Lauren (Draft 1)

DESIGN PROPOSAL

I hope to design a range of seven objects, which allow the user to have a tactile experience, which is different to one they had expected. My aim is to allow the user to experience as opposition between a visual and a texture. It is an expression of appreciation of things that look plain external but have a hidden beauty or preciousness.

Main interests: Focus onto the sensation of particular textures on the skin
The movements of an artist in mid creation
The evolution of a particular object with slight differences to change perception

Influences: Jackson Pollock (action painting); Julia Deville (taxidermy jewellery); Julia Lohmann (tripe lighting)

Keywords: Natural, unexpected yet familiar, beautiful.

Medium: Small installations or objects

frank

..have a closer look at phase 3!
thanks

JuLEs' deSiGn proPosAl

To start, but where?

sooooo hard and too much time, trying not to wait for the last seconds.

Design proposal: Phase IV,

The aim is to deliver a experience that is to engage and manipulate the senses of the recipients. The strings are to be pulled in a precise manner and to deliver a time delayed cryptic message.

The investigation is to deliver an experience of the sense that is either severed or the affirmation of Synaesthesia. Not to sure on the how but the why well, is the lack of/ suppression of emotions we experience and endure frame by frame of each day. Observation of others shows this on an enormous level. Though self investigation is difficult.


Outcome: severed Senses
Experiments: Observational [filming and photography]
Location: remote, obscure, busy, common.
guidelines: Touch [thermal, ambient. Temp]
Smell [ Pungent, Linger, overwhelming, sharp, soothing]
Sound [Harmonic, Disjointed, manipulated, uncomfortable]
Visual [Deprivation, Confusion, Eccentric, deceptive and Confronting]
Miscellaneous,
Trolleys, elastic bands(the red-type), Lights, Darkness, People.

damiencunningham Imaginationencirclestheworld


I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

Albert Einstein, (1879 - 1955) Physicist & Nobel Laureate

What really interests me about this class is the confusion i saw behind it. However where there is chaos, also comes clarity. The class subject involves a condition known as Synaesthesia where basic human senses naturally and uncontrollably cross over. However the design outcome has nothing really to do with the condition because no one in the class is a synaesthete.

I have chosen to investigate eating and drinking and how its not just about taste. Like drinking a fine wine out of a polystyrene cup. The psychological and psysiological factors contribute to the immediate experience in that the shape of the cup will affect the perceived smell and flavour of the wine, and the material of the cup will affect how it feels on your hands and lips.

True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.

Socrates, (470 BC - 399BC) Ancient Greek Philosopher

I know very little about wine. In fact i know next to nothing when it come to appreciating wine. I have learned to appreciate the things I don't understand more than those I do. I recently realised that whenever i was presented with an opinion on topics which i was unfamiliar, I would unknowingly find myself attempting to argue against that opinion for the sake of stimulating ideas and knowledge.

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge.

Daniel J. Boorstin

The wine experience is one however, which requires the art of tongue and expression. An art which is very difficult to forge.

Im not like them, but I can pretend.

Kurt Cobain.

In order to do this i must investigate deeply into wine and all of its qualities, not just its sensation, but its wisdom and truth.
I wish to create a wine experience beyond any articulate bullshit said about a wines flavour and its sensation on one's palette.
The design path i have chosen in this class is one that interests me, as it steps past the expected product based design and has potential for original and thought provoking ideas guided by historic influential philosophy and personal experience as well as investigation through basic supposition. Most of my investigations in to wine may not even require me to drink anything. Through my attempt to eliminate the expected sensations associated with appreciating wine, i may be enlightened to other aspects of the experience.

Almost every second of our living life we are thinking, investigating, solving problems, and using our imagination. However, we live in a dynamic environment where sensory overload can cloud our imagination. During our first years of living we have the ability to learn and absorb must faster and more efficiently due to our hightened senses, impeccible imagination and unblemished mind. One of our greatest tools to discovering the world and its possibilites are our senses. It is our imagination which senses the impossible, and will never hesitate.


The difference between what the most and the least learned people know is inexpressibly trivial in relation to that which is unkown.

Albert Einstein.

britt proposal (draft one)

Brittany Veitch
s3025093
RMIT Industrial Design

Design Proposal:

Main interests:
To produce a triptych mixed media installation, an artifice of the banal if you will.
People: Chris Cunningham, David Firth, The Contextual Villains, Bosch,
Works: Rubber Johnny, hell,
Words: stilted, artificial, attributed to or associated with surrealism, irrational, constructed, off kilter, phantasmagories
Triptychs: the temptation of St. Anthony, The Garden of Earthly Delights

Primarily focussing on the use of visuals and auditory I will employ the use of mixed media: flash animation, video and stop motion.

Trivial

Selective placement. Un-obtrusive audio

FOR CONTINUED IMPROVEMENTS/CLARIFICATION ON THIS PROPOSAL HAVE A LOOK AT http://sharmansburys.blogspot.com

Lauras phase 4

As explained in phase 3 I have decided to look at the sense of touch. The general areas with in touch that I have been looking at are warmth and coolness in association with comfort, the appropriateness of different textures to different products, and personal space.

I still am not able to decide between these three areas and as such I have thought of ideas for products for each. For the temperature and comfort aspect I would like to make a system for clothes and bedding to be able to be cooled or heated as desired. Weather this is by putting the items into something or by ‘the push of a button’ they change temperature I am not sure. For the appropriateness of different textures I would like to possibly make the same product out of different materials. This way I can explore more textures and have the product be more interactive, people need to choose which material will suit their needs the best. And for the personal space I am thinking of making a chair. We don’t let strange people touch our bottoms but we let strange chairs touch it.

Kelly

Primarily I am focusing on the disorientation of the visual and am using sound and tactile senses to aid this disorientation/discomfort. I want to see if I can change the way a person feels simply by engaging with an art work. Whilst I realise that it might not be possible to pinpoint what those feelings are exactly, the ultimate aim is to bring about disorientation or confusion.

*exposes the unconscious in art
*elicits revelations
*uses strange juxtaposition
*uses or is inspired by found objects
*sensual disorientation
*finds the extraordinary within the ordinary
*promotes the aesthetics of confrontation, shock (convulsive beauty)

With this intent in mind, I will produce an installation, a screen-based installation that looks at the idea of panic. In doing so I am wanting to create an environment rather that a static image. I don’t want to simply create intuitive recognition of aesthetic quality but a paradigm, the inability to recognize truth and the want to fabricate an explanation. I want to imbue confusion of the visual in an attempt to create a feeling of uneasiness.

The image/footage I use needs to, as aforementioned, concern the audience and so I feel an inverted or distorted image that is familiar to a wide audience may be used. This is a simple way of confusion we assume that light comes from above so, for example, when the top of an object is illuminated and its lower part is shaded, we think it must be sticking out and when its top is shaded, we think it must be a hollow. However this may not be the case at all. I intend to use a variety of computer aided programs such as photoshop to achieve the desired result.

I’m looking to explore further the idea of environment and how it impacts the emotions and attitudes of those within that atmosphere. More specifically, elements that I would like to explore further are lighting and temperature. Extreme artificial light may cause discomfort however subtle changes of more ‘natural’ light may achieve the same effect. Temperature however is a preferential condition unless of course it is extreme. This may be difficult to simulate.

I’ve toyed with the idea of sensory deprivation as simple devices such as blindfolds and earmuffs can cut off sight and hearing. Sensory deprivation has been used in various alternative medicines and in psychological experiments, for torture or punishment. I like the idea of being able to simultaneously deprive and overload the senses by virtue of spatial arrangements, film, sound and light. This however may be a little extreme as I want to confuse the viewer not torture them.

Dynamic Motions

Dynamic Motions
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Kinaesthesia And The Idea Of Propelled Motion.
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Our Idea of motion and dimension is so ingrained in our senses, that is the three spatial dimensions, and one time dimension

Were I hope to travel with this idea is to create a mode of transport that is intuitive to all dimensions forward-back, left-right, up-down.



My experiments in the snow were a great success while skiing down the slopes I took note of were my body was positioned on the mountain and how fast I was going and what journey I would eventuate. I then closed my eyes and predicted were I would be when I became aware of my surroundings in a three dimensional sense. By doing this I was closing of visual sense to see how intuitive my body was to where I would end up. Taking advantage of the time dimension I could feel that my body was aware of were I was and where I would end up successfully.

Time being a key dimension of travel, it is used when determining the length (time) from point a to b and determining were we are in space.

Idea Of Constraint.
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The usage of my machine is to have control of the three dimensions x, y, z and being able to take advantage of the three dimensions.

Primarily I am looking at an all-terrain vehicle for leisure purposes to enhance the users experience. The design should be involving of the whole body and it’s potential.

This is not to say that one should have complete control of the vehicle and be of body like dynamics. There is a beauty in the constraint of the body a certain grace that involves the mastering a constraint and using a vehicles immobility to your advantage.
Such examples could be a bicycles frame, and the geometrical bindings of a skateboard.



In the case study of a bicycle the frames rigidity gives it strength, speed, and longevity allowing the rider to use the ridge frame work as a base for all movements around the frame; for example rhythmic sways to turn corners in succession, also the geometry of the bike creates constraints and from those constraints evolve skills and as skills rise new developments evolve.



The skateboard has similar issues arising from its simple form allowing skills to become more dynamic as we were shown during the rise of skateboarding during the 1970’s. The skateboard constraint in actuality is what gives you the freedom to imagine possibilities.

Both these case studies now looked at I think it is safe to say the design would be most successful the simpler it is, for more elegant motions. My bench mark is some were between a skateboard and a bicycle. Though this may seen like a huge step it is not, the only differences are in the shape of the products but not its points of balances and your own centre of gravity.

Energy Transfer E=mc²
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The transferral of energy should be as simple as pumping when riding a bike to create potential energy I think this is very effective and can be used in many ways as we are already accustomed to such actions and ways of propelling ourselves to towards points of destination.
Transferral of energy in motion is an extremely important part of riding any vehicle it is what turns, and propels us forward, left, right, up and down so my design must be intuitive to the movements of the human body under motion. The design must take into account the pressures it will undergo under high speeds and nasty drops, and crashes. Study, sleek, and dynamic are the descriptions that come to mind.

The design must also take into account that it is not its job to dictate were it goes, but the riders will that it will follow, the dynamics can not be cumbersome for energy transference to be relevant in dynamic athletic motion.

I would like to look at possibilities like shock absorbers and so a metal body, though for now I would like to keep it ambiguus and play with bodily points of contact, and balance, from there I hope to come up with an appropriate form.
As stores of potential energy I think shock absorbers are the way to go though they do slow down the process and you must prepare during longer distances, this I feel can be overcome through design specifications.

Emergence
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My vehicle could be in the same gene as a centaur segway though defiantly not electric powered. In my vehicle there should be a sense of oneness with the machine, for all body incorporation, much like the other sports vehicles in the extreme leisure gene. The motion and mechanics of a windsurf also interests me were the rider uses his upper body to sail and feet to surf, the culmination of the two technics creates exciting movement.

  


The dynamics of snowboarding is another integration that I would like to apply in the design of the all terrain vehicle, the relation between body and board is simple and elegant. This is another design constraint that I would like to achieve.

When I talk of all body incorporation i do not mean that every part of your body moves something I talk of all body incorporation in the same sense as a snowboard were you use your entire body to control your balance and positioning.

Still the actual design is not clear even to the basic detail of the shape and how it will move. There is a certainty of it being build for speed, and have a certain flow. This shall govern the design and the way it moves, the ability to drift and move with agility on rough terrain is also a prerequisite.

Points of balance are any important part of the design. I plan on there been two points of balance including your own centre of gravity this I feel creates for the most dynamic movements and feel of inner balance.



The design will try to promote fluid motion from points of balance to centre of gravity for easy transitions. Though the diagram of the vehicle is still yet to be decided on I am confident that this will not be hard to play with in the design stages.

The Finale
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I conclude my design will be fit for the stresses that the rider can decided to put it through it will also be dynamic enough to travel at high speeds, and be manoeuvrable through rough fast terrain. Sounds fun doesn’t it!

Legs will be the main source of motion and transition. The arms and other body cannot be defined at this stage of the process but inevitably will be involved.


























 

jimmy and mei

We decided to form a partnership due to the common interest of one of the 5 senses - sound. We intend to produce some kind of furniture piece that will have sound integrated into it as the final outcome for this project. Therefore it's use would be targeted for relaxation purposes.

We both acknowledge that furniture is rarely seen in conjunction with sound as they are 2 different mediums. An example where both sound and furniture are integrated is in a vibroacoustic tactile sound massage tables - http://vibroacoustic.org/. Vibroacoustic therapy can be defined as the use of music and sounds (as auditory and vibratory stimuli) transmitted to the body to achieve physical and psychological therapeutic goals. The stimulus may also include pulsed, low-frequency pure tones either singly or in a sequence.The stimuli are often delivered to the body through loud speakers built into a chair or bed unit. http://www.online.ee/~jyritkoy/vibro_i.htm

We intend to design something that may be similar in terms of combining sound and furniture, however, the way sound may be related back to the user will be explored. i.e.

sound via actual hearing of music
sound via vibrations
sound via pulses through the body
sound via the skeletal structure - bones
others

The type of sound that may be played include:

music:
RnB
Hip Hop
Rap
Jazz
Classical
Funk
Big Band
Others

sound effects (already available on the market):
forest
ocean waves
marine life
birds
rain falling

The final physical side of the design, being the piece of furniture, will not be limited to just a chair. Other options will be explored and considered. Some of these may include:

bed
couch
stool
hammock
Pod

The way that the user interacts with the furniture will also be considered and explored. Some of these may include:

sitting
standing
lying down
reclined

We intend to target an audience who may have high levels of stress or anxiety and people who generally enjoy listening to music. However, the design of the piece of furniture will not be constrained to the specified target audience, but can also appeal to other social groups. Thus the use of the furniture would not only be used for relaxation purposes but for people who enjoy listening to music within the domestic environment.

The main objective for this design is to provide sound that will be integrated into the piece of furniture. If it is to be massed produced the piece of furniture must be inexpensive.

The final outcome will be accomplished via various experiments, field research, internet research, research in general, concept sketches and a 3D model.

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Our new design proposal

After many weeks of researching and experimenting, both Jimmy and I have decided to pursue a new and different path to what we were doing. After deciding to pursue something similar to vibroacoustic therapy, or even that within itself, we found that all we would be doing is redesigning the vibroacoustic chairs or tables that are currently available on the market. We wanted to do more then just redesign. It's true that the path we were interested in taking did include the sense of sound, however, we wanted more then just redesigning something (as this would be more of a visual outcome instead of a desired outcome of appealing at least to one of the other 4 senses.) Therefore, after discussing our project with some other members in the class we decided to look into something else that would do the opposite of vibroacoustic therapy.

Vibroacoustic therapy is supposed to be used for individuals that may be stressed or anxious, therefore it soothes the soul; the body. What we are now looking at involves keeping an individual awake via either a touch or smell sense. This piece of furniture or product (still to be decided) will keep an individual awake, alert and refreshed. In terms of scenarios there are 2 below in which the piece of furniture or product may be used.

1. If a student is studying for an exam or working to finish off an assignment that is to be handed in the next day, this product or piece of furniture will help that student to stay awake and alert. If for example this thing that we are designing lets out some kind of smell every hour on the hour, then that smell will linger in the air and hopefully help that student to stay alert, instead of drift off.

2. If someone is working long hours in the office to finish up a presentation for the next day then this product or piece of furniture will also help to keep them alert and working. It will also help them be self-aware in terms of they will know how long they've been sitting at their desk. Knowing how much time they spend at their desk could help them realise they need to take more quick breaks to rest their eyes (especially if they've been staring at the computer screen).

The main objective for this design is that it incorporate either touch or smell, maybe even both so that it will help an individual concentrate on the work at hand. Research, field research and experiments will be done to achieve the final outcome - the designed piece. Both Jimmy and I are hoping to produce either a prototype or mock-up of the final design.

Nirmal

Changed my mind
heres the new project
An exploration of texture and how it affects the use of a surface
A texture table if you will...

Initial findings and suppositions;
Uses and surfaces:

Cutting surface needs to be hard, possibly self healing like wood and have some texture to it.

Writing and drawing surfaces need to be flat and hard. Good to have some angle on it. Graphics tablet integrated?

Coffee table; high quotient of friction, resistive to stains, easy to clean

Manipulations to explore;

Electronic mechanism
Flip table with multiple sides
Magnets
Mechanical gear with pins
Sliding parts
Tilting
Vacuums

Surfaces;
Compartments
Partlines
Ripples
Dimples
Pins

Materials;

Rubber for grip
Plastic/ glass for look and feel
Marble
Hair
Shells
Stones
Pebbles
Sand or grit
Some form of porous stone for smell/scents
Felt for grip, feel, not good for stains

Others;

Aesthetic and styling
Digital; display screens, touch screen membrane
Remote control
Self cleaning table top, ipples move rubbish and liquids to a channel to the rubbish