Portfolio | 2019
Chris Barker
About me
Hello! My name is Chris. I’m a future focused individual who recently held a position as a hybrid designer and strategy assistant helping high-tech companies to innovate and utilise design to provide great experiences for their users.
Experience
Fish&Co Hybrid designer and strategy assistant August 2018 - Febuary 2019 - Hampton, West London
Penso Consulting Industrial design intern April 2016 - August 2016 - Coventry, West Midlands
Golf buddy society Freelance Designer April 2016 - August 2016 - Coventry, West Midlands
Education
Northumbria University Ba (hons) Design for Industry 2:1 September 2014 - July 2018 - Newcastle
Lancaster and Morcambe college Art & Design Destinction* September 2012 - July 2014 - Newcastle
Kirkbie Kendal School 13 GCSE’S Including Maths and English September 2012 - July 2014 - Newcastle
Honors
RSA Design Award Shortlisted My Virtual farmer project was shortlisted for the Learning for Life brief. Summer 2017 - London
Contents Fish&Co
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Placement 2016
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Algorithm.me
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Virtual farmer
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Sleep matters
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LG Home Brew, Aga 01
Fish&Co
Hybrid designer and strategy assistant...
I was at the design consultancy Fish&Co, as part of a nimble team, working on brand strategy & product design for clients LG and AGA. I was able to work one-to-one with company founder David Fisher, a former director at Seymour Powell. I held a position as a hybrid designer and strategy assistant working to help high-tech companies and iconic brands to innovate. Due to the confidential nature of my work I can’t share any case studies here, but please reach out to me for more information. Clients
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Penso
Industrial design placement 2017...
During my time at Coventry based manufacturing consultancy Penso I was part of the concept development team. There I taught myself how to use Catia and developed manufactured parts for premium concept vehicles. Due to the confidential nature of my work I can’t share any case studies here, but please reach out to me for more information. Clients
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“Humanism is now facing an existential challenge and the idea of ‘free will’ is under threat... Once Big Data systems know me better than I know myself, authority will shift from humans to algorithms.” Yuval Hirari, 21 lessons for the 21st century
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Algorithm.me
Humanism makes way for dataism...
What if we lived in a society where algorithms knows us better then we know ourselves? Algorithm.me is a speculative project that seeks to investigate the use of AI as a decision making tool and how it challenges personal autonomy and reinforces cognitive bias.
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Scan for video
A video overview of my research findings...
I started by defining a broad research scope identifying the key drivers behind the shift from humanism to dataism. I did this by talking to industry experts, reading, and researching market trends. To build scenarios within the narrative I picked micro-trends in user interactions and technology to determine how AI could take away our choices. I summarised my findings in a research video and visualised the scenes in a comic book before filming.
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Design fiction
Building a future scenario in role play...
I ran role play workshops to build a visual style for the video, the content I took from this stage formed spirit boards for the final video. This process also enabled me to edit the narrative of the film as I worked.
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Scan for video A day in a life of Dataism...
A day in the life scenario following a user through their day in a designed fiction where AI determines our decisions and influences our choices. This video was created to help people access the discussion surrounding an ideological shift from humanism to Dataism. Please feel free to contact me to further the debate!
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Shortlisted 2017
Virtual farmer
Interlacing human machine interaction on the farm...
Virtual farmer proposes the use of interlacing as a model for human machine interactions. This UX/UI proposal helps users collaborate with autonomous drones and sensors that work the land. In the future, continuous learning throughout our lives is going to become even more important for two reasons. Firstly, technology is going to transform the way we live and work. Secondly, we are going to be living - and therefore working - longer.
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Agri-botics
Robo-farmers are on the march...
Globally the number of agricultural workers has, on average, dropped by 32.3% since the 1950’s. All the while, food demand has been growing and is expected to increase by a further 50% by 2050. The amount of viable land has not increased and the average age of land workers is increasing, so farmers have had to turn to technology to improve their efficiency and reduce their overheads. Smarter farms require smarter workers and their is a need for a system that helps users to make use of analytics and manage their autonomous systems.
“The global agricultural robots market is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 21.1% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2026� Research and Markets
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AgriDrones,New Holland autonomous tractor
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Totem
Sleep matters...
Almost half of adults in the UK suffer from poor sleep with stress, money worries and mobile devices often to blame... but the cost of all those sleepless nights is more than just bad moods and a lack of focus; it’s now clear that good sleep is essential for a long and healthy life.
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A restless nation We’ve fallen out with sleep...
Modern life is at war with sleep, we champion the ‘go getters’, ‘early risers’, and ‘the grinders’. We fill our bedrooms with screens and lights. We stimulate our restful hours with Netflix and caffeine. During the day we let the boundaries between work, friendship, and family blur into one. It has been proven that memory consolidation, concentration, and creativity are all enhanced by a quality nights sleep. There is a need for a product that curbs users away from destructive habits and back towards a series of rituals that prepare the body and mind for bed.
“In fact, experts agree that a bedtime routine - including a regular bedtime - is the key to having a good night’s sleep. The Sleep Council’s research certainly bears this out: 14% of those who sleep very poorly have no bedtime routine. This is also true of 13% of those aged 45-54, which is significant given that the data shows this age group to be the worst sleepers” Sleep council, Great British bed time report 23
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Totem
A sleep guide for consistent routine...
Totem’s form is inspired by the folds of a tossed duvet following restless sleep. If the users consistently pursue a healthy presleep routine, the lines of the form shift becoming balanced and continuous. If the user’s routine relapses the form will unbalance and the lines will become broken. The product consists of the main totem for the users bedroom and a satellite indicator, which acts as an alarm to begin your pre-sleep rituals. The whole proposal also links to the users phone, which tracks the users quality of sleep.
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Adaptive UI • • •
Shape shifting becomes more balanced with consistent routine. Weekly updates to avoid feedback anxiety Feedback at a glance, detailed feedback within app.
Pocket items tray •
Tray for pocket items so that you’re ready each day.
Indicator
Wireless charging
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A satellite device that informs the user when to begin their pre-sleep ritual
The base features wireless charging to encourage the user to relinquish their phone before bed
Thankyou! Please contact me...
christopherlb955@gmail.com 07852389920