Condensed

I recently re-evaluated my project. I have managed to condense it into a few paragraphs and images.

I am interested in how everyday objects are used, and how this use can be altered to create interesting, and fantastical scenarios.

Everyday life is hard, we all have to do things we don’t want to do. We experience stress, guilt and anger as a result of things that are beyond our control. We think nothing of taking a weekend away, or booking time off for a holiday, but in times as stressful as these, do we need more than just a holiday? What if you could temporarily escape your own reality?

My project aims to facilitate a change of identity by subverting the mundane use of everyday objects. When engaging with the products the user’s routine is changed, and they can, for one moment, swap identity to become an action hero, a film noir star, or a kung-fu fighter.

JAMES BOND


ACTION HERO


FILM NOIR


KUNG-FU

Here it is

I have been working on prototyping all my ideas for the last month or so, which is why I haven't blogged in a while. These weer in preparation for the Prototype presentations (I will also post my feedback here later)


So, there were a few main areas that have emerged through the prototyping I have been doing. The idea of moving away from products that force the user to act like James Bond has been replaced by broader areas, (mainly films) which include a stereotypical character for the user to swap into. I believe that using a more ambiguous character it becomes easier for you to see yourself as that character. Products to allow someone to act like a specific person also have a high risk of becoming cheesy, or a novelty product, which is exactly what I don't want.

ACTION HERO

These are designed to subvert the mundane use of objects (for example a door) and force the user to act as if they are in an action film. These products are all very much in the prototype stage.

I made a door out of foam that can only be opened when punched or kicked, I hoped that for the split second it took to jump through, the user would become a different person, an action hero.

Images below also include subsequent experiments and prototypes exploring ways of creating break-through doors.





I also made some light switch covers, which make it impossible to turn a light switch on or off unless you punch it really hard.



KUNG-FU FIGHTER

Action hero creating products turned into and idea to create a Kung-Fu chest of drawers, which could only be opened by karate-chopping it.



FILM NOIR

I thought it would also be interesting to develop a range of products that made you feel more sophisticated. I made a load of prototypes exploring different techniques used in film noir, and tried to translate those into products. Some of the ones that worked best were constantly smoking rings



And lampshades that cast shadows like blinds across your face.




The main problem with these designs is that they rely rather a lot on someone else viewing them, and the aim of the project was always to make the individual feel different based on an action or experience they carried out, not based on other people viewing them acting differently.

One of my favourite, although least developed concepts, is one which aims to replicate the parts of film noir when the actor is in a car. I am not sure how I will do this yet, but I basically want to create a structure including a mirror, and a video screen, so that when the someone looks into the mirror, they see this:



I am also going to blog the trascript of the feedback my tutors gave on these ideas.