Ideas
Explore the world's #1 largest database of ideas and innovations, with 474,955 inspiring examples.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,276 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 305,548 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Consumer Insights
Uncover major shifts and emerging opportunities with our exclusive PRO research.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,276 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 305,548 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Trend Reports
Get fast, customized trend reports, presentations and deep dives 20x faster than traditional research.
Plans
Get started today with a free consultation, our self-serve tools, or a dedicated program.
Articles & Magazine
Get inspired with our 4,223 innovation strategy articles, keynote, videos and innovation tools.
Innovation Awards
Trend Hunter’s Innovation Strategy Awards recognize the best innovation tactics gathered from our interviews with some of the world's most notable business leaders, authors and change makers.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Innovation Assessment
Enhance your innovation potential with a deeper understanding of your unique innovation archetype and how your organization benchmarks.
FuturistU
Prepare for the years ahead with 100+ lessons, tactics, tools and frameworks with our full learning database.
Innovation Books
Join 20,000,000 people getting better and faster with our New York Times Bestselling books and keynote videos.
Jeremy Gutsche
Ignite your event or virtual event with our CEO, a NY Times Bestselling Author and one of the top innovation keynote speakers.
Our Team of Speakers & Virtual Presenters
Inspire your group with our most popular speakers on innovation, trends, change and futurism.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Custom Masterclasses
Join the world's leading brands who leverage our custom programs to accelerate innovation.
FuturistU 5-Day Program
Become a Futurist with our immersive 5-Day program at Future Festival World Summit.
Online eLearning
Learn the fundamentals of futurism and trends with 100+ online courses about innovation.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Contact
Get in touch to learn more, ask a question or submit a tip.
About Us
Learn more about Trend Hunter and how we accelerate innovation.
Follow-Us
Join our 3,500,000 social media followers, on the cutting edge.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
FAQ
Get answers to common questions about Trend Hunter.
Community
Stay on the cutting-edge with the help of the Trend Hunter community.
Team
Meet the team trusted by hundreds of leading businesses worldwide.
Jobs
Find opportunities to accelerate your career with the #1 Trend Firm.
News
Catch up on noteworthy Trend Hunter news and media mentions.
Join
Build a portfolio and put your trend-spotting abilities to the test.
Advertising
Supercharge your marketing by partnering with Trend Hunter.
Portfolio
Visit your public portfolio and browse your past articles.
Add a Trend
Write up an article and showcase your trend-spotting skills.
My Trends
Edit your articles and see how they stack up on the leaderboards.
Settings
Edit your profile, connect your social media accounts, and more.
Add a trend, customize your dashboard, or track topics.
Future Festival
Innovation Events
Join the world's top innovators at our in person events.
Free Webinars
Learn to innovate through chaos, navigate the new normal and maintain work culture from home.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Search our database of 474,955 cutting edge ideas.

Tin Can Drum Kits

Helmut Smits Makes Art from Ordinary Objects

— October 2, 2009 — Art & Design
Dutch multi-disciplinary designer and artist Helmut Smits makes recognizable objects out of ordinary materials with unthinkable and extraordinary results. A sports stadium is actually a fruit and vegetable stand, a drum kit is made from tin cans, houseplants and lighting fixtures are combined into one household object, and a Nascar is made from plastic shopping bags, tape, plastic foil, and air.

Helmut Smits’ work is also subversive and reactionary. An apparatus to filter Coca Cola into pure, distilled drinking water or a fake CNN hostage situation backdrop. In Helmut Smits own words, his work “aims to trigger the autonomous thinking of designers and the applied thinking of artists, while it would do both for a general audience.”
Trend Themes
1. Ordinary Objects Art - There is an opportunity to create new art from ordinary materials and objects.
2. Subversive Design - Designers can aim to be subversive and reactionary to evoke different reactions from their audiences.
3. Combined Objects - There is a trend of combining different objects and materials to create new and exciting designs.
Industry Implications
1. Art - Artists can explore the use of ordinary objects and subversive designs to create new forms of art.
2. Furniture - Furniture designers can experiment with combining different objects and materials to create new and innovative pieces.
3. Product Design - Product designers can aim to be subversive and create products that evoke different reactions from their target audiences.
2.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness