Implications / Applications
This week we finally worked on defining our final project. The guidelines that Oscar Tomico gave us were very useful to start thinking about what we want to do as a final project. At first, I couldn’t decide where to start because there are so many cool things and interesting paths that I wanted to follow, so I iterated quickly through different paths that I had in mind.
My Project Proposal from Michelle Flores on Vimeo.
▪ Developing the idea
First I thought about the assignments that I liked most
▪ Computational Couture
▪ Digital Bodies
▪ Textile as Scaffold
And I’m still waiting to learn soft robotics and skin electronics! Everything related to electronics are a bigger challenge for me, but I want to include this in the project too. And, Yes, I panicked after all the ideas I had But after reveiwing the past weeks I decided to go on with some particular ideas I had each week, based also in my interests.
Then I started to read some mindblowing papers from Oscar, and from those investigations I tried to focus my project on the following aspects:
- Focused on the body: i like the neck, is such a beauty part of the body, also i can extend this area to the upper chest
- Focused on the material: I like plastics and wood but exploring with other materials will be interesting
- Focused on fashion: I like jewerly, specially necklaces
- Focused on context: i think is importat to have a contact with the user body and take care of the person in an specific context where the product is going to be.
About the context:
If I, lets say, compare textiles with jewerly - Textiles behave in particular ways and are part of the culture, no matter what each person thinks about fashion, they will always have an intimate relationship with textiles, and the same goes for the jewelry and accessories we use. By using them in a specific context, as designers you can achieve a necessary intimacy and create a meaning, but this may not happen when you’re designing away from the user, so I decided that I wanted to have my user as close as posible and that’s why I thought about myself, because I can really know what I like, I dislike and what I need. Also my purpose is to explore the material in, with and through the body in context, allowing me to understand the interaction with the material and its functionality.
But was is this particular context? Which is the purpouse of the necklace? Can I give it a meaning for me?
There are people who can easily feel embarrassed for x reason and that makes them blush easily, when that happens people around can see an strong red skin that is evident specially in the neck and the upper chest, which in the end can be for different reasons but it's always related to the skin and emotions, and yes, this happens to me a lot! This is called social blushing.
I blush when I'm nervous. And frustrated. And amused. In fact, every time I experience even the tiniest rise in emotion or temperature, you'll see it on my skin, coming out of my neck or my upperchest and coming up to my face. It took me a long time to realize that this might be a positive thing about me because (for example): I get nervous when I care about what I'm doing and because I believe the outcome matters
The project proposes a necklace that blurs the visibility of the skin in this area, while expressing and revealing this feeling of empowerment or connection with the piece (necklace). It think this should be designed for distorting the reading of the blush and revealing the neck and chest only when we want them to be visible.
▪ Which is the biggest goal of this project?
Simply, a collection of jewerly – but for that I need to start with something, so this is the beggining, 1 piece will be great for now, maybe two, and then develop more. Initially, I want to reach the manufacturing of a first product. Exploring the material and the production possibilities. Then see the customization of the product for other users and then bring out more necklaces. Finally reach a larger collection with more accessories, bracelets and so on.
▪ Which type of necklace would I like? How it should be?
Here I mention some main axes of the object that should be considered like its sensibility because it opens the possibility of interacting with the senses. Mainly through touch and sight, considering the details of the material, the body fit and generating comfort because it is user-oriented. Also taking care of the usability and the relationship with technology. And trying to use familiar materials, so that it does not feel too foreign or too external to me.
But - How Will this react? - Maybe I need to get more inspiration from animals, and including biomimicry but until now I’ve think about the: Change of color/light / Change of shape / and focusing in The material itself through the porous and translucent design. Combining the use of synthetic materials, sensors, actuation and computation.
▪ Which materials should i use? Can i fabricate that in the lab?
I believe there are great opportunities with 3d printing, specially it is a great way to produce based in a real demand. This would be great for a bussiness model in the future. Something I thought about was the combination of materials, I mean not only plastics but also with wood and fabrics and also Anastasia suggested to make molds with wax and casting metals to get kind of real pieces of jewerly, and I think that’s a great idea!!
Talking about the production, Fablab ZOI is my main center of production, i can use there the FDM 3d printers, the laser cutter and can make the moulds, etc. But there’s no an SLA printer. Things to keep in mind are:
▪ The particularities of wax printing. This technology is not available in the fablab but there is one place nearby that i think can collaborate for the project.
▪ Also i thought about using diffrent materials because I dont want to depend only of one machine because of time / it could be very busy sometimes so I can alternate with different machines
*▪ Which software will I use?
The plan is to use Grasshopper, as it is a very powerful tool for jewelry and there is already a lot of material and resources available for it.
▪ Are there other stake holders?
I think there is a specific niche, for those women who align with the purpose of the necklace, i mean the social blushing. And another line for specific customers / aligned with their style and profession: where the accessory becomes a wearable piece for designers, artists, etc. In both the target niche is "small" and the design of each product must be ultra-customized as it can respond to physical and functional characteristics. In addition, the relationship with the client should always be direct.
Research
▪ Generative Design Exploration:Computation and Material Practice
▪ Jewelry generated from parametric geometries
▪ Jewerly make us better humans
▪ Durga
Buuut, maybe it's not necessary to hide this blushin! Yes, that's what Oscar said, and also after talking about this with my local instructor he came up with that idea too. In fact, he came out with some other ideas, that I think I need to think more about...
Finally (after some weeks of research and personal thoughts) I came up whit other ideas and I called my project Glow.
▪ You can read more about the final idea in my final project tab