2015 - 2021
Design Portfolio
Avanika Yammiyavar MSc Design for Interaction Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
Hello.
Compassion
Fun
I am a curious and enthusiastic design student who loves understanding people and finding solutions to problems through compassionate creativity. “Why did they do this? Why did they say this? What are they actually feeling? What is the elephant in the room?” are the burning questions on my mind every time I design.
Design
Culture
I truly enjoy the ideation, brainstorming and innovation phase of any project since I get to be a child and creativity is my toy. I am constantly driven by my CECF methodologyCompassion, Ethics, Culture and Fun. I would bring to the table my inter-disciplinary approach and strong design research skills to break the traditional barriers between design disciplinesan ‘unboxing’- by combining my knowledge and skills from both disciplines- Design for Interaction and Architecture. My design interests center around Positive Design, User Experience Design, Innovation and Museum Experience Design. In the future I hope to specialise in Intelligent Space Design and Neuro Design.
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Ethics
Contents
The Enchanted Ceiling
Better Coffee Experience
Aestalt- a design research app
Designovatorium- nurturing Design
Design ResearchGestalt Analysis of building facades
Interactive empowerment through storytelling
Designing better hospitals
AI work space of the future: Interactive Space Design
Human-animal conflicts
Smart cooking
Healthy social media
Designing for culture
For my Architecture Design portfolio please visit: https://issuu.com/avanikapy/docs/design_portfolio_avanika_issuu_3
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The Enchanted Ceiling
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September 2020-February 2021 Individual project for the Exploring Interactions course at IDE, TU Delft. Tools used: LeapMotion gesture sensor, p5.js, projector, laser projector, Illustrator, Photoshop, prototyping material.
Design Problem: The design goal was- to reduce the cognitive load of 18 to 25-year-old design students isolated in their rooms and help them relax before they sleep at night. This problem was identified in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A user interacts with the device’s projections using hand gestures
Solution overview: This product engages with confined users by bringing in relaxing music, sounds, nature and a mix of geometrical patterns on the walls and ceiling with hand gesture based interaction. The well-being of the user is improved using ancient Indian hand gestures to self-heal, relax and calm down towards ‘sleep time’ by having a mind free from mobile phone induced chatter.
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User Research: I conducted structured interviews to find out what their experiences were. All of their interactions were with themselves. They wished to engage creatively with themselves in a calm lowenergy demanding activity. Co-creation activities revealed that they felt the lowest at night before they went to sleep and in the morning when they woke up.
Approach: Hence the approach was now to create an intra-personal interaction (engage with themselves) and disengage from the chaos of the world that their smartphones let into their lives- more so while in isolation during the ongoing pandemic. Hand based gestures were used as a form of creative meditation in order to reduce the cognitive overload caused by all the screens users use throughout their day. These gesture based interactions must happen in bed itself.
Iterations of simple games that combined art and music.
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The solution The user inserts his/her phone into the device when cognitive overload is experienced at the end of the day. The device releases a remote and the projecting hemisphere. A recap of the user’s day is presented and instructions to interact with the product using hand gestures are displayed. Then using different hand gestures, the user interacts with animated graphics and scenarios. Relaxing music is played in sync with the visuals. Once the user gets tired, he/she can use the touchscreen remote to control the animations. After a few minutes of inactivity, the device switches off automatically. This is useful for when the user falls asleep.
Designing the experience
Design Goal:
From an emotional state of feeling low and full of mind chatter due to excessive use of screens, the user is made to feel intrigued, absorbed, playful, relaxed and calm.
To reduce the cognitive load of 18-25 year old design students isolated in their rooms and help them relax before they sleep at night.
H3
User experiences mind chatter the whole day due to continuous isolation and constantly engaging with digital platforms. Right before the user goes to sleep, the device expects them to surrender their phones to it.
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A recap of the best parts of the presented in order for them to the positive aspects of their live
eir day is appreciate es.
Interaction Vision: The interaction with my product should feel like drawing a Buddhist Mandala.
Interaction Qualities: relaxing, engaging, calming, absorbing, creative
Using the remote and hand gestures, the user interacts with abstract art, natural landscapes, galaxies, fishes and lights accompanied by music. This calms the mind and the user slowly falls asleep. User testing showed that people would really want to buy this product and use it everyday. “Very relevant to these difficult times.” one user said.
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Aestalt: a Design Research app
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December 2019 Personal project, Individual work Tools used: Illustrator and Figma
The problem Most design research surveys have to conform to the medium of online survey platforms- change the way questions are asked in order to fit the tools available. Hence Aestalt is an app which can be customised by the designer to the type of questions being asked.
This tool overcomes the limitations of the already available conventional online surveys and cumbersome low-tech s tools such as paper-forms. It can be coded to display results instantly as well as help analyse the data even more, if needed. It can be easily customised to the needs of the design researcher.
The solution Screens for every step and all interactive elements were designed from scratch. The number of samples , questions and respondents were taken into consideration and the sequence of screens was then designed. Information Architecture trees were created for each type of persona and for different methods of collecting the data entered by them. These trees then formed the basis for creating the Interactive screens and graphics.
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survey f
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A better coffee experience
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February 2021 - June 2021 Group project for the course Usability & User Experience Assessment in Design at IDE, TU Delft. Please note- individual contribution to the group work has been highlighted in this chapter. Illustrations were made in collaboration with the group. Tools used: Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator
The problem The Phillips LatteGo 2200 is a self-cleaning mid range espresso machine. As is the case with all such products, Phillips received complaints about the need to suddenly de-scale the machine from clueless users when it came to maintaining the machine. The client posed a big problem- how do you get users to maintain the product frequently? Especially when it comes to remembering to replace the Aquaclean filter, periodically cleaning the milk container, drip tray, coffee grounds container and water container. My team and I dug deeper and found out that the interface had terrible use cues, did not inform the user about what’s going on with their coffee or about the health of the machine or what they needed to do fix certain errors and maintain their machine. Turns out some of those things were present in tiny print in a black and white product manual which no user bothered to read.
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Investigation The placement of the hot water button is a bit inconvenient. This is not in the main menu, but under 'other drinks' and at the very bottom of the list. It also takes quite a long time to start up and heat up the espresso machine.
I searched user reviews on the internet and found out the core issues.
The two-cup function is pointless, it just puts 2 cups in a row. No tactile feedback from the touch buttons. The container where the beans go in is difficult to fill. It's more of a shallow plate that you have to put beans in.
Water reservoir is a bit on the small side, you have to refill regularly. It fills up quite quickly - you cannot see very well what the water arrow is. It’s material felt a little bit flimsy. The machine is sometimes a bit noisy.
Most of their complaints revolved around the lack of guidance and information from the interface. There was also no tactile and haptic feedback from the machine’s interface.
The personae we considered were young professionals who were very busy in their lives.
EFFECTS
Selection of available coffee options is clear
- meetings with friends - freelance jobs - sports; tennis and hockey
Unclear symbols Will not clean until the coffee starts to taste bad or different The user does not know the benefits
Unnecessary Waste
No clear indication of the quantity of milk. Therefore, leftover milk can be a waste
There is no time indication for the tasks being performed
There is no overview of what is going on with the machine programming
Easy to switch ON
PROBLEM: The overall experience of using
Don't know how often certain parts need to be cleaned
The user it not sure where to put it Solution of the error does not work (e.g. filling the water container / pushing the water container at the correct position)
Quick customizable coffee at home (e.g. coffee strength & size)
Don’t know what the symbols on the interface mean
The light indication from the buttons is not clear
Too lazy to read the manual Clear ‘start’ the order button
Aquafilter container needs to be replaced every 3 (approx) months
Panel is placed under an angle which shows the buttons clearly to the user
Handle of the water container is convenient & comfortable
The machine is compact and does not take up too much of space on a kitchen countertop. It is also of the right height
Users do not maintain the machine properly
Needs a lot of extra products for maintenance. Cleaning procedure is long and is not apparent to the user
Do not know the function of the brewhead
Not a good-looking product compared to its competitors within the same price range.
"Water in the country I live in is already clean and drinkable"
Quality of coffee is not satisfactory when compared to coffee from a bistro.
You need a lot of extra products for the machine to work 'properly'; tablets, aquacleaner, beans,
Do not know how to clean the brewhead
We conducted user tests where we tested use cues, task understandability and stress points of the user experience and came up with a Fish-bone 09:30 diagram.
Mary really likes good coffee, especially cappucino’s, but since sh she does not want to spend too much time on making it. She the automatic coffee machines which are easy to use. She mostly dr energize. It also should not cost too much since she just moved.
MARY
Not inserting the aqua filter
Mary is 28 years old. She is an and always busy doing Not cleaningextravert the machine activities such as:
Frustrated with the order of preparation
In her student house she always the coffee machine is frustrating. used a Senseo. She is now thinking of buying an automatic machine CAUSES which can also make cappuccino’s. She mainly buys products that are affordable, easy and quick to use.
Facing difficulties while removing the brewhead
Good overall Ergonomics Mismatch of value for money
Dirty brew head as an effect
EFFECTS
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Mary has finished her studies for a year now. She just bought a starters home together with her boyfriend in the centre of Rotterdam and bought all kind of new products for her interior.
HOUSING
High Maintenance
MARY (28)
Primary problems
(leads to damage of the machine or causes user extreme irritation)
Analysis of the User Experience and product Usability issues
Secondary problems
(delays user significantly but eventually allows them to complete the task.)
User Experience
Components
No overview of ongoing processes of the coffee machine. - No clear indication what the coffee machine is exactly doing because the machine is not updating you, plus it is making noises and lights the user doesn’t understand.
Complications of the latte go. - Unconventional placement of the Latte Go, whereby the height of the nozzle is located too high resulting into insecure placement of the coffee mug. - The lid of the LatteGo is not attached properly and therefore falls off the product when using it. - There is no indication on the amount of milk for one cup of coffee. This results to leftover milk which needs to placed inside the fridge or thrown away
Incoherence and unclear routine of the coffee machine. - No cleaning reminders - The user isn’t aware of the cleaning steps (and frequency) that needs to be done. - The user does not exactly know which components to clean and how. - The user does not know the benefits of cleaning the aquafilter and the brew group
Dimensions of the water container. -The appearance (form, size, weight etc) is not in line with the expected position for the aqua clean. The narrow dimension of the water container restricts the user to put their hand inside to install the Aquafilter, which barely fits.
Complications with the aquafilter. - The aquafilter prolongs the process of making a coffee, which can annoy the user. - There is no clear communication with the coffee machine on if the Aquafilter is attached properly
Qualities
(Positive aspects of the coffee machine that shouln’t be changed) Selection of available coffee options are clear Easy to customize your coffee by strength and length.
UI The error messages are unclear. - One icon can have two (or more) representations which can lead to a confused user. - There is no time indication on when to react on the error messages. - When an error occurs there is no possibility for the user to use the coffee machine before the error is solved.
> In collaboration with the group
Ergonomics - Angled panel / interface clearly shows the buttons to the user while sitting or standing in different positions. - Handle of the water container is comfortable and convenient to use. - The overall size of the coffee machine is compact which enables the user to easily create counter space. Informative sticker. The informative sticker shows the user the main functions of the Latte Go and its different components.
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Design iterations
After brainstorming, we decided to test three different concept directions with the following interaction qualities: - guiding - advising - awareness There were multiple iterations and different types of interfaces proposed. An app connected to the Phillips smart home IoT ecosystem was also proposed.
Maintenance screen
Home/coffee screen
Dial
Dial Maintaining screen
On/off
Button up
Button up
Progress bar
Profiles app Button Selection
Panel
I got the idea of using a dial based interaction for faster and more intuitive navigation between screens on the interface.
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Maintaining screen
On/off
Button down
Error beans water
Sketching phase of the iterations- birth of the idea of creating a ‘placebo’ effect using a visual ‘lifetime’ of the machine and its different parts.
Start/stop
Panel
Start/stop
Button down
Coffee screen
The lifetime of different parts of the machine shown as circular progress bars in this iteration. > In collaboration with the group
The Solution
Interactions with the Interface
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The final design proposal was a combination of the newly designed Dial interface with an LCD display, installation sticker on the Aquaclean filter and an app that helps in buying maintenance products and cleaning instructions. During the user testing we found that there was a high learning curve for the dial but that was only for the first time use. Later on, the experience was very intuitive for the users, as seen from the user test results below.
Agree Neutral Disagree
67% Of the participants understands the benefits of maintaining the coffee in the long term. machine on
78%
78%
Of the participants understands when to lubricate the brew group.
Of the participants understands how to maintain the brew group
100%
55%
Of the participants understands when to replace the AquaClean filter
aware Of the participants isare aware that the coffee won’t taste as good if the AquaClean filter is not installed.
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100% Of the participants wouldn’t need a manual using the app. when having
89% 100% Of the participants understands how the AquaClean filter should be installed.
Of the participants understands what the machine is doing during each task (from making a coffee to cleaning).
> In collaboration with the group
Interactive empowerment through storytelling
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February 2021 - April 2021 Individual work for the course Visual Communication Design at IDE, TU Delft. Tools used: p5.js and Photoshop
Untitled #92 by Cindy Sherman (1981)
The problem
The approach
Cindy Sherman’s work often looks like a photograph but it is an art piece which captures a moment between what happened ‘before’ and what happened ‘after’. Hence Sherman is a new kind of artist who ‘paints’ important scenes from a movie or a novel, through a photograph portraying a strong social message. What is interesting is that Sherman is herself the only subject of her work- taking on diverse and often emotionally provoking work.
Firstly, I studied the art to find clues about the context, her emotional state and the possible cause.
The challenge was to create an interaction that highlights the subtleness of this still from her (the character’s) life and tell a story.
I studied light, composition, color scheme, facial expression, body language, fashion style of the clothes and the historical context. There were some interesting revelations which led me to test 2 different Visual Paradigm based Hypotheses as a precursor to creating an interactive art story.
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Color scheme - dark, cold and mellow colours that invoke fear
Women were not allowed to express their emotions or personality through make-up in the 1970s. This depiction of female oppression indicates that women were lower than others in society. The artist beautifully portrays the inequality of that time- women are fit for only doing low-grade tasks like household work, mopping, etc. indicating that the world does not acknowledge the status of a woman as an equal and doesn’t rightfully give her the rightful half of the world.
Flat lighting of rest of the subject and spotlighting of the face, enhances the perception of emotion on her face.
Body posture reveals a lot about what a person is feeling. In this case, a fearful stance is indicated.
This is clearly seen in a black and white version of the artwork. The power of a single light source and subdued background!
Face is the most powerful indicator. Notice that the artist did not use any make-up to heighten this effect.
Finding clues through Art Analysis and Research Hypothesis 1:
“Which emotion do you think the person shown in the figure is feeling? Refer to the given chart.”
“To discern emotion, all parts of the human body are important in forming a conclusive visual perception of a subject’s emotional state. “ Hypothesis 2: “The facial area is the first point of attention after which other interesting objects connected to the face get noticed. “
Mapping the Gazechart data manually for the highest trend across the 3 tests at 0.5 seconds, 3 seconds and 5 seconds of exposure respectively.
When shown the entire image after the Gazechart test, most of the tested people were able to zero in upon the same emotion (78.8%).
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People were able to easily guess the emotion when the body without face was shown to them. Otherwise, there was a wide spectrum of emotions (confusion) and they wanted more clues in the case of just the face without eyes and just the eyes.
How did I evaluate it? Paradigm 1: Attribute rating Users were presented with 1. The face without eyes 2. Only eyes 3. Body without face and they were asked to guess which emotion the subject was feeling using the Pieter Desmet’s PrEmo tool. They were also asked to rate at each stage how easy it was for them to guess the emotion, without revealing that parts of the same artwork were being tested. In the end, the entire image was also tested in the same way.
Paradigm 2: Code charts I used the MIT MD-SEM saliency model in a triple methodology format- testing where the eyes are attracted to after 0.5, 3 and 5 seconds respectively of viewing. Since I don’t have access to their 1000 sample size based gazeplot code chart, I created my own gazeplot with Hxx format (H= high attention, M= medium attention, L= low attention, F and C= dummy attention points for visual uniformity).
Selecting a correct bar- it gets highlighted in yellow and then the next scene is played.
Selecting a wrong bar- it gets highlighted in blue and she starts crying.
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Designing the Interactive story I thought it would be interesting to recreate the story of what happened before and after the ‘image’ Sherman created by using its historical association. Using p5.js code I created an interactive game where the user tries to ‘free’ the woman who is put behind bars (caged) by trying to find the reason behind her imprisonment. Emotional cues such as crying and shouting, glass breaking, sounds of household chores, etc. start playing as the user interacts with the sketch. I modified the original image and created frames that run in looped arrays controlled by if-else statements. These frames contain distraught expressions such as her crying, feeling scared, surprised, etc. These emotional reactions correspond to certain ‘scenes’ in the fictional scenario that led to her ‘imprisonment’ or ‘oppression’ which the original artwork indicates.
Interaction occurs by clicking on each bar of a jail that reveals an event which happened before her imprisonment by looping image frames and audio clips. Specifically, the woman tries to serve someone a drink by pouring it in a glass but then accidentally drops it, causing a man in her house to scream at her. You can free the woman only by clicking the right bar, which contains a surprise- a little kitten sneaks in with the keys to her prison-cage and her face lights up with the promise of freedom. The user then has to click on a button which states “Yes I believe in the freedom of women!” and is then greeted by a now happy and free woman with a thoughtprovoking social message- “Thank you for freeing me. Now I can find work outside a home (domestic) environment. Your action today in 1970 will determine the future of women’s lives in 2021 and beyond.”
Link to the p5.js code:
A glimpse of the p5.js code
https://editor.p5js.org/2011appapp/full/UGje5MZrY (fullscreen) https://editor.p5js.org/2011appapp/sketches/UGje5MZrY (editable)
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AI work space of the future: Interactive Space Design
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February 2021 - June 2021 Group project for the course Interactive Technology Design at IDE, TU Delft. Tools used: p5.js, Arduino, Teachable Machine, Edge Impulse, Illustrator, Photoshop, 3D printing, LED strips, voice and gesture sensors, 3D printing and prototyping materials.
The goal was to create a space that supports the user's wellbeing while working from home, and in turn to boost work productivity through Evee - the intelligent space AI assistant. You can switch Evee on by touching Evee. Evee also notices when you are in the room and starts glowing softly when it is about time you start, but you haven’t started Evee up yet. Then through touch interactions the user can controll eve (volume level, snooze/mute, Turn on/ off, brightness, light colour) with LEDs responding as visual feedback. While sitting at your desk, one can interact with Evee through gestures so you don’t have to stand up and reach over to touch her. The ‘spotlight’ limb highlights certain elements in your room that can help you perform relaxing activities and switch tasks. > Individual contribution to the group work has been highlighted.
> group illustration
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Hand gesture based interaction with the wall panel of Evee
Waking up
Speaking - Listening
Alerting - Notifying
How does it work? The lighting conditions (amount and type of light) Evee will sense using the camera and change the brain’s colour brightness and temperature accordingly. Evee will track: - The user’s physical position in the room and posture (Camera) - Your schedule (what is planned for today) - Your work productivity - Assume it just does this based on factors like typing speed and level of distracted-ness / looking away - Your wellbeing: - By asking you (through Evee’s build-in speaker, and listening to you through a microphone).
Different form explorations for the wall panel
Highlighting the beanbag
Spatial Design for the intelligent space
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Smart cooking
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November 2020 Individual concept sketches for an assignment from the course Product Understanding, Use and Experience at IDE, TU Delft. Tools used: Illustrator, Photoshop
Smart embodied knife
Current and Envisioned Roles: All traditional unconnected knife sets aid users by assuming a Central role in cooking and culinary practices. Since it is traditional, it is quite Generic. When envisioned as a smart ‘thing’, this product must become Specialised to a large extent to aid pre-existing central roles and enable future behaviour changes in the culinary and food practices Ecology.
Sheath details
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Step 1: The ‘Thing’
In the Internet of Things ecosystem
A new Smart Knife- This new curved form of the knife edge held by a new handle grip. A dynamic sleeve (a moving protective sheath) at the bottom that slides itself from within the handle to cover the knife and allows only the required cutting length and depth of the metal edge. The sheath can be of a human skin sensing material, which closes the sharp edge if it detects human skin by induction or capacitance. The knife then becomes an embodiment and extension of the human hand and makes the interaction error free. A Motion sensor and a Proximity sensor are also a part of the handle to enable safety.
Step 2: The ‘Thing’ thinks & talks Based on the type of food (Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, cheese, fruits, desserts) removed from the fridge, the knife talks to the refrigerator and once the food comes in contact with the blade, the appropriate blade slides out of the sheath. Sharper blades, corrugated blades, smaller and lighter blades, etc. can be incorporated into the Smart Knife. The Knife also analyses the Nutrition content of the food that the user consumes daily and provides a periodic analysis on the user’s smartphone. Thus, a series of different smart sensors work in tandem with the current ecology elements to influence the behaviour of the User.
The expected impact 1. The user will begin to make healthier choices of food and look at the impact the food he creates has had on his health reflectively. 2. It will motivate the user to say, share his/her experiences and recipes through the refrigerator and smartphone with loved ones. 3. The practice of cooking and eating healthy will become meaningful and not just a mundane nuance of daily life. 4. Increased creative motivation and cognitive activity will encourage positive thinking and good mental health with the knife’s new specialised and central behaviour.
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Healthy Social Media
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October 2020 Individual concept for an assignment from the course Product Understanding, Use and Experience at IDE, TU Delft. Tools used: Illustrator, Photoshop
User Real World:
The expected positive RW is that users realise subconsciously how important it is to take care of life’s little nuances that have a positive well-being impact. By taking care of the pet, they will learn to adapt their behaviour to take care of themselves (self-love), which counter-acts the known negative RW experiences of using social media- a social behavioural and mental-experience change through the GW experience. A negative RW impact could be craving for love from an actual pet or people if the user doesn’t have the same in reality. The Target Group is youngsters aged 18-30 year-olds.
Design Gamification: Transfer Effect: The Effect Type is undergoing Mental Experience change and Attitudinal change in the RW through Nurturing and fantasy adventures in the GW. The Change Type is Forming/ Creating a new habit of taking care of one’s emotional and physical needs for basic happy well-being. The users will be distracted from the Context of over-using Instagram and instead sub-consciously focus on themselves (flow theory, Csikszentmihályi). The Point of Impact in the Personal Life Domain is expected to be realised after 1-2 months of playing it (Long Term Effect). A few sensitive users might experience a Short Term Effect of 2-3 weeks.
This Game makes users take care of Virtual Pets in a virtual world where they can buy food for it, play with it, go an adventures with it in new cities, find rewards/ treasures, have conversations with other dogs, sleep, read stories, etc. The happier the user’s pet becomes, it makes the other pets happy. Users can even be encouraged with Rewards like RW vouchers and GW “Global Impact” maps to make the game Meaningful emotionally. . Describe and Predict Evaluation: Users are expected to connect emotionally with (otherwise social media-induced) disconnected people and with themselves through the fantasy of a pet- a Medium of interpersonal and intrapersonal interaction. This can be tested every month if the
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dog (pet) asks the user certain questions on food, sleep, exercise, hobby, etc. related activities and in the end asks if the user is as happy as the dog. Data collected can be analysed and compared to the mental state data of the user before the game
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Designovatorium: Nurturing Design
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January 2020 - May 2020 Graduation Thesis project for my B. Arch ( Bachelor of Architecture) degree; Individual work
Tools used: AutoCAD, SketchUp, VRay, Illustrator, Photoshop
The problem Bangalore’s museum district is dying from negligence and poor maintenance. It needs something fresh, creative and contemporarysomething a design museum can do. The site chosen was challenging as it was flooded with water and currently destroying the old art gallery. It was also the neighbour of the rich heritage of the British colonial style Govt. Museum.
Inside the cube, interactive 3D displays catch the visitor’s attention in the dark while an elevator shaft descends down to a dark tunnel. Mystery turns into excitement and surprise as the visitors enter a main giant atrium. From there on, they proceed to the museum spaces. Courtyards and light-wells play an important role in the way-finding of this design.
The approach
The idea was to create a hub of design where the public learns about all the different disciplines within it. This new type of space which was proposed housed multiple galleries, exhibition areas, design studios, conference halls, collaboration spaces, start-up spaces, teaching studios and a newly designed innovative underground Venkatappa Art Gallery, respecting the
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The Architectural Design The two converging lines of axes meet at the Mirror Cube while at the same time acting as a datum for the linearly arranged musuem spaces. Linear museum spaces are in turn connected by angled connecting spaces for an exciting way-finding journey. The underground Art Gallery (named Venkatappa) is housed in between these two lines of axes. It is thus a project with multiple levels and datums.
Sectional elevation of the underground Venkatappa Art Gallery
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Sectional elevation of the underground Venkatappa Art Gallery
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Designing with users
Users were very accepting of a new kind of ‘museum’ where they could learn by creating something on their own after seeing someone else create it. They were also highly interested in an interactive museum rather than conventionally static ones that already exist.
Different views of the proposed Designovatorium.
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Designing better hospitals
‘The child gives birth to the mother’
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August 2017 - December 2017, August 2020 - December 2021 Individual work during B. Arch; Research done during the master’s Context and Conceptualisation course at IDE, TU Delft with the Critical Alarms Lab. Tools used: AutoCAD, SketchUp, VRay, Illustrator, Photoshop
Won the Best Studio Project Award at the South Zone Jury of ETHOS Transparence 12.0 (2017), a national competition on hospital design. The form of this design developed from a powerful emotive symbol- the embrace between a mother and her child. The hospital was designed in a circular form- to make the psychological perception of spaces inside protective. All the spaces were arranged in a circular manner around two central ‘lungs’ (courtyards) that bring in natural light which is rare for hospitals in India. This form removed the disorientation that one feels inside a hospital and instead made it easy to navigate using circular connectivity.
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Design Research: A contextual study of ICU interior layout factors contributing to alarm fatigue Design Research- academic paper
Introduction •
• •
Sound-driven design in intensive care to mitigate alarm fatigue seldom focuses on the influence of interior layout design on the acoustic quality of that critical environment. Nor do architects and interior designers focus on these human-centred aspects of critical care. This understudied area of research calls for an enquiry into the factors of the built-environment which affect the perception of alarm sounds and in turn their influence on the comfort of health care professionals in this critical environment.
Research Question How does the interior layout design of intensive care units influence the working comfort level of doctors and nurses? The challenge was to find a connection between the sound quality and the interior layout design of ICUs.
Four different layout designs were presented and respondents were asked to choose from one of them.
Why is it important? While multi-modal alarm systems may digitally make the management of alarms easy and less error prone, not considering micro aspects like the movement of medical personnel, the orientation and alignment of beds, line of sight, acoustic levels, etc. may eventually negate the benefits of any multimodal system. Hence the interior factors of ICUs need to also be considered to design a better critical care environment.
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Designing for humananimal conflicts
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The Solution:
September 2010 - October 2010 Individual work, personal project Tools used: Pressure sensors, solar panel, basic modeling material
The Problem: • Elephants are very curious about human activities and humans. • Sometimes they innocently get attracted to illegal human settlements while moving through natural ecosystem corridors during change in seasons when they move from place to place in search of food & water. • Elephants & Rhinos are known to try out different routes within these corridors and therefore stray into human encroachments that have been made without knowledge of their routes in the corridors. • Plantations such as Bananas on reclaimed, encroached forest land attract the hungry elephants. • Unfortunate illegal activities like liquor brewing in forest encroachments attract elephants due to the smell of liquor in the air.
Solar Powered simple low-cost Electronic systems that can be distributed in any village. Chilli powder (Capsaicin) can be sprayed into the air once Elephants/ Rhinos are detected in close vicinity of the residence. Underground Sprinkler system and high air pressure releasing heated chilli powder system. Weight sensors laid on Railway tracks and grass that can detect the presence of elephants and rhinos. Infrared sensors and night vision cameras with image detection softwares on trees to detect the presence of elephants and rhinos.
“THE DETECT-DETER-DIVERT SYSTEM” •
1st level system : Detection for areas larger than 2 square Kms.
•
•
Infrared cum night vision cameras high up on trees. Image recognition software . Recognises specified animal such as Elephant / Rhinos. Predicts movement direction. LAN / WLAN communication. Larger radius can use GIS support – 3G communication Automatically puts human habitants on alert and switches ON the second & third subsystem.
•
• • • •
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• • •
2nd Sub system: Deter and Divert For a perimeter of 1 km to 500 mtrs from Human habitation.
Automatically switched ON by the first stage or can be switched on by humans when ever required. Underground piping system with sprinklers. Releases heated chili powder by air pressure. Inflate & animate underground hidden ”scare crows” .
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3rd Sub system: Used when animals are at a striking distance from human habitat.
Laser / optical beam detecting system near compound wall / fences. Triggered only when the weight of the animal is near to elephants (6 Tonnes) & rhinos. Triggers sound system to create cracker noise or buzzing noise. Triggers flashing lights Triggers sirens if required to call for help or to divert attention to escape.
Design Research: Gestalt Analysis of building formsunderstanding design aesthetics and likability
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August 2018 - December 2018 Individual work, B. Arch dissertation
Won Best Oral Presentation award at the Research Conclave 2019 held at IIT Guwahati from 14th to 17th March 2019.
Tools used: Eye movement recorder, Photoshop
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Design Research: Modeling jali brick wall design patterns to optimise indoor climate parameters of a built environment.
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August 2018 - December 2018
Won Best Paper Presentation award at the national conference on Recent Advancements in Environmental Research held at IIT Guwahati (2016).
Individual work, B. Arch dissertation
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Environment Design: Lakeside furniture
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Summer 2017 Individual work, Summer Internship at the Human Computer Interaction lab, IIT Guwahati. Concept 1: Hammock and Swing
IIT Guwahati Campus is one of India's most beautiful college campuses. It has lakes, forests, hills and river. Student spots are public places where in students can rest, relax, gossip, read or listen to music. Natural environment, sustainability and practical functionality along with innovative aesthetic concepts needed to be envisioned, simulated in CAD to fit in the existing green environment. There is a possibility of a few designs and models being 3D printed. Models can be made in the studio. The assignment involved- User and Usability studies, studying the campus, selecting spots, understanding the needs of students, campus residents, children in terms of activities what they can do at the spots. It involved conceptualization of innovative public space design solutions along with street furniture, lighting etc. Possibility of incorporating embedded electronics to enhance these spaces for fun activity can also be explored.
Concept 2: Spring seats
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Reasons for choosing the slope: • Offers privacy • Does not interfere with the others’ view of the lake (line of sight) • The inclined plane provides a natural repose to the FORM. • Brings the user close to the water body. • Deters background noise by acting as a natural backdrop.
Designing for culture
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August 2016 - May 2019 Individual work, B. Arch Tools used: AutoCAD, SketchUp, Photoshop, Modeling materials
CULTURAL CENTRE AT SIRSI, KARNATAKA, INDIA This cultural centre derives its form from a coconut’s form- a shell surrounding a watercore. Essentially the spirit of Sirsi in an organic form telling a story about water, culture and celebrating life on a coastal culturally-rich town. The site was very small and hence it was a challenge accommodating all of the requirements into the built form. The story of land, water, and the sun is clearly woven into the built-form. The facade is a modern aluminium perforated screen that lights up at night. On it are CNC cut traditional patterns found in the handlooms, traditional vernacular wall paintings and Dance Drama costumes of Sirsi.
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SCIENCE, ART AND CULTURAL CENTRE AT HUBLI-DHARWAD, KARNATAKA, INDIA The concept behind this form was the idea of Twins- two halves coming together as a whole with a whole sphere marking their connection. Since Hubli-Dharwad are twin cities that have been linked throughout history by culture, art, tradition and people, as well as since the site was split into two halves, this concept stemmed
the way it did. Of course, the two sites- one for the arts-culture centre and the other for the science centre- were linked both by an overhead bridge and an underground aquarium in the form of vital connections.
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INDIVIDUAL WORK- B.ARCH (2018)
URBAN INSERT: DESIGN OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND COTTAGE INDUSTRY CENTRE AT SAVANUR, KARNATAKA, INDIA
Visualisation of activity within the centre
There is nothing more important than being sensitive to the context in any design project and understanding the different aspects and influencing factors. This project aimed to imbibe the spatial character, socioeconomic essence and historic/ cultural connotation of the onceregal town of Savanur.
Handmade prototype model of the centre
Fig. 1: Ideation sketch- Integrating a rural marketplace into the centre.
Fig. 2: Ideation sketch- Display of artisans working on their products live, to customers.
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Savanur was once a royal capital of the Nawabs, full of regal splendour in terms of trade, commerce and the arts. From a point of historical pinnacle to the current dreary drought of poverty, Savanur’s economic base has weakened to a point of collapse. The current economy sustains itself on agriculture primarily but as indicated by the 2011 Decadal Survey of India, Cottage Industries are a major source of livelihood for most of the people there. This once historically, commercially and culturally rich town capital is now a collapsing economy with a loss of cultural identity. There is a need to integrate government schemes, vocational education and training, producers, manufacturers, traders, farmers, buyers, sellers, hawker’s market and tourism into one built-form that aids in making Savanur a socio-economically self-sustaining urban hub in Haveri district of Karnataka. Thus, this built form – Skill Development and Cottage Industry Centre is an integral and vital intervention for the town of Savanur
Low density- figure ground map
Medium density- figure ground map
High density- figure ground map
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Phase 1: Issues, concerns and strategies were analysed following which community level spaces for women empowerment were proposed by me. These tiny built spaces would then pool into the larger main centre.
Designing for education
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January 2019 - May 2019 Individual work, B. Arch Tools used: AutoCAD, SketchUp, VRay, Lumion, Photoshop, Modeling materials
This campus design evolved from the natural form of the site itself- the land “spoke” about how the water flowed, how the sun played with the trees and how different heights at different points of the site.
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Form Development of Library
Views of the Architecture department
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Computational Aesthetics
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Summer 2017 Individual work, Internship at the UE-HCI lab at IIT Guwahati. Tools used: Processing, p5.js
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Please visit my website and Instagram page for more photographs and details
INDIVIDUAL WORK B. ARCH (2018)
Ethnography: A tale of the once-regal Nawab capital town of Savanur, Karnataka, India. This Ethnographic Study holds a special place in my heart as it led me to discover the beauty in capturing the essence of a place through photography, a huge passion of mine, in order to tell stories that not many have told before.
I have attempted to solve the poverty issue by designing Community activity and manufacturing centres all over Savanur that feed into a central Skill Development and Cottage Industry Centre Park.
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Please visit my website and Instagram page for more photographs and details
INDIVIDUAL WORK, B. ARCH AND PERSONAL (2012-2020)
Photography:
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Art and Sketching:
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Get in touch
For my Architecture Design portfolio please visit: https://issuu.com/avanikapy/docs/design_portfolio_avanika_issuu_3
email:
avanikapy@gmail.com
A.YammiyavarPradeep@student.tudelft.nl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avanika-yammiyavar/ Website: https://avanikayammiyavar.wordpress.com/ Instagram: @avanipy @life_between_pixels
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