Week 11

Based on the more abstract clay forms from the previous week, I created two more clay forms that were more in line with a controller. These forms combined the initial designs with the lumpy clay explorations with create a controller that includes a soundscape mapped to its speaker grill.

The latest clay forms were used to test the scale of the device and its fit to the hand. I then translated the clay forms into a CAD model which I was not entirely satisfied with.

Feeling constrained by the affordances of clay, I began to experiment with cardboard as a more rigid prototyping material. One of the problems with the earlier designs was that its rounded base did not allow for a lot of stability during interaction. I was inspired by the corrugation on the cardboard to design a textured base that affords more stability, taking into account that a patient would likely be interacting with the device in a handheld manner or by using their lap as a surface.

I then translated the cardboard form into a quick CAD model and render. In the next phase, I began adding secondary details to the model to present a more realistic form.

The secondary details included a power button, an LED to indicate on/off state, a cutout to attach a wrist strap or lanyard, speaker holes, and volume controls.

In evaluating this design, we recognized that it felt overly stiff and did not speak to the overall goal of reducing patient anxiety. However, it did speak to a playful element that could inspire patients to engage with the interface and represented the form typologies of a controller / hardware design as a whole. In order to begin to addressing the shortcomings, we each made mood boards for playfulness and/or technology and calmness and/or technology. We then revealed them to each other for a better understanding of a shared visual language.

Based on these discussions, I made changes to the previous form to speak to a softer interaction by rounding out the form and changing the body material to fabric.

To consider a completely different direction as well, I modelled a more organic design based on a sketch that Elena drew and rendered the model with different CMF variations.

To round out the week, we worked on our presentation slides for the upcoming peer review.