CriticalJUSTIFICATION1 PRODUCTivity & workSPACE
Jack Hands
INTROduction My project originally focused on two main areas of modern day productivity. The pschology of time managment and organisation, PRODUCTivity. And potential working environments, workSPACE. Through this critical justification I have adapted the focus of the project as it has grown.
Activity - What I did and why I did it Insights - What I learned Progress - What I would change next time New Direction - A point where I made an important direction change 1
EXPLORATION 3-22 REDEFINITION 23-36 NATURAL TIME
/Research 37-52 /Definition 53-56 /Design 57-62
PHYSICAL TIME
/Defintion 63-64 /Research 65-74
LITERATURE 75-76
REDEFINITION 77-80
HOW LONG IS A PIECE OF STRING?
/Defintion 81-82 /Model 1 83-86 /Research 87-90 REDEFINITION 91-92 /Model 2,3 & 4 93-96 REDEFINITION 97-98 /Cuckoo Timer 99-102 REDEFINITION 103-106 /Model 5 107-108 /Model 6 109-110 REDEFINITION 111-114 TIMEMEASURE /Concept 115-118 /Models 119-126 /Mech & Tech 127-128 REVIEW AND NEXT STEPS 129-132 2
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Time I Looked at the history of timekeeping devices to gain a better understanding of how people have viewed the passage of time and how it has changed, the interest for me was in the physical representation of time.
QUARTZ
Civilizations have often relied on natural phenomena such as the weather and gravity to tell time. This creates an intrinsic link to understanding time. A more in depth understanding of earlier time keeping devices and people’s perceptions of what time s.
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Process I created a rig to hold a funnel and the different “plugs� I created to change water flow. Inspired from the ghurry, I thought of how the process of pouring a glass of water could be an amount of time. -There is a fine line between therapeutic and annoying with the sound of running water. -This would be difficult to articulate without physically changing plug holes -Look at other common processes and how I could create a meaning of the time they took. -Use other natural phenomena like the shadow cast by the sun
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Observation Through my own observation and mindful moments of others I looked at points during the day where there are interesting interactions with time. - A big, modern issue that bothered me and others was the time spent engrossed in the distraction of the smart phone. -These moments are linked to times waiting, and when time is not as relevant. -The convinience of carrying a small card still doesn’t provide enough value for people to continue use. -Make the survey paper a phone case or attatched to the phone to get a greater analysis. -this is the point when I chose the area of the office as my focus which might have been premature.
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Pomodoro Test I created a group Pomodoro experiment with 15 students on my course. I removed all time keeping methods from the room so the only reference of time they had was me. -Removing the phones heavily restricted distraction -People feel pressured to perform if they are being monitored, could you encorporate this into a product? -Do the experiment with office staff instead of students, I can’t guarantee the results -Try the test over a period of a few days to get more concrete results.
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Interaction Looked at common natural interactions between a subject and a light - People want to use their hands in a definite way to control. -Light is a much subtler method of notification and information display. -Make the test rig first and test it properly with users -Find natural interactions with things other than light and see if it differs
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Time Management Using 10 pence pieces I planned my daily tasks and managed my time accordingly -A physical and visible representation of time was easy to understand and gauge. -I often underestimate the time that a task will take, particularly if it’s one I don’t want to do. -The way the sunlight fell across the stacks of coins was a more interesting visual cue. -Stick to the time allocated and set alarms accordingly - A less direct correlation with time, I would like the understanding of time to be more tangible and less accurate
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Desk Test I photographed desks around the university and created a public survey to see which were the most desirable and why - People are attracted to plantlife, organisation and personalisation -The bottom images weren’t voted for because they were at the end of the image and partially covered -Analysis of professional desks
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Corian Test I tried a lighting material test with Corian as it might be one of the materials used in my product - Corian is easy to machine and creates nice shadows. -Even at 0.5mm thickness it retains it’s structure, allows light through and creates an interesting hollow noise when tapped or scraped. -Try moulding the Corian into a form like a rock face when it is at thin densities - More material tests
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workSPACE
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The thing with workSPACE...
The route into this environment was through an extensive view of productivity. With the place where people work being a large influencing factor on productivity, and in an environment where time is money. I did identify solutions that would fit into a modern day office space, some more adventurous than others. However, I think because people understand the typical archetype of a desk, it would be difficult to execute the project to the adequate standard it would need to be at New Designers. The quality of the desk would have to be perfect before people took the time to experiment and play with it. For this reason, I won’t be pursuing the workSPACE avenue of the project. From my research I did develop several insights that will help to guide my project to a more successful end goal with material testing and desktop information.
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PRODUCTivity
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A simpler solution to time management...
The interest for me in the productivity area was the way that a user could interact with time and time management in a tangible way. One that didn’t seem derived from technology and had an almost simplistic understanding. I find the main issue with this route is that productivity is particularly difficult to monitor, alongside time management. I also would like my product to reduce stress and put the user back in control of their time, however, skepticism might meet a product that is designed to increase productivity. Instead the product should be a casual interaction that helps with time management, this is further distanced from productivity in an office space but may mean it is applicable in more areas.
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NEWCONCEPT Tangible Time: Using rocks from the zen garden users allocate time to tasks in a physical sense which dictates the flow of the day and the progression of the light.
The Light: Mimicking the progression of the sun throughout our day the light adjusts to the time, set by the rocks, allowing a continuos understanding of relevant time.
Intermittent Breaks: The raised areas between tasks symbolize assigned breaks, which has proven to promote productivity.
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Biophillia: As my desk research showed, people are attracted to plant-life in office space. A bonsai tree is also the epitomy of time and long life
Zen Garden: The rocks in the garden are used to start and end the day by allocating tasks and times. It is also a source of tranquility and release in our busy modern lives.
Water: Water can promote productivity by 14%. By using the same water for the bonsai tree and the user I hope to create a stronger bond between subject and product.
Tools: Small tools are used to keep the zen garden and sweep away the rocks at the end of the day.
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SKETCHDEVELOPMENT 25
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“MAKE THE SPACE THE FOCUS ” -TOMMY DYLAN
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A chat with Tommy... To gain a better perspective of the feasability of my project I went to speak to Tommy, a tutor who specializes in electronics and interaction. We talked through the concept of the light changing depending on the varying piles of rocks and how that could schedule the days events. “Could the zen garden be a personal space where people could store their stuff instead of a zen garden, say lego or nails?” “I like the idea of the shadows, the way the same object casts different shadows throughout the day is an understood depiction of time of the day.” “How does the user take a break?” This talk really got me excited about the actual use of the device. 28
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Control Project(2015) A previous project while on my internship at Phillips which looked at morning routines and the connected bathroom. - Continuos data, monitored by a smart device, can create value and insight - A product should be behaviour centred in it’s approach, and therefore instinctive to use -I find the coding aspect of a project interesting and the data that can be collected and displayed.
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Dusk + Dawn Project(2016) A previous project looking at the simulation of artificial natural lighting to reallign peoples circadian rhythms. - A sequenced lighting display creates an effective visual cue - I’m attracted to the technological and artificial being seemingly natural and aligned with the user -This started my interest into the relationships between natural rhythyms, our perceptions of time and how we can influence them - In the middle of the day (Office hours) lighting is difficult to manage.
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My Set Up My own desk set up at home, feauturing my enormous S.A.D light. - My desk allocated next to my window allows light to get in through the window onto my Bonsai tree, this wouldn’t happen in an office space - I wonder if Office workers also have a vitamin D deficiency if they are in office environments in the bright points of the day.
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“WHAT IS FUNCTION?” -ANTHONY FORSYTH
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A chat with Anthony... Prior to the conversation it became obvious to me that the area of interest for me was the manipulation of time through more tangible means. A fuzzier understanding to an approximate time. The productivity and time management aspect of my project had arisen from finding a functional field in which monitoring time and it’s value we’re explicitly obvious. “What is your stance on productivity?” Anthony asked to which I didn’t particularly have an answer. “If the goal of your project is to create a more meaningful engagement with time then focus on that aspect” This means that the primary objective of the project is the first thing that is seen and understood. Following this conversation and others like it I have realised that I would prefer my project to be some what of a design probe looking at a more meaningful, understandable perception of time. 36
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Personal Skies Naoto Fukasawa (2001) Naoto Fukasawa “Personal Skies” project focused on creating a personal space within the office environments. A projected screen the exact same size as the desk below imitates a hole through to the outside natural world. The installation also feautured “a chair with a soul left behind” based on the mentality of leaving a coat on the back of the chair as a symbol of ownership and possesion.
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Light with a dish Naoto Fukasawa (2004) The dish symbolises an area where the user changes states, from business to domestic. A light switch that is flicked on upwards away from the dish and towards it to turn it off subtly suggests the extension of interation with the object. These in depth understandings of relationships between object and subject boiled down to create meaningful interaction.
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Komorebi (2017) Komorebi lets you curate natural lighting experiences indoors. - A projection of light could biomimic the natural progression of light in relation to time - If the light is electronic then it can be controlled with data and vary with use of another input.
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Daylight Entrance Daniel Rybakken (2008) Daniel Rybakken creates the illusion of light coming through a window, simulated using angled light. The emotional response to this light seems natural and primitive. It’s a light that we all understand and captures an understanding of the beauty of light.
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Tomoko Davide Groppi (2016) Tomoko is the result of lengthy research in the field of light and well-being and the benefits of natural light reproduced artificially. A ray of light appears to shine into a room from a window, resting casually on the surface of a lamp and lighting the surrounding area. lt is possible to re-create sunlight from different times of the day by turning a knob. The light produced can go from cold light (5000K), similar to that generated by the sun at midday, to warm light (2000K), similar to that at down.
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Projection Series James Turrell (1960-1970) By projecting a single light from the other corner of the room, Turrell creates a 3 dimensional stucture using 2D light. This pshycological playfulness of light continues throughout his works and makes the viewer question space.
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Shadowplay Breaded Escalope (2015) Shadowplay is a light that incorporates the present aspect of the subject. When a finger is placed in the centre the shadows cast represent the hands of a clock. Although it is a display of actual time which is not the direction of my project, the projection of light and shadows is intrinsically linked to time and our understanding of it.
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Artworks Olafur Eliason (2015) A creative art studio in Berlin consistently plays with light in creative ways Olafur Eliason looks at new technical materials but is also inspired by the natural. My attraction to their work is their attention to shadows, a bi-product of light that is sometimes unconsidered. However, an intrinsic understanding of how natural light changes throughout the day is the shadows interaction with our surroundings. The way in which it scales facades 3 times as large as we are and at some points can barely be seen beneath our feet.
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“I WANT TO DESIGN TIME, NOT A CLOCK” -27/01/18
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Slow Watches (2013) are a reimagination of how a traditional watch works. A single hand that rotates around a 24 hour cycle.
A primitive understanding of what time is has maybe been lost with the advancements of clocks and watches. I think the most obvious articulation of a timepiece is a clock or a watch, however, for my project I want to create something that goes beyond the typical understandings of conscious time. I think to design
relevant time I would like to include localised sun data
which is the ultimate dictator of time. Though this has been used in extremely early cases such as sundials and obelisks, the projection of different light and shadow throughout the day has a more fluid and intrinsic understanding. It is also restricted by the influence of artificial interior lighting attatched to sedentary lifestyles. This may mean that the depiction of exterior light and shadow needs to be internally available.
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NATURAL TIME The focus of this research centralized around a similar theme of my Dusk + Dawn light which was understanding different rhythms throughout the day. How the tides change and the progression of the sun across the sky. This is an instinctive response to time in context, though articulated in a more naturally seeming way, the way sun falls through a window. Addressing the perception of time through natural cycles and durations is not a new concept. In fact, it is the oldest way with history of Stone henge and Obelisks being the basis of how we tell time. However, they are limited to, being outside, the sun being up and the weather being clear. This isn’t nessacarily representantive of our lives (especially not in the U.K) therefore I hope to create a product that mirrors the movement of the sun throughout the day and the weather electronically in a subtle way as a means of understanding relevant time. 56
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A clock that’s not a clock I am going to reimagine the clock as a visual representation of the sun and how it moves across the sky. I thought about this in a few ways, one in which the light was the focus, one in which the subject and it’s shadow were the focus.
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Model 1 11/01/18 I created a small mock up model that would replicate the light cast through a window and how it could change throughout the day with 3 distinct modes. - The LED’s need to be clustered tighter in both directions - Though the light doesn’t use relevant data it is an easy example that allows people to grasp the concept quickly -Though I idealised what the progression of light through a window would look like, the light would always be angled as it should look as if it is coming from the sun above. - A more original take on natural timings is the progression of shadows.
- Create another model using the same 3 phases but using the arc concept - Use a printed circuit board with individual LED’s to improve the spacing.
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Throughout the progression of the day the angle of the light shifts and changes within it’s frame but also moves through the Kelvin scale. I hoped by using localized data users could get an understanding of time and weather condition outside. This isn’t the best way to display information, even if it is quite basic , a model that used the light produced instead of the light source. Though I find this representation of time interesting I don’t want to focus too heavily around a singular idea and therefore will be exploring other avenues of representing time and park this as an early prototype.
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PHYSICAL TIME The second area of research into time representation was the physical change over time. Something I identified early in my research topic was how we can understand a point within duration if we can see the relationship between physical changes over time. This creates a more interesting dialogue between how we experience past present and future time. Imagine growth, and the way we catalogue it using the side of the kitchen door when we are younger. It’s the progression of time in a physical sense that allows us to understand time in a relevant sense.
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Chrono-Shredder Susanna Hertrich (2007) A literal representation of how time passes and once it has we can’t get it back. The calendar continuosly shreds the date throughout the day. Articulated by the pile of shredded paper at the bottom allows a reflection through tangible experience.
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Just About Now Martin Baas (2012) A timer that is designed not to be accurate. The sand is scooped up and then leaks through the brass nozzle which, once empty, bangs the gong. Martin says the device is good for uses where exact time is not nessecary like taking a nap.
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The Poetic Sand ClockStudio Alayskan (2015)
A meditative play on the landscape art of kare-sansui – the artfully raked Japanese Zen rock garden – Studio Ayaskan’s sand clock rakes across a bed of sand, leaving ripples in the sand to represent each hour of the day. In essence the purpose isn’t so much about accuracy, but an inventive reflection of the ephemeral nature of time passing similar to another sand-based timepiece, the hourglass.
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Ink Calendar-
Oscar Diaz (2009) The ink uses capiliary action to draw ink onto the embossed paper which reflect the days of the month. The calendar enhances the perception of time passing and not only signaling it. The aim of the project is to address our senses, rather than the logical and conscious brain. The ink colors are based on a spectrum, which relate to a “color temperature scale�, each month having a color related to our perception of the weather on that month. The colors range from dark blue in December to three shades of green in spring or orange and red in the summer.
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SUPERNORMAL
JASPER MORRISON
NORMAN
KENYA HARA
THE DESIGN OF EVERY DAY THINGS
DESIGNING DESIGN
A WATCHED POT - How we experience time
THE EYES OF THE SKIN
NAOTO FUKASAWA
Throughout the course of this project I have been reading around the pschology of time itself but also the perception of haptic product design. Our current perception of time is ocularcentric, reading the time on a clock or watch face. However, it is the feel of the evening chill or the smell of a brisk morning that gives us an understanding of time in nature. I want my project to move away from visually focused articulation of time but somehting that entices all the senses.
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NATURAL TIME Natural time is the timings and rhythms internally and externally dictated beyond our control. In more recent times this has been refered to as the typical representation of the clock. It spans from the very beginning to the very end. Understanding it’s continuity and it’s relative scale distances us from the restrictive structure of modern day life and brings us closer to nature itself. This alignment of all life on our planet is inevitably the positioning in space, which is easily understood by positioning of the sun, the rays it produces and the shadows it creates. 77
OUR TIME Our time refers to the areas of time that are controlled, allocated and measured by us. Though time is limitless, in certain situations time can be allocated to specific tasks, these range from cooking an egg to a journey on the tube. It is areas of time where we have a tangible understanding of duration and plan our time accordingly. However, OUR TIME is being attacked by technology. The over dependance of background noise from a television to stimulate conversation or the bombardment of notifications that keeps us hooked into our mobile phones means that these “in-between� times where relationships between people and products are formed and solidified through interaction are being lost. 78
“TECHNOLOGY SHOULD LOOK LIKE SOMETHING IN YOUR GRANDMOTHER’S ROOM” -OKI SATO
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An issue facing technological devices is that they are specifically made to look like technology, this can alienate and intimidate some people. Oki Sato, founder of Nendo, has a great many projects but has since resisted the allure of IoT (internet of things). I think an interest for me, possibly since the control project, has been that the dumbest of objects can be a product in a technological system. Creating products that have technological abilities
while still looking mundane creates a certain magic that intrigues and excites users. I plan to make my final project in
this way. I think the technological advance in the past century is a strong issue that inevitably started this project. A further distancing from our innate human qualities dictated by technology, which although in certain aspects I agree with, has crept into areas of modern day life that mean a heavy dependance on electronics. “It’s kind of
strange isn’t it? You lose your smartphone and you can’t even wash your butt anymore!” (Oki Sato)
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HOW LONG IS A PIECE OF STRING? 1. Used to indicate that something cannot be given a finite measurement.
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“How long is tea going to be?” is always met by my mam holding her hands the width of dinner plate apart and saying “About this long” The interest that I have found and developed through working on this project are the fuzzy periods of time that aren’t dictated by ocular monitored duration but by an alternative sense that is supported by a relative duration. It is in this tangibility and flexibility of time that natural humanistic approch to products is at it’s greatest. “How long is a piece of string” was an idea generated through this understading between duration and length. As identified in my early research, the process of change is the representation of time. 82
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Model 1 01/02/18 Using an inverted standard clock mechanism I created a “timer” that allows the user to pull out the string to a length and it will be slowly pulled back in - The clock motor isn’t overly strong and is quite tempramental when pulling any kind of weight - The “ticking” of the motor creates an obvious clock like function -Use a more powerful or more motors to control the reel -Use sports clock mechanisms with a continuos second hand to create a smoother draw in.
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Tape Timer-
Jozeph Forakis (2004) Playing on the use of a carpenters tape Jozeph created a kitchen timer that uses the measurement in terms of time instead of distance. I find the magic of length = duration is lost when markings are made on the tape. My project is born out of a more tangible understanding of time and though this product has tangible interaction I think the accuracy of the time would be dictated ocularly.
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Measure Calendar-
Hiroyuki Miyake (2011) A retractable tape measure that works as a calendar with each CM representing a day. I have to question the usability of this product. Due to the nature of a calendar would something that changed in a more uniform way be more acceptable. Also limited interaction with something that monitors such a long duration with such short intervals. The retractability of a tape measure is a interesting feauture that could improve interaction with the final product. There is something very satisfying about pulling out the length of a tape measure and withdrawing it, perhaps because we have watched our parents and grandparents use it and associate it with a level of knowing, control and understanding.
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OUR TIME Through continued thought on the project and the direction it is taking I want to create a more personal relationship with “our time”. The development of the title is in reference to our understanding of relevant time, our consciousness of it and our insignifficance within it. “A greater understanding of time in relevance to us” “A more tangible understanding of time relevant to us” “A greater appreciation of passing time”
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OUR TIME Though I had previously assesed the two types of time I would put them under an over arching topic of “Our Time” and change them to...
Natural Time
Controlled Time
As with before, natural time is Controlled time is time that we dictated by the natural forces allocate and create within our of the world around us and it’s own timescale and the impact it impact on us. This is, however, has on the world. Though it lies dictated by the positioning within the realms of natural time of us within the world. Sun there is meaning to the time we movements, tides and seasons allocate and assign to things, it’s are completely different an idea of intent and importance wherever we are in the world. dependant on duration. I would like my project that addresses natural time to also be relevant to the user personally. 92
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Model 2, 3 & 4 11/02/18 After the success of the playfulness and simplicity of the small box I constructed 3 boxes which used a lighter printed reel meaning they were more reliable. 2 of the models used continuous clock mechanisms and 1 ticked to compare the motion. - I originally bought 2 clock motors to create more torque for a singular timer, however, when facing each other the clocks spin the opposite way - Creating more accurate parts meant that the whole mechanism worked smoother and better than the original model -A stepper motor will be more appropriate to get enough torque to work consistantly -Functionality of this object may still be questioned currently as it possibly seems too abstract at the moment.
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Model 2, 3 & 4 Testing11/02/18 - 16/02/18 To gain a greater understanding of how to improve the design I gave the 3 timers to Jenny, Chris and Tommy to test with tasks and see the feasibility of the timer.
“It isn’t long enough” - Jenny
-Although the timer is good for monitoring short tasks, even at roughly a meter length the timer would measure around 6 minutes.
“Are you going to put marks on? Because I have no idea with the time” - Chris
-I like the idea of the time being completely abstracted from what we already know but perhaps that doesn’t provide much assurance.
“I didn’t realise it had finished” Jenny
-The models are quite rudimentary and I haven’t installed a notification, I want to steer clear of typical egg timers and buzzing sounds but some kind of ambient sound or smell could provide an interesting notification
“I think you need more time” Tommy
-In the same vein as Jenny’s comment, Tommy also pointed out the speed of a regular clock might be too fast for “I like using it with pencils and stuff certain tasks
lying around, that makes sense” Tommy
-Using the movement of the string as a passage of time was a visual representation, but in use it also helps to queue tasks and activities. -Adjust settings on stepper motor model so that the withdrawal of the string can be slower than a regular clock -Identify and apply a creative and pleasing notification method -Create a marking system so that the user can be more in control of their relevant time
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YOUR TIME In an attempt to collate my concepts into a consistent theme, the project has transformed again from “OUR TIME” to “YOUR TIME” “A more tangible understanding of time relevant to you”
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YOUR TIME Using products such as the timer concept allows the user to be in a more relevant understanding of their own timings and task management
YOUR TIME
Looking at a larger social group of local relevant time, this focuses on synchronicity, a job typically assigned to a clock.
YOUR TIME A much more introvert arm of the project that is closely related to wellness. Understanding the times where we are alone to reflect. This again is fluid time, often experienced in waiting
“My favourite things in life don’t cost money. It’s really clear to me that the most precious resource we all have is time” - Steve Jobs 98
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Cuckoo Timer13/02/18
While models 2, 3 & 4 were being tested I looked at how the timer could be represented. People were attracted to the simplicity of the little simple cube, they found it cute. I started developing the timer around the small times that it could be used to represent, something around cooking, like a pan, where the time isn’t dictated by time but flavour, texture and “feel�. I began to look at the timer in the simplest form with an obvious area for interaction. I wound up drawing something recognisable and instinctively linked to time, a cuckoo clock. I thought an abstracted bird would create a good toggle to pull the string with while looking comfortable sat on the front of the house when not in use.
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“I’M GOING TO PROPOSE A COMPLETELY NEW CONSTRUCT OF TIME” -16/02/17
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“My routine at the moment doesn’t fit into regualr time frames; I’m a student with flexible hours, a bar manager on weekends and I live with my parents who work 9-5 jobs” With the introduction of 24 hour supermarkets and gyms, Netflix and 0 hour contracts, the regular construct of day and night dictating our time is blurring. Creating a generation of people with hours that don’t fit into our current regimented routines of standardized time. Bearing this in mind, I plan to use the practical product knowledge I have gained through research to facilitate a speculative design probe around a new construct of time that fits around the user instead of the user fitting around time. This encompasses the ideology of YOURTIME and allows me to create a challenging conversation piece around the way we understand time. 104
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I think when people talk about productivity, and when I originally planned this project around productivity, I focused on the professional capacity of productivity. However, if we look at productivity in terms of our life, with work as a factor, does the way we currently understand time really facilitate us getting the most out of lives if we don’t fit the regular 9-5 working day construct. In an effort to challenge sedentary lifestyles, instead of fitting to the times of a clock, people could fit to the assignment of tasks, what they want to accomplish in the time that they are awake. This obviously encompasses time spent socialising, relaxing, eating and investing into the improvement of self. However, if time was more assigned would we get more done and stop the “binge” mentatlity that faces us currently. The aim of this project is for people to gain better control of their own time; a more relevant, personal time. As the work I have done so far is based around a more tangible understanding of time, distancing from numbers seems like a fairly “out-there” propostion. However, I believe by changing the construct in which people understand time, it will attract a lot of contrasting impressions. This means that whether good or bad, the project will gain attention at New Designers and further which will get people talking around the topic, which is ultimatley the challenge of a design probe. 106
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Model 5 20/02/18 I created a further model using a stepper motor, meaning I could change the rate at which the string is wound in. It also means the motor would be stronger and less temperamental. -Always check the current drawn by a motor before hooking it up to the driver. This model managed to burn out several drivers and itself. -3D printing is an ideal way of creating custom pieces that can quickly simulate a final concept -Use a smaller stepper motor as this one was too large and drew too much current.
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Model 6 24/02/18 Model 6 used a smaller stepper motor attatched to an potentiometer which meant I could vary the rate at which it withdrew. -Extremely slow rotation is unperceivable by eye, Therefore it is difficult to understand the variance between steps -The stepper motor, though smaller than model 5 is still too large for what I want for my final product. -Find an alternative way of winding in the string with alternative settings which would fit into a much smaller body. -Create some kind of key for the potentometer so that the rate it is withdrawing it is understandable.
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“OKAY, I MIGHT HAVE GONE A BIT TOO FAR” -25/02/17
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The difficulty I am finding with creating a design probe that is focused around people’s responses and facilitating function is not idealising function myself. Understanding the extents of function has been my entire education within design, however, through keeping the project simple and open, users create their own stories and functionality around the project. Though this may lead
to a less defined function universally it creates a more personalised function individually.
Bearing this in mind I think the idea of the withdrawing of string can be reappropriated to a much simpler way of creating a facilitating system for tangible time, based around tasks and activity. 112
YOURTIME
A speculative design probe into activity based time.
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DO MORE WITH YOURTIME As my project has progressed through the early misdirection of productivity within a workspace to research into a further understanding of time as a construct historically and in modern times I have summarised my design probe into activity based time. This could involve a full acceptance of a complete new construct of time by tracking solely activity led time or equally someone who would like to be more productive in a certain aspect in their life. The intention of this project is to, in the simplest, most boiled down solution, allow people to monitor how they use their own time more effectively. 114
TIMEMEASURE BREAK
WALK THE DOG IDEAL PASTA TIME
“Design, for me, is about asking the right questions then finding the most beautifully simplistic solution.� From the testing of earlier models and the way people used the tangible timer I came to the conclusion of the TIMEMEASURE. The device can be used to monitor activities and tasks in a tangible way. As nearly everyone spent their childhoods using a 30cm ruler throughout school it is a universally known length which makes it easy to estimate lengths and durations away from the precision of written time. The idea of this project is to create something that has no function and allows the user to create their own function. Therefore the tape will be made from whiteboard material, allowing users to use their surroundings (pens) to create value with the object. 115
12 secs
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SHORT- MID - LONG 6 Mins 60 Mins 6 Hrs
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Time - Pink Floyd
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Z
ZZ Z U B
BRRRPP
MOOOO
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Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenom that mixes up the senses. Artist Melissa McCracken suffers from Chromethesia - in which she see’s sounds as colours, which she then paints. This got me thinking about the sounds different colours could make, and the excitement that element would have with my project. I hope to create an algorithm that converts the colour used on the tape to a sound stored in the library. That way people will begin to build a library of associations with sounds, colours and activities that will again be personalised to them. I also like the idea of someone getting a new pen and saying “I wonder what this sounds like”. By using RGB values the colour, even the slightest difference would create a different sound. This is driven by the research into enriching other senses with monotony of sounds produced with alarm clocks and the predictability of the sound produced. 118
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Deconstruction 26/02/18 I took apart an old cassette tape player that I found in my loft. The way it moves the tape at different speeds is potentially an ideal mechanism for my project -The movement is based around the varying cogs and settings -The setting change from the top pushes the correct cog into position to allow the reel to turn. -The complicated system behind the motor is irrelevant, the motor movement is quite basic. - Check power supply at each point of deconstruction so I know which parts to keep connected - Take apart things closer to the potential final mechanism.
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Whiteboard Model 27/02/18 I took apart a whiteboard and created a tape which I used to pull under a whiteboard sponge. This was to simulate the way the tape would wipe clean when withdrew by the motor. -It didn’t require too much force to pull the tape through, but the seal between the sponge and the board was tight. -Marking the tape will be difficult to do without something that can also be marked underneath. -Use one of the stepper motor models to create a working model that would wipe the tape automatically -Look into alternative materials that could be used for the whiteboard material, possibly plastics
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Visual Model 27/02/18 To explain my project in a more physical sense, I created a visual model using a standard measuring tape, spray painted white, housed in an acrylic box. -Though this isn’t the final shape, the focus on simplicity and ubiquity is important for it to fit in everywhere -The scale of this model was too large, I would like the final thing to be the size of a tictac box, typically something people comforatble carry around with them -Make another visual model with a smaller tape measure and housing to better visualise the final product -Apply a finish to the tape that would allow it to be marked and wiped clean.
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Deconstruction 28/02/18 I took apart a tape measure as a simple mechanism that can be pulled out and withdrawn. In the simplest form this is what I would like my project to do but at a controlled rate -The tape uses a central pin to move around, could this be put into a cog system to slow it. - The tape is particularly tightly wound making it quite difficult to keep contained when the housing is removed. - Use the tape wheel as a cog in a system
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Mechanical Clocks were how we kept track of time prior to quartz clocks and mechanisms that depended on batteries. The ritual of setting the weight for the pendulum on a 8 day clock, or the winding of a pocket watch, provided the power to the clock itself. I think there is a certain beauty to mechanical devices. The simplicity and fascination caused by a product that works without an external power supply gives the product a “timeless� attribute. In my early test I removed the minute and hour hand of the clock and used the second hand to withdraw the string. However, was I to reverse engineer a mechanical clock to provide 3 distinct settings using the already understood mechanism, I could create a product that can be left for months and still work on first use. I plan to create some test rigs in which I use the pulling out of the tape to provide the potential energy that will then power the clock to withdraw the tape back in. 127
TECH
MECH
- Easier to make and program meaning the chances of a working outcome are easier -Colour sensor can be incorporated for earlier idea of creating unique sounds with the different pens used -Has more potential options of function - Potentially a stronger mechanism
- Completely self-contained unit, there is a certain magic in that - Accomplishes the main objectives of the project without the complications of electronics and coding. - Fits better with the topic of time and understanding it. -Cheaper in large scale production - Cooler overall mechanism to look at
-Dependant on batteries and therefore would need the ability to be charged or replaced - The stepper motors that I have used so far have been too large to fit into pocket device
- More complicated to make and understand - Might not be poweful enough to pull the tape in at a desired rate
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CRITICALREVIEW To conclude my critical justification I wanted to review my research technique throughout this project. As identified in the early stages of my justification, I think I was quick to jump to productivity in the workplace, when the direction was more appropriated to productivity within life. This meant that a lot of the research from my exploration is still useful but slightly irrelevant. Therefore, my research continued further than exploration which created a deeper and greater appreciation of my original topic, as I went full circle and wound back at my original brief. The difficulty with my project has been the validation from external sources. Due to the nature of time and is ubiquity, everyone has experience with it and an opinion on it. This has meant that
my project hasn’t been based from insights derived from singular interviews with experts in an area, but the amalgamation of many perspectives from different ages, backgrounds and relationships. I think this has limited me in
some aspects of a more proffesional understanding of time but has guided my project to a suitability in more relevant terms. My project so far has focused heavily on the internal workings and use that my product will experience throughout it’s life. While working with an abstract idea such as time it is easy to get lost in the depth of the project. It has been a common sanity check to try to understand experience through experimentation and use of rudimentary models like the testing of model 2, 3 & 4. Though the housing of the model will be important, this is something I will address in the next part of the project. In my opinion, the priority with this product is interaction and how it can be used, if I accomplish that successfully the housing is secondary. 129
NEXTSTEPS Physical Time - Create working mechanism based around a mechanical clock that allows the tape to be withdrawn at different speeds - Material research into a suitable tape - Material research for housing - Form experimentation of how the final product should look and feel - Create multiple working models (stepper motors) using what I have learned, then give them out to different people to understand stories and function that people build around the project - Create a video that shows different functionality of the product and how people can use it based on the findings. Natural Time I think the articulation of time through a naturally driven lighting sequence is an interesting concept. I hope to continue the development of my Sunlight clock but I will prioritise the TIMEMEASURE.
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Any comments or queries please contact me at: jack.hands.design@gmail.com Or visit my blog at: jackhandsdesign.wordpress.com
...Thankyou