DESIGN PROCESS:

Buildings/ architectures in Shanghai have always been a very important part of my life. When going on city walks or taking pictures of streets in Shanghai (and other cities as well), I am always attracted to these exquisitely designed architecture. And these architectures are usually perfect for sketching considering my poor sketching skills :0

Having the idea in mind, I decided to dig my phone album for photos of Shikumen buildings I took. Growing up I. Shanghai, Shikumen buildings played a very important role in my grandparents and parents’ childhood. However, I have never lived in one before. It is really such a pity that the Shikumen my dad used to live in for 10ish years were taken down by the government. The good news is he took me there before the deconstruction; but the sad thing is it didn’t leave me with deep impression.

Anyways, I really want to use this project to show/ present a part of my identity as a Shanghainese. ✨ I want to present one of the prettiest sides of this city. 📸

TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT

• I did encountered much struggling during the design process. So actually for the three iterations, they are more like my experiments with different ways of construction.
  • Experiment with the pipes: I wanted to construct the patterns on those Shikumen buildings, so I used pipes/ multi pipes. But the pipes I made are not thick enough to be printed. So I gave up😭. But it laid foundation for my idea of creating rectangles for the arch shape.
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  • Another experiment for making the column patterns | reference link
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• Iterations  

 

• What I could have done better is definitely how to make the thingy more printable. I constructed so many surfaces that after baking everything to Rhino, I realized they were not the printable surfaces. So I tried cap holes/ connect Breps … (basically what ever I could, as long as they could work) The code was really messy
• As for the construction of the shape, I would like to know more about how to construct the very detailed column patterns and the tiles. One concern is that my computer couldn’t handle these amount of code 🙁
• Lists: I think I am getting more familiar with the list functions, but to get my ideal result more quickly, I might have chosen a more complicated way to do the list.
• Graphs: I’m not sure how things will turn out to be if I used the default graph settings. I think maybe I don’t need the RICHED GRAPH MAPPER. However, this extension did give me more space to play with the graphs.

Notes on LIST: (reference video )

• Reverse List: reverse the sequence 
• List length: how many data in the list
• Subset: create a domain and take the items in the domain out
• Dispatch: Use boolean to create pattern and select items
• Split List: Split the list into anything below the item number & anything above (can be combined with list length and math operations) 
  • I tended to mix the three a lot. Dispatch is more about the BOOLEAN values  
• List Item: take out very specific items in the list; can use panel to take out multiple ones
• Weave: weave 2 lists of items together (use boolean as well)
• Partition list: choose the size of the items you want to break the original list into
• Sort: sort a list into another list (rearrange the items in the list)
• Pick and choose: take a bunch of list and sort them into a  new list according to a pattern (true/false)

Notes on Grasshopper Masks (reference website)

Reflection & Future Development

• I love this project a lot because the Shikumen buildings are really an important part of me. I feel like right now these three little magnets are very similar to those sold at the souvenir stores: poorly made but full of good memories. I also love the choices of color! The grey/ brown colors are the color of the Shikumen buildings! 🙂
• I really would love to make the Shikumen more exquisitely designed. Professor Lena Scheen from Global China Studies department told me that she has been looking for these kind of models of Shanghai, but they were all so poorly made. I would love to contribute more to the education of my city 🙂 And I wonder how to better make those arches and details. Maybe I need to make one lager model, and rescale the model according to the door. 
• As for the function of this little magnet, it is true that I can add a transparent layer so that it could function better as a frame. Right now, it is easy to put Polaroid pictures inside using tac it. But it would be better if it could hold more kinds of pictures. 
• I’d also make those ones that can hold horizontal pictures to make it more inclusive. 

References: 

These are the designs for the Shikumen. Pic 1 taken by me near 张园；pic 2 found on Baidu, it’s Xin tian di 新天地；pic 3 is actually a small village in a Hongkong island called Tai’o, which I love VERY MUCH!!

• How to construct the bricks | reference 
• Other references can be found in previous documentation 

💐 Vase Iterations 🏺

Iteration #1 ✨

• In this iteration, I used Gene Pool to control the spiral directly, instead of letting it go through a math process. In this way, the spirals are more random, because the circles aren’t divided evenly. I also used dispatch & scale to generate the patterns on the surface. After baking the grasshopper thingy, I offset the surfaces and unioned the solids. 
• Parameters: height of the circles, radius of the circles, rotation angles, number of curve divisions, dispatch patterns, scale of the dispatch segments. 

Iteration #2 ⛓️

• This time, instead of using circle, I tried using polygons, but I don’t think it made much difference. I wanted to make everything shaper instead of this smooth. For the rotation angle, I tried math calculation. I wanted to make the polygons thicker in the model so that there will be patterns on the vase, but the shape of the polygons didn’t actually fit the surface. 
• Parameters: height of the polygons, radius of the polygons, polygon segments, rotation angles, number of curve divisions. (I realize I could have used gene pool to control each polygon segment as well heheheh)

Iteration #3 ⚜️

• This iteration is a bit similar to the first one, but I added more circles and more spirals to it. The height of each circle is not arranged according to the order. Instead, I made the circle 0 a bit lower than circle 1. The dispatch pattern might not be a good idea because I don’t think the vase can stand on its own if printed, but I do like the patterns :P. I feel like adding more circles is very similar to adding more control points: you can shape the vase more
• Parameters: height of the circles, radius of the circles, rotation angles, number of curve divisions, dispatch patterns, scale of the dispatch segments. 

Tutorials:

Dispatch | List Item/ Cull

Notes taken when watching the tutorials: 

 

Reflection on the TED talk & Guest Speaker’s talk 🤔️

• In this TED talk, the speaker gives insight of designing the process that generates the form, instead of the form. There are a few benefits of designing the process:
  • It enables the embedment of data that can’t be perceived directly by human eyes
  • It enables the designer to replicate the process: as long as the designer has a process, they can always embed different data and generate different forms. In this way a family of forms can be created
• Another inspiring idea he shares is about how to bring the computer modelings into physical forms. In the example he gives, the columns are almost unprintable because of the intricate modeling. However, the team sliced the modeling and used laser cutter, and afterwards stacked all of the boards together to make one model. They also used mirrors in another set of physicalization so that they only need to print a half of the modeling.
• I think I experience the similar thing when making printing choices for my project 1: the materials, the patterns of printing matters. The speaker also suggests that we can source inspirations from the nature world
• As for the take-aways from our guest speakers talk, what left me with the deepest impression is that be critical about your data. The data you use might be incomplete because of the dates included. When you have doubts about your data, try to research more and dig deep, so as to ensure the understanding and application of the data are correct.

Reflection on Readings 📖

• thoughts while reading:
• Working with parameters gives you infinite possibilities of different designs. It reminds me of coding in p5.js (umm, probably the arrays and the random variables)
• About RANDOMNESS:
  • The readings shed light on my understanding of randomness: sometime I like the randomness because I want to see unexpected things. However, in my previous experiences, I could never explain the randomness. The embedment of randomness should be a combination of conscious choices made by artists/ designers themselves and choices out of their control. It is essential to make sense of the design. (On the other hand, I do think nothing is absolute. Maybe sometimes the explanation of the randomness is simple: I just want to experiment with the randomness. :DDD)
  • Interesting insight: “Sequences of random numbers can be generated in such a way that each number in the sequence differs only slightly from the last”. When speaking of randomness or permutations of the original model/ design, I am always seeking after big, very conspicuous changes. But slight changes matter as well!

DEFINITIONs

• Parameter: a value that has an effect on the output of a process; it describes, encodes, and quantifies the options and constraints at play in a system (I’ve never really thought abt the constraints before!)
• Parameterization: Identify and describe the variable elements in a process  
  • decide what can change and the range of possible values for each parameter
  • it creates connections between the intention of the designer and the system he or she is describing
  • repetition (explore possible variations) and transformation (parameters’ effect on form); visualization and stimulation (describe how data or other inputs will influence the behavior of the system)
• Variable: The changeable parameters
  • Sometimes variables make sense only in a certain range, a range can be refined to produce a narrower, but more pleasing field of variations.

PARAMETER TECHNIQUEs

• • One-of-One: works as a singlar piece but provide a window into the complexity of the system (generate variations while preserving family resemblances)
  • Variable Fonts
  • Console: a set of controls for electronic or mechanical equipment
    • Values controlled through a software console are linked to variables within the program; allow the state of the program to change without rewriting the code
    • Can make the project more interactive by allowing users to change the parameters

⚜️ Designings⚜️

This documentation is about project 1 Visualizing Myself. I made a phone stand for this project because this project is related to phone, especially social media usage and my perception about myself. 

Based on the observations I made, my initial idea was to make something related to the phone, and shows the idea of connection and restriction at the same time. But eventually I only kept the restriction part and didn’t include the connection part. That could be something for future improvement because my classmate suggested that making another hand, wrapping it with other things and connecting the two can show the idea of connection.

… Anyways, here are my inspirations: 

⛓️ Modelings ⛓️

I made 3 iterations in total. And below shows my explorations & Final results 🙂

• Iteration #1 is very much like my previous blog post of this project. The hand came after my exploration of the chain, because if each link of the chain is not set in one shape, there is no way for it to hold the phones. 
• There are a few ways to fix the structure in pic 2. One is to make the holes bigger using the drill. The other is to heat and reshape the connecting parts. The latter one is harder to control, so the former one is recommended. 

💭Future Improvements 💭

• (some of the improvements can be found in the designing stage)
• After seeing the other projects from my classmates, I am thinking about adding more data into the project, like screen time or something to measure my actual productivity.
• The distance between the thumb and the index finger is a bit hard to measure, but it controls the angle of the phone. To make the model better I should take that into consideration. 
• There is also much to explore regarding the printing of the chain. The angle of each one can affect the printing result of the chain. 

In class exercise & Video Tutorials

• (don’t have much thoughts on this week’s exercises, we mainly practiced with the ones starting with “pt“, like ptPanel3D.   

 

 

 

 

• • • Planar Surf
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Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Project 1

This is the development of my ideas for project 1. If nothing goes wrong, it will be a phone stand 🙂

• About the data: 
  • I collected my screen time, time using social media (especially WeChat and Red), and my rating for my feelings that day (how do I feel about my productivity/ howdo I feel about my body/ how is my overall mental-wellness) as my data. The rating is based on the scale of 1~5, 3 means neutral, 1 means very bad, and 5 means very well. 
  •  As for how I plan to embed these data, the positive feelings (which come from being connected to other people, especially those who I can’t see very often in person), will be shown in the link part 🔗 (based on the numbers, the 🔗 will change in size); (I referred to this video for help)
  • the other part of it will be a measuring tape that signifies the societal perception/ standard of beauty projected and circulated through social media. (for this part I will use the twist command)
  • I want to use the shape of water splash to present my screen time. It can be the part that hold the phone stand. Here I want to take the idea from the talk by Alberto Cairo, about highlighting data. For those days that I felt especially bad or well, I want to highlight them by making the size larger. Maybe I will also use the variation of color 

• • Reasons for visualization (like that): 
    • It can be drawn from my hand-drawings that my idea developed from the phone case to headphones to phone stand. The reason why I gave up the phone case is because I don’t think it will come out as something practical (at least I don’t want to hold that weird shape in my hands, although I know data visualization doesn’t necessarily have to make some practical thingies). Headphone is the second because it is something related to the phone. But if I want to integrate my screen time data, the shape of it will be strange again, and it won’t be comfortable to wear. So eventually I turned to the phone stand. 
    • I once wrote this to describe my interactions with the phone and social media (it also explains why I collected these data): “On one side it is the link. It brings people together, forms soul to soul connection. On the other side it is the chain. It is the shackles that shape how we perceive ourselves and the world.” 
    • As for the water splash idea, I want to show that the phone/ social media has such great power that it is striving to suck people in (but I don’t know how to find reference picture online ;; so i just put it this way)