Self Directed - Concept Development Summary Board

Self Directed - Research Summary Board

Concept Development

Here is a video summary of the process i went through to develop my concepts. Big thanks to Dave and Imray for helping me out.

Self Directed Project - COD Vest

This vest add a new level to FPS games as there are small air pockets built in and when you get shot in the game the air pockets pop. This simulates a lighter experience of being actually shot.

Self Directed - Ipod Touch

I recently purchased on of these and I have to say that it is one of the best purchases I have made. I love how interactive and unique the user interface is. Also for gaming it is not half bad. I like the unique controls and some of the applications that you get for it. It is like a smaller version of the interface that Jeff Han developed.

Self Directed - April Fools

This was an April Fools joke developed by Microsoft as a new take on Guitar Hero. Using an Alphorn instead of a guitar and you have to yodel instead of singing.

Self Directed - Sci Fi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwVBzx0LMNQ

Some of the ideas displayed in Sci Fi films and novels can be a infulence to what is the next step for technology. This is a clip from a film called Minority Report staring Tom Cruse and it shows a very interecting take on a user interface

Self Directed - Interface Free

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLhMVNdplJc

this is a link to a video from TED Talks of a research scientist Jeff Han's invention of a multi touch point interface.

Self Directed Project - Mind Control

The guitarist in my band is a bit of a computer wiz and he managed to get himself a head set that uses brain power to control the computer. You have to link commands to differnt word and emotions so all you have to do it think of the word and emotion and the computer will carry out the commands.

Self Directed Project - Future is Service

This is a link to a preview to the new gaming service called OnLive
http://pc.ign.com/articles/965/965535p1.html

Self Directed Project - The Next Step

For the last half of 3rd year, we had a choice to make between another client driven project or a self directed project. I chose the self directed because i wanted to get some preperation for my final year. In this project the underline theme that i chose was the reationship between function and form, which is directed to an area of my intrest which is computer gaming. I have been looking at the evolution of computer gaming and also the way that people interact with games. I hope to try and develop a design solution that will predict the next stage in gaming as my final out put.

B.P.P. Teepee

A structure that use heat circulation to keep the inner structure warm is a teepee. With a fire in the middle, the heat rises up and escapes through a hole at the top. When the heat rises it drages in colder air from the sides at the bottom of the structure which helps filter the air inside the structure

B.P.P. Replacing Water With Air

After researching my idea for concept one, I noticed that alot of extra would have to be added to it in order for it to work, such as a heater, pump and generator. Generator in an area that has just been hit with a flood, maybe not a good idea. So I reanalysed the situation and decided to replace hot water with hot air. Air can move around with out the need of a pump and also hot air rises.

B.P.P. Heating Water

Continuing with concept one, I had a look at methods of heating water that could be pumped around the shelter. This image image of a hot tub shows that the the water is heated up with a coiled wire that is power extrenally.

B.P.P Final Design

Final design summary board. Next the presentation.........

B.P.P. Concpet Summary Board

Here is a quick summary board of three concepts that i have came up with for the final soultion.

The Devil's Upside-Down Guitar

Taking a break from The Balmoral Plastics Project, I noticed a strange design for a guitar on Yanko Design. Yi-Luen Tan is the master behind this unique design for a guitar. The tuning pegs are located at the bottom of the guitar rather that being at the top of the neck.

Bizarre!!!

B.P.P. Veins and Arteries

Another part of human anotony that I found interesting was the veins and arteries that run through the whole body. Kind of like indoor plumming for the body. Maybe some kind of structure or plumming for the temporary shelter.

B.P.P. The Heart

Since I started to look at human anatony, I have been trying to find a link between the it and the quote that I gathered from early research, "Home is where the heart is". I decided to take a look at the structure of the human heart to see if I could take any inspiration from it. That fact that I found interesting were that the heart has 4 different section (Left/Right Ventricals/Atrium) which is something I could replicate in my final design.

B.P.P. Summary Board

Here is a summary board of my work so far on the Balmoral Plastic Project.

Enjoy

B.P.P - Research Ross Lovegrove

After looking at Da Vinci's sketches, I focused on the human anatomy and organic shapes to hopefully influence my final product. A designer that takes his inspiration from nature and organic natureal forms is Ross Lovegrove. Best know for his work with sony walkman, Lovegrove has designed for many different companies such as Apple and Peugeot. He feels that you can get more perfect than the design of nature and tries to model his word on that.

B.P.P - Research (Un)Conventional

Compairing the conventional to the unconventional. What we see as a suitable type of shelter might be different for other people. Here are the two ends of the spectrum (above).

B.P.P - Research Tent

Quickly photoshopped this image to represent how something as simple as a tent can sheld you from the world outside. Having a small piece of fabric between you and the outside shows that something so small can make you feel safe and secure.

B.P.P - Research Da Vinci

After deciding which design senario I was going to focus on, I proceded to expand on the research that I gathered in the micro project.

I have been looking at some of Da Vinci's sketches of the human anatomy and trying to relate them to the quote "home is where the heart is". These unique sketches have got me thinking about the form of the final product but still have to look into purpose of the final output.

Temporary Homes for the Homeless

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/mar/14/homelessness.politics

This is a link to an article that was posted in the Guardian about that the number of homeless people being forced into tempory housing is rising.

B.P.P - Design Senario

Out of the two senarios, I have decided to focus on senario one:

Design for UK Refugee/Homeless Shelter and Storgae

The reason for my choice is that when we were given our mirco breif, senario one appealed to me more. The micro breif that we were give, to help us gain a better understanding of the project, was to provide visual research based around a selection of key words:

Shelter, Storage, Design for Manufacture, Climate Change, Roto-Moulding, Refugee and Conservation.

Out of the keywords, focused on Shelter, Storage and Climate Change. I look at the literal meaning of these word and then tried to find other metaphorical meanings for each. Mainly based on Shelter, I found that the word a linked meaning to Protection, Saftey and Secure. After identifying this I looked into what those words ment to me, and came to the conclusion what makes me feel protected, safe and secure is my family and friends.

"Home is wher the heart is"

"Safety in Numbers"

Balmoral Plastic Project

With the excitement of last semester over and in the past, it is time to move on and look foward to the future. What better way than the start of a new project. Like the Ponoko project, this is going to be a live project as we are designing for a company. The company is "Balmoral", an Aberdeen based company that has been providing solutions to the offshore, engineering, building, chemical and plastic sectors since 1980. Balmoral Tanks, which is a branch of the Balmoral Group, is a leading tank design, engineering and manufacturing company. The company provides the most comperhensive range of tanks products avaliable from a single source across Europe. Balmoral tanks use roto-moulding to produce their tanks as it seem to be the most suited process to use for the scale of their products.

Our breif is to desgin for one on the following senarios:

1: Design for a UK Refugee/Homless Shelters and Storage

2: Design for Water Adaptation & Conservation

Ponoko - Final Output

This is my final solution for the Ponoko project. I was want to experiment with sound and the different way to produce it. I looked at how the accoustic guitar uses its hollow frame to amplify the sound of the strings, and tried to incorporate this method in to my design. The final output was this sond box that the user assembles themself from the laser cut boards recieved from Ponoko. The box is separated into different volumes so when they are played (hit with a drum stick) they produce different notes. The sound box also comes with a flat pack drum stick.

Ponoko - Open_Soruce Project

From one project straight into another one. As the NCR finishes we are presented with a new challenge to over come. This new project is entitled Open_Soruce: Democratic Design and the client that we are designing for is a New Zeland based company called Ponoko. Ponoko are a company that bases their entrie business on providing a service from designer to send their design to be produced. Anyone can use this service but you have to design something that can be cut from a flat sheet of material that is provided by Ponoko (flatpack).

The outline of this project is to design smething using the facilities that are provided by Ponoko that is based on a design studio, garden or office enviroment.