With only a few weeks left on the course the culmination of the project is in sight. I will be travelling from Ireland to NYC for the final week of the program which means I am under a bit of pressure to get everything functioning before I leave. I also want to get some work done on presentation, video etc done in case I have any issues transporting the actual devices to NYC.
The past few weeks I have concentrated on trying to get the total space envelope of the components in a functioning form factor. This will inform the fabric component and weight distribution of the wearable device.
Even the though the device is designed to be an uncomfortable experience there are still ergonomic considerations to imposing the discomfort on the individual having the experience. Weight distribution is import in this. I am now under pressure to get the fabric component made.
In speaking to my Thesis advisor some new ideas came up. She had suggested that I do not include the water filled balloon in the device as the logistics of executing on this may be difficult. I will continue on the path until it is no longer feasible. I think that she may be correct on this assumption but the whole premise of the discursive element of the design is based around a consequence. That consequence to me is the balloon bursting.
However the consequence doesn’t necessarily have to be the balloon, it could be anything that we can imagine and could be changed to suit emotions and feelings that we desire to trigger. This makes the wearable a more versatile device than the original intent as it could be used to try to mimic the feelings and emotions of living with other difficult circumstances.
To complete the experience I now believe there needs to be several elements of what the person having the experience is given.
- A personal connection to the pieces reason for existence. For this I have written some poetry that will describe how I and how I believe others feel. The idea being that the person having the experience can then connect on a deeper level with people who live their lives with these emotions and feelings.
- A reference by way of a video describing the internal workings of the device and showing the sequence by which it works. This provides a primer as to what to expect from the experience and the lack of control the individual actually has over the experience.
- The physical device to be worn by the individual. This will be the most immersive part of the experience and subjects the individual in a small way to living with the emotions and feelings and how this creates the Distraction of Anticipation.
I have still got a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time. The pressure is really on!
Designing, Educating, Exploring 