As stated in the syllabus…
During the first 5 weeks, students will research and explore the notion of our senses, focusing on the sense of touch. How does the body react to touch? What emotions and physical associations it evoke? Touch can be physical or can be emotional. In this project, students will research the structure of insects’ external shield. How does it function? What characteristics, it has? Based on this research students will design a Wearable Exoskeleton. This exoskeleton- will serve as skin like; It can cover your face, arm, leg, or any other part you chose. Consider, how would you express these attributes in a visual way? Focus on the 3D design elements: How lines become form? How can lines create a volume?
P H A S E 1
Research:
Exoskeletons:
According to Encyclopedia Britannica an “exoskeleton [is a] rigid or articulated envelope that supports and protects the soft tissues of certain animals.” This includes creatures such as insects, arachnids, crustaceans, etc. Typically these creatures’ anatomies mirror humans’ as their soft tissues are safely protected inside their harder exteriors, while humans’ hardest components are their bones, which lay on the inside of the body acting as a frame to keep our bodies up.
Like our skeletons, exoskeletons support the body of different animals, however, they also aid in other ways. One important factor is the retention of moisture in the body. The exoskeleton has a waxy layer that prevents moisture loss and thus has aided invertebrates to reach many parts of the terrestrial world – creating a thick life-sustaining armor around the creature. In addition, many insects have tiny hairs on their exoskeleton that allows them to interact with the world through touch and the change of wind as well. This extra ability keeps creatures with exoskeletons safe as they can flee when predators come into the picture.
Although exoskeletons clearly aid insects in many things, they have a downside as well. Having thick and rigid armor on all the time will restrict movement. To combat this, many creatures have evolved to grow complex joints. One such creature is the roly-poly or pill bug which has an exoskeleton that is soft enough to allow for it to curl into a ball when threatened. These complex joints allow the animal to move with maximum flexibility.
Furthermore, the ways insect tarsal joints are connected to one another are varied. One such form of connection is a ball and socket similar to a human’s elbow where the appendage is locked inside a socket. Another example is the side-by-side joint; “as the enwrapment of the ball by the socket in the…. joint is achieved by cell movement during cuticle secretion, this side-by-side morphology is likely to represent joint formation without cell movement.” Lastly, there is the uniform joint. The uniform joint is a joint that has no ball mechanism for the socket. Depending on the ecology of the insect’s context and species, the species would express any one of these types (or even a combination) of tarsal joints.
Senses:
“Senses, also called sensory reception or sense perception, [are the] means by which animals detect and respond to stimuli in their internal and external environments” according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The recognized senses include sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. It can be said that the reasons we have senses in the first place are due to our evolutionary survival instinct. From understanding where we are, to identify friends and foes, to protecting oneself from predators, senses have helped us navigate the world.
Perhaps one of the most important senses is touch as it has many connotations and can affect the human experience on many different levels. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, touch is “to bring a bodily part into contact with especially so as to perceive through the tactile sense: handle or feel gently usually with the intent to understand or appreciate.” Although correct, and the dictionary does provide more definitions, it does not give name to the feeling one gets when a friend or loved one does something for them out of pure love; or when that songs that one randomly hears that transports you to another world. I believe that this is also to be” touched.” Touched on an emotional level that goes beyond your logical self and to something bigger.
Citations:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141118-how-many-senses-do-you-have
https://www.britannica.com/science/exoskeleton-anatomy
https://www.britannica.com/science/exoskeleton-anatomy/media/198292/494
https://www.britannica.com/science/senses
https://www.livescience.com/60752-human-senses.html
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/touch
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3207860/
https://pixnio.com/science/microscopy-images/insects/electron-micrograph-of-the-morphologic-details-associated-with-the-ball-and-socket-type-joint
Proposal:
For my project, I have been chiefly inspired by two main things. The first being beetles, as well as rolly-pollies, and the second being a traditional bracelet from Oman.
In regards to beetles and roly-polies, I was inspired by how the exoskeletons function. Large round shapes cover the body like armor that folds into one another to allow a larger range of movement. I wanted to take this function and incorporate it into the cover I needed to produce.
Roly-poly https://dengarden.com/pest-control/How-to-get-rid-of-woodlice-roly-pollies
As for the aesthetics and use of the design, I like incorporating aspects of my culture into fresh and modern products. For this specific reason, I decided to bring objects from my home country to see if it would spark any ideas during my education. Luckily, one did. The bracelet I brought, called “Bangri Shoka” or Spiked Bangle, reminded me of the body covering aspect we needed to have. In addition, the iconic spikes featured on the bracelet reminded me of the horned beetles I was inspired by as well. Thus, I felt the marriage between these two was a perfect match.
Bangri Shoka بنجري شوكة http://avb.s-oman.net/showthread.php?t=2336035
The final product I hope to create is a body covering that incorporates these elements. I am not quite sure how these will manifest, but it will be focused around the abdomen or arms.
Mood Board:
Moodboard Of My Inspiration
P H A S E 2
Development of Ideas:
Below the development of my ideas can be seen. I played with different forms that I could potentially use to create my final project. From chokers to arm coverings I tried to play with a bunch of different potential ideas. However, only three designs could be chosen and I decided it should be the choker, hood, and arm covering. The reason behind this was that I found them to be the most dynamic and the most interesting to construct.
9 Initial Thumbnail Sketches 6 Developed Ideas & 3 Final Ideas
Ideation and Final Selection:
After choosing the final three ideas I went on and developed them by drawing 12 different versions of them, subtly changing the size and details of the ideas. After completing those, I decided once and for all to choose the choker. This is because I knew that I would enjoy making it the most.
With my selection, I took it and developed the details of it. This included, how I would construct the spikes to the size of the bracket. I later experimented with different materials to see how the actual creation of the piece would entail.
Ideation of Three Final Ideas More Complicated Sketch of Final Idea
3D Mockups:
For the 3 quick mockups, I wanted to focus on the composition of the foundation. I did not include the spikes as I viewed that more as details. Once I got to the more “professional” model, I began to experiment with the spikes.
P H A S E 3
Process of Final Piece:
After some advice from my professor, I decided that the material I would use to construct the piece would be 1/8″, 20′ Armature Wire. This is because I needed the wire to be flexible yet thick. It was easy to source as well because it was sold at the local Blick supply store.
Unfortunately, I was unhappy with the beginning iterations of the brackets as I felt that they were too rough and clumsy. I was advised by my professor to create a jig. A jig is anything that can help create more consistent shapes or objects. One way to produce a jig is to use a wooden block and drill screws in the shapes you want. For this project, I created one in a square shape. It worked well.
Tubular jig adapted from a bottle of toner.
To join the spike to the bracket, I bent wire on either side of both objects in a figure eight motion. This ensured a firm and sturdy connection.
Now to join all the brackets together I toyed with multiple ideas; jump rings, hinges, etc. In the end, I decided to create my own. Perhaps it has its own name that I am not privy to but I winded wire around one side then created a loop. On the opposite side, I winded the wire around the bracket and, when appropriate, I wrapped into the loop. This secured each bracket to one another.
To end off, I put a chain recycled from a keychain to allow the wearer to adjust the length of the choker according to the comfort and neck width.
Styling Shots:
Reflection:
Overall, I vastly enjoyed the first project. From the conception of ideas to the actual construction of the piece, all of it was fun. More importantly, though, I feel that I learned a lot from the entire project. I always enjoyed using my hands to create things, however, I was never given the opportunity to create something as professional as this project. It pushed me to look at the product I created from all points of view; be it from the user/wearer or from the advertising point of view. I had to find a way to incorporate all of these things and although fun and enjoyable, it was challenging. Challenges are great though, as they help you learn and keep you on your feet so you do not become too comfortable.
Furthermore, I had a hard time with the initial part of the project. To create an idea I was initially stumped and unsure of the direction I wanted to take it. However, it was only until I looked into myself and what I liked to do did I come up with some ideas. In the past, whenever I would get some form of artist block I just kept listening to my cultures music and looking at music videos, fashion, photographs, etc. Then, I would be able to come up with an idea. I didn’t truly realize this until Project #1 because I had to think about how I would create this next piece. I believe this is because of the nature of all of my previous work. All of my work before this class was 2D, so translating my ideas to something 3D proved to be not only intimidating but challenging.
Lastly, if I could have changed one thing I would have either spray painted the piece or find a way to bend the wire without the hideous scratches caused by the pliers I used. I didn’t find the time to do explore my option nor did have too much of an issue with the scratches, I just think it would have looked better and more professional without them. I was suggested to use a sandblaster, which is a machine the blows sand at an object at high velocity so that it quickly sands an object. One would do this to not tediously sand it by hand with sandpaper. I think if I had organized my time differently I could have explored that option in more depth.
In all, It was very fun and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead in this class.
