Navigating spaces: Dundee space hopper

Oct 4, 2018

Navigating Spaces: Dundee Space Hopper

This project challenged us to create a new and exciting navigation experience for Dundee. We were tasked getting people to interact with their surrounding area in a playful and exciting way. By analyzing different ways of navigating through cities and Dundee we developed our own unique navigation experience. We developed an idea, created a concept and visualized our project with drawings, renders, and models in the end.

The idea development process included four main steps:

Brainstorming

Our first brainstorms included different ideas, for example, traditional and creative navigation systems and researches about Dundee’s infrastructures.

Idea 1

We had several ideas and decided to develop two of them more detailed. The first one was a kind of photo-cloud that could be used to find secret spots in Dundee.

Idea 2

The second concept was based on the idea that we could use constellations to navigate through Dundee. We decided to go with this idea as we saw a lot of potential in order to create a playful and exciting experience.

Idea 3

Following the second idea, we decided to adapt our concept to a urban object. After defining Dundee’s “urban objects”, we decided to convert a telephone box into a mini observatory.

Developing Dundee Space Hopper

As we decided to adapt our idea to a telephone box, we walked through Dundee and analyzed the designs and dimensions of several telephone boxes. We learned that there are various slightly different designs all around Dundee. Their main purpose is it to display advertisement. We found that there would be a lot of potential in this nowadays superfluous object.

To develop our constellation-navigation-system, we mainly focused on two points: finding a shape that can express our idea and creating a user-friendly interface that makes it possible to transform our telephone box into a creative navigation system.

Finding a shape

In the beginning, we experimented with different geometric shapes to transform the outside of the telephone box into something more exciting. In the end, we decided that we wanted to leave the main design relatively untouched, but add a new roof and a screen on the outside.

We choose a geometric roof shape for the top as this could help to create mystery and intrigue from a distance and encourage people to use our system. The black color underlines that effect.

It took us 15 prototypes to find the perfect form, which we then adapted to our models and renderings. A group of prospective design students helped and inspired us with their ideas during the process.

Designing an Interface

We developed the user interface and the color scheme of the touch screen with drawings and different computer programs, using the interface of an app called Star Walk as inspiration. The app makes it possible to find constellations by using a phone and has similarities with our own project. It was very useful for us to analyze a similar interface because it made it much easier for us to understand in which way the user could interact with our system.

When building the prototype, we decided to attach the screen to a metal panel which is decorated with a solar system and indirect lighting in the background. In addition to the roof, the Design of the interface would help to grab public attention.

The concept explained

Our Design works trough its Interface, which makes it possible for the user to interact with the system easily. A touchscreen on the outside and a starscape lit up with LED lights on the ceiling of the telephone box are our key elements. The user can enter a destination on the touchscreen and the time in which he wants to navigate. The directions get indicated by a constellation to follow.

The user can then walk inside the phone box and use the starscape to find different constellations. It would be possible to create an adventure with our instructions as it would be necessary to explore different parts of the city when following a constellation. The journey would become an adventure similar to the one’s sailors and travelers had in the past centuries when they navigated with stars. We decided to call our project Dundee Space Hopper.

The final concept: Dundee Space Hopper

Dundee Space Hopper is an engaging and playful navigation experience that has also educational value, as it would teach people to navigate with the stars, which have been in use for hundreds of years to help people finding their way. Our project combines physical and digital Design and gives to an object, which is seen by most people as useless, a new purpose.

While developing this project, I learned a lot about the importance of good user experience design because it influences the users choice of using our navigation system. Also, I gained new idea development skills, for example, I learned that it can be useful to develop more different ideas and listen to other people’s point of view on the subject. This group project showed me again how inspiring it can be to share ideas.

Making spaces: The Offline Phone

Sep 20, 2018

Making spaces: The Offline Phone

In a society of steadily increasing urbanization, public spaces became a central element of every day life. By walking through Dundee and observing our own surrounding, we learned more about the various structures and functions of a public space. As a group, we tried to understand the complexity of public spaces and learned more about the way in which we interact with each other and our surroundings.

The map below shows some of Dundee’s public places we visited:

.NUMBERS:

1 Wellgate Steps

2 Magdalen Green

3 The Howff

4 City Square

5 Tay Bridge Ramps

6 St Marys church

7 RRS discovery

8 City Quay

9 Geddes Quad

10 Lemmings Statues

11 Bell Street Car Park

12 The McManus Gallery

13 Slessor Gardens

14 Murray Gate

15 Dudhope Park

Tay Bridge Ramps

A lot of public spaces in Dundee don’t use their full potential, an example is the area under the Tay bridge. I went there several times to analyze the technical details of the area such as dimensions and the way in which people use this space.

My observations:

Observations on the side

Main dimensions

Technical Details:

– materials: concrete and asphalt

– green area around the bridge

– two streets divide the space

– graffiti on the columns ( Lettering: North, South)

– pipes on the top

– high ceilings

External factors:

– protected from rain

– dark

– traffic noise

– people walk past the area

– a lot of bike riders

– graffitis are the center of attention

Developing a concept

I first tried to understand what activities people could practice on such a kind of public place and decided to focus on speaking, as I think communication would add new energy to this space. Also, I observed that most people rushed past this area and didn’t interact with each other or their surrounding at all. I tried to create a creative game experience that encourages interaction, inspired by the idea of Playful Design.

Brainstorming about public places

Understanding Playful Design

The Offline Phone

I had different approaches, for example, I wanted to build a labyrinth or a light installation, but the traffic made an uninterrupted use of the side impossible. Therefore I decided that it would be necessary to connect the space and I had the idea to create a kind of string phone to communicate from one to the other side of the street. I decided to use metal pipes for my concepts, similar to the already existing pipes on the ceiling of the bridge. The pipe system could use the same technology that was once used to communicate on big ships with each other.

I wanted to create a bridge between digital and face to face communication with my project. The idea is based on the principles of a telephone, however, my concept is offline and should encourage the people that walk past this area to speak with each other. I decided to call my project “The offline phone” as it creates a fun face-to-face interaction and communication experience without being connected to the world wide web.

Sketch pipe-string-phone

Conceptual drawing “Offline Phone”

Building a Prototype scale 1:10

I first tried to re-create the side in cardboard and used then colored straws to symbolize the pipes. While doing that I experimented with different colors and layouts to create a steady design.

The prototype showed me that I made mistakes with the ceiling hight and the scale of the pipes was wrong too. Also, I didn’t pay enough attention to the already existing graffitis.

I reduced the ceiling height from six to five meters and used a different material for the pipes when building the model. I often referred to the prototype while I built the final design.

Building a model scale 1:10

While building the model, I experimented with different materials and colors to visualize my concept in an easily understandable way for the viewer. I used the following materials:

Street: Newspaper
Pedestrian Walkway: Tape
Columns: grey metal for the concrete, colored paper to indicate the graffitis
Ceiling and Tay Bridge road: transparent foil with a top view drawing of the street
Green area: sawdust
pipes: cardboard tube

I learned that is very important to include scale objects like cars or persons in a model, as they create a reference to the real proportions and dimension of a project.

The result and what I learned

In order to develop my concept, I researched the topic of communication and asked other people what they think about the way in which technology changes our way of speaking and interaction. One approach that inspired me a lot is the idea that communicating is not an act but a process that constructs over time meaning together. That is just one of many ideas about communication, which is for me a central topic in every public space and our today’s society.

This project showed me that researching and listening to other people’s opinions is an essential part of the design process as it leads to new creative approaches and ideas. Also, I experimented with various recycled materials while building the model and extended my knowledge about different materials and tools.

Translating form

Sep 13, 2018

TASK 1: CREATING A REPLICA MODEL

Re-creating one of Richard Sapper’s masterpieces was definitely a big first challenge. Not only the technical details of this perfectly engineered lamp but also the communication between us students led to some questions at the very beginning:

1. How can six strangers communicate their ideas effectively with each other?

2. How can we all combine our strengths and knowledge to complete the project?

3. How did Richard manage to balance the weight so perfectly and how can we replicate that?

THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

After analyzing the original lamp and taking the basic measurements of each element, we decided that every one of us should make a different component and in the end we would assemble everything together.

It was a good plan until we started combining the pieces. Somehow it was impossible to balance the weights properly and only by adding stones and rubbers as counter-weight made it possible to complete the challenge.

THE RESULT AND WHAT WE LEARNED

After finishing the project, we could answer the 3 questions from the beginning:

1. We have to use different mediums to communicate with each other, for example, drawing or prototyping

2. We should listen to each other carefully because every idea is a step forward for a good result.

3. The measurements are the key for a perfect reconstruction of the Tizio Lamp, altough we should have spent more time analyzing the proportions of the lamp

TASK 2: REDESIGN CHALLENGE

I had several ideas but in the end, I decided to transform the structure of the Tizio lamp into a multi-directional telescope. Instead of creating light, a telescope is collecting it. Also, the object is symbolizing new discoveries, something I experienced on my first day.

fist ideas

technical details

dimensions

my design

PLANNING AND BUILDING A PROTOTYPE

I first planned to adopt the “balance-trough-weights-mechanism” of the Tizio Lamp to my concept. While prototyping I discarded that idea because weights would have made my telescope look like a very heavy, I wanted simplicity instead. That was one of the key points of the development process as it changed my design completely and I had to figure out how I could create balance in a different way.

I started experimenting with a rope, a method that is used by many engineers to keep the dimensions of building components as small as possible. Therefore I want to use strings to distribute the weight of the telescope. I needed several attempts but in the end, I managed to balance the weight. The prototyping-process showed me that sometimes experimenting can be the best way to solve a problem.

dimensions of the head

dimensions of the “head”

base and arms

placement head

sketch vs. protoype

experimenting with the arms

experimenting with a string to balance the weight

prototype

finished prototype

analysis of the mistakes I made

PLANNING AND BUILDING THE MODEL

I realized that the material I was using was not ideal, also I made the with of the arm to thin. After analyzing the prototype, I started building the model. I corrected the dimensions to make the construction stronger and I also changed the shape of the head. I decided to use cardboard and cocktail sticks to keep the building process as simple as possible. The color coding tape indicates the different materials I want to use: red= steel, blue = concrete, yellow = wood.

base prototype vs. model

head

experimenting with color coding tape

adding the color coding tape

adding the rope

square vs. circle

rope fixture

fixing the rope

sketch vs. model

sketch and model

The result: 1:50 scale of a size-adjustable telescope

This project showed me the importance of teamwork, while I developed my own skill as a designer. My group often helped me out and their ideas inspired me a lot. Also, I realized that prototyping is one of the most important steps in a design process and can have a big influence on the result.