While the FDA is trying to revamp the ubiquitous nutrition facts label, a London design firm called Berg is trying to rethink another basic part of food shopping--the paper receipt.
Matt Jones, a principal at Berg, told Fast Company's Co.Design site that, "the receipt printer is kind of this tiny print-on-demand machine, which could display a lot more and take on a lot more input."
Some possibilities include personalized news updates, info about the food you're buying, or even just a joke.
There are more images and a video of the larger interactive possibilities of the world already around us on Co.Design, all of which look pretty great, but, to put on my cranky critic hat for a sec, I'm not sure that any of this is particularly useful. Most of the world, and especially the supermarket checkout aisle, is already plastered with words, pictures, and information. And unless bill-splitting or tax-reckoning is going on, who even looks at receipts? We're busy, Berg!
But I'm sure people said that about email, or something, so I should probably accept the future. What do you guys think?
[via Co.Design]