Idea
The idea for our group came from the book The Fish of Lijiang. Time dilation and time sense compression are two interesting concepts mentioned in the book, which inspired us that the ability to have subjective control over time is what we wanted to achieve with our invention.
Bring Storm
In the beginning, the members of our group wanted to make a design invention about holographic projection. We all thought the idea was cool and futuristic, but we realized that it would be almost impossible for us to render the scenery created by the holographic projection on cardboard. Then Anny offered my opinion. She envisioned a perfume that could change the way people feel about time, help them enjoy it, or make boring time go by faster. But they didn’t think the perfume presentation was that futuristic and suggested we could make a helmet or headband. Unfortunately, we found that many other groups had already made something like this. Anny came up with the idea that we could make a headset that could connect to the brain via bone conduction. The form of the headset looks less exaggerated and can still be futuristic by decorating it like a butterfly.
Final Design
Our group’s project is a headset that can change the way people feel about time. The headset is controlled by a watch, and when the bottom of the watch is pressed, the person wearing the headset can share the time. In other words, their perception of the flow of time is altered so that, for example, one second can be five seconds. The people around them won’t notice any difference. This is more about changing subjective feelings than objective facts.
Making Process
The first thing we wanted to do was make headphones that looked like headphones, so we made two box-type things that were attached with a piece of cardboard. That was easy to do, but the problem was that it couldn’t be worn securely. So Anny thought we could do hanging earphones, but it was a bit complicated and she just made them herself. We didn’t expect to be able to use this, but when she was done, it worked. For aesthetics, Anny added two more butterflies on the outside. The watch was made by Owen and the other headphones were made by Lexie, Anny and Ling together.
Evaluate
We were wondering how to draw this product out and came up with the idea of a birthday party. Since the headphones are not too big, they are easy to carry. We decided together how the story would be handled, and I distilled it into a script. We rehearsed it a few times before the reading that day and it went very well. We also bought a cake and some candy as props to create a birthday atmosphere. The whole process of collaboration went very smoothly, and although we were torn in making decisions, we agreed on them quickly. And the prop making and rehearsal process was also very efficient, we finished it in only three meetings. The performances were also very good, with slow-motion performances that made everyone laugh. But the presentation of our work was not enough, it should have been more detailed, and the sharing of sugar distracted the audience in some cases, and should have focused more on our product.
Video Record
Critical analysis and assessment of performance from Mood Bubble
The Mood Bubble team’s project is a machine that can connect and share people’s emotions and memories. People can upload their emotions to the master brain through a tube connected to the head. I think this piece has a good intention to make it easier for people from different backgrounds to show empathy to others, and it relates to the winter market in a way because it also conveys the idea of sharing awareness. It meets the interactivity criteria of the assignment because this machine can help two or more people communicate their ideas, thus creating different scenarios for different users.
However, it is not so creative because it borrows ideas directly from the novel with only few changes. The performance is fairly easy to understand, with all those emotions and physical tubes painted on the head.