I want to create a seating device that can be placed in a library, where people need a private space to do their work. My design allows people to do so and, at the same time, saves a lot of space in the library. Even though people sit together, they are not interrupting with each other.
Drawing Development/ Sketch
Bristol Models
Chipboard Model
Mechanical Drawing
Tape on floor with human proportion
Mini Wood Assignment
Final Wood Model
Front View
Side View
Scale-up Photoshop
Systems Map
Repair and resiliency story
Design Brief
1) What did you make and why?
I made a calendar in Bristol paper. And each “number” is like a wheel, which can be rotated manually. I made this calendar because it’s very useful on daily basis, and I can use it for a really long time. I chose to use wind power Bristol paper because it was made with wind generated electricity, which is absolutely natural and eco friendly. For each number, instead of painting or printing the number, I poked little holes with pins to indicate the number because normal ink might cause harm to the environment. There was also a slot where I placed a roll of tracing paper, so that I can get the length I want and write memo on it. The orange wire in the middle points to the exact number, or the date. And it also helps me to more precisely tear the tracing paper. Last but not least, I keep everything in white because, on one hand, I want to avoid using any ink that might be toxic, and, on the other hand, I try to keep the design simple and neat, so that it will not be outdated after 50 years. For the wire in the middle, I picked color orange because it stands out from rest of the design.
2) In what ways will this object/design be useful to you over 50 years of change?
The calendar is useful in terms of it’s function. I always need to check the date and write down some notes. Also, it feels satisfying by just rotating the date everyday and see the numbers changing by time. My family always keeps the calendars that we used because it is a very private item that stores memory. By making a calendar that can be used for rest of my lifetime, it will definitely contain so much of my memory. So it will become more precious over time as I build up more memories.
3) How will it be resilient (used in more than one way etc. and/or encourage social resiliency through its usage)?
I will be able to repair it by myself by using paper, and I can refill the tracing paper easily. I not only can check date but also use it for decoration purpose.
4) What specific event(s) of environmental change will it help you adapt to or address?
I want to address an ongoing problem of massive consumption and production. Instead of changing a calendar every year, I can keep using the same calendar for rest of 21st century. If everyone is using a calendar like this, there will be less demand for products. Also, the material I use is eco friendly. The paper is absolutely safe and recyclable after use. And I didn’t use any ink at all.
5) What materials will you use, given what you have learned this semester about changing resources and material availability?
I used wind power Bristol paper. The paper itself and the way of producing the paper are natural and safe. Some resources are very hard to get. And exploiting the resources might cause harm to the environment. The material I use will save a lot of resources because it can be recycled at the end and used for other products.
6) How does your object offer function and aesthetics over time? How does it fulfill the Long-Life Design criteria to the best of your ability?
My product is repairable. The cost of Bristol paper is very low. The process of making is fairly easy as long as I calculate all the numbers. The product is very useful on daily basis and easy to use. It’s definitely safe and addresses a bigger environmental issue. The design itself is simple and will unlikely to be outdated.
Self-evaluation
Did you finish all components on time?
Yes.
Were you invested in your work over the past month?
Yes. I changed my idea a couple times and spent plenty of time developing my design.
Did you proofread your writing?
Yes.
Did you meet all specifications?
Yes.
Did you take care in printing your support materials (map, brief and repair story)?
Yes.
Did you show creative innovation in your design and project idea (gain new skills, challenge yourself conceptually etc.)?
Yes, it was hard to design an object out of nowhere. And it’s even harder to design an object that addresses sustainable issues. The idea of being aware of the surroundings and making changes is challenging for me because I never considered the materials in terms of their impact on the environment. Also, the object itself was hard to make because I need to figure out the rotating mechanism and ensure the precision and aesthetic of the object.
Were you prepared for your presentation and exhibit care and enthusiasm for your project?
Yes.
Did you take care with your final documentation?
Yes.
Any other comments or feedback you’ll like to give me about the class or your final project?
This is a brilliant project of combing art and science. And I was able to think about sustainable systems from a designer’s perspective, which is different and helpful.
Keeping up with the installation piece I made for Bridge 3, I created three posters asking new Chinese immigrants not to forget about their root and culture.
The organization I chose was Chinese Culture Foundation, a non-profit organization based in New York. It’s goal is to share the understanding of Chinese history and culture with the world.
Strategy:
Message: No matter where these Chinese immigrants live, they should not be forgetting about their culture and language.
Reasons Why: One’s culture doesn’t define but is part of the person’s identity. The life they own right now was essentially “created” by their ancestors, who was the first group immigrating to U.S. and had been an extremely hard time.
Benefit: People will at least be aware of the history and the “hidden” identity in them.
Promise: Chinese immigrants today will be proud of their Chinese identity and keep spreading and inherit Chinese culture.
*”勿忘” in English means “Don’t forget”.
Posters in real life:
Moodboard:
Artist: Chiharu Shiota
In Shiota’s installation piece The Key in the Hand in 2015. She created a web of red threads and at the end of each thread, she hangs a key that she collected from people all over the world. Key is a very personal item that stores one’s memories. She deals with the idea of how past invades the present
I picked the Mott St. of Chinatown in NYC because there is lots of history behind the old chinatown and there’s definitely a reflection of the past history in Chinatown today.
My target audiences include the older generation who had been through the immigration process. I want my work to be a memorial for them, and they are somehow part of the work because they contribute their memories to the piece. My work is also for the younger generations who are children of these Chinese immigrants. For them, the installation teaches them a lesson of their grand and grand grand parents and what they have been through. Last but not least, I also want the Chinese tourists who grew up in Chinese territory to see the work because they always forget the Chinese people living in another country.
Rendering/ Process:
Inspired by Shiota’s use of symbolism, I decided to use shoes and red shoelaces as my main materials because shoes symbolize the long journey of Chinese immigrants traveling from China to U.S, and they also symbolize the long history these immigrants had been through. The color red is a representative color of China and it also correlates with the red strings in Shiota’s work.
Final prototype:
1) Read the following article: Damaging Your iPhone, Accidentally, on Purpose
I can relate to the article because I used to have a laptop that I’ve used for several years. And I knew that my parents were going to buy me a new one as soon as the old one was broken. So I kind of just wanted my laptop to break. I no longer used laptop case. And I was extremely careless about it.
There is no “upgrade” in my object, so I won’t have a sense of hoping for a newer version in the first place. Also, I will have a feeling of satisfaction by “changing” the date everyday, which wants me to keep and take better care of my calendar.
2) Upload a draft of your Final Project Design brief
1) PROJECT NAME: Rotating Calendar
2) What did you make and why?
I made a calendar in paper. And each “number” is like a wheel, which can be rotated manually. I made this calendar because it’s very useful on daily basis. And I can use it for a really long time.
3) In what ways will this object/design be useful to you over 50 years of change?
The calendar is useful in terms of it’s function. I always need to check the date.
4) How will it be resilient (used in more than one way etc. and/or encourage social resiliency through its usage)?
I will be able to repair it by myself by using paper. Also, the paper is absolutely safe and recyclable after use.
5) What specific event(s) of environmental change will it help you adapt to or address?
I want to address an ongoing problem of massive consumption and production. Also, the material I use is eco friendly.
6) What materials will you use, given what you have learned this semester about changing resources and material availability?
I will use Bristol paper. Some resources are very hard to get. And exploiting the resources might cause harm to the environment. The material I use will save a lot of resources because it can be recycled at the end and used for other products.
7) How does your object offer function and aesthetics over time? How does it fulfill the Long-Life Design criteria to the best of your ability
It’s repairable. The cost of Bristol paper is very low. The process of making is fairly easy as long as I calculate all the numbers. The product is very useful on daily basis and easy to use. It’s definitely safe and addresses a bigger environmental issue. The design itself is simple and will unlikely to be outdated.
Tom Dixon displays the idea of long life design by trying to design furnitures that can last a lifetime. His working ethic well fits the goal of my project, which is to design a calendar that can be used for over fifty years. Dixon tried different materials and always makes sure the quality of the furniture is high, which makes me think about how I can make my calendar “stronger” and structurally steady. I agree with Dixon’s opinion on mass produced designs. Since they are produced in large numbers, they should have designs that meet most of people’s taste. So it’s easy to fall into a trap of copying and losing originality.
1) What is the name/title of your project?
Rotating Calendar
2) How will your project change, as you change, over the next 50 years?
The “time” will change, so the numbers will keep rotating.
3) Post a draft of your systems map and your resiliency/repair story (research and/or design) See Final Project brief for full description of each.
Resiliency/ Repair Story:
The calendar is made completely out of paper, so that the paper will be recycled after use. I will create a step-by-step instruction of how to make a new one. So that if one is broken, I can easily make a new one by following the steps.
Map
1. Compared to what you saw during your Zone Walk, what can you see and sense differently from the boat?
I can see the city from a third person perspective instead of first person perspective. And I was able to have a clearer sense of how “prepared” New York city is in face of the flooding and see level rising. Also, taking the boat, I basically saw the outer part of the city, which is zone 1.
2. Does New York seem prepared for sea-level rise?
Not really. In Manhattan area, the ground is slightly elevated from the water but not much. There wasn’t much protection, the buildings are pretty exposed to the water.
3. What areas appear to be vulnerable to coastal flooding? Are any effects of Hurricane Sandy visible?
The whole Manhattan, especially midtown is vulnerable to coastal flooding because there are lots of tall buildings that are right next to each other. The buildings are very close to the water, and there is barely any protection. Somewhere at lower Manhattan, close to the Dumbo, I saw a really long infrastructure that looks like a protection wall. (I’m not sure, it might be a factory.) And around the Long Island City, there are piles of rocks near the coastline.
4. Do you see any evidence of the Big U being constructed?
If the wall that I saw was the barrier wall, that could be the evidence of the Big U.
5. Are you able to determine which areas of the coast are built on landfill?
The creek that’s next to the Long Island City is built on landfill.
6. Do you see any sea walls, reinforcements or marsh areas?
The piles of rocks on the coastline might be reinforcements, but I didn’t see any marsh area.
7. What kind of systems do you see interacting (people, water, boats, etc.)?
I saw boats and piles of kayaks either in the water or near the water. I also saw tourists visiting the statue of liberty.
8. How do you think the New York City coastline will change over the next 50 years?
The coastline will be more elevated in order to get prepared for sea level rising. After the Big U is made, there will be a huge wall surrounding the Manhattan.
9. Reflect on the presentations. What did you learn? Did anything in particular surprise you? Did you enjoy the trip and the perspective offered from the water?
One of the guest speaker talks about how we can approach the flooding issue from another perspective. Instead of prevent the water coming into the city, we can use some types of material that absorbs the water or a space that stores the water. I think that it’s an interesting and more efficient solution than the Big U. I enjoyed the trip, especially with such a nice weather.
For my project, I made a corset that symbolizes me being disconnected to the world. Three layers of the “opening” of the corset represents how I “protect” myself from others. And the bolts facing outward creates a distance between me and others.
Development sketches:
Collapsible structure:
Bristol/ Chipboard Model:
Final Object:
Concept Photos:
1) What is your final project idea and why do you want to make it? Describe how this design/object/idea will specifically help YOU (make sure it is designed for you, not someone else, or an anonymous user) be more resilient and navigate environmental change over the next 50 years.
My final project idea is to make a calendar. Instead of making it flat like a conventional calendar, I want to make it three dimensional. Inspired by the lock that is used for suitcase, I want to add a sliding mechanism that allows me to change the date and year by twisting each layer. I want to make a calendar because it is very useful for me on daily basis and it will save a lot of paper because I can use one for a really long time. Through this design, I will be more aware of the number of things I really need and those I don’t need.
2) Describe your specific work plan for the next three weeks (please note that all project components are due May 3rd).
I will make everything in paper/ recycled paper. I will gather all the materials and make a clear plan of each component I need and figure out how the mechanism is going to work by next week. I will make a rough prototype before I start, just to make sure everything works. And I will start my making process in next two classes and document the final piece during the last weekend before the last class.
3) How will you source materials?
I will look up recycled paper online, or used the paper that I wasted.
4) How does your project specifically encourage resiliency or use resilient materials?
My final piece will be completely recyclable. And it’s made out of recycled material. Also, it will never be outdated and very easy to use by just “switching” the number manually.
5) How will it be repaired?
I can simply repair it by using another piece of paper.
1) Explore articles published in the New York Times within the last month
– What was the most interesting visual that you found (photograph, diagram etc.) and why was it so powerful to you? Include the image and the link in your post.
The image was powerful to me because of the high contrast in colors. At first glance, it looked like a painting, or an art project. Looking at it closely, I realized that the orange “dots” in the image are chimpanzees. And I was very curious of the purpose of making such a high contrast image.
– Given what you learned in this article, how different do you think the environment be 50 years from now (the year 2070)?
The camera used to shoot this photo was originally used to shoot the galaxies in the universe. However, the scientists now use the same camera to keep track of the endangered animals because thermal energy released from the animals allows them to be highly visible in infrared camera. And it’s very hard to spot these animals at night due to low visibility. However, the hot rocks, rain, and other situations sometimes might be caught as “animal” in the camera. So the scientists are still improving the equipment and plans to have it for sale in the future. In the year 2070, there will be more animals that either go extinct or become endangered. However, the rate of this tragedy happening might be slower than it should be due to these high-tech inventions.
– In what ways do you think these realities will impact your work and life 50 years from now?
The species extinction will definitely motivate me, and all the designers, to consider issue like this while we are designing products. Just like the infrared camera, I feel the responsibility to contribute in saving the world. More importantly, this harsh reality also serves as an alert that constantly reminds me not to pollute the earth. I will be aware of any action I do.
– How might these realities affect your final project design ideas?
Since we’ve been talking about the environment a lot, I only focus on how we are affecting the water and air. After reading this article, I realized that it is not just the environment. What we do potentially threaten other species’ life. As a result, for my final project, I want to address a broader issue and bring in the idea of “we are killing the animals”.
2) Conduct independent research on Social Resiliency.
Social resiliency is the resiliency of people in the society, while the infrastructural and urban resiliency is the resiliency of physical facilities and infrastructures.
There is an invisible bond between people and the government that needs to be strengthened. There is also bond among the citizens. They need to build trust and compassion in relation to each other.
When there is a natural disaster coming, the whole region will probably be chaotic. When the emergent situation happens, if there is a strong bond between the citizens and the government. The government will be able to give out instructions easily. Since the citizens trust the government, they will be more likely to follow the instructions instead of panicking. For the aftermath, citizens will gather together and help each other out if they have strong social resilience. They are a united community instead of individuals isolated from each other.
It is very important because social resilience is in fact a prerequisite of infrastructural and urban resilience. As long as people are united and cooperate well with the government, the fixing and rebuilding process will be done more smoothly and easily. In order to achieve it, designers can help inventing something that assist the government to manage the whole city, such as apps.
-What is an experience you have had, or an object/design that you have, that you feel supports social resiliency in you? (i.e. makes you feel stronger, not alone, connected to the earth, other people, animals, the planet, prepared, capable and able to deal with changes etc.).
I feel connected to the community when the Parsons fire happened a week ago. When the actual fire happened, even though I wasn’t there, I heard all the students and faculties were very organized and efficient in terms of leaving the building. After the fire, I got email updates from school everyday. And everyone is cooperative. It feels like we are one big community, where we understand the situation and help each other out.
A good design is able to connect people and offers an easy way for people to better interact with each other.
Definitely if I could because it is very important to make people feel connected to the society. Also I believed that making a good design should somehow contribute to the society in a positive way.
3) Develop three final project ideas. What will you make and why? (an object, clothing, set of tools, skill manual, a design for connecting you to other people, animals or the earth, creates meaningful social connections with others etc.) Include sketches for each idea (and bring these sketches to class next week). For each idea, answer the following:
Cigarette Box:
My idea is to create a separate box/ space/ container that is attached to the cigarette box to collect cigarette butts. I don’t have to throw away cigarette butts on the street. (My only problem is that I might not be smoking for that many years.)
2) How will this design be resilient (used in more than one way etc. and/or encourage social resiliency through its usage)?
It can be also used to store wasted gum. The design encourages people to not throw away “tiny” but “toxic” trash on the streets. When one person starts using it, the people around will see it and start following.
3) What specific event(s) of environmental change will it help YOU adapt to or address?
Cigarette butts thrown away by people cause air and water pollution. And they also poison the fish in the water.
4) How will this design be repaired?
The opening of the tiny container uses sliding mechanism, and it’s easy to put it back if it falls off.
5) What materials will you use for this design given what you have learned this semester about natural/biological/recycled materials? (Consider how climate change might affect the availability of some materials.
I will use biodegradable plastic/ paper for the outer part, and fire-resistant material for the inner part.
6) Which of the Long Life Design criteriadoes this design fulfill?
It definitely addresses a broader issue of saving the environment by doing small actions. The container is very easy to make in terms of manufacturing process, and it will be pretty cheap.
Collapsible Bowl:
I want to make a bowl that is collapsible and has multifunctions. When it expands, it can be used as a bowl, but when it collapses, it can be used as a cup. It’s useful in daily life and saves plenty of space. Having multiple functions will alleviate mass production and consumption.
2) How will this design be resilient (used in more than one way etc. and/or encourage social resiliency through its usage)?
As I mentioned, the bowl can be used both as a bowl and a cup.
3) What specific event(s) of environmental change will it help YOU adapt to or address?
There will be less production and consumption, which decreases the use of resources.
4) How will this design be repaired?
There will be costumer service that fixes the bowl by taking apart the “petals” and replace a new one.
5) What materials will you use for this design given what you have learned this semester about natural/biological/recycled materials? (Consider how climate change might affect the availability of some materials.
I’m thinking of using bamboo or ceramics.
6) Which of the Long Life Design criteria does this design fulfill?
It saves money because people can buy one product that can be used for two purposes. It’s easy to produce in quantities and for costumers to use. The material is safe and calls for people buying less product.
Shampoo packaging:
People always complaints about not being able to pour out all of the shampoo. Inspired by toothpaste squeezer, I want to design a shampoo packaging that will have no wasted shampoo. It’s useful for almost everyone on daily basis.
2) How will this design be resilient (used in more than one way etc. and/or encourage social resiliency through its usage)?
Physically, the design can fit any storage place and easy to carry around.
3) What specific event(s) of environmental change will it help YOU adapt to or address?
The shampoo waste may poison the water. Reducing waste as much as possible alleviates this problem.
4) How will this design be repaired?
Since the material for packaging will be soft and flexible, I don’t think it will be so easily broke.
5) What materials will you use for this design given what you have learned this semester about natural/biological/recycled materials? (Consider how climate change might affect the availability of some materials.
I might use biodegradable plastic because I want a transparent material.
6) Which of the Long Life Design criteria does this design fulfill?
The cost won’t be hight. The material is safe. The design itself is fresh and visually pleasant. Also, it addresses a broader issue of shampoo waste.
