ID1103: Button Controls and Analysis of Button Controls

Ice on Water - The concept struck me when I was observing the movement of ice cubes in my drink and I was rather taken aback by how it could translate into functional buttons in a very impactful yet subtle way. Through my buttons, I attempt to question the impact of our daily lives on global warming. The final product came out pretty well with the use of delrin (polyoxymethylene plastic) for my buttons and acrylic for my platform. Love how the buttons are reflected on the platform with some play of the gaps between the buttons and platform. From the left, the button is made to be pressed which represents the gradual sinkage of ice into water. The middle button is a revolutionary button which is cut at a certain angle to allow the button to be tilted and engages the finger to naturally tap it down like the movement of ice when it starts to melt and rock on water. Two fingers could be used to operate it like a see-saw motion too. The last button is given a generous amount of volume and lifted slightly from the platform to invite the hand to grab the button and turn it just like how ice floats and swirls on water. My buttons are imagined to be used in designer kitchens and exquisite Jacuzzis which have an element of fluid in both context. In terms of forms, my buttons not only resembles ice cubes but also resembles Kubuswoning (Cubic Houses) in Rotterdam, The Netherlands by Piet Blorn in 1984, black and white tile works and sugar cubes. Lastly, my buttons are geometric like the sculpture "Geometric Progression" by Guy Ngan and have a spirit of submergence. This was an extremely interesting and gruelling exercise in terms of the amount of time and effort spent to generate the buttons and panels because buttons could be seen as the fundamentals of product design concepts and the countless consultations with the tutors. The concepts adopted were also given plenty of freedom as long as they are proven to be able to work at the end of the day. Lesson learnt could be the discovery of a new material in terms of delrin, the exploration of Toh Guan Industrial Estate, the finishing methods for delrin, the control of forms and shapes by just minimal changes, the meaning behind button conceptions with the use of platforms and position of the buttons, the quote "when in doubt, keep it simple", the details involved in technical drawing and the types of layout to be used during presentation. A stepping stone definitely.

ID1103: Syntactic, Pragmatic and Semantic Analysis of Button Controls

PEZ - PEZ candy was my group's subject for this assignment which consisted of syntactic, pragmatic and semantic analysis. Syntactic analysis is a method to analyse how a product or an object is composed in terms of structure, component details and respective materials. It allows for a global view of the features of a design and also focuses on the structural system of an object or building. Pragmatic analysis is a method to analyse in detail the use functions and ergonomics of a particular existing or conceived design. It focuses on analysing how a product works, how it is to be used and how it is to be maintained; the user interface features, including the ergonomics of use, are especially important. Lastly, semantic analysis is a method to analyse the context, form analogies and the emotional response to the inherent images and messages projected by an object. There are three main components in semantic analysis which are the context in which the product is supposed to be used, the associated form analog which is a comparison between the product and other objects with similar form or shape features and which are often used to explain a principle or concept, the emotional response evoked by the product in general. Sounds like a lot of design information packed into one photo shopped assignment but hey it was fun working with PEZ candy and to understand the three analysis. Helpful in a way because it would lead to the next assignment which is the design of my own button controls. Ouch!

Places We Go for ID

Toys "R" Us - Yup that's one of the places we went for our latest assignment which features an analysis of buttons. Pez Candy dispensers were our subject. Youth revisited.

ID1103: Wizard Towers

Gaia - Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was destroyed in an unexpected magical fire and the director of the school has contacted us to help her with the new school building. Design four towers surrounding the main building and each one must represent one of the four branches of wizardry taught at the school. Use only paper and staplers, glue or tape as adhesive to construct a tower of at least 2.2m tall. After slogging out for a weekend, my group was able to come out with our tower for Hufflepuff, the house for hard workers. Gaia is the name of it and the idea was inspired by the tree analogy. Trees are like towers of the jungle and they are shelters for any organism be it good or bad just like how Hufflepuff values tolerance. The use of the tree is also used to represent the wizardry taught which is herbology. The equilateral triangles used are to represent equality among all the students (race or blood type) which ties in with the value of tolerance. The elongated structure with branches are structured like a ladder so that the students would work hard and climb the ladders to reach their destination. The bottom of the tower was constructed with brown and white paper to show the roots of the towers and a connection between the underground system in Hufflepuff and the rest of the tower. Glad that Gaia stood tall during the presentation and the tree analogy was totally awesome. More pictures of the brainstorming and building concept can be found here. J.K. Rowling ought to be proud haha.

ID1103: 2D Metamorphosis

2D Metamorphosis - Overall aim of this exercise is to develop an understanding of the cognitive, morphological process inherent in applying form analogies for generating design concepts. This includes an awareness of the possible metamorphoses between natural elements or existing products and new design concepts. It is important to design a product which has similar forms as another object, something key to bringing meaning to an object. On top of that, the spiritual analogy is also essential to bring out the concept so that it provokes an emotional response when one sees it. I must say it wasn't easy to come out with two suitable pairs of objects to start off with when you have picky tutors who have seen other year of students' works. In the end, I chose 3 pairs which luckily none were used by any of my peers. Baby monkey to a backpack which symbolises the monkey on your back emotion and how a mother monkey carries her baby on her back is similar to how one carries a backpack. Opium poppy bud to a briar pipe which symbolises addiction in the form of the content and the product. Both lead to addiction and death. Sewing machine to a scroll saw which has the same downward movement of the tool. Both represent the long hours spent at either machine be it the seamstress or the technician and to add a little twist, one is used often to patch things up while the other is used to cut things up. Pretty deep stuff and I enjoyed myself a lot doing this exercise not forgetting the staying over in studio to complete it as well as spending tons of hours drawing and tracing. An evolution of this exercise would be 3D Metamorphosis which would involve making foam models of the two products. Semester 2 is going to get interesting.