Class: Designing the Absurd
Instructor: Pedro
Prompt: design and create an object/device/gadget through the lens of absurd thinking that is un-useless for our current pandemic lifestyle. For your creation, combine humor and absurd thinking with one of the following - absurd form, absurd function, absurd interaction - to create the whimsical and unexpected.
Idea Proposal
Scenarios
The following scenarios give series of examples for these physical experience as an enhancement to the virtual interactions between people during social distancing and having to communicate mainly through screen-based devices.
These examples primarily demonstrate how such virtual interaction could be accompanied with additional physical touches or feelings on the human skin, using a variety of humans' sensory capabilities beyond seeing and hearing, such as: smell, touch/feel.
The scenario 1 focuses on simulating the 4th dimension which is physical touch and feel to an existing interaction (for example, during a virtual conversation online).
Scenario 2 focuses on using temperature to simulate the feeling of a hug.
This could be a hug pillow with heat pad inside that someone sends to another as their hug. The pillow can be made to look like two arms forming a circular shape of a hug.
Scenario 3 utilizes telecommunication such as wifi to mimic a motion from a distance.
Scenario 4 focuses on intangible physical feeling on the human skin such as breeze, breath.
Scenario 5 focuses on smell as another sense to enhance human interaction.
Potential Deliverables
The deliverables could include the following:
- a few prototypes of the above scenarios
- labeling, packaging process and tips
- documentation or demo of the actual delivery service (thinking of how different or similar it might be compared to other typical physical products)