"Soft" Glass Bottle Stool

After hours and days of construction, the stool finally arrived at the finish line. In the end, the initial design succumbed to minor changes. A back support and arm rests were added; the foam was replaced by springs and the rectangular shape morphed into a hexagon. Everything came together piece by piece and the results were surprisingly great. The thought of sitting on bottles did not fit into the idea of comfort, but due to the springs, it gives a resilient effect and the seat is very comfortable, almost like the feeling of a massage.

Proposal "Soft" Glass Bottle Stool

Soft Glass Bottle stool
Key words: transformation, deception, reuses, second life, softness, interaction, define
The concept:
We want to imply deception, transformation and reusable as a second skin into the concept of a stool that will be made out of glass bottles while the entire body will be covered with fur-like fabrics. The first thing we visualize when we think of stools is a platform for sitting and four legs to hold it. They come in various size, shape and material, but most follow the same design standards to provide the necessary comfort and usability. By using materials that will contradict the look of a standard stool, we are fighting against design standards. Second skin in this concept is to deceive the user into believing the outer skin conveys the abilities of the inner layer.

The chosen materials will transform a typical solid and frigid object into a soft, comfortable and user-friendly stool. The stool will actually be a formation of three stools that will merge into one unit. One will be in a shape of a rectangular “poof” with reversed glass bottles on the sitting part while the two others will be in irregular shapes. The bottle will be unrecognizable since they will be covered with the same fabric as the body of the stool. The cylindrical shapes will protrude above the surface of the seat resulting a curious element that will attract and lure attention; in the end, it tempts users to sit on it. If they knew that bottles were underneath the fur covered stool, users would intentionally sit on it slowly and carefully; however, because of the fur, it surreptitiously deceives the eye in to assuming a layer of softness resides inside the stool. Glass is a solid, fragile, breakable object. Ordinarily nobody thinks glass as a soft, comfortable object. Most of the time glass relates to sharpness when it is broken, which connects to pain and to blood when one is hurt by it. When a glass is broken into numerous sharp pieces, often we will take extra precaution to walk around it, clean it up or to pick it up, but we would never think to walk on it or sit on it. Thus this project is an attempt to change the aspect of an ordinary object into something unthinkable.



Interaction:
As mentioned earlier, people will be intrigued by the furry cylinders appearing on the surface of the stool. They will be tempted to touch and to sit on it in order to interact and witness the experience. When the user sit on the stool, pressure will be applied onto the bottle that will put force into the body of the stool causing the feeling of plunging into the stool.
Materials:
-Metal: bendable 1/4 inch steel that will hold the structure of the stool
-Wood: Pine or plywood ½ inch to 1 inch thick that will compose the side parts of the stool
-Fur-like fabric: synthetic soft fur that will cover the entire stool and the glass bottles.
-Synthetic foam (compact and soft): The soft foam will be used on the outside of the stool under the synthetic fur layer in order to give the stool a very comfy and soft feeling. The compact foam will be added to the soft foam in the inside of the stool in order to act as a cushion that will make the bottles bounce and give this feeling of softness to the stool.

Other concepts:

Spiked Lounge Chair:



Condom chair:

"My second skin ?" and Proposal 2

My second skin ?

Today all around us, in our society, the entire population is hiding behind what we can call a “second skin”. By second skin, I mean, at different levels, clothes, houses, cars, companies, cities, communities, in fact everything that links us to society and social relations. We are hiding behind ideas that society and our culture have created such as social status, power of the genders, wealth. Our social relations are all depending on what we express through our belongings that can be seen as a second skin too. For example, being wealthy but dressing poorly will erase the real representation of your social status so we can note that everything is based on the outside appearance of our body. As mentioned before, it is not our being that counts but what we own and what we are covered with that means something to our surrounding.
The meaning of a second skin that I would like to emphasize is more related to the touchable apparel than the ideological meaning of it. To me, a second skin is literally something that covers your whole body of even just a part of it. A second skin not only covers your body but has also features that will provide you with extra capabilities. These capabilities can change in degrees of importance depending on the sophistication of the second skin you are wearing. The second skin should be a layer on you body almost imperceptible that must appear transparent and not be a burden to your social interaction.
The kind of capabilities that your second skin can provide really depends on what the person wearing it wishes to do with it. For example, a person wishing to record conversation with people that he or she meets during the day will wear a cloth that will integrate a microcomputer and a recording device. If a person wants to have the capability to see up to 1 mile away, he/she will wear microelectronic zooming or magnifying devices that will be integrated in a contact lens for example if the advances of the technology permit it.
A second skin should not be a burden to social interactions as mentioned earlier but also should not encumber you in your actions and movements. Thus, a second skin worn as a cloth should be integrated to your body as a natural element that would appear almost invisible. To do so, I guess the best way to make this cloth would be to make it as organic as possible to fit perfectly to our body’s shapes. Nevertheless, the design of the second skin can also depend on the use of it and the purpose of it. Therefore, some people may want their clothes to be noticeable and they will wear something that will maybe display colors, lights or spray scents, liquids, smokes, powders, etc. But the previous definition of a second skin was more my personal idea of it.
In order to make my second skin as organic and suitable for our body as possible, I thought that hypoallergenic materials would be appropriate. Thos materials should have non-obstructive properties in order to let the skin breathe and let the air circulate. Also, it should be stretchable and should not influence our body’s temperature. Regarding to the texture and pattern of the second skin, it should be as invisible as possible and therefore be transparent or skin color tone, as well as being also mat preventing any reflection that would make it look plastic.
As for our proposal concerning a “second that is not what it seems to be”, I would say that the second skin is a way for a person or for an object to show another appearance and express a different idea than what his original form communicated. For example, a man would dress like a woman to maybe express a certain idea or social position and he will totally change his outside appearance in order to do so. The same thing can be applied to an object on which we could put a layer of a specific fabric in order to give it a second meaning or use. We could with different materials and fabrics totally transform the look of an object in order to change the original purpose that was applied to it when it was created.

Proposal 2:

For our project, we would like to explore the use of a common object through the use of an unusual material. Therefore we have decided to make a stool out of condoms and some kind of fur. The concept behind this idea is to deal with our society’s taboos and to push people to be more open and familiar with sexual topics. This chair/stool will in fact look like a big fur mass out of which hundreds of condoms will spring, but it will represent more than what it looks. The object will have a certain esthetic but will also express a general message to our society. At first sight the stool will maybe look repulsive because of its gross or shocking look so it will push people to forget about their inhibitions and just have fun sitting on this original stool. This way people will get accustomed to playing with this object that usually is only used in privacy. Also, by using those uncommon materials for the construction of this stool, we will change the concept that people have of a device intended to be sit on; we will transform the appearance of a common stool and make people think about what really can be defined as a stool, since actually a stool could just be anything that we can sit on.

Project 1 Proposal 2

Team group:
Vivian Yu
Simon Wong
David Baldy


We, the group working on the Dj glove concept would like to rethink our idea and inform you that we found a new concept that appears to be more attractive and interesting regarding to its meaning toward memory and our social life.

The concept we would like to develop is called “The Dai-Lo Pi.pi vest” after Simon Wong.
“Memory” in the project would mean the mark from the past of our social interaction with the people surrounding us such as the olfactive trace left on someone after a physical interaction.

The Dai-lo π.π vest would be composed of a soft switch located on the left sleeve, a perfume spray located on the right sleeve, a micro-camera located on the collar, a microphone, an earphone and a microcomputer with an internal high capacity memory communicating directly with the camera, the microphone and the earphone.

The interaction scenario is the following:

-When meeting a person, the person wearing the vest would press the soft switch with the left hand (the location of the switch and the spray can vary depending on which hand the person uses to shake hands).

-The camera will then take a picture of the person and transmit the image to the computer data base located in the back of the vest, in the fury dog palm logo.

-The computer will recognize if the person is known or unknown and will inform the owner about the information available in the database through the earphone. If the person is unknown, the computer will activate the device that will spray an identifiable scent on the person’s hand during a handshake.

-The microphone will then record key information about the person during the discussion and will create and edit a new profile for this unknown person.

In this concept the idea of memory applies to both the wearer of the vest and the unknown person with which the interaction has occurred: The owner of the vest will keep track of all his social interactions through the memory storage of the microcomputer and the persons interacting with the owner will keep a trace of the interaction through the scent that has been sprayed on his hand.

This vest is intended to be worn by anybody who has a lot of social interaction during his daily life and wishes to keep track of all his encounters. The vest would find its perfect use in the business industry where businessmen when meeting their client need to know quickly all the information available on his client in order to control the situation and do business in the best possible conditions.

Sketches:









Materials needed for the final product:
-Micro Camera
-Micro Computer with internal high capacity hard drive
-Microphone
-Earphone
-Batteries
-Bluetooth devices
-Perfume spray device

Materials needed for the Prototype:
-7 Led's
-3 softswitches
-Conductive threads
-Batteries
-Fabrics

Skills to develop and challenges:
-Sawing technics to develop
-Being able to make the whole circuit work
-Figuring out how to place and mount the electronic threads over the vest



Essay on memory:

As a people age, their social circles expand. Daily networking, connections and interactions with strangers can easily overwhelm the mind. There is a tendency to lose track of the people introduced by friends or met through random encounters. The mind acts like a hard drive, storing the most vital information and deleting the less useful data. Instead of files, the mind stores experiences and memories; however, even the mind can crash like a hard drive. From its consequences, most recent recollections could deteriorate.

According to Wikipedia, short-term memory is that part of the memory that stores limited amount of information for a few seconds. Information from long-term memory can be transferred to short-term memory if that information is repeated often. In this case of identity recognition, it depends how often the person is visited and seen, if not often, the chances of remembering the person’s name decreases and vice-versa.
There is a psychological reaction when a person recollects the identity of another. Often, the person who is being remembered by another feels appreciated and important. For example, if a client is to walk into a clothing store and the sales clerk greets the client by their first name or even recalls their last purchase, though it does not mean much, the simple incentives can make the client feel extremely special. It is the same situation if an unknown person were to simply give a friendly gesture to another who does not seem to remember who he or she is.

In today’s society, emphasis is placed highly on who and what you are. People fear that if their presence does not have enough impact on others, they could easily be forgotten. Being remembered after death concerns mostly every person.
The concept behind the second skin jacket evolves around memory and the physicality of being remembered. The jacket will help enhance our memories to remember others. Sometimes it is not because we do not care to remember, but aging makes us more involved with life and we become more attached to commitments.
Our lives become more intense and occupied that we forget certain things. The jacket will help enhance our lives by helping us avoid awkward and embarrassing situations when we run into old or new friends or unfamiliar acquaintances and we cannot even put a name to their faces. Memories of previous encounters stored in a hard drive of the jacket will assist an individual to bring up small talks during random encounters. How many times have our friends retell stories of a shared past experience that we have forgotten? Or wanting to retell a story back but cannot remember entirely? The jacket will help prevent those situations from occurring. In social situations even in dating situations between both sexes can find the jacket come in handy.
The spray of a distinguishable scent on a person is a way of leaving a track/mark of one’s identity on another thus the person will remember when they come across the scent. Simply put, the jacket is a social item to fit into the social circle and to leave a memorable mark.

Project 1 Proposal

DJ glove Concept


The DJ glove would be an interactive glove that any DJ or keyboard musician would wear in order to show through their gloves the pressure duration they applied with their fingers while playing. The glove would have a series of LEDs on each fingers going up the forearm that will light up when the fingers get in contact with a hard surface. The duration of the pressure applied on the finger(s) will then be expressed through the LEDs. If the pressure is short, a few LEDs will light up and turn off as fast as the pressure duration. On the contrary, if the pressure is long, for example 10 seconds, more LEDs will light up one after another going up the arm and will turn off when the pressure stops. The LEDs will therefore turn off one after another in a duration that is equal to the pressure duration.
This glove will find its perfect use during parties in dark rooms where the gloves will be easily seen. The glove will then emphasize the DJ’s performance by enlightening his hands: the origin of the music.
Material: The material used would be some kind of thick, aired spandex. A stretchable soft synthetic fabric that would fit to the arm shape and stay tight around the arm so it does not move during the performance.
Components: The glove will be composed of the fabric, the conductive threads, micro chipset for each fingers that will record and control the duration during which the LEDs will be lightened, series of LEDs on stripes and soft switches on each finger tips.
Advantages: The gloves would be very stylized, futuristic and will catch the attention of the public. In relation with the music the gloves can play the role of some kind of display for the music, a visualizer of the performance and the beat of the music.
Disadvantages: If the performance is very active or the room warm, wearing those glove could become a real hassle. It is recommended to wear the glove for short performances.
Challenges: The hard part of the work will be to set up the chipsets that will control the LEDs display durations and to make all the connections work properly. Then we will have to integrate all the circuits inside the fabric.
Target market: Party people, students, DJs, Electronic music artists, performers.
Costs: The costs would fluctuate depending on the quality of the outside fabric. The components themselves should not be very expensive except if we use high quality LEDs.

The one with the original switch !

The idea behind this sport wear shirt is a switch located on the chest part that would sense the heart beat rate of the person and transform this beat into an electrical signal going through the whole shirt.

The electrical signal recognized by the fabric of the shirt will then be communicated visually through a wave of color coming from the source of the beat: the heart of the person. Each wave going from the heart to the extremities of the shirt will represent one heat beat, and will start to appear when the person’s heart beat crosses a certain rate that will turn on the switch and liberate the waves. The color waves will then appear like a radar signal starting with a red color at the source and fading into a dark blue color. The waves will then fade away and disappear when the heart beats slow down and cross again the limit rate that will turn the shirt’s switch off.

The switch itself will be linked to the heart beat sensor and will be composed of a micro chipset that will open and close the circuit depending on the heart beat rate of the person. When the circuit is open, the heart beats will then be transformed into electrical signal that will be communicated to the fabric through micro wires going though every parts of the shirt allowing the display of the colors.

This shirt’s color display allows people to show their efforts and represents also a sort of celebration of life and fitness activities. The shirt expresses the power that we all have within our bodies, this power that keeps us alive and allows us to do all the activities we do everyday. Also, this shirt is a reminder that the heart is something that we must take care of in order to keep on building and enjoying our lives. Each color wave is an expression of life from our body that we could not visualize that clearly before.

Sincerely,
David Baldy

The "smart" sock concept

Baldy David
5668085
Dart 339
Second skin and soft wear




The idea of a “smart” wearable artifact represents clothing that would be receptive to my emotions as well as my body’s physical states. This “smart” clothing would almost be alive and fit to my body just like a second skin that I would not actually feel. The clothing would provide me with heat or freshness depending on my body’s temperature, protect me from outside elements such as wind, rain, snow or even fire, fit automatically to the morphology of my body, provide me with comfort and ease in my movements, and finally a “smart” clothing would also offer me additional general information about my heartbeat rate, my body temperature, etc. as well as interactive color modifications.

The artifact that I have conceptualized is a “smart” pair of socks that will provide you with all the features mentioned earlier and much more.
First of all, the sock, when first worn, will automatically resize itself to your foot size so that people when purchasing the product will not have to worry about which size to choose. Also the fact that the sock fits perfectly to your foot will offer you a better comfort when wearing it. Then, the material used to make this sock would heat up or cool itself down depending both on your feet temperature and on the outside layer’s temperature. The sock will also be water proof thanks to a innovative fabric that would transform its fibers when entering in contact with a wet element. Depending also on the general temperature, the fibers of the fabric would enlarge or shrink themselves in order to provide the inside of the sock with less or more air circulation. In order to maximize your comfort when walking, running or during any of your activities, the sock will sense the most important pressure points of your foot on the ground and thicken its fibers on the pressure points in order to ease your foot on the points where most pressure is applied. The fabric used to make the sock will of course be as soft as cashmere, will absorb sweat and as mentioned before allow air circulation. Regarding to the information provided by the sock about your body health, the sock will have an lcd water proof screen located above the ankle level which will display the number of steps walked during your day, the number of calories burnt during a chosen period, your body temperature and your heartbeat rate.
This concept pair of socks would make your everyday life better allowing you to forget almost everything about foot caring during your busy days. The socks will warm your feet or cool them, protect them from water if you walk by mistake in a hole during a rainy day, or if your trekking in the mountain, absorb your sweat avoiding bad smell, provide the best air circulation for your feet to feel like being bare, fit to your size and reinforce itself on pressure points depending on your walking habit or on the type of activity you are doing (walking, jogging, jumping, sprinting, etc.)… all these features and more to make your everyday activities effortless for your feet and in the best conditions possible.

Objective/Subjective objects

Summary

Summary of the essay Why we need things
By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

The essay “Why we need things” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, deals with our society’s materialistic needs that we have developed for centuries of consumption. Csikszentmihalyi talks about what objects and artifacts represent to us within our lives.
Objects appear today to be used and consumed more for the psychological need they generate more than for a physical or survival need. Actually, we live in a society where the simple fact of surviving is already a past story, and now we need always more not only to bring us comfort, but moreover to give us an order for our mind to follow. Our mind is very complex and it appears that we really do need objects to rely on in order to regulate our emotions and give our mind something to interact with. Without objects our mind would be lost and always searching for a path to follow, or any kind of orders made by humans. Also, if our mind could not find anything to refer to, we would lose notions of time, identity, memories, etc. The author states that artifacts bring us three important features that are power and status, a time mark that allows us to remember our past, and keep track of our present and future projects, and finally, artifacts are a symbolic representation of our belonging to this society and our relationships with other people within this society. Humans are always searching for a way to show their superiority through better and better technologies and also objects that are dangerous for mankind but also for the whole planet and its ecosystem. The perfect example could be illustrated by all those weapons of destruction that humans have produces for all these centuries. Not only these objects, but also everything we produce deteriorates in part our planet and its natural resources. Therefore we have to find a way to satisfy our needs for objects while caring for our environment and find a balance between these two ideas Regarding to women’s needs, the author notices that globally objects that women need are related to seductiveness, fertility and nurturance. It has been shown that over history, humans have used their discoveries such as bronze, first in order to satisfy their own pride and to show their power than to use them for purely functional purposes. We identify our social status and who we are to what we consume and the objects we own. Csikszentmihalyi states that depending on our generation, sex and age period, the needs and objects that we use as symbols are different. For teenagers, music and visual media are more important because they create a relation with their current concerns, allow them to be active, and regulate their mood. However, for parents, objects such as paintings, sculpture, cars and other valuable objects are important to express power, accomplishment, wealth, etc. For grand-parents, these ideas of power and status get less important compared to their families and past memories. Therefore objects such as photographs or symbolic objects of their past memories are the most cherished ones. So we can see that through time within our life, our needs regarding to objects change giving us a reflection of who we are and what we care for. Objects are also kept in order to remind us of our family and the people we are related to. It appears that these objects gain more importance though the years as we get old. Also, the artifacts we own all over our home represent depending on our age, our ideals in life, personal values, themes such as care, nurturance, ethnic origins, religious identity, etc. Finally Csikszentmihalyi states that people who do not have a lot of belongings, objects, etc. are people who do not have social lives, friends or human relationships. To conclude, the authors notes that on the whole, objects are meant to transform the instability of our conscience into something rigid and ordered. The simple size of our being is not enough to express ourselves and that is why we need artifacts to expand ourselves, show our status, keep track of time, our social life and relationships with the others. The author defends his idea about people without objects being anti-social people, by giving examples of certain community or kind of people who can afford living deprived of belongings and objects. I would say that I found this idea of non being materialistic plausible in our society. I do not think it is impossible to live within a society without a lot of artifacts surrounding us. I think we can have friends and have a normal social life without owning all our past in our home. I guess the author was in this case focusing especially on the American society without really analyzing what was going on all over the world. I have personally met people who have normal social relationships without being materialistic and focusing their attention more on realizing their future projects than buying objects. I do not think that only a few ethnies or communities are able to live a non-materialistic life and I think it would be to fast to generalize about consumerism.