SIMPLE SCULPTURE TO
“ENCHANTED OBJECT”
Project Framing
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Project Framing ✷
This projects aim was to use knowledge of narrative, future casting, interaction design, and systems to conceptualize a speculative scenario featuring a hand-made object constructed by a peer. This bit was then to be turned into an enchanted object situated within the preferable future within the futures cone (see below). In a world flooded with screens and tablets, changing the way society views technology and computers, as well as, the interaction involved with these objects guided the evolution of this project.
“Enchanted objects start as ordinary things—a pen, a wallet, a shoe, a lightbulb, a table. The ordinary thing is then augmented and enhanced through the use of emerging technologies…so that it becomes extraordinary. The enchanted object then gains some remarkable power or ability that makes it more useful, more delightful, more informative, more sensate, more connected, more engaging, than its ordinary self.”
The Object
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The Object ✷
The Brainstorm
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The Brainstorm ✷
After reflecting on the feedback my classmates gave me on what this object could potentially be, I decided to keep the audience focused in on students and/or young adults. I saw this object as being something that could aid the habitually late person who always seems to find themselves 2-3 minutes behind schedule. To alleviate some of that stress and help navigate the difficult (and realistic) scenario many of us find ourselves in, I came up with an idea for a “late bot”. A bot that sits on your desk at work or school and is activated if you are running late by a sensor embedded on your person—in my example this sensor is attached to a pair of gold hooped earrings.
The Scenario
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The Scenario ✷
The Design Solution
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The Design Solution ✷
Below is a sketched prototype of my enchanted object and a digital rendition of how the two could potentially look. The sensor element looks like a fun embellishment on your earrings but really it connects you straight to your bot that should be physically situated in the environment you currently need to be in. You tap the sensor and it awakens “Geo”. Geo is your desk bot for when you’re running late and will respond to your cues for activation. Geo rises from its docking element and floats slightly elevated from the desks surface. You are then able to keep an audio and visual record through Geo from the time it awakens till you are a within a distance of 2 feet. Once you are in the space, the data collected is saved to your nearest device with specifics on location, class, date, and time for future reference if needed. Geo is portable and able to activate for long periods of time. For situations like a vacation trip, extended periods out of office, or when you are in desperate need of a mental health day but still need to stay on top of what you miss.
Geo is named after Geoffrey Chaucer, the man who coined the phrase “better late than never” and the English poet and author most notably known for “The Canterbury Tales”. Geo exists in the preferable future where technology has increased capabilities and humans are much more reliant on devices for assistance when absolutely necessary. A future where this reliance on digital assistance isn’t judged or stigmatized for being utilized. Things happen and schedules get chaotic, students shouldn’t be punished for being 2 minutes late and employees shouldn’t be fired for sleeping through an alarm by accident. With Geo all of these situations are avoided, you are able to remain responsible and accountable while staying privy to the few minutes of time you missed.
