DESIGN STORY BOOK OF THE TALL FELLOW -Additional-
We were introduced to the USB Type-C before we started this assignment and were required to develop a concept by imagining the possibilities of how USB Type-C could change our lives. The Type-C Port is much smaller than the USB 2.0 (3.0), and has a reversible mating interface. It can provide power up to 100W at 20V and transmit data at the speed of 10GB/s. With such impressive performance, we decided to do something with it on the mainboard of PC. We found that the mainboards of PCs were usually plugged with a lot of components and cables which make the assembling and maintaining troublesome, particularly for those who are not familiar with computer. We wanted to make the assembly and upgrade of PC convenient and comfortable.
VASE CONcept PC Design
Product Development Course 2015 (Junior Year)
1/2
The idea is to unify the ports.
All Kinds Of Ports
What if the components were all like USB disks? USB Type-C Only
To avoid this...
The same ports allow us to make bolder imaginations: as technology develops, electronic components will get smaller and more advanced, we will be able to fit them in small cases like USB disks. Maybe they can be designed into something elegant and more user-friendly. CPU GPU Sound Card RAM
A Nightmare
As for all the data and the operating system...
3/4
Similar to the components, we wanted to change the way of accessing the operating system and data. This device on the right is what we call the ‘Soul Stick’, a data storing device that stores not only all your data, but also your entire operating system.
The Soul Stick
All Personal Data
Operating System
The platform that holds them
With the Soul Stick and the compocompo nents, we still need a platform to hold all of them. I tried to create a futuristic form which would suit its ‘recklessly imaginative’ concept. And sometimes, the best way to innovate is to look back into the history.
VA S E The design of the platform – Vase was inspired by Chinese porcelain vessels. I wanted the machine to look timeless, and I think the best way is to take away as much decorations and keep the design as simple and clean as possible. And it is designed to contain 1 Soul Stick and up to 12 components.
The Soul Stick
The Components
The upper cover is opened, allowing the user access to the components
HOW TO USE IT:
To start the machine Plug the Soul Stick into the hole on the top, and turn it clockwise as if starting a car with a key. The user’s OS and data will be imported into the computer instantly and the computer will start functioning.
a.
b.
5/6 HOW TO USE IT:
To change components When a user wants to adjust or upgrade his or her computer, just plug in the Soul Stick and turn counter-clockwise, the upper cover will rise, and the components will be pushed out, enabling the user to pull out and plug in easily.
a.
The Vision We made an assumption that there will be a huge amount of machines like the VASE all over the world in the future. With the help of the Soul Stick, people can bring their data and OS with them all the time. And when they need to use computer, they can just find a ‘body’—a VASE, and plug in the ‘soul’—the Soul Stick, and all the data and OS will be imported to the VASE, and there you have, all your documents and personal preferences. And for those who have particular needs for computers, they can change the performance of the computer easily and instantly, especially for the technicians who need to travel all around the world all the time with huge and heavy high-performance laptops. All they have to do now is to bring their Soul Stick and some particular components, and they are good to go.
b.
This series of design was conducted during the first semester of my junior year. I chose to design kitchenware, and particularly for the elderlies. So why design for the elderlies? On one hand, I have come to realize that the aging society is getting larger in the world; the need of products for the elderlies is getting bigger as well. On the other hand, my own grandma had always complained about how her physical abilities were affecting her life, how she had gradually lose her strength and accuracy. As I had just started my junior year, I was unfamiliar with many skills, and my way of design was still transforming from a very vague and sentimental stage to a more precise and detail-focused stage. But through this series, I had learnt a lot.
cookmates Designs of kitchen utensils
Product Development Course 2014 (Junior Year)
7/8
#1 THE ‘FOUR OUNCES’ SAUCEPAN Difficult to control, could lead to spilling or scalding.
Harmful to wrist, elbow, shoulder and waist. Large saucepans are a kind of indispensible cookware in kitchens all over the world. However the traditional large saucepans are often horribly heavy, especially when it’s full of food such as soup, stew, or simply just water. As a result, when the elderly, whose musculoskeletal system and responding abilities are more likely to be vulnerable, try to use such kind of utensil, inconveniences or even physical harm will be likely to happen.
Give up cooking and lose the confidence of life.
9/10
“Tsai” --Traditional Philosophical Theory of Tai-Chi “Tsai” is to follow the flow of the approaching force of the opponent rather than push it back by stronger force, and instead, to divert it sideways into harmless direction and create a strong force with only very little of our own strength. As the proverb “’Si-Liang’ (4 ounces) repel one thousand ‘Gin’ (1000 pounds)” goes.
Simply by cutting the bottom of the saucepan, I created a line to serve as a pivot.
PRESS
50 째
I cut the bottom of the saucepanI to create the pivot (the red line). And the bevel is set to 50째 to optimize the performance.
45 째
The angle between the longer handle and the pouring point is adjusted to 45째, so the user could press down the handle to pour the food out easily with a proper arm of force.
11/12
Advantages 1. Can be stably controlled with only one hand 2. Significant strength saved 3. Musculoskeletal harm reduced 4. The passion of cooking and life kept
#2 THE ROCKIE WOK
Wok is a traditional cookware for stir-frying. With a wok, delicious foods can be created, so it’s very commonly used in Chinese families. However, for the elderly, the weight of a wok could really be a big problem, because lifting a wok could cause harm to their wrist, elbow, shoulder and waist.
13/14
Inspiration I were inspired by the shape of a hobby horse, on which a kid could rock back and forth easily. So I got the idea of combining a wok with a hobby horse.
PRESS When you want to pour the food out, just simply press the red button on the handle and the handle will rotate and be locked at the bottom, forming a supporter.
TWIST When the supporter is in position, just lean the wok on it and slightly twist the handle, and with the help of the arc-shaped supporter, the wok will naturally till to one side.
#3 THE ‘PIVOT’ CUTTING SYSTEM Archimedes once said: ‘Give me a stick long enough and a pivot and I shall move the earth!’ Inspired his famous quotation, I designed the PIVOT Cutting System.
PROBLEMS Food such as poultry, partially freezed meat or those in spherical shapes are difficult to cut. It’s easy to hurt ourselves when we lose control of the knife or cut into a wrong direction, or when we couldn’t see the blade clearly. The elderly, whose musculoskeletal system and responding abilities are weaker, will have more danger when using a knife.
15/16
SOLUTION On one side, a normal cutting board.
On the other side, a chopper. STEP 1
STEP 1
STEP 2
Assemble the knife and the board through the hole on the knife.
Plug in the slider, which can be attached with magnets.
STEP 2
It’s Safer & More Efficient! With the 3° slope and the cutting force, the food will slowly slide on the board which will create a relative movement forming not only a chopping force but also a sawing force.
Chopping Force
3° Saw Cutting Force
To design hooks was the final assignment of our chromatology course, an important course for sophomore year students. We were asked to design a kind of hook, make three of them and spray paint them in three different color sets. Before starting my design, I took a look at the hooks designed by the previous students, and I was very disappointed as they were either looking almost the same or was constructed in the relatively same way. And as this was the chromatology course, I figured the teacher (the dean), was definitely not looking for an actual ‘perfectly functioning’ hook. So I told myself, I must make something different and crazy.
RADIATE HOOK Design
Chromatology Course 2013 (Sophomore Year)
17/18
We were told to design the hook starting with the simpliest geometrical shapes. But I was deeply inspired by the appearance of the Mercedes-Benz Museum. The rotation and the cruvings were so fascinating. So I tried to extract some basic geometrical shapes from the architecture, and rotated and twistd them.
19/20
I created several prototypes in this project as well. I was seeking a kind of slowly changing geometric. With the help of CAD, I was able to make some interesting trials, in order to get closer to the final shape.
Many new things was tried here too. Including how to laser cut arcrylic and use chloroform to stick them together. And I accidentally discovered that they look awesome on lights!
21/22
This was how they had been finally presented. It was fancy, and was totally different. I used a completely different way to make my hooks, the dean loved it and my hooks had the highest score among all the projects.
ODDS & ENDS Some other works Besides all the ‘serious designs’, I’ve also got some other interesting works I would like to share with you.
2013-2015
23/24
CONNECTION Basic Deisgn 2012 (Freshman Year) 1700×600×600 (mm)
This is an artifact I made with plastic strings and hardboard. I wanted to express the connnection between people.
THE HYPOCRITE’S SELF-PORTRAIT Introduction Of Industrial Deisgn 2012 (Freshman Year) 787×1092 (mm)
I was trying to show the hypocritical side of people in this painting. The left side of the face was my face, but the other side is a skull, with patterns on it. I was inspired by the ‘seven sins’ of Catholicism and tried to express pride, envy, greed, wrath, lust, sloth and gluttony in my painting.
25/26
BASIC AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN Automotive Design Course 2015 (Junior Year)
I took car design course for a semester and learnt a great deal from it. The professor was a very knowledgeable designer who worked in GK Design Group. With his help I grew from a person who knew barely anything about cars to a person who could sketch a little bit and sculpt a 1:10 clay model individually.
25/26
27/28
We had implanted metal wires inside the straws which served as the bone structure. And by pulling a string at the bottom, the wings of the dragon will open. We were very happy to see people playing with the dragon at Taipei Maker Faire 2015, they loved it. The kids especially, they loved so much that they nearly destroyed it!
STRAGON
‘Maker Movement’ Course 2015 (Junior Year) The ‘Maker Movement’ Course was an interesting course, we were asked to use Strawbees, a product that enables people to build things with straws. And me and my two other teammates decided to build a dragon, and not only were going to build a big one, but also we were going to make it interacted with people.
Thank you for your time, looking forward to hearing from you!!
rayliu1119@gmail.com