WELCOME TO MY PORTFOLIO
LIT TLE PL ANT ( BRAND X )
design for the future // branding // product design
LIT TLE PL ANT ( BRAND X ) A s a group we dev eloped a future fiction concerning the domestic situation of three generations living under one roof. Our range of products targets all family members residing in the living room, improving ev er yday life by providing little moments of privac y and peace. We generated the brand named ‘Little Things’ and grounded our brand DNA. [In 2040, the retirement age will hav e risen to 76. More elderly people will remain living in the already ov erpopulated urban environments; and in some instances, three generations will be living under one roof. With a 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation sharing the same home, the family dynamics will be reminiscent of traditional social conditions. But modern ar tifacts and technology hav e made this a less harmonious environment than experienced in decades prior. Instead of large families living in farm homes or equivalent, the small city flats pose issues when it comes to privac y and personal space. With less and less time available for relaxing due to extending work hours, family dynamics can become challenging. We are a brand promoting the little things in life and their values to you and your family. We aim to provide little moments of stress relief and you-time to preser v e harmony in your home. Using the warm and neutral colour of pine combined with the white of ceramic, our objects will suit your livingroom environment.]
“A brand for a futuristic scenario is to be created. With a speculativ e exploration of domestic scenarios through the lens of the future, identify emerging trends and how these manifest as oppor tunities for a new brand and products. With a clear definition of what this brand stands for, its target market, its look and feel, an individual product pro to type is to be produced for the brand launch. This is in the form of a pop-up shop or concession to be exhibited in the New Glasgow Society space.”
/completed April 2013 and exhibited in the New Glasgow Society
BRAND DNA ( LIT TLE THINGS )
DESIGN FOR THE FUTURE, BRANDING, PRODUCT DESIGN
OUTCOME My individual outcome was designed for the eldest of the household. With a lov e for nature and a desire for a moment of alone time, I created a drinking experience. With a shared water source, the human user is encouraged to sit with their plant; controlling the water flow and caring for them bo th. The drip bag hung on the wall is a visual cue to the rest of the family the remaining time the pair hav e to themselv es.
BOVISTA EXIMO ( FUTURE FICTION WORKSHOP ) future fiction // stor y telling // biotech
DESIGN FOR FICTION With invasiv e technology, digital sur v eillance and biological augmentation as prevalent themes within our dystopian future, my individual outcome was directed at ov er-riding the domination of digital avatars by providing the Analogue Rebels with a natural weapon.
This one week future fiction workshop, held by fashion designer Sruli Recht, explored the possibilities of stor y telling through ar tifacts and visual props. Four th Year Product Design collaborated to generate a dystopian future to form the shared backdrop for individual design proposals.
/completed Januar y 2014
NARRATIVE: ANALOGUE RE VOLUTION
FUTURE FICTION, STORY TELLING, BIOTECH
OUTCOME The Bovista E ximo puffball is a genetically altered fungus that ser v es as a throwable dispersal method for spore-based human pheromone. The fungi has been altered to grow quickly on minimal nutrients. Once thrown or punctured, the puffball releases a cloud of airborne pheromones that chemically alter the behaviour of nearby people, provoking congregation and communication with real human beings. On a social lev el, this ser v es to pull citizens away from their avatar-populated world and reinstate faceto-face social interaction apparent only in the Analogue community. I produced a model of a Bovista E ximo mushroom and a leaflet (front and back), to be distributed within the analogue rebel community, providing instructions for Bovista E ximo grow th and use in conflict.
CYMATIC TABLE WARE ( CERAMIC FUTURES ) new nature // ceramic
NE W NATURE OF CERAMIC This project explores the ‘new nature’ of tableware through the study and use of c ymatics and ceramic. By extending the role play ed by ceramics at the dining table, each archetypal object has been altered to incorporate the visual representation of its sound. The application of c ymatics (the visualisation of sound) varies from object to object; the knife’s serrations are a direct representation of its sound wav e, whereas the spoon’s sound is incorporated as a scape sitting in the bowl - to be experienced by the users lips as a texture. Wine glasses clinking together defines the entirety of the form, and produces two objects as is fitting to the nature of noise creation. These were all achiev ed using a sound visualizer and 3D computer modelling. Along with being a durable, hygienic, and beautiful material, ceramics lies comfor tably within the boundaries of 3D printing. The future of this concept is the ability to print in ceramic, allowing the c ymatics of the objects to be accurately produced, creating this new tactile and visual dining experience.
/completed Summer of 2013 and exhibited in Ceramic Futures exhibition in Cersaie, Italy, September 2013 and selected to be featured in Ceramic Futures publication.
CYMATIC TABLE WARE
CERAMIC FUTURES, CYMATICS, 3D PRINTING An online and offline design challenge between Glasgow School of Ar t (GS A), Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) Rome, Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi) and Abadir A cademy. “The project explores future contexts for ceramics around the human body, new nature, work, food and combines online and offline activities where par ticipants work together to produce design outcomes.”
F>ST FORW>RD ( DESIGNING FOR THE NE AR FUTURE ) degree show // branding // publication design
P/D DEGREE SHOW ‘14
BRANDING, PUBLIC ATION DESIGN, PRINT Myself and three o ther students made up the branding team for our Product Design Degree Show (Fast For ward / Designing for the Near Future), exhibited in the new Reid building, June of 2014. In tandem with the completion of final projects, the team branded the show, making final cuts, creating a catalogue (organising photography and print), class bios and naming the ev ent.
/3000 printed for distribution at the Product Design Degree Show 2014
LOW - TECH FURNITURE
woodwork // craft // reclaimed materials
LOW-TECH FURNITURE With a found piece of abandoned furniture from the street, and using nothing but hand tools, I was to transform the item into an unrelatable piece of furniture. I found a leafed table and created a rocking chair.
SHIPPING PALE T TE > SIDE TABLES Using a shipping palette, I was challenged to make two pieces of furniture out of the wood salvaged from it. I made two triangular side tables with angled legs. >>
CHAIR LEGS > BIRDS I first produced these little birds out of old table legs. I continue to make these either using chair legs or turning on a lathe. >>
An electiv e course I took during my exchange in Philadelphia introduced me to the magical world where reclaimed wood and design meet. The class brought things back to the basics of found materials and hand tools, a practice I hav e continued.
/completed 2012 - 2015 > Philadelphia + Glasgow
LE AF TABLE > ROCKING CHAIR
WOODWORK, CRAF T, RECL AIMED MATERIALS
DISSERTATION
senseware // the future of sensor y experiences in the digital age
SENSE WARE DISSERTATION This disser tation explores the future of sensor y experiences in the digital age. Through the analysis and comparison of futurology examples and key dystopian texts, the availability and possibility for sensor y experiences in the projected future is assessed. The extrapolation of our modern day technology creates a dystopian forecast of the future, and the fears identified within are prov en justified through the study of three key themes: the adherence to the sense of sight, the removal of the physical and the mutability of the past. This warning flag wav ed by forecasters suggests our relationship with technology requires reframing. Perceiv ed as the tools that provide the feedback of our relationship with the world, the sensor y receptors are explored in depth within Kenya Hara’s ‘Designing Design’. Within this book, the Japanese graphic designer and curator introduces his coined theor y of senseware. This design approach prioritizes the human sensor y receptors and augments ev er yday hapticity with technology. Drawing case studies from Hara’s 2004 ‘Haptic –Awakening the Senses’ exhibition, the successes of combining the new with the old demonstrates the huge po tential for sensor y experiences in the digital age. Hara remov es technology from the bracket of dystopia and leav es nostalgia behind to rev eal a previously undiscov ered continent of senses.
/completed Januar y 2014 and awarded distinction
SYNOPSIS
THE FUTURE OF SENSORY EXPERIENCES IN THE DIGITAL AGE An 8,000 word disser tation completed as par t of BDes(hons) Product Design degree 2014.
# PROTEST
remo te activism // system design // arduino
#PROTEST SYSTEM This project responds to the oppor tunity for remote pro test, using the internet and extending the role of technology in activism. With the intention to emphasise the key driv ers of an effectiv e protest -spectacle, public par ticipation and promo tion of cause - this design response looks to enhance the physical pro test with the presence of those suppor ting remotely.
This graphic comments on the evolution of media. With physical protest as the constant, the grow th of technology spreads the awareness of the cause.
With the digital age and the grow th of worldwide media, issues and cause for pro test hav e become global. In tandem, social media and the web hav e facilitated for the new phenomenon that is armchair activism. But how effectiv e is a ‘like’ or a ‘retweet’ when compared to the physical presence of people and pickets? Can online activism be realized in the physical space of a pro test and contribute more directly to the cause?
/exhibited at F>ST FORW>RD degree show 2014
# AIM
REMOTE ACTIVISM, SYSTEM DESIGN, ARDUINO
# OUTCOME
#pro test is a system for remote activism, facilitated by social media. Using Twitter, (selected for its limited character count and global presence), in conjunction with an online platform and an interactiv e picket, protesters can play host to activists from all ov er the world. Responding to the adhoc nature of protest, the twitter picket is designed as a DIY object. The outcome is a manual, illustrating how arduino can be used to create a digital picket that connects to the internet with the ability to stream from a specific twitter feed. This arms physical protesters with the voice of those from around the globe and a physical spectacle to be captured on film footage and photo. The online ‘mov ement’ is visualised on a webpage that acts as a means to spread the word of its happening and to archiv e the protest for future reference.
RAW DATER ( DIGITAL EPIDERMIS ) online dating // experience design
RAW DATER In response, this project reframes the role of technology within the activity of dating, looking to enhance the power of human data rather than removing it from the lov e-match equation. RAW DATER is a first date ser vice that brings back face-to-face match-making, augmented with technology. Using thermal imaging, hear tbeat sensors and a ‘cut to the chase’ attitude, real human data is laid out on the dining table, as users search for lov e.
THE EXPERIENCE // Date in the Dark // The Raw Dater date begins in the dark. This is to remov e the visual element of dating and first impressions. Initially removing body language, facial expressions, ey e contact and ov erall judgement on appearance, personality compatibility can be tested more effectiv ely. If you like what you hear, will this mean you will like what you see? // The Hear tbeat // On arrival to the Raw Dater restaurant, the daters are provided with a hear t-beat monitoring band that communicates with the back of their dates chair. The ability to feel the o ther persons hear tbeat rev eals genuine responses to questions and adds a lev el of intimac y to the experience of sharing raw human data. // Thermal Centrepiece // The emo tional state of bo th par ties is read by a thermal camera positioned in the middle of the table in a candle-like object. The thermal imaging is viewable in the kitchen by the waiter, who can then orchestrate the date accordingly. // The Raw Dater Menu // If compatibility is demonstrated in the first section of the date, the lights will come on and the waiter will provide the Raw Dater Menu. Each course description is divided by a big question. These questions are generated based on the preassessment online. This pulls the big information out, ‘cutting to the chase’.
Self-representation online is a world of curated information and statistics. Provided with the availability and temptation to tailor what we rev eal as personal data, the result is the creation of online alter egos. But how does this effect those looking for lov e in the digital age? Finding ‘the one’ rests on the compatibility of the human mind and body. Howev er, in contrast, today we look to calculate matches mathematically by calling on self-repor ted criteria.
/exhibited at F>ST FORW>RD degree show 2014
OUTCOME
ONLINE DATING, EXPERIENCE DESIGN, HUMAN DATA
C ATCHING MONSTERS
design for experience // child psychology // placebo
C ATCHING MONSTERS By addressing and recognising the issue of monsters without encouraging or dismissing their existence, this project aimed to provide an alternativ e outlet for the child’s imagination that creates them. The outcome of this project took the form of a monster catcher, bait and a stor y book, creating an experience that slips into the existing night-time ritual. The monster catcher and bait are abstract forms, providing scope for imagination, and the stor y book acts as the instruction manual for the experience for both parent and child. The strength of this project lies in the research and testing I executed throughout. By designing research probes, proto types and considering my communication techniques, I got a huge amount of valuable insights from the kids and parents involv ed.
// Ryan // “A raindrop. The monster would get wet and so he’d be sad and go away.” // Daniel // “A pear. Monsters don’t like pears.” // Euan // “Definitely a sheep’s kidney.”
// Ryan // “A teddy bear with lumps.” // Daniel // “A horsey head.” // Euan // “A hy ena cut in half with only two legs. Now when he walks he is hobbly.”
Beginning with the giv en topic of ‘sleeping’, I focused this project on children and their bed-time. This is a research heav y project that manifested into the study of a child’s imagination and the monsters that it creates. My outcome is a monster catching ritual to aid both my stakeholders; the child and the parent(s), using placebos and narrativ e to structure the experience.
/completed 2013
OUTCOME
DESIGN FOR EXPERIENCE, CHILD PSYCHOLOGY, PL ACEBO