl with a quirky design, featuring two compartments and a release lever for a controlled release of milk onto the cereal below.

· All Brush – the all-in-one dental care brush that combines the brush head, toothpaste dispenser and tongue scraper in one.

Curated by IOCT™, Infuriating Objects is the result of a creative challenge initiated earlier this year, where sixteen members of the public joined IOCT™'s human experience feedback panel, Voice™, to explore ways to improve everyday objects that often leave their users feeling irritated. The mission invited participants to identify those small but vexing object these ‘infuriating objects’ – from leaky toothpaste tubes to inconveniently designed lamps – and how they could be enhanced or “hacked” to work better.

Following months of hard work by the team at IOCT™ together with community members, several of these design concepts have now been brought to life as 3D prototypes. The exhibition will feature these prototypes, along with practical, hands-on activities that allow visitors of all ages to engage with the ideas, experiment with design hacks, and even contribute their own suggestions for “infuriating objects” that could be improved.

Infuriating Objects will be a free, family-friendly exhibition supported by a number of special events and workshops running over Half Term. The exhibition offers an exciting opportunity for families to explore the creative process behind the innovations that can improve the everyday lives of citizens around the world.

For more information about the exhibition and to book tickets for workshops, please visit https://www.farrellcentre.org.uk/whats-on/infuriating-objects/

Jennine Jonczyk, Programme Lead for the Internet of Caring Things at the UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing, said: “We are thrilled to showcase the incredible work that our team, in collaboration with community members, has developed over the past few months. This exhibition offers a unique opportunity for both the public and the business community to explore how technology shaped by genuine human feedback can transform and enhance everyday life.”

“We are deeply grateful to the Farrell Centre for providing such a fantastic exhibition space in the heart of Newcastle, and we can’t wait for visitors to dive into a world where ‘Infuriating Objects’ are anything but infuriating.”

Owen Hopkins, Director of the Farrell Centre, said: “Design has the capacity to improve our lives at a range of scales – from the scale of the city to the objects we use in our homes everyday. This exhibition invites us to consider the transformative possibilities of reimagining those small objects we often take for granted so that they can work better for everyone. We are delighted to be partnering on the exhibition with the Internet of Caring Things at the UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing and can’t wait to see what new ideas emerge.”