Urban Exploring With Dérive

Dérive is a fresh smartphone application that enables users to explore the urban atmosphere in a totally new way through the use of randomly drawn task cards that tell you what to do. These cards are refreshed every three minutes, creating a sense of urgency in the exploration for new objects, things, colors and people to follow, find and experience. Inspired by Near Future Laboratory’s 2008 card game Drift Deck, the app was developed by EFRC Design, an office run by architect Eduardo Cachucho. Dérive strongly fits with the re-appreciation of psychogeography, driven by the launch of several familiar urban exploration apps such as Serendipitor and Wanderlust.

You don’t need to install Dérive, the app just runs in the browser of your smartphone. Click here to start playing. Cards include all kinds of tasks such as “Ask someone for their favorite place”, “Follow a hat”, or “Sit for 2 minutes”. Dérive’s founder Eduardo Cachucho invites people to add their own cards by making a drawing and sending these to him, or merely suggest new possibilities. He says to launch localized versions of the app for specific cities in the near future, which “do not include specific iconic buildings or objects, but rather center around cultural customs and architectural forms that can be found in the area”. The Italian town of Biella is already live, and Cachucho is working on versions for Johannesburg and Milan. Give it a try!

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