DIGITAL DESIGN + FABRICATION SM1, 2016 M2 JOURNAL - Design Development Yan Jiao 743457 Mengli Pi 743074
Josh Group 7
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Sketch Design Development The Sketch designes developed from different aspects or issues considered during the process. The sketch model made for generating sketch designs is an approach of testing the boundary of felxibility and rigidity . As I found out that if the flat paper is folded in a pattern, the folds would give the paper much more rigidity. When the ends of the folds are cut, it becomes much more flexible instead, Sketch design 1 is diretly derived from the reconfigured model. It mainly focuses on using the rigid and flexible form to address to the users and the context environment. Sketch design 2 is discussing about the manipulable connections to the environment.
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Sketch design 3 is focusing on the issue of different sensitivitiy of different body parts by makeing the cover flexible to different areas of the body.
Sketch design 4. This is the initial sketch design from Jean. I designed it to be a helmet form so it provide the security. It give a sense of being protected. And the personal space is defined there as the helmet have isolated the head with the environment. The idea here is also to use panel and fold patterns to make it flexible, so the user may adjust depending on their head sizes or some other needs. Sketch design 5. Basically, I want to apply panel and fold patterns to the structure around the neck, to give it flexible support. So people can relax and the weight of their head can be supported during the sleeping process. We adopted the idea of “flexible fold� partly to our later design, and by combing many of this structure, creating a whole pod around the upper body.
Refined Sketch Model
1:Testing the Flexible part and relatively rigid part on strips
2:Exploring another solution to flexibility of the strips
After the first sketch designs, we decided to play more with the felxibility and rigidity of the strips, as it is the basic form we want to develop our design from. Firstly we tried to seek solutions to giving felxibility to the strips, so we refined put sketched models in 2 ways. The first one is to fold the strips in a zigzag way to create flexibility in the direction that’s perpendicular to the strip surface and for the rigid part we made 2 strips coming out from one strip to create a surface as a visual barrier. The second one is cutting the connnection edge of 2 strips to also solve the issue of flexibility.
3:Exploring how to arrange strips in a different way
In the third sketch model, we were exploring how the strips could be arranged and connected concerning the flexible and rigid parts.
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2nd Skin proposed design V.1- Alien Suit
Front Elevation
Right Elevation
Isometric
Top View
The advantage of that it considers the body parts that might need extra protection, like face and chest, and the back is supported. On the other hand, the form of the strips seems disorganised and the overall form lacks consistency.
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The defensive body language suggests that adding protection to the upper body makes people feel more secure. Source: http://www.customerexperienceinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/155493030.jpg
This design proposal were basically addressing to the issue of personal space based on the basic form of having a back support with instruments attached to it. When we were exploring the personal space. We drew 2 diagrams each to communicate how our personal space is laid out around our body, as we potentially expressing different definitions of personal space from male and female. After we compared the diagrams together, we tended to find common areas that we both thought need more protection wich would be head and the chest area.
The discussion aboutbpersonal space.
The reason why we thought that chest needs more protection is that when people make that defensive gesture, they feel more secure and that’s the effect we wanted to accomplish.
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2nd Skin proposed design V.2- Flying Ribbons
Front Elevation
Right Elevation
Isometric
Top View
The advantage is that it uses 2 layers to define inner and outter personal space, which we adopted to our latter design. And it also uses mesh close to the body so it gives comfortable support. However, it is randomly shaped and loosely formed, also, it lacks of specific considerarions for each part of the body.
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Sketchs for generatng iideas.
our site was in Ian Potter Museum of Art. There is a vacant tansient area between two exhibition areas.
For this design, I chose the Ian Potter Museum of Art as my site. It is a very quite place and has a lot of interesting exhibition. So I started to consider if people can have a nap around the corner here undisturbed. First of all, I want to the design to be merged with the whole environment, so I creating a mesh attached with the wall. It should be made in a way like a part of the exhibition. Secondly, considering the comfort of people, I make the mesh soft and in a shape which will be close to user’s body. Then it will give a sense of being covered and protected. I also make the structure flexible by connecting some holder with adjustable joints to the wall and the structure. Then users can adjust their posture during the sleeping time. Besides, to define to personal space, some strips are adding to the mesh to make the specific parts of body covered. As shown before, personal space varies between the different parts of body, and this variance will be shown by these strips.
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Precedent Research Moire Body
Fluidity, Variable, Density, Interference.
This precedent shows the Interference effect
The precedent “Moire Body�, explored the variable sensitivity of different body parts, using section and profile system. Responding to that, it employes different densities of the sections and various depths of the profile, to provide extra protection to more sensitive or vulnerable body parts. The denser the sections are, or the deeper the profiles are, more protection the design gives to the personal space, by creating an interference effect.
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Precedent applied to design Fluidity, Variable, Density, Interference.
Manipulation of density and depth
Inserting panels perpendicular to the strips could control the density of the strips. Varying widths of the strips could also change the density. Strips could be deepened due to fluidity of personal space.
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Design development - Version 1 We also varied the widths of the strips to create more space more certain areas
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This is the 1:1 sketch model for the first design development experimented on the model. Basci idea is to use these strips to circulate the head and expand to create visual barrier over the sensitive areas.
Exploration of arrangemengt
Generating form
We started with thinking sbout how to connect the strips. 2 strips glued together can bacome one strip and if needed, this combined strip can devide into two strips to create a surface perpendicular to the strip surfave, which could visually protect the sensitive areas.
Manipulation of density
transiform rigidity to flexibility
We applied what we learned from the precedent on to our sketch model by adding panels to the strips to manipulate the density of the strips arrangment.
The way we weakened the rigidity of the strips in one direction is learned from our object lanterm, which also bended the panels of the lantern by finely fold the strips to give flexibility.
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Design development - Version #2
The starting point of this design development is another solution to giving flexibility to the strips. By making cuts on the edges of 2 joint strips, it enables strips to bend around body. The density of the cuts and the depths of the cuts could both be manipulated according to different needs of different body parts. Densely arranged cuts create a blurry sight and loosely arranged cuts create less distortion visual effect. Deep cuts make the strips feel softer and gentler with less protective characteristic, on the other hand shallow cuts look more rigid and protective, Which we applied further in our prototype.
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Prototype- Ideas
Sketch for backboard
The basic form consists of 3 layers total, from closest to body to farthest to body, defining different layers of personal space. The 3 layers express a graduation from dense to loose, from flexible to rigid. We meant to make it like from a shirt to a cardigan then to a treach coat. The design is meant to be attached under a wall in libarary so the backboard is just for the purpose of anchoring and portability.
The outter layer is Sharp and rigid and painted in the colour of silver. We didn’t make any cut on the outter layer and the width of the strips are wider than those of the other 2 layers. Somply folding the material makes the form very rigid and the silver paint gives it a metalic texture. This layered is designed to protect the user as the shield, meanwhile communicating with the environment speaking that language of protection. The potential material needs to be the hardest in this design.
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Prototype- Layers The Middle layer has certain flexibility comparing to the outter layer. It has a smoother form but also has certain protective characteristic as a transient layer between the innner layer and the outter layer. We made some cuts on this layer to give it a bit flexibility and permeability. the density of strips also increases by narrowing down the width of stripsThe potential material would be a bit more flexible than the outter layer. The inner layer is meant to be the smoothest gentlest layer in this composition. Density of the strips is the largest and cuts are very long between the strips to boost the felxibility to fit users’ body curves. The integrtion of narrow strip also create a blurry visual effect.
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Testing Effects- Rhino Model
Front Elevation
Isometric
We used Rhino to create a digital model to test the possible effect and how it is on a human body and in the context, as it is under a wall.
Right Elevation
Top View
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Details and material decision These are the details of the Rhino digital model on the left. The material we decided on three layers are matte film, card, polypropylene for inner layer , middle layer and outter layer respectively. The matte film is soft and flexible but hard to damage, and the matte texture gives the blurry visual effect we wanted to accomplish.
Matte Film- First Layer
The card is a bit rigid than matte film but less rigid than polypropylene. We chose card as the material for middle layer is because we still need to make considerab le numbe of fold on this layer and card is ideal material to work with. The polypropylene is the material of outter layer because th outter layer needs to be very rigid and we need least folds on this layer, which seems attainable. And also silver paint would not affect the form of polypropylene very much.
Card- Second Layer
And for the connection to the achor point we decided to use pin joints to allow users to manipulate the design slightly according to their needs. Polypropylene- Third Layer
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Appendix- Prototype working process and photostage setup
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