Poetic Final

As artists, we all recognize how fundamental imagination is. as albert einstein once said, “knowledge is limited, but imagination encircles the world.” but imagination should not be something that is limited to children and artists. people should be inspired to use their imagination from day to day. 

The monument of imagination provides everyday people with the opportunity to activate their imagination, allowing them to think as they did when they were children, when elephants could fly and the grass could be any color you wanted it to be. legos are something that people of all ages can directly relate to their childhood. legos were one of the first toys that granted us the ability to create whatever we wanted, as if the building blocks to our wild imaginations. 

Imagination Presentation by Ashley Einspahr

Project 3 / Week 3

This week we've basically been messing around with our materials and testing the scale of our lego bricks to our landscape and choosing lego colors. we've chosen our location to be shakespeare garden in central park in new york city because of high traffic and it's located between the MET and the MNS. we've also developed a logo and have been experimenting with the placement of our objects.

Monument Concept

"Legos are the building blocks of imagination."

This is a monument to imagination. 

Central Park, my recreating a section of the park we will be able to apply the ability to connect blocks of lego's to it. This will allow visitors to experience a sense of whimsy, and wonderment. 

PLAN OF ATTACK:

• Buy the basic lego colors of clay. (Yellow, red, blue, and green)
• Buy or find the tools to carve and paint. 
• Buy the plants, shrubs, and trees for the park.
• Buy the benches, lamp pole, trashcan, etc.

BUILDING:

• Test our hypothesis. Based on the size of the tree we'll determine the size of the blocks, and therefore the dots. 
• Build the model.

PRESENTATION:

• Photograph and start Keynote.
• Finish the Keynote. 

Project 3

Ashley and I have decided to build our monument based on the internet's past, focusing on some of the earliest websites and social networks that are either no longer in use today, or have evolved to something better. The audience for such a monument would vary from people who are comfortable with technology and experienced these earlier websites to computer geeks who enjoy some witty, tech-related humor.

To illustrate this idea, we plan on building an internet graveyard. The graveyard will hold a series of tombstones dedicated to specific websites. These tombstones will be built with regular concrete, but be shaped as computer monitors that are from the specific time period that each website was in use. The computer monitors will each have a screens of the website's past functionality and different pages, almost like an interactive demo. Similar to a real graveyard, these graveyards with show evidence of being visited, some showing that they haven't been visited in years. This will be shown with leave behind gifts by the tombstones that are fitting to the website and the website's audience. For example, the old Myspace tombstone might have a concert flyer taped to it, since Myspace today is only used by bands promoting themselves. 

We'd also like to show the age of the websites by showing some that look extremely dated, while others look freshly buried.

P.S. - We're exited. 

Dieter Rams Exhibition Final

unspectacular things - dieter rams exhibition by Ashley Einspahr

Dieter Rams often speaks about the future of design and how new structures for our behaviors will continuously be necessary as products and technology advance. Today we are recognizing that his 10 principles are still influencing many design choices today through brands such as Apple.

The unspectacular things exhibition focuses on product design by Dieter Rams and how it has impacted product and interface design today. The exhibit lets the viewer look at Rams' products side by side next to its contemporary counterparts in a completely interactive environment, and connect these products with his 10 principles. The aesthetic of the exhibition reflects Rams' style and his unobtrusive methods.

Dieter Rams, Week 4

Since our last update we have updated our branding, fleshed out our wall screens and added new interactions, have a new iphone layout, and table screens that include AR markers. Overall we have simplified the branding and style across the board in Rams' style. 

updated branding

wall screens

Inactive State

Single View

Single View

Side by Side Comparison

Detail View

Context

iphone

table screens

Spatial Dieter Rams, Week 2

This week we decided to expand our system a little further than just wall screens. While these will still exist in the exhibit, we've decided to add interactive table screens as well. Here's the functionality of each:

Wall:

• Side by Side comparison.
• Single view.
• Detail view.
• Flip view.
• giant interactive wall screens
• before approached, zoomed in detail shots - zooms out as you approach?

iPhone:

• All items featured in the exhibition. - lock/unlock - take photo to unlock 
• Map of where everything is. 
• Story/Narrative behind the show.
• Bio of Rams.
• Augmented Reality (See bellow)

Table Digital: (Design: clean white with nothing on it minus the Rams styled AR marker)

• (iPhone Main Function #1) You sat the phone down and whatever object is on the phone springs to life on the table. Supporting information pops up next to it.

• (iPhone Main Function #2) - You can hold up the phone to the table over the AR markers and the objects themselves pop up on the table (through your screen). You can move the phone around to see them in full 360. 
• Shows inspired projects
• Shows 1/10 principals. Each product has 1 of 10 principals. Encourage people to view all 10. Includes a link to all 10 if they choose too view them all.
• Related Rams products

We've also decided to reduce the exhibition space to the first floor alone. Here's our location plan for the screens and tables.

The 10 items featured in the exhibition:

Our concept still focuses on Rams' products inspring modern-day products, but we've decided not to limit ourselves to only one product. Here's some examples. We've also narrowed the exhibit to Dieter Rams electronic products with a focus on the surface and interface.

We thought it might be interesting to have the wall screens (before approached) show zoomed in, detailed shots of the products and their interfaces, so to further emphasis the exhibits focus. Here's some examples of zoomed in, detailed shots:

We've begun exploring the interactivity of the table screen. Here's a rough mock-up of how it may look. The + symbols are clues to where viewers can use the augmented reality feature on their phone. The first image shows the design in detail, and the second shows the entire table view.

We've also begun exploring some design options for the iPhone component with the flat style we're going for:

Assessment

Spatial has been a class of what I would have to say full of surprise. At first glance I thought we would be focusing on general things we had yet to cover in the course of our studies here at KCAI like wayfinding, exhibition design, and later monument design. Out of ignorance at first glance I didn't think to see the greater value in these studies. As someone who is greatly interested in user experience and Interface design I have been pleasantly surprised at home much this class actually informs the aspects of design I am interested in. Just as easily as we can apply our considerations to spatial design we can also apply them to one person's experience interaction with anything from app to exhibition. The exhibition design at the Rock and Roll museum was also extremely informative because it took into account interaction design and user experience in a spatial and digital realm. I will be the first to admit my short coming in this area. I have a difficult time focusing myself on things like exhibition design and way finding but this class has been very helpful in giving me a chance to look at it in a entirely new light.

Dieter Rams, Week 1

"The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Technical development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. But innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative technology, and can never be an end in itself."

Dieter Rams was often talking about the future of design and how new structures for our behaviors will continuously be necessary as products and technology advances. Today we are recognizing through brands like Apple that his 10 principles are still influencing many design choices today. We decided to continue researching exactly how much modern day products really are being influenced by Rams, and we've decided to frame our concept around this. Here's a breakdown of how we (Ashley and I) imagine our concept working:

Title: 
past / present

Exhibition:
Side by side comparison of his work juxtaposed with a modern counterpart. When not active (by sensor) Rams quotes are displayed that foreshadow the overall concept of the exhibition. (how the best work is timeless, the future of design, etc.)

How:
Interactive walls

Where:
Every wall holds a screen.

Gestures:
You can tap to cycle through the three views: original design, modern counterpart, and a side by side comparison. You can swipe and hold to FLIP the image.

Exhibition layout:
1st and 2nd floor are hold the same type of content.
The pathway of the exhibition is oldest to newest (a timeline of his works overtime).

iPhone/iPad App:
Allows you to interact and explore the functionality of the famous Dieter Rams designs and their modern counterparts on the screen.

iPhone/iPad Distro:
You can download the app on your own iPad/iPhone, or borrow an iPad from the exhibition.

Branding exploration: 

Narrative:
As an industrial designer, Raleigh St. Clair feels that products today are becoming too complicated and too dressed up with extra features. Raleigh has always been a Dieter Rams enthusiast and has preached about Rams' desire to tidy up the world and make it a better place. Raliegh decides to attend the Past / Present exhibition of Rams' work in order to get a closer look at how Rams has influenced certain products today and give Raleigh some peace of mind.

Raleigh enters the exhibition to an introductory screen that introduces the exhibit and advises him to download the exhibit app on his iPhone (or use on of the space's iPads).

As he enters the first room of the exhibit, he soon recognizes that the exhibit is set up in a linear format of earlier works to later works. As he approaches the first screen, a quote slowly fades to a front view of one of Rams' earliest products. Raleigh taps the screen to see this product in comparison to a product today that has been influenced/inspired by the past product. Raleigh takes out his iPhone to interact with the product and get a better feel of how Rams approached the functionality of his products. After he reads more about both products on the wall screen, he continues to the next product in the exhibit.

PJ 1 Wayfinding Final

Our wayfinding system focuses on KCAI’s “energetic”, “active” and “artistic” spirit through dynamically shaped signage, based on a triangular-shaped grid system. This system gives each sign an interesting, organized structure, but allows for each sign to be individual and unique from the rest. The signs have an overlapping, oragami-like structure that alludes to the unique students evolving and transforming through their school years here. Integrated into the signs are random, transparent pieces that are made up of many small triangles. This suggests at them being a work in progress, as both the students and their art are always growing.

KCAI Wayfinding - Week 3

Please see Ashley's blog for the most recent blog update!

This week we did a lot of refining within our signs and placements. We started to think about where the signs would be located, what the sides look like, the dimensions, what they might look like at night, etc.

We began taking context shots and decided to lead the viewer from the street outside of KCAI (beginning with the street signs) and working their way into the building. Each photo hints at the photo/sign that follows.

At night, we imagine the text being lit up as well as the transparent triangles, making he signs still easily viewable from a distance in the dark. In the side view, you'll see that the front and back planes exist as separate pieces when coming from the base, but are connected with a thin piece of metal when higher up (as if it were floating).

We've also began laying out the final book and sequencing how it will be read through. The aesthetic of the book alludes to the angles/triangles in our way finding experience and has a clean, architectural feel.

New Street Sign Design:

Height Comparison: 

Sign Dimensions: 

Updated Map Design:

Night View:

Example Placement:

Book Spreads: