IXLab Group Project
For our project, we took inspiration from Omelas, and more specifically the ideas of emotions. We thought that it is better to display emotions rather than bundle them up, so we created a special headset that allowed the user to see emotions.
In Omelas, peoples emotions are mitigated by putting all of the blame onto one person, which is never a good idea. In our alternate universe idea, we thought that it would be interesting to touch on what would happen if someone were to be able to express their emotions in the universe that this story is based in. When brainstorming, we came up with quite a few ideas, but ultimately settled on this one due to our interest in the concept, as well as the difficulty that comes with showing emotions as it is usually easier said than done.
Construction was done using cardboard, paint, and wire. When discussing the story, we had an idea of a wearing finding the headset randomly then picking it off the ground. We wanted to give the headset a science fiction look, as well as giving it a look like it’s a relic or an artifact from the past. Some aspects of the design, like the wires sticking out and the design of the headset, were designed with this specific thought in mind. This is why, when looking a bit more closely, parts of the artifact look messed up and crumpled.
The overall story followed closely with the idea of the headset, and a lot of the story was freestyle. We knew that we wanted to associate color with feeling, as we felt that it is a universal concept. We took inspiration from movies like “Inside Out” and from common sayings (for example, if someone is blue then they are sad). The colored cardboard is the main way that emotion is felt through the headset, as it is commonplace and normal for someone to hide their emotions or expressions.
In research, we identified the success as being a way to better portray the idea of feelings. The one failure we saw was that in our modern world, this idea is something that is already considered. We made this shift by remembering that we are working in a fictional universe – not a real one.
When preparing for the performance, we decided to freestyle everything, only really practicing for about an hour before we had to go on stage. The performance followed the main character finding the goggles then seeing their friends and seeing that they all have feelings. We felt that it was a good way to demonstrate our product as it was visual and interactive and an intense backstory was not required.
I created the concept of the device and the story for the performance, and also did some painting and cutting. The entire team worked on many different things, however most mainly worked on the design and crafting of the artifact. Team communication was…interesting. All I can say is that I’m happy everything came together.
I think, overall, our performance and product followed the theme well and I personally had a fun time brainstorming, solving problems, and overall creating the artifact. I think that, in the end, everything came together in a full circle moment and we were all very relieved and happy when everything was done and over and we walk off stage all with big smiles on our faces.
One project that I want to talk about is The Suit. I feel that this project does a very good job at embodying the theme of an artifact. They have a physical device that is able to change the overall outcome of a project and do a good job at showing its usecase. The performance was creative as it provided detail on how the artifact worked in a fun and creative way. I liked their dental and really appreciated the resourcefulness of their creation.