REDUX
INTRODUCTION
01.10.14 29.10.14
OUTLINE length: 4 weeks type: individual A project aimed at exploring the materiality and the aesthetic of interaction.
SYNOPSIS In this project we are asked to design a product that connects with people on an emotional, intuitive and personal level, by ‘re-imagining’ the physical character of an everyday product to communicate a single dominant characteristic. We are to research our chosen product and character trait to reveal distinct aesthetic and behavioral definitions and explore the translation of these relative to form language, materiality, appearance and interface. The outcome will be a high resolution and high fidelity appearance model. Designed to be read alongside: / sketchbook research
Janet Kelly Kirsty Ross
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INTRODUCTION
02 - 06
RESEARCH
07 - 10
INITIAL IDEAS
11 - 12
DESIGN DIRECTION & CONCEPT
13 - 20
SAMPLING
21 - 25
FINAL DESIGN CONCEPT
26 - 31
MODELING & DEVELOPMENT
32 - 42
FINAL DESIGN OUTCOME
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SELF-REFLECTION
REDUX: BROUGHT BACK; REVIVED The aim of this project is to design a product which connects with people on an emotional, intuitive and personal level, by ‘re-imagining’ the physical character of a familiar everyday product in order to communicate one single dominant characteristic.
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DESIGN THEME & RESEARCH: A SENSITIVE PHONE
With the brief given, my design challenge was to design a phone which follows a sensitive character trait. I immediately began researching the term ‘sensitive’ and ‘sensitivity’ and the history and design of phones.
The first thing I researched was the phone. There are two main types of phones: a mobile phone and a landline telephone. The general theme of a phone allowed me to keep my research open to look into a wider selection of devices. The first practical telephone was invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell, but phones have evolved relentlessly since they were first introduced.
Mobile phones that we use today can already be classed as sensitive due to their touchscreen interface, this however depends on the definition of sensitive as it has a number of meanings. I began to consider the 5 senses as an aspect of sensitivity and how these have been, or can be, incorporated into phones. I also looked into the interaction between the user and the phone, and how this might be sensitive.
Researching into the history of the telephone and its evolution to today’s hand-held device.
I researched into the different interactions and social aspects when using a phone and explored the use of senses which could be considered to make a phone sensitive, such as smart materials, technological aspects and visuals.
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DESK RESEARCH: DEFINING ‘SENSITIVE’
After looking into the history of phones and the social aspect, I decided to look into the meaning of ‘sensitive’ as it can be defined in a number of ways and has a number of different meanings.
I produced a mind map exploring the word ‘sensitive’: looking into definitions, scenarios in which the word ‘sensitive’ plays a role, word association and exploring the emotional aspect.
When initially linking the word ‘sensitive’ to phones, I came across the idea of people being emotionally attached to their phones, and began to research further into this as a potential design opportunity.
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I decided to look into the word ‘sensitive’ in order to gain a clear understanding of its meaning. However, sensitive has multiple meanings, and for the design challenge we were allowed to choose any of the meanings. I researched all the different definitions and the scenarios in which each of these could influence someone. I also began to associate words with sensitive using a thesaurus
in order to see what other words were closely linked to its meaning, which I could consider into my research. When linking sensitive to phones, I came across the effect of emotional attachment to objects, and then discovered that, with technological advancements, people are becoming more and more attached to their mobile phones. This was something I wanted to research further into.
Researching mobile phones: As the mobile phone is the norm for today’s society and is one of the most used daily objects, I decided to look into the different markets for them. I contrasted phones designed for children, through to adults and then towards the elderly seeing how the form and functions change based on the user groups the phones are aimed at. Mobile phones nowadays are effectively micro computers, but the phones designed for the elderly stick to the simple call feature only.
Researching into attachment: I decided to research further into emotional attachment to objects, looking into why and how people become attached and how they could overcome it if they need to. The aim was to see if this could link with mobile phones.
Attachment to mobile phones: As mobile phones nowadays are effectively micro computers, they are becoming more and more useful. They have influenced society so much that they are the first thing people wake up to, the last thing to be checked at night, and a state of panic is induced when they appear to be lost. They source personal information and hold memories such as photos and messages. The mobile phone knows everything about its owner, but this information isn’t shared; it’s something the owner can trust.
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CONTRASTING ‘SENSITIVE’ WITH PHONES
At this stage, we were asked to produce a moodboard which demonstrated our object in relation to its interaction, form, context and detailing, whilst at the same time contrasting this with our given adjective.
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For my moodboard, I decided to use transparent plastic and card to create overlays which contrast the word ‘sensitive’ with the interaction, context, detailing and form of phones.
I created a double-sided transparent moodboard with images that demonstrated the meaning of sensitive and sensitivity. I then created two double-sided moodboards on card, one side for each category: interaction, context, detailing and form of phones.
The word ‘sensitive’ could be contrasted with the interaction, context, detailing and form of phones by flipping the card and/or transparent overlay over. The triangles linked up with the images to create a full moodboard. Along with images, I also produced colour swatches which illustrate ‘sensitive’ and also narratives that contextualise its meaning.
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INITIAL DESIGN IDEAS AND CONCEPTS
We were asked to produce five distinctive design ideas based on our design opportunity. As I was working on the idea of people being emotionally attached to mobile phones, I considered designs which would play on this and explore it.
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SENSITIVE PHONE // CONCEPT 2
FRONT CAMERA
MOBILE MONITOR KEYRING & OVERLOOKNG TRACKER
OVERLOOKING MONITOR
Special camera tracker detects eyes of any people overlooking the users phone when they are using it.
PADLOCK KEYRING
OVERLOOKING LED
MONITOR KEYRING
LED will flash if anyone around the user is looking at their screen.
In the form of a padlock to represent protection, this keyring tracks movement of the phone when the user isn’t around. It also shows the user how far away they are from the device. The GPS even allows the user to track where the device has been.
TOUCH SCREEN KEYRING BATTERY PERCENTAGE
COMMANDS
Commands for the phone can be made after an alert has been given. E.g. lock device and warn.
DOT MATRIX SCREEN
Displays the time, battery of phone, battery of the device itself and message alerts.
PHONE COMMAND BUTTONS ACTION BUTTON
USB CHARGE & CONNECT
Allows charging of the device through USB and connects to computers to show tracking of movement of the phone.
The action button turns on the display and has to be pressed a certain amount of times asked to follow a command.
KEY LOCK
JAKE COHEN
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SENSITIVE PHONE // CONCEPT 3
HYBRID PHONE & SMART PHOTOFRAME
SMART PHOTOFRAME
MOOD SENSOR/ SHUTTER RELEASE
FLASH FACE CAMERA
Photos taken with the hybrid photo are synced with the photoframe over wifi. The main image is shown in the large section, and the three screens below show the mood of the user when the photo was taken, where it was taken and the portrait photo shot at the same time.
PHOTO GALLERY
Tapping a photo twice will show you the photo taken with the opposite camera. Friends and family are recognised and categorised and integrated with apps on the phone.
MAP
TOUCH SCREEN
MOOD
PORTRAIT
SHUTTER RELEASE MOOD SENSOR The shutter release incorporates mood sensing technolgy to publish your current mood as the photo is taken.
DOUBLE SHOT HYBRID PHONE
A hybrid of a smart phone with a digital camera to capture important moments with a professional outcome.
POWERFUL CAMERA
A high power camera with optical zoom and flash. Contains manual features for user exploration.
When a photo is taken, the opposite camera will also take a photo, which can be viewed later in the gallery.
JAKE COHEN
SENSITIVE PHONE // CONCEPT 4
SMART PHONE & BACK TO BASICS
DOT MATRIX SCREEN
Used when the user has exeeded their quota of smart phone usage to display numbers and contacts.
LOCK/ UNLOCK TRADITIONAL PHONE
VOLUME CONTROL TOUCH SCREEN
After the quote of smart phone usage has been reached, only the ‘traditional phone features’ can be used. The touch screen will stop workng and will be replaced by a dot matrix screen, and a pop out number pad will be needed. The user will only be able to phone numbers or contacts.
DESIGN
FRONT CAMERA
The pull-out number pad and dot matrix screen intends to take the user back to the time when phones where only used for phones, instead of a compacted computer.
POP-OUT NUMER PAD STORED & CLEARED DUAL MOBILE PHONE
This is a two-part device that aims to reduce attachment to mobile phones. The device operates as a normal smart phone, but its use is on a quota before going back to the basic idea of a phone.
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All media on the smart phone is stored online and cleared automatically from the phone weekly, and can only be accessed on a computer 6 months after the data was uploaded.
RUBBER BUTTONS
JAKE COHEN
SENSITIVE PHONE // CONCEPT 5
A “HUMAN” PHONE
SMART PHONE CAMERA
EMOTICON SYMBOLS
These emotions represnt how the phone is feeling.
AMBIENT MOOD GLOW EXPRESSION TRACKER Detects expressions and reactions of user for the AI to respond.
A “HUMAN” PHONE
This phone has human feelings based on certain conditions, such as battery percentage, RAM usage, dropping the device, holding the device with force etc.
VOICE CHATTING
The user can ask the phone how it’s feeling, and the phone can also ask how the user is feeling, creating a two-way conversation.
SENSE BAR
EMOTICON BUTTON
This button functions as a home button but also uses LED lights to indicate the mood of the phone through the use of emoticons.
TOUCH SCREEN
chosen concept: a human phone What? - a human phone with emotions. - has a gender and name? - user must treat it like a human being. - to be used in a personal/intimate context? - has traits of human consciousness. - positive and negative attitudes? - has human characteristics? - ages. Why? - increase emotional attachment of the user to the phone. - improve relationship of user with the phone.
This sense bar can detect the user’s mood from heat and pressure application. The bar has an ambient glow to represent the user’s mood. The user’s mood is used for the phone to understand their emotions.
JAKE COHEN
er - how does the phone regist emotions? or - does it keep them private broadcast? n - what situation could be fu to express your emotion?
- does it need a personality and a name? - think about specific contexts of moments. - explore content.
Chosen Concept & Ideas
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A HUMAN PHONE: TRAITS OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS With my concept of a human phone in mind, I decided to continue my research and look into traits of human consciousness and human characteristics which could influence the functions and form of the phone.
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RESEARCH INTO HUMAN TRAITS, CHARACTERS & FORMS With my chosen idea of a human phone, I began to look into aspects of human form, characteristics and behaviour which could potentially influence the design of my phone, and how this could relate to sensitivity.
I began researching into elements which could be incorporated into the design of a phone which make it humanistic. I started by researching into human traits of consciousness, both positive and negative. This began to trigger ideas such as the phone having good and bad days, having emotions based on the conversations with the user, emotional feelings and also having an assigned personality and name.
I also began to consider the situation where a human phone would be used. I didn’t want to broadcast the emotional attachment between the user and the phone, but rather allow it to be used in intimate and social settings without embarrassment. I wanted the phone to be a friend you can talk to whenever which would grow up with you, and which you could use in both personal and social situations.
I researched into traits of human consciousness, including attitudes, skills, social endowments and attributes. I also began considering the situation of using a human phone and how emotions could be expressed. Human characteristics could also be incorporated to hint subtle humanistic elements into the phone’s design. These could include: freckles, curly hair, hand clasping, colour blindness, earlobe attachments, tongue rolling, dimples, handedness and hairline shape.
I began looking into the body types of humans and how this could potentially be implemented into the form and even the functions of a phone.
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A HUMAN PHONE: EXPLORING THE FORM & MATERIALITY Based on research and my own knowledge, I began to produce samples based on human forms which would imply subtle human characteristics. These included the human body, the gesture of holding hands and also human-like textures.
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I first began looking into the hand gestures when holding a phone. I wanted to see if I could shape a phone to feel like holding hands, something which has a human connection and implements an emotional connection between the user and the phone.
With a curved back, the form makes the user feel like they are ‘hugging’ the object and feels more ‘snug’.
I produced a number of paper samples each of which challenge a new subtle way of holding the object.
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Material samples: I decided to collect samples of materials in order to explore texture, finish and aesthetics.
Geometric bodily forms: I created geometric forms based on the human body, again which challenge the way the object is held. The human form is more abstract through geometry and in a way becomes more subtle.
Subtle human bodily forms: I produced a series of geometric forms based of the human body, focusing on different bodily shapes, sizes and proportions.
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Detailing: This form hugs the hand and has no straight lines, a metaphor of the human body as it also has no straight lines. The screen is also curved and the sample paper detailing demonstrates the potential user interfaces.
Organic forms: A selection of wood carvings of variant phone forms using subtle organic curves. The wooden material also makes these forms organic, being a once living material, a metaphor of life.
Contrasting sample forms: I assembled all of my samples together to compare and contrast the forms and materials with one another.
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Various samples using different forms and materials.
Initial ideas for my chosen concept of a human phone.
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TRANSLATING THE HUMAN BODY INTO ORGANIC FORMS With initial samples created and feedback given, at this stage I wanted to make the form of the phone less literal, and so I decided to look into different body shapes and created conceptual forms based on them which I could later develop into a phone.
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SAMPLING THE HUMAN BODY INTO A PHONE FORM With the feedback given from my previous samples, I decided to go ahead and create more conceptual samples based on the human body which will add a humanistic element to the phone’s design.
I looked into both male and female body forms and the different builds, creating illustrations around the torso which shape a non-literal form for a phone.
Based on these conceptual forms of the human body, I then produced templates which I could use to create samples using wood. I chose four of my favourite shapes, two male and two female.
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From my tutorial feedback, it came to my attention that the samples I had produced so far were quite literal and still resembled the general mobile phone form as I was focusing on the subtlety. I decided to research into different human bodies, both male and female, ranging from ectomorph to endomorph. I then produced illustrations around the torso of each different body
type I found, which gave unusual symmetrical and non-symmetrical two-dimensional shapes for phone forms. Some of these forms where more conceptual than others. I decided I wanted to produce some samples based on these bodily forms and so I produced a template of these shapes. I then carved the forms in wood, translating them into a threedimensional format.
I continued to explore human bodily forms and used tracing paper to draw around the torso of different bodies in order to see how they contrast with the actual human body itself.
I considered the human body as a full three-dimensional form, focusing on depth and curvature of the body overall.
I decided to keep a depth which reflected the human body shape, resulting in samples which were unconventional for a mobile phone. I created two male and two female body forms samples using pine wood.
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FINAL DESIGN CONCEPT: A HUMAN PHONE Based on my human body samples, I decided I wanted develop these into a final design which is suitable for use as a phone but incorporates the subtle elements of humanism, including the form, features, gestures and also metaphors of life.
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Humanistic gestures are used to perform certain actions with the phone.
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Both the phone’s mood and the user’s mood is recorded and displayed subtly through the interface.
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I produced some quick storyboarding of potential scenarios using the human phone in order to explore the conventional and unconventional uses.
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A HUMAN PHONE: MODELING AND DEVELOPMENT With the final concept planned and designed, I then began to use the workshop to develop my ideas and explore materiality further. I also began to consider the aspects of detailing in order to approach a final design outcome and appearance model.
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MODELING AND DEVELOPMENT: INITIAL WORKSHOPPING With the final design planned, I began to construct more samples, leading towards the final appearance model. This was an opportunity to explore with materiality and finishes further, and also considering the smaller subtle detailing.
I began to construct the form of my final concept using wood. As I wanted to include leather in the wood as it resembles the feel of human skin, I had to hand inlay these using a scalpel and chisel, which took a considerable amount of time and skill. I also began to explore with wood staining, something which allows ageing, being a metaphor of human life.
As I wanted a female and male version of the human phone, I wanted to make them subtly different other than the bodily shape, and so I used different wood staining and leather colours/textures. I also decided to apply wood staining to a sample and spray paint it, then scratching the surface. This resulted in an aged effect, something I wanted my human phone to develop as it ages over time.
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I started my development by carving my female human phone design out of pine. I then inlaid leather into the sides and back, where the user will contact and perform gestures with the skinlike touch. As I wanted the phone to resemble a human, I wanted to use wood for my final design as it is organic, ages and was once a living form, reflecting the human life. I decided to explore
with wood staining to see how the aging would effect the wood over its life time. I also began to consider logo application onto the phone, thinking of unique ways of how it could be subtly included. My favourite idea was to incorporate the gender symbols as part of the rear camera; this would show the user which version of the human phone they have (male or female) alongside through the shaping.
Initial development of the final concept in the workshop.
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Logo sampling: At this stage I began to explore sampling the logo. I used different materials and logo designs to see what works best. This was an opportunity to explore the design of the logo as well as its potential integration onto the body of the human phones.
Subtle vs. bold logos: Through sampling the logo, I explored the contrast between subtlety and bolder logo designs. In this sample I used aluminium with gold spray paint on the surface, with the logo engraved into the paint. This meant the logo could only be seen at certain angles and was a good example to keep the logo subtle but appealing.
Exploring materiality: I also sampled the logo onto transparent acrylic, which gave a nice effect when layered over other materials.
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MODELING AND DEVELOPMENT: FEEDBACK AND DEVELOPMENT
After tutorial feedback, I began further developments and aimed towards producing a final set of appearance models. I focused on improvements which I could implement both aesthetically and functionally.
It was suggested that the colour of both the female and male human phone didn’t resemble my research, and that the colour should link to my moodboard swatches at the research stage of the project. I decided to take a blue-grey colour instead, which I used for the body of both the male and female human phones, whilst keeping the different leathers used. I also changed the font of the logo to better suit the symbols and made the mood bar on the phone use pastel colours, contrasting nicely and fitting with the body colour of each phone.
Although the grey colour suits the phone much better and reflects my research, the spray paint removed the grain effect of the wood. However, when scratched, these grains would once appear again, which I felt was a nice aesthetic for the ageing process.
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The moodboards produced during my research included swatches which I felt described the word ‘sensitive’. I decided to go back to these moodboards, and selected a grey-blue colour which I wanted to use for both the male and female phones. I felt that the phones didn’t need to be different colours as the body shapes and sizes clearly distinguished the different genders. This pastel colour also suited the phone better
and contrasted nicely with the leathers used. It was suggested that the colour bar on the bottom of each phone was too bold and attracted attention away from the rest of the form, and so I subtilised this by taking inspiration from my pastel colour swatches on my moodboard, using these instead. These colours also suited the body colour of the each phone better too.
A HUMAN PHONE: FINAL DESIGN & OUTCOME After sampling and development in the workshop, I produced an appearance model for both the male and female human phone and explained the concept through a video prototype and visual aids.
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Appearance models: The female human phone on the left (Victus X) and the male human phone on the right (Victus Y).
Contrasting samples: A series of development samples and appearance models, showing how the form and materiality has developed throughout the project.
Gestures: An example of just one of the gestures that can be used with the human phone: stroking the rear top (back of the head) to make the phone feel better when it is upset.
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The phone’s mood: A colour changing mood bar on the body of the phone indicates the phone’s mood, different colours representing different feelings. This is useful when the phone is inactive or on standby, and also when in a public situation where the audio isn’t wanted.
Potential body textures: The phone’s texture can reflect humanism through a skin-like look or through scratches which develop over time as the phone ages.
Interface & body links: The body of the phone can link with the interface through the colour mood bar. Human interaction with the form will also result in changes to the phone’s interface.
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Human gestures to perform actions with the phone: hugging, squeezing, shaking, rubbing, patting, stroking and tapping.
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Subtle linking: I explored the different methods of visuals which linked the screen with the body of the phone. The mood of the phone is represented through colour, and this is shown subtly through the mood bar, but also links to the user interface.
Subtle human interface: A subtle addition of humanistic elements can be pursued through using symbols which relate to human life rather than the technology.
Conveying moods: When the user is talking to the phone, message bubble backgrounds can be colour coordinated to the user’s and the phone’s mood.
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Ageing Process A demonstration of ageing of the phone over time.
Potential colour variants based on moodboard swatches.
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VIDEO PROTOTYPING: SCENARIO & PLANNING
In order to effectively communicate the design concept, I decided to produce a video prototype demonstrating user scenarios in which the human phone would be used and the emotional attachment.
For the video prototype, the main aim was to communicate the intimacy and emotional attachment between the user and the human phone. However, the features, gestures and context were also important to communicate understanding of the product.
I produced a scenario plan based on a single-user story, from first getting the phone through to the end of the phone’s life.
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I felt a video prototype would be very useful in communicating the concept of this idea as it allowed me to include the audio aspect and the communication between the user and the human phone, representing the effect of the emotional connection. In order to truly communicate this emotional attachment, I felt a one-user scenario for the whole video would effectively display this. The attempt was to show the
user using the human phone in different situations and contexts, which in hand also demonstrates the different features and aspects of the phone. I decided to use recorded footage rather than animation as it’s more realistic and allows the appearance models to be used. It is also easier to communicate the concept. I wanted to keep the video fairly short, but at the same time keep the viewer interested.
VIDEO PROTOTYPE: EDITING & FINAL OUTCOME With all the footage and scenes recorded for the video prototype, I then carefully compiled these together to quickly and effectively communicate the product’s function, uses, users, context and most importantly, the emotional aspect.
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1) Intro title screen with animated Victus logo.
2) Day 1 - The user purchases a Victus X and the phone introduces herself as Rachael.
3) Day 102 - The user has planned to meet a friend for a coffee.
4) The user’s friend hasn’t turned up yet and he feels awkward. He asks Rachael via text to fake call him.
5) Rachael calls and starts a conversation with the user until his friend turns up.
6) Day 239 - The user is studying for his final exams and is becoming stressed and worried.
7) The phone detects the user’s stress through sensors and sends him a message via text.
8) The user replies to Rachael’s text and the mood sensing button detects his mood.
9) Rachael helps to calm the user down by planning a schedule and offering advice.
10) Day 411 - The user is taking a photo of the river but is struggling due to occupied hands.
11) He accidentally drops his phone and Rachael begins to cry.
12) The user strokes the rear panel rubbing sensor to make Rachael feel better until she stops crying.
A storyboard of images with annotation showing key scenes in the video prototype.
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13) Day 476 - The user has a personal chat with Rachael about his struggles of the day.
14) Day 574 - The user is out for a meal with a friend who makes a joke. They both laugh.
15) Rachael begins to laugh and both the user and his friend look confused and then laugh together.
16) Day 541 - Whilst cooking dinner Rachael begins to feel ignored and alone and wants attention.
17) Rachael begins to shout the user’s name and the colour bar flashes for attention.
18) The user attends to Rachael when hearing her. 2/2
19) Day 672 - The user is running late for university as Rachael forgot to wake him up.
20) He asks Rachael why she forgot, and she said it was because of her old age.
21) Day 861 - The user is studying and asks Rachael a question.
22) Rachael doesn’t reply to his question and the user looks at the phone in shock.
23) The phone has died to old age and the user is upset due to emotional attachment.
24) The credits begin to roll.
Video prototype http://youtu.be/2sbs5je_ZOk
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SELF-REFLECTION Overall, I felt this was a really strong project which has taught me a lot about emotional design. The initial task of designing a sensitive phone was challenging, but through research, exploration and tutorials, I felt I produced a well-thought through final outcome which meets the brief.
As I developed my concept of a human phone further, I felt it became more of a friend which you can talk to about anything. I felt this was a successful outcome as many mobile phone user’s today are protective about their phone and the human phone enhanced this aspect of protectiveness.
The task of designing a phone was initially quite daunting as mobile phones today offer a wide range of features and aren’t limited to just one function. However, there were many types of phones that I researched into such as the original house phone and phones for children. I decided to choose a mobile phone for my final outcome as I could build on the features and technology already existing to make a more personal, intimate and emotional experience behind owning and using a phone. I felt my concept of a human phone and this idea of emotional attachment to phones was very interesting as it is something that has occurred only in recent years. My concept allowed me to explore this idea of attachment and to toy with it to make owning a phone more emotional and to build a personal connection between the phone and the user.
My favourite stage of the project was the sampling. This stage allowed me to explore with materiality, textures and finishes. It also allowed me to explore with nonliteral forms. Looking back at my samples, I can see how my initial ideas were quite literal, and this focus on basing the form on the human body enhanced the design of the phone whilst including subtle humanistic elements. If I had more time I would have liked to explore with a greater range of materials in order to see other potential possibilities which could have influenced my outcome. I also believe I could develop my human phone even further if I had more time as there are so many ideas to work with due to the number of features and functions mobile phones offer nowadays, but in the time frame available, I feel I produced a successful and well-considered outcome.
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JAKE COHEN PRODUCT DESIGN THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART