Statement of Intent:
For this project, my partner Amelia and I collaborated to create something that was enjoyable for a user to move around in yet still aesthetically pleasing. Going into the assignment, I wanted to explore brainstorming with a partner I hadn’t worked with before to explore different perspectives of such a broad theme. Both of us wanted to work on learning about materials and working with them directly. Overall, the theme of our ideas were all very user-centric with the purpose of being somewhat useful and interesting but also pleasurable to use.
Ideation:
Roll the Dice Exercise:
Here are my sketches for the exercise we did rolling a dice to produce different body augmentations based on different scenarios.
Number one is a hand augmentation that provides the user with privacy but can also be used in a performative dance. We sketched a pretty and intricate fan that can be used to cover the face but also in a dance, with beads or tassels hanging off of it to make it lighter and more performative. Number two is a set of rolling shoes that generate power on a track to fuel the carnival/a city. It is a ride of sorts that builds up energy in the shoe as you race around a track with other carnival-goers, and when the shoes fill completely, the excess energy gets released into the ground to fuel the rest of the carnival as an alternative source of energy.
Number three was a set of headphones (maybe with a surrounding invisible bubble shield) that circulate clean air around the wearer to generate purified air. Number four shows a fun dress that also functions as a sort of ring toss game AND a recycling bin.
Number five also focuses on privacy in a more direct sense: a tent that a user wears around their waist so they might be able to eat in private. There would be a shelf inside for food and a drink holder, as well as a small window/peephole so you can see where you are going or if you are being approached.
AI Brainstorming:
Our brainstorming looks quite different from our final product. Our original idea was a sort of tent worn around the head and drapes over the rest of your body, with projections on the outside of fun carnival patterns and projections on the inside of the dark history of the circus/carnival. Amelia and I both liked the idea of perceptions being different based on perspective, as well as giving the user a sort of emotional experience. We plugged our ideas into DALL-E for some AI inspiration.
We continued looking into body augmentations using the head and torso, with some of these pictures as inspiration.
We kept researching carnivals and exploring the AI generators, thinking of different themed carnival scenarios. We explored overstimulation at carnivals, celebrations of womanhood, art, and other wearable headpieces.
Prototypes:
Next, we entered into the prototyping stage of our ideation. We were still brainstorming a lot, thinking of different themed carnivals and gadgets to aid them. Our final idea actually came out of my habit of fidgeting; we grabbed a handful of pipe cleaners to potentially use, and I kept wrapping them around my fingers for fun. I liked the way it felt; the pipe cleaners were bouncy, colorful, and fun, and this evolved into our final idea.
Amelia and I loved the idea of bringing present technology into the past to make carnivals more accessible and smooth. This brought about our focus of using materials to give the piece an aesthetic from the past. Our favorite was the turn-of-the-century fashion of the Victorian era, from about 1880-1910. Specifically I cited these costumes from “Hello, Dolly!” as inspiration.
We loved the frills and lace of these gowns, as well as their cohesive color palette. Everything matched in color and in this delicate and intricate aesthetic. This era really carries the spirit of the carnival by how performative and extravagant the styles were, and it really inspired our final work.
Our idea was to use the technology available today and the aesthetics of the past to create a decorative glove of sorts to check wearers into rides and other attractions. The glove utilizes a sensor on the palm that can be touched to another sensor in the carnival for various purposes. The glove itself is quite frilly and decorative to match the aesthetic we were going for and conceal the technology inside.
Iteration / Production:
We got right into production as soon as we could! I picked up some materials from Michaels, including a set of ribbon scraps we used as a planar material, pearls, and jewelry wire, which became our connective “pearled wire” material.
We started by creating a bracelet out of thick jewelry wire, making a small hooked clasp to take it on and off.
Next, we loaded pearls onto the thinner wire and wrapped it around the thick wire bracelet. We had a few prototypes of this before we made one we liked, but here is the first.
Next, we cut a small circular plate out of chipboard, poked holes in it, and strung thin wire through the ribbons so they could mold around the fingers. We then wrapped the wire around the plate so it all stayed together.
We repeated this five times, one ribbon for each finger.
Next, we wove tiny pieces of wire through sets of three ribbons at a time, attaching them to the plate in between the fingers. We wanted these ribbons to flow freely but still have a little structure closer to the hand, so we just used shorter pieces of wire to attach them and let the ribbons hang past the wire. We made four of these! Amelia was a very good sport while I wrapped each ribbon around her finger, so a round of applause for Amelia!
After this, the base of the glove was finished, so we covered the plate in lace and pearls to make it match better. Then, we made some more pearled wire, twisted it around itself a few times so it could be more adjustable, and then attached the bottom of the plate to the wire, which led to the bracelet we made earlier. We covered the bracelet in trim with fringe to further make the glove more fun and movable.
We lined the plate on the back of the hand with trim as well to cover the wire.
Finally, we created another plate from chipboard and lace and attached this to the pearled wire from the bracelet. This became the plate sensor used to check people into rides and attractions.
Final images:
Reflection:
Admittedly I was nervous going into a group project, but Amelia and I worked really well together and generated some pretty cool exploratory ideas. I still would be interested in working with projections and such in the future but I really like what we created given the time and material constraints. It was hard to come up with an idea because the theme was so broad, but it was surprising how our final idea was born organically from our present behaviors and trains of thought. Luckily, though our ideation took a while, once we gathered materials, the making process was pretty quick and linear. This project also gave me more experience working with different materials under a very broad prompt, which was challenging and generated lots of unique ideas.