Making something invisible visible
JJ Abrams has created many celebrated TV shows but not many people have heard about a show named Fringe. In Fringe, Dr. Walter Bishop tries to re-create the conditions needed to make an invisible parallel universe visible while the FBI Fringe division investigates him.
For our first assignment, we had to explore a similar idea:
Make something invisible, visible.
As I started thinking about it, the first and obvious element that came to mind was Emotions.
Being an anxious person myself, I liked the idea of making my anxiety visible in some way so I could become aware with the help of a device that I was getting anxious.
My bullshit filter was too high and so I thought of foolproof ways using existing tech and ensured my Design performed one and one function only - track my anxiety.
It would have a clip on heartbeat detector clipped at the waist (for effectiveness) and an app that would change screen colors based on anxiety levels. You could manually check-in at your own convenience how anxious you were through the day. It was designed keeping a self-aware person in mind.
No AI handover for analysis or constant notifications that make you add to anxiety.
I thought this assignment was a big lesson on many levels:
3 decisions were bang on:
a. have it do a single thing and nothing more
b. color changing as a form seems to work naturally for this idea.
c. No AI, no notifications - good
2. The run of the mill app was a bad idea.
3. If it's about effectiveness, why not have the heartbeat detector on the heart?
4. Why not turn it a piece of jewelry?
5. Try to get out of the shoes of the designer & put on the shoes of the user, conduct the would I wear it myself BS test.
What I would do differently:
This class gave me permission to listen to my imagination and find ways to make those ideas come to life. It also set the tone for the rest of the semester and the guidance was to explore everything.
I was thinking of this crystal necklace I own…and if there was any way to make it intelligent in a visible way that transcends its current supernatural powers.
The mood ring is an interesting product in this realm. Maybe it was too ahead of its time.
Keeping the principles of the mood ring at the center
add a heart rate detector to the neopixel necklace by adafruit
The theory is if the heart rate rises above 100, the colors are coded to change
Since crystals are having a moment, if we could give this a crystal face/front it would make for an interesting piece of jewelry.
Constraints: Make it subtle yet bright enough to draw the wearer’s attention
The 2nd variation I would like to test is vibration feedback.
The code would be designed to start giving subtle vibration feedback when heart rate rises above 100
No lights no shine, just designed to be a platform of private communication and feedback between the Anxious wearer and her necklace.
Maybe just a vibration motor at the back of the crystal and a small Gemma circuit board with a capsule battery connected to an optical heart rate monitor.
Overall, the wearability of wearables really hinges on the nuances of the environment. In heated moments when anxiety levels rise, any kind of tech feedback is annoying.
Maybe sometimes things are best left invisible or better, turned off.
Color changing tech has become central in a lot of experimental design
Chameleon jacket - tech I’m exploring for my second project
https://www.fastcompany.com/3036926/this-chameleon-jacket-changes-color-based-on-what-you-touch
https://www.fastcompany.com/3053536/gorgeous-transforming-textiles-are-like-high-end-hypercolor
