PRODUCTS & SYSTEMS working sheet
Product name: Television
Manufacturer: Samsung
Designer (if not known who invented this product): Philo Taylor Farnsworth
Year invented: 1927
System of your daily life where this product takes part: Media Intake Explain its function and relation to the system (200 words): The system of media intake consists of media outlets, media consumers (like me), media creators (also like me), and streaming devices. My television acts as a streaming device, I use it to stream platforms such as youtube, netflix, hulu and prime video. I consume media daily morning, afternoon and night through the television but I do not use cable. While I work, while I sleep and when I’m just hanging out with friends, the TV is always on. Usually it plays music off of the youtube platform which allows for ads during videos. I couldn’t count the amount of advertisements I see on my TV daily on my fingers and toes, those advertisements are strategically placed on related videos to target the consumer (me). Although the advertisements are obnoxious and I almost always ignore or skip them, they are instrumental to the cycle of media. The ads allow for the other content creators to get paid for outputting media to the audience. The TV is solely and instrument in the system utilized to show the media.
How can this product be improved to make the system and your life easier/better? (300 words): This product could be improved to make my life easier if it was a real smart TV. There are already “smart TV’s”, but they are only given this title because they have all of the streaming platforms already programmed into the TV. I would greatly appreciate if I could talk to my TV, like siri or an amazon echo. I would like to be able to turn down the brightness, asl it to put on my sleeping noises or turn up or down. It would also be convenient if the TV was compatible with a gaming system without requiring that platform, such as a Playstation TV, that you could play PS3 and PS4 games on without having the device. I think that this TV would be a great upgrade from an ordinary samsung TV. This would all allow for the media system to run smoother, it would allow for me to switch between platforms quicker which in turn would allow for me to consume more media, faster. Not only would this help to improve the media system, but it would simply make life in itself easier, and more fun. If a tv could run games, without a secondary computer hooked up to it, it could save space and money and allow for more people to game.
Product name: Fanny Pack
Manufacturer: Teddy Fresh
Designer (if not known who invented this product): Mleba Stone
Year invented: 1962
System of your daily life where this product takes part: Commuting
Explain its function and relation to the system (200 words): The system of commuting consists of media commuters, occupations or schools, transportation, books, coffee, and other needed tools for a day away from home. In my commuting system, the fanny pack is necessary to hold and items that I will need easy access to , like my metro card, wallet, juul, keys and pencils. The fanny pack allows for easy access and mobility which is necessary when traveling around a lot of people and rushing around in the city. Outside of this complex, the fanny pack is no longer a utility. For example, if I were driving to and from work and school everyday I may just use a backpack and a pencil case and my pockets, but when I am taking trains and walking up and down stairs the fanny pack becomes a utility.
How can this product be improved to make the system and your life easier/better? (300 words): This product could be improved to make my life easier simply if it were bigger, if I could fit just my laptop in it, I could use it as my one and only bag. If I only had to carry one bag while commuting, it would be a lot less stressful. ???
Product name: Laptop
Manufacturer: Apple
Designer (if not known who invented this product): Steve Jobs
Year invented: 1967
System of your daily life where this product takes part: School/Art [education] Explain its function and relation to the system (200 words): The system of school consists of students, teachers, schools, school boards and tools. The Laptop is just one of the many tools that allows me to work and create. The laptop allows for the creation of word documents, music, art and content all around. The laptop is able to process and download many softwares that allow for the creation of content. The computer is homebase for all assignments, projects, communication between professor and student, it is instrumental in the education system. Using the internet on the laptop, I can research, and even visit websites that give me inspiration. The laptop exists as a utility in the system of education by allowing for a constant read and write, and thought process. When I get on the computer to work on a project, everything I touch is part of the process, I may begin to look for inspiration which is always available on the internet may it be photos, videos, it could even be an ad. I may be typing ideas out, or even beginning a piece of work on premiere or photoshop. It all happens on the laptop. As a student, my young mind is constantly craving just as other students’ do, even when we aren’t aware, we are always learning even muscle memory is a learning process, so using a tool with such vast abilities is instrumental to the learning process.
How can this product be improved to make the system and your life easier/better? (300 words): This product could be improved to make my life easier if it had more memory, it is very difficult to find something that the Macbook can’t do that another object already exists to do. It would be convenient if the Laptop could project its own screen, so that when I am working on a project or an art piece I could see it on a larger scale. It is very in style for electronics to be slimmer, light and mobile these days, but it becomes tiring to look at a tiny screen all day, if the laptop could project its screen, you could sit farther away in your own office, desk or room and work. It would allow for more comfort, but would also allow for you to closely overwork a piece before you print or send it out. It would also be useful if the computer itself could print, this would allow for students to print at anytime in the comfort of their own space and get their work in on time. Sometimes it’s tough to make a trip to the school printer and they may not have one at home because of the space it takes up, but if their computer could print it would be no problem.
Product name: Hoodie
Manufacturer: Obey
Designer (if not known who invented this product): Knickerbocker Knitting Company/ Champion
Year invented: 1919
System of your daily life where this product takes part: Comfort Explain its function and relation to the system (200 words): The system of comfort exists within many broader systems but generally relates to some (animal or human)’s own feeling towards another person place or thing. In the system I am speaking of is personal comfort within the system of clothing. The hoodie exists for the purpose of keeping me warm, and stylish aspects of my personal comfort. It also exists as a representation of, in this case, a brand of skateboards. The brand itself represents skaters, skateboards, a culture amongst these. It can only be used within this system of comfort as a hooded sweatshirt, a layer of clothing. I wear it to and from, over and under shirts to stay comfortable and in style.
How can this product be improved to make the system and your life easier/better? (300 words): This product could be improved by being more versatile, if it could zip around a pillow, as a pillowcase or carry items, then it would be able to breach out of its existence as a sole layer of clothing but would become present in other systems of comfort. Systems of comfort while sleeping and systems of comfort away from home. If the hoodie had a small pocket above the chest, or down the side to hold small items such as my phone, juul, cigarettes or keys, it would eliminate the need for my fanny pack. If the hoodie could zip up as a pillow case, it would have representational value, it would become an “obey” pillowcase, it would be stylish but also comforting, as a piece of me on a pillow. If I left my cat home alone I could leave her with my hoodie pillow to sleep on and she would then be comfortable without me. My proposal for the remodel of the obey hoodie would be a tactile hoodie, with pockets such as a tactile vest would. It would primarily improve the function of a hoodie in the system of city life and commuting just as the fanny pack does.
Product name: Flag
Manufacturer: Sketchy Tank
Designer (if not known who invented this product): Sketchy Tank
Year invented: 17th century
System of your daily life where this product takes part: comfort/decor/individuality
Explain its function and relation to the system (200 words): The system of comfort exists within many broader systems but generally relates to some (animal or human)’s own feeling towards another person place or thing. In the system I am speaking of is personal comfort within the system of home comfort and decor. The flag exists within this system for the sole use of decoration and putting one’s self, likes and interests in your personal space (the home). Some people prefer simplicity, others like to use posters or knick knacks to decorate their space, the flag for me represents my interests, I am interested in sketchy tank, his ideas and artwork. The flag exists to make my walls more appealing to me, to eellike my individuality has a place in my room. What if the flag was more than a decoration and could be utilized with another purpose?
How can this product be improved to make the system and your life easier/better? (300 words): This product could be improved by using it as a curtain, if the flag were on the inside of the curtain, it would still withhold its original purpose, of decoration, comfort and expanding one’s own individuality in the home, but it would also be effective in keeping light out of the room or blocking the window so people cannot see inside. The curtain exists in a similar system of decor, and the two may never exist where the other doesn’t, but that does mean they could not be combined in order to make a greater product. The combination of the two would be a retractable set of curtains, double sided. This means that from the outside of the apartment, house or studio, the flag can be seen and the individuality of a person can then actually be seen from the outside and the inside. It would also be useful for keeping sunlight out, or making privacy when one needs it. The retractability would be useful because it would not get tangled up like other string curtains, but it would rather just be able to be pulled up or down.
