marta monge design portfolio - april 2016

hello, my name is MARTA MONGE and this my

PORTFOLIO collecting highlights of my best projects so far

PROJECTS product design

SMALL CHANGE transitioning to a cashless economy

THREAD

making in-shop purchases a digital experience

communication design

DE SILVA GARAGE layout and visuals for exhibiton proposal

research and art direction

ANALOG DESKTOP

exploring more physical interactions with technology

BORDER CROSSINGS an unusual view on the EU migration crisis

SMALL

CHANGE PRODUCT | concept, prototyping, cad modelling, UX/UI, video

We were asked by VISA Europe to explore the escalating diffusion of contactless payment technologies and propose new ways of embedding them into objects that can be more specific, communicative and engaging than a card.

Contactless payments currently have a 30 ÂŁ cap, limiting them to small purchases usually made with coins or notes. In transition towards an increasingly cashless society, we thought of a device capable of sweeping up small change.

group project CSM + VISA 2015

can design support the TRANSITION towards a CASHLESS society?

Small Change is a device aiming at facilitating the transition towards fully

cashless

payments,

while

keeping a reference to the very human act of exchanging money.

The coin, iconic representation of currency, is

turned into a smart

device belonging to the internet of things - keeping the tangibility of cash that digital is still missing. The product developed allows to visualise

the

abstract

nature

of

modern money and puts, through constant feedback, the user in control of its budget.

The digital coin consists of an ink screen to display the value, while the tactile edges invite the user to rotate the coin like a watch dial.

The device is connected to your personal bank account and can be used to transfer funds from / to another coin.

(VIDEO) click on it to open webpage

We

focused

on

interactions

revolving around the smart coint and its ability to work off the wrist and create more natural payment methods. The scenarios picked all share a certain discomfort in managing cash - sharing a bill, giving pocket money to your kid, depositing money on a piggy bank -.

A brief video shows how the coin would

make

effortless.

such

transaction

THREAD

We were asked by VISA Europe to

PRODUCT | concept, prototyping, cad modelling, UX/UI, video

by 2020.

imagine the form and functionality of contactless wearable devices How can payment systems be located on the body without being wrist-based?

Can VISA create a device with its technology in it, but a more high-end appeal?

Thread is a fashion-oriented payment device which borrows the language of fashion accessories, and aims to enhance customer loyalty, bridging the gap between the online and in-store shopping experiences.

group project CSM + VISA 2015

can in store purchases be a DIGITAL experience, and vice versa?

Considering

the

growing

role

played by social media in guiding purchases, we looked at ways of connecting digital “opinion leaders” (fashion bloggers, trend spotters, professionals or amateurs) to the intuitive act of spotting an outfit while rooming the streets.

Thread in fact connects the payment device directly to a

fashion-

oriented digital network.

Consumers wearing the brooch and related app can detect each other

through

their

phone’s

camera, see each other’s purchases and rate them. Many positive ratings on a specific garment are turned into advantages - such as discounts,

VIP

tickets,

private

views - issued by the brand itself to the wearer.

We set ourself the brief of designing for a specific brand and its target user - developing the device as if it had to be sold in their stores.

Given its more feminine feeling, we focused on brooches, material finishes

such

as

copper

and

marble.

We embedded into the

device key technology requirements - biometric authentication, connection to mobile-based app, RFID chip - set by VISA, as much as materials and shapes matching the fashion partner’s brand image.

FINGER VEIN SCANNER

LOW ENERGY BLUETOOTH

RFID TAG

Inside the shop, the detacheable part can be lifted over the payment terminal to authorise the specific purchase

of

fashion-related

products. A finger vein scanner in fact

ensures

safe

purchases

through a biometric authentication system.

Outside of the shop, the brooch acts

as

identification

sign,

making the wearer’s purchases detectable owners.

by

other

device

(VIDEO) click on it to open webpage

A brief video gives an understanding of how the user interface of the AR app would look like.

It renders a simple scenario when a user’s attention is caught by someone else’s look.

While

checking the garment

brand,

he’s spotted himself by

another user - action which triggers a series of rewards.

DE SILVA

GARAGE

The project is a proposal developed

GRAPHIC | layout, print, digital sketching, logo

aimed at celebrating their head of

in collaboration with Italian studio Yet|Matilde

for

Volkswagen,

design Walter Maria de Silva's life and practice on the occasion of his retirement. The proposal was presented through a printed catalogue - collecting all materials related to his professional development and ethos - and an app, showcasing an exhibition proposal.

I was involved in the ideation of the

exhibition

and

developed

layout of the print and digitally sketched visuals displayed on the app.

group project Yet|Matilde for Volkswagen 2013

can a LIFE be turned into CHAPTERS and chapters turned

Research brought us to identify 7

into SPACES ?

light metal frame, with walls made

main steps in the life of the designer. We conveyed them in the catalogue through different chapters and reproduced such timeline in the exhibition, with a modular structure made of 7 identical containers, playing with the metaphor of a garage.

Each of them was conceived as a of white fabric panels - creating a closed yet not oppressive space, where all surfaces could be used for projection.

A first introduction to the exhibition was given by an app, that progressively

explored

all

sections, providing scenographic representations together with few more technical visuals.

THE ANALOG

DESKTOP

RESEARCH | prototyping, cad modelling, UX / UI, video

We were asked to envision future developments of the workplace, by

looking

at

current

trends,

depicting scenarios populated by personas, surrounded by a brand new set of products or systems.

The outcome would be a day in the life of a character that describes her/his ordinary work day.

We looked at the most traditional and less technologically advanced of desk-based jobs.

The office secretary.

What could the future of such office work be like?

group project Central Saint Martins (UK) 2014

can OBIQUITOUS digitalisation

We observed the ubiquitous digitalisation of tasks by looking at office desks all over the world.

Much less paper, way more flat screens, but still the urge for some leftovers from yesterday's analog world. Post-its, paper notes, all kinds of stationery. Small actions

feel more

that still happen to be more

HUMAN ?

stationary

meaningful

than

their

digital

counterpart. We though of a basic kit

that

allows

to

accomplish all basic office work tasks through a more physical and rewarding

experience,

where

technology is not invisible but can instead be seen, touched, adjusted.

(VIDEO) click on it to open webpage

BORDER

CROSSINGS

“Border Crossings� explores the

RESEARCH | ethnography, craft, art direction, print, video

Maghrebi migrants and the perilous

phenomenon of illegal migration, focusing

on

Sub-Saharan

and

journeys they face, chasing the elusive European dream. The project twists the traditional vision of clandestine immigration provided by media, by creating a fictional, even though realistic, development of the current situation.

It exaggerates the public hysteria and fear fuelling anti-immigration feelings, portraying the migrant as a threat lurking outside the gates of Europe.

graduation project Central Saint Martins 2015

With the migrant’s point of view, I tried to look at the journey to Europe and the many ordeals that

what does travelling mean when you are an ILLEGAL?

the

status

of

“clandestinity”

entails. The result is a series of atypical travel tools, rendering the ingenuity and craftiness of an illegal traveller. Looking at the map of the leading migrant routes, every object belongs to a different border, being it a natural - the Sahara desert, the Mediterranean sea - or political - the frontier between France and the UK - one.

Behind them there’s not a designer, but an illegal migrant, determined to complete his journey.

THE STOWAWAY LUGGAGE SET item name

LADDER LAUNDRY BAG location of fi nding

"THE JUNGLE" CAMP, CALAIS, FRANCE mode of use

Used as luggage to transport personal items. The bag handles have been modified to create a small ladder, with the aim of facilitating the climb on commercial vehicles queuing at Calais Ferry Port to cross the Channel and enter the UK.

THE STOWAWAY LUGGAGE SET item name

FARADAY SHOULDER STRAP BAG l o c a t i o n o f fi nd i ng

"THE JUNGLE" CAMP, CALAIS, FRANCE m o d e o f us e Disguised as a shoulder strap bag - it contains a collapsible mylar structure. The material used for thermal blankets - distributed by ONGs to keep

warm - is here

adopted by illegal stowaways to hide from border control’s thermal imaging cameras used to scan the inside of trucks.

THE CLANDESTINE LIFEVEST item name

WOVEN NASSA FLOAT location of fi nding

LAMPEDUSA HARBOUR, ITALY mode of use

Traditional fishing net, can be frequently found on old fishing boats used as migrant vessels.

A clear plastic bag has been inflated

and

turning

it

insered

into

a

inside,

makeshift

floatation device - to be used in case of lifevests shortage on illegal vessels sailing from Libyan coasts.

THE DESERT CROSSING BAG item name

BAKSHEESH ROLL UP BAG location of fi nding

BUS STATION, AGADEZ, NIGER mode of use

Long rolled up bag used as makeshift seat. It's filled with personal items, to be offered as bribes (�baksheesh in Persian) at every checkpoint on the Sahara route, in exchange

for

permission

to

continue the journey to Libya, where Europe-bound boats sail.

(VIDEO) click on it to open webpage

(PRINT) click on it to open webpage

you can get in touch with me at

marta@martamonge.org martamonge.org 07463541024