Brainstorming Session – Mohammed and Pangna

Project Title: Cultural representation through arm bands design

Creators: Mohammed And Pangna

For our final project, due to the theme of the item being passed down from one generation to another, we decided that the theme of our project should have to do with it being cultural or an item showcasing some manner of familial bond. Keeping this theme in mind we are thinking of making an accessory that one doesn’t need to wear daily but to keep for sentimental value. So we decided to make an arm band with certain inscription of words from our culture. In essence doing a calligraphy of sorts. We wanted to do something with words/literature/quotes instead of pictures/graphics because we thought it would be easier to carve, but we are still unsure. We also thought languages remain relatively constant throughout generations and as such will always remain relevant. For the sketches we focused on my first language, which is Bangla, with a focus on the word “kindness”. Here are some pictures to explain the process.

Basically these kind of arm bands was our inspiration.

We then chose to go with Bangla for the sketches. We then chose the word “kindness” as we thought that qualities are universally known concepts, and as such can be passed on and act as an objects of remembrance. We are still not sure what kind of plastics to use which will be what we will focus on our next discussion on. We were also thinking of carving out words on both side of the arm but we want to do a trial run first as we want to make sure the band is durable after all the carving. 

 

So our objectives for the next session are :

Pick/decide a material that’s flexible while being easy to carve.

Figure out a tube-like mold material we were thinking of using a pipe like object, as we saw some similar objects in the lab.

Find out what material will we use to carve.

Since we don’t expect our descendant to actually wear it all the time, maybe we don’t have to be too careful with the plastic to use, but we will nevertheless try to use a material that’s safe to the skin.

UPDATE: Tuesday 8th June 2021

So we managed to create our arm band as we planned for, using the ironing method that we were introduced to few classes back. Here is a picture of it:

A picture of me wearing it:

However after we carved out the word, we decided that it would be better to create a photo frame using recycled plastic and use the image of the word as the image. We thought it would look more aesthetically pleasing that way and is closer to the idea of creating something that can be passed from one generation to another. Also, it would be more durable as bending the plastic would put strain on the thin carving and result in tear (some of which could be seen in the picture above). Our goal now is to make the product more durable and cut out the image portion from the arm band. Additionally, we managed to create the mold for the frame and we just need to make few more changes to the frame to shape it well.  Overall, we are happy with how our first iteration of the project came out, we even got to add color to it to represent the country, and also managed to use concepts taught to us recently. Additionally, the plastic we used for the arm band, particularly to add color, were the thrown away products from the aforementioned lab, so it was nice seeing it all come to a full circle, a somewhat circular economy in action.

Moodboard

Here is the moodboard consisting the pictures which inspired us:

UPDATE 9 JUNE 2021

We decided to use the arm band as a image in a photo frame, which we will make out of plastic. We will also create a photo frame holder using the coin purses from our previous labs. We decided to create a photograph because we think it better represents the message of kindness, as we do not expect people to wear the arm band regularly. As such, we think a framed picture will act a better medium to showcase our message and it’s more durable. Here is an image of us building the frame for the photograph: