Allied Studios
2021-2022
Prachi Shah
VERTICAL STUDIO /
In this course, we were asked to observe our daily activities and later build a product that might be useful to oneself and may or may not be useful to others. So I started observing various habits associated with actions performed by me on a day to day basis. This allowed me to know more about myself. At the end I chose the earphones due to the fidgeting actions which cause it to break, leaving me with a problem to solve.
I recorded videos while performing several activities along with the continuous fidgeting action with the earphones. Moreover, I learned about the specific movements like twisting, turning, bending , chewing and rotating that I perform with it.
In the process of designing a product that will allow some flexibility, but will protect the wire from any damage, I went through various references of living and non-living objects around me with similar movements, like the tail of a rattlesnake, various joints of our bodies and the intricate interlockings in gold and silver chains and bracelets.
This gave a better understanding of how different interlocking systems allow a certain movement. I then started with the initial prototyping of my product. I first drew rough sketches of several design ideas and later using flexible material like rubber bands, plastic strings, sticky balls, jute thread, and silicon I started developing multiple prototypes.
Working with actual material gave me a much better understanding of the materiality, strength as well as weakness of materials when used in multiple ways. Applying the knowledge and traversing back and forth with multiple experiments I ended up with the five most optimum interlocking patterns different for each material.
PICTURES
The curiosity and eagerness that built inside me to try multiple materials and various interlocking combinations allowed me to explore materiality to a great extent. The fun while producing a product gave me a lot of rigor and motivated me to try out multiple ideas. It was a course not only about making an object but also about patience, failure and material knowledge.