MAKE - teething problems

through this stage I have come up against so many setbacks. Initial problems involved finding companies to make my glass pieces for me.

I thought the low relief plate would be easy enough as it would involve slumping a piece of glass over moulds of the recesses. However many companies said they couldn't make it for me. . .and I finally ended up working with a company in London. I sent off detailed drawings and hoped it would be delivered in one piece.

Next was my tray. I knew this would be a tricky piece to make as the pouring edge would be hard to form from glass. I found a glass artist in Wales who said they would take it on. . .however after 2 weeks of contact she said she was too busy. . .I sent out exactly 36 emails to every and any glass artists and companies I could find in Britain.

Another problem was sourcing red cedar for my base. Although quite popular in countries like Canada, unfortunately in scotland its not. Again I searched the whole of Britain for a company that could help and finally found one in Sussex. Thankfully they had exactly what I needed.

materials

I carefully chose the materials as I believe they can tell as much of a story as the product. For my base I decided on red cedar. . . i had initially bought some lime wood, but after being asked the reasoning behind this choice, and only having the answer of it was the cheapest i thought I'd search in more detail.

I chose red cedar after consulting Woodbin online because of its high resistance to water. . .which is handy as my product involves the use of water. On a somewhat deeper level I found that the scent of red cedar is said to evoke memories in people. It does have a strong scent. . .one which i am now sick off. . .and when working with it i recalled images of being in my grandparents house and sneaking through the drawers of their hall table. Its a sweet smell which may remind you of certain places or times. I think this is quite a good characteristic for my product as it will provide the user with the time to reminisce and remember.

My other three pieces were to be all made from glass as it is a fragile material that needs to be taken care of, and like the footage and experience I am trying to portray, it is something that needs to be treasured and valued.

final design

my final design included a shallow base, which would house the electronics. A low relief glass plate to sit on top of the base, which would have recesses to hold the other pieces. A tray where water would be poured and a jug. Below are some rough sketches of the product.

intial designs

My first thoughts on design were focused on other meditative products like miniture zen gardens. I liked the form of these and the way they relate to my product as they are used in a therapeutic way.

However as the interaction of my product is based around the photography developing process I thought it would be more appropriate to take inspiration from this. One of my concerns were that people who are not aware of this process may be confused by my product, but by keeping the design as similar as possible people might begin to relate the two.

So my design would be based upon the trays used, and the measuring cylinders.


flickr image

digital photo-frame hack

To get the interaction to work I had to do a bit more PLAY. I'm not that great at electronics. . .i new I wanted a weight sensor to activate my screen and the change in weight to make the footage brighter the heavier the weight. . .but I'd no idea how to do this. After talking to Mike it became a lot clearer.

First. . .as its a digital photo frame I'm using the first thing it goes to when its turned on is the menu. So having decided I wanted the interaction to be kept quite simple (all I want people to have to do is turn the power on and pour water into a dish), I had to tear apart a digital photo frame and create a new circuit that would connect to the frames original PCB. To get from the menu screen to the video playing a series of three buttons have to be pressed on the frame. . .to get around this without the buttons being pressed I used relay switches and a 28x1 Picaxe chip. There was one for each button that needed to be pressed. The code is below:

This meant that when the power is turned on the relay switches are activated and they "press" the buttons so the video starts without you having to lift a finger!

Second. . .I had to find an appropriate weight sensor. Mike who worked with weight sensors in his fourth year project suggested a Flexiforce Pressure Sensor from Active Robots. Once I had it it had to be placed into the circuit as shown below:

Third. . .I had to control the brightness of the screen. This was done by hacking the frame apart some more until the screen was completely taken out and I was able to get to the backlight. On most frame this is a string of surface mount LED's but on one frame I took apart it turned out to be a florescent lamp, and unfortunately I couldn't get this to work in the same way. Anyway once I had the LED's out and disconnected from the frames PCB I could connect them to my own circuit as shown below:


Now I programmed it using this code:



So now when the frame is powered it automatically goes to the video and starts it. As the weight on the sensor increases the brightness of the LED's which makes the look like its appearing before you.

User interaction

In order to get people to relate to the experience I thought it appropriate that they play some part in creating that experience. The interaction could be to simply record a video through a train window and then plug it into the product and watch it. However I didn't see this having the desired outcome.

Reviewing the footage I've already captured. . .and going on several new train journeys I decided to take certain qualities of rail travel and use them to create an interaction. Being careful not to take away from the footage itself, I decided the interaction should be simple, honest but also playful. Like the footage, the interaction should be a medative process. I previously liked the idea of the video playing under water and that had a calming effect. After talking it through with my tutors I came to the idea that people should create their own experience. . .by pouring water into a dish they could make their video appear beneath it.

Metaphor for project

Before I could really move forward with the design I had to figure how my user would interact with the product. How could they feel part of the experience? How could I physically and emotionally connect people to the footage? And how could I transfer my message to them by the use of my product?

I had to consider the metaphor of my project as I didn't want my physical product to become the main focus but simply a vessel through which I could allow people to see rail travel in a new way. My thoughts on such a metaphor were . . .

A window to the outside. . .transporting you to another place
Looking down into a pensieve (like in Harry Potter). . .falling into a meditative state of mind

I decided the second was the best suited to what I'm trying to achieve through this project. I didn't just want to take an existing experience and place it in a new environment, instead I wanted to show people find a new understanding, and a new opinion on the experience.

Viewing the footage

My next task was to look at how people would view the train footage. I struggled to begin with as I'd had my mind set on a projected experience but I realised I was limiting myself and I could create an experience using a screen that would match the almost magical experience of viewing projected footage. Being set the task drawing out any possible scenarios and places to view footage helped.


Image

From this I found that in certain spaces the footage could be transformed from a simple video of passing landscapes to a captivating an quite enchanting experience. The best examples were when I tested out viewing the video under water as the moment of the water and the refraction of light created a calming effect.

Koyaanisqatsi

New Mission

Now it was vital that I make it clear what I want people to get from using my product. Would it be to entertain. . .to amuse. . .to relax . . .to escape. . .to play with. Would it have a deeper meaning. . .would it promote a feeling or a journey?

In order to focus on the design and interaction of my product I had to look back to My Mission. i said there that through this project I wanted to recreate an experience. An experience that would allow people to sit back and appreciate the journey. . . a viewing experience that would help them to unwind and escape from the stresses of everyday life.

What I really want to do through this project is make people aware of the often unnoticed ease and gracefulness that rail travel has to offer, and the peace of mind that comes from embarking on such a journey.

Catch-up

Well it's been quite some time since I've updated my blog and there's loads to tell. . .so here goes.

Back after the Christmas. . .with a newly revived laptop after it died over the holidays. . .I had to present my final work on the PLAY section (basically everything you see below). The results of this allowed me to decide which features to take forward into my final design. Previously I had hoped to make my product using a projected viewing experience. However after speaking to my lecturers I found it was not suited to the experience and interaction I wanted to create. . . so my other option was to use a screen.