MODULE II- DESIGN
Simran, Alex and Glen Semester 2/2013
Group 6
IDEA DEVELOPMENTS
The Drop by designer Olivia Decaris was a good example and inspirational of inclusive space, which we drew upon in our idea development stages.
Our group liked the idea of personal space including another human, instead of just one. This was due to the fact, the other member may make one feel more comfortable instead of the person being alone. We therefore developed designs of wings, which were inclussive of two members.
IDEA DEVELOPMENTS I drew a wing pattern which I thought would work well when developed on Rhino using the Panelling Tools. These wings would have panels with a triangular type of shape, and could potentially be transparent, having no material, so users in the wings can see outside.
Modelling the design idea of wings in Rhino with the use of panelling tools. This also shows the inclusive personal space which our group had decided on. The interaction of two humans within the second skin. There is a surface on the wings, however that could be removed, or a type of transparent material, so the people within the wings could see what is outside
IDEA DEVELOPMENTS
The idea of using defence as a means to define personal space is a very surface based and dosent seem to dive deep enough into varied ideas of what personal space actually is.
I feel as thought the idea of embrasing someone within your personal space is a more underrated and personal approach to the concept. By digging deeper into this idea of ‘Wrapping’ the subject within the second skin the definition and concept will become more powerfull and meaningful. encompasing the arm alone with a defensive mechanism is an idea that may be a little too straight forward.
Defensice skin Embrasive skin
The panel and fold system relies heavily on extention and retraction which if something that would be really good to include in the design. The wing idea used in a more literal sense means this extention is emphasised and a more intamate persomal space can be explored.
IDEA DEVELOPMENTS
These sketches look into various way that the body can be ‘wrapped.’ They arent exactly design ideas but rather conceptual visualisations of how the body can be enveloped by the second skin and ways in which the form of the second skin is influences and determined by the form and structure of the body.
Further Development Sketch Model 3
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‘Wrapping’ Member attached to arm can pivot in any direction [see left]. Extension of one’s personal space. Creates a shared space, inclusive of another.
Alex Mackie ID: 641140
Analysis of Users Sketches Â
Digital Sketch Model Rhino Screenshots By taking the digital fan model and applying the ‘twist’ command, I found we could create a surface uncannily like wings. Two group members had already been interested in the concept of wing-like boundaries – to either protect, or enclose. Although we decided the design was far too literal, fiddling around with 3D manipulation in Rhino was a very useful experience. I now feel I have more understanding of how to warp and alter relatively complex objects.
Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties in the program 123Dcatch and were unable to export a complete .OBJ human model. However, we were still able to discern how this concept would appear when given volume and dimension. In terms of our future design, I’d personally like to focus on the concept of including another person in our personal space – as opposed to a shield, blocking out others.
Date: 15/08/13
Readings
‘Rolling Bridge’ (2004)
Thomas Heatherwick •
How does Heatherwick use design to create effects?
Heatherwick purposely built this bridge without emphasis on aesthetics, in order to enhance its motion and functionality. Drawing attention to the mechanics essentially brings focus to the bridge’s purpose, of transporting users
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Each optical fibre blows in the wind – and during night time, ‘emanates and comes out to the outside’ The rest of the landscape was also of a similar material, to simulate Because the pavilion didn’t take up the entire allocated space, it created a public urban space amidst a huge, crowded influx of viewers and 200 other nation’s pavilions.
‘UK Pavilion’ (2010)
Ref: http://www.heatherwick.com/uk-pavilion/ [Accessed 20/8/2013]
Ref: http://www.heatherwick.com/rolling-bridge/ [Accessed 20/8/2013]
In the same way Heatherwick purposely left breathing space around his creation to observe, I think that allowing enough room for both users to fit comfortably inside my design is highly important.
Date: 19/08/13
PRECEDENT STUDY - VEASYBLE
The Privacy shell by Veasyble is an inspiration and relevant example for the panel and fold material system. It also gave our group inspiration to further expand on our ideas of personal space, as we had thought from the start, that we wanted the space to be inclusive- interaction of two people, rather than just one, like the privacy shell itself. I like how the privacy shell is first just a simple shoulder bag, but it beautifully folds out into a shell, which can enclose the heads of two humans, and give them privacy from the outside world. This was inspirational, as it gave us ideas to focus mainly on the areas where two people usually look at each other- the face is the main part of the body the eyes refer to and where the most connection with another body.
PRECEDENT STUDY
Elisa Gilis, 2013, Paper Mask - Second Skin Contest, Behance, viewed 20 August 2013, <http://www.behance. net/gallery/Paper-Mask-Second-Skin-contest/9657563>
For my precedents I chose to look at a work by Elisa Gilis, a student from Belgium whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s designed the artwork specifically as a second skin for a school project. I felt that the artwork linked very strongly with our theme and ideas, which we wish to communicate through our second skin. The fact that this piece focuses on the head and creates a wrapping effect around head is very appealing; this is the type of effect we want to achieve with our design. When dealing with personal space the head seems to be the most personal and protected area of the body. Our design is looking to focus on the head and including another person within that personal space. The wrapping of materials that can be seen in this work is something that could be useful in using to wrap and include a second person into the second skin that we design. The use of cutting to create transparent patterns is also a very interesting idea both aesthetically and conceptually. By creating the second skin with some transparency in it would allow a less confined and restricted space that the second skin would form. The use of various colours within the materials is probably something we would look to avoid to a large extent as it defers away from the conceptual meaning of the piece. If we ended up going in a direction that prompted the use various coloured materials then it would be something that could look nice, its good to get a visual idea of how this would look before were thought of implementing it ourselves. One thing this piece diverts from which we want to include is the use of a system to show some form of movement. The attachment the second skin has with the body will be the vital aspect of the design, which will allow our design to have the space and mobility to move using our chosen system. In this artwork the second skin attaches in a way a hat attaches when worn, we will have to thing a little more complex and diverse then this too come up with a more practical attachment that would allow movement.
Precedent Example Maurico Velasquez Contemporary Polish artist Maurico Velasquez recently produced an elaborate, experimental fashion series using complex patterns and folding techniques (2008). This series, ‘Geomorfos’, fascinated audiences with both its creativity, and highly innovative material use. Velasquez’s fragile medium, paper, has been at times countlessly layered to form strong yet flexible volumes. Despite the extreme breakability of one paper strip, the total combined strength is greater than any individual part. Indeed, such an approach is much like interlocking paper or balsa laser cutting works.
Own Sketch Responses Aside from interesting material use, I also found Velasquez’s complex geometrical designs relevant to our own brief. Not only do they have aesthetic appeal, but repetition of shapes (e.g. rectangles) are used to create many folds, which users can dynamically flatten or open. To me, researching these artworks further exemplified our lecture discussions: patterns can be used to create visual effects, no matter how seemingly ‘simple’ the repeated shapes are. Furthermore, this was an excellent reminder of how countless final products can stem from slight variations on elementary shapes.
Ref: ‘Animorfos.mpg’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bBtMA2miHc [Accessed 23/8/2013]
IDEA DEVELOPMENTS
We did a track eye movement test, which identified where someone looks when talking or facing another person, some look down continously, or others look directly into the other persons eye.We did this so we could design a second skin which helped the awkwardness, such as having an enclosure with transparent windows/holes which the people could look out at so they didnt have to just always look at the person
A design using different shapes which fold, wrap around the heads of two users.
IDEA DEVELOPMENTS The idea of a mast along with the idea of wrapping can be combined together creating a face mask that wraps around the body as well as the head.
The main conseptual idea we had as a group was the idea of having a second skin that looks at interactive personal space, this means we wanted the second skin to have the function of wrapping someone else up inside wit you, this creates an intamant space that you only allow the closest of people that you feel comfortable with inside.
IDEA DEVELOPMENTS From this idea of social and interactive personal space we decided to further develop the concept in order to generate some sort of form. To do this we decided we would track the eye movement of people when they were in a close personal conversation with another person.
The two people sat opposite each other and engaged in conversation while a third person watched the eyes of the models and tracked on paper the directions they moved and the places they tended to look.
Above are the sketches of the eye movement. we found that each peson has a different way of engaging in conversation therefore our second skin would be personal and specific to the particular wearer. Despite different eye movements we found that there were a few places that the subjects tended to look while in conversation that related to both of the tested models. This was an interesting concept and one I felt necessary to explore.
IDEA DEVELOPMENTS
I took the two sketch variations of the eye movement and created a loose and siplified version that looks at specific points that are exagerated in both of the tests. It shoes the major direction that the eyes move relavant to both of the models, this was a good way to get a more generl, broad and simplified map of the eye movement.
IDEA DEVELOPMENTS
I created a rough sketch of a face and using the eye as the central reference point i drew the map of eye movement over the head to get a general shape.
Once i had the shape I gave it a more solid form that followed the same track but had some dimention to it. This first sketch however resebled hair a lot and so I thought it needed to be simplified again and a new pattern needed to be added. That leads us to the rough concept to the right.
Conceptual Idea 1: Glass Sketches
The first idea we explored was a translucent membrane, with one-way-mirrorlike strips where users can look ‘outside’. In this way, the surrounding environment can be observed whilst still inside an intimate setting. I then began wondering whether simply viewing your immediate surroundings was the only thing users might want. What about our social media and virtual environments? Could we somehow integrate technology into an outer skin?
I considered a stand or shelf where the screens of phones/laptops/iPads etc. are projected onto a glass skin. Users could view videos, news feeds and other data, as well as simultaneously seeing outside their socalled personal space bubble. Not only is technology a central aspect of our world, but it has become significant for social networking and entertainment. As such, virtual connections are used for both socialising and as topics for discussion and debate.
Alex Mackie ID: 641140
Date: 23/08/13
Conceptual Idea 2: Volume Sketches I then tried to evaluate how much space two users might need, and what shape their ‘second skin’ might be, using Sommer’s ‘Personal Space’. According to a general rule, one needs ‘at least two square feet’ of space to feel comfortable, when in a crowded place. Nancy Russo’s findings also seemed to suggest humans experience the greatest degree of spatial invasion when approached from the side (although this depends on visual awareness).
Based on both this reading and our group’s mapping analysis, I concluded
Virtual Model Date: 23/08/13
Conceptual Idea 3
Plan
Sketches
I considered a stand or shelf where the screens of phones/laptops/iPads etc. are projected onto a glass skin. Users could view videos, news feeds and other data, as well as simultaneously seeing outside their so-called personal space bubble. Not only is technology a central aspect of our world, but it has become significant for social networking and entertainment. As such, virtual connections are used for both socialising and as topics for discussion and debate.
Virtual Model
Eleva/ons Date: 23/08/13
Precedent Example 2 Eye Contact and Social Interac1ons
‘Overall, it was found that par5cipants looked more at the experimenter's face and less at the experimenter's body when direct eye contact was made.’
The Baby Lab at the Department of Psychology at Uppsala University (Sweden) utilises modern eye tracking technology, to analyse differences in social interactions between normal children and children with Autism. The test subject’s eye movements when socially interacting were analysed and compiled (on the right). This data is particularly fascinating, because it corresponds fairly well with our own eye mapping results (see below).
Figure 3. Change in viewing time to each region of interest with eye contact, for Live and Video experiments.
Facial Overlays
Analysis 1
Analysis 2
http://www.tobii.com/en/ eye-tracking-research/ global/research/ developmental-psychology/ http://www.plosone.org/ article/info%3Adoi %2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone. 0053286#s2
Date: 21/08/13
RHINO DESIGN DEVELOPMENTS
These were my attempts of making one of the ideation designs in Rhino. Making a semi sphere, then using panelling tools to make the hexagon panel surface
PROTOTYPE- TESTING Since we are doing panel and fold, we thought it would be good to look and get inspired by some origami, as they have very complex paper folding designs which turn into various forms and create look amazing.
I first tried making a simple but appealing type of fan. It was great how it could fold back into just one piece, be compressed, but when pulled it turned into this form.
Then I started to make more complex forms, starting with creating one, and connecting them together. I used a square shaped paper, and folded it in half then through the two diagonals.
PROTOTYPE- TESTING
Looking into some materiality i think cut card would be the most effective material to use to create this second skin. Solid shapes work weel in reference to privacy but it can be quite a costraphobic and isolated experience.
Using translucent spaces withing the solid shape is a way to open up the second skin to the outside world. This allowed privacy and external vision by creating a skin with both solid and trasperant aspects.
Model Prototype 2
Demonstrating this prototype’s semi-elastic folding: Closed/pressed down
Open/static
Geometric Folding One of my group members mentioned the concept of incorporating funnels where the major eye direction ‘pathways’ were. In this way, users’ eye movement would be directed towards where they were naturally comfortable looking. I even thought visual stimulation such as screens could be installed at the end of each funnel.
In-progress I also purposely left gaps between each diamond funnel, in a circle behind and above the wearer’s head, so the enveloped person could look outside and avoid eye contact if desired.
Completed
It seems this drape-like design could potentially work as a second skin, enveloping the torso of two people. If enlarging the scale, however, I may have to be careful it doesn’t become too heavy to support itself. I also found this prototype enabled me to perceive a user’s experience of such a design more clearly.
Analysis 1
Model Prototype 3
Analysis 2
Geometric Folding – Revisited Although I really liked the moving component of my previous prototype, it was more an exploration of material and form, and less incorporating specific eye point locations from what we researched.
Completed
First I overlayed our analyses with facial images, narrowing down the frequently used ‘eye pathways’. I then isolated the pathways themselves, trying to develop the individual forms abstractly. The triangular shapes represented areas with volume, whereas the thin rectangles were empty space the users could look through. Closed/pressed down
Open/static
PROTOTYPE
This prototype looks at different paneling types and different ways to connect these to create a three dimentional form. The idea of shape changing is also important in including the system within our design.
PROTOTYPE
I then cut into the origami shape, to make a area from which the users could look through, as our group discussed we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want the design to be fully closed Joining all the pieces together by sticky tape to get this form. It was hard, but it resulted in a cool origami design which could fold by compressing it and then back into this form.
These are the back and front views of the prototype
PROTOTYPE
These images basically show the structure of the prototype, and how it can move and be flexiable, eg turning into a spherical form (image above). The top right hand image shows the part which I have cut and how it turned out to look from before. The bottow right image displays the folding technique. How it can be compressed into a smaller volume.