INDN 311: Sketch That Final Form Now!

In terms of getting the design on the road again, it takes a little bit of re-focusing and effort to get the focus going. By stepping back and taking a good long hard look at everything, I was able to actually realise what it was that my project really needed. By sussing that out for myself, I started to actually create some designs that might be worthwhile.

One of the things that I really want to do is make the screen a very important part of the whole design. I want to base the design around an existing device that a lot of us have, and therefore the functionality of the whole device is something that I want to have originate from the device. This both reduces the complicated-ness of the design as well as the resultant requirements for the device as a whole, e.g. using the smartphone to provide the light and the vibrations takes away the necessity for the designed "casing/device" to have its own power supply.

The current state of affairs is looking at a device that somehow has a slot for the phone to sit in, as well as a spot for the water to be contained. The place for the water to be contained has to somehow sit free of the whole container, so that it can be freely vibrated by the phone. Ergo, it needs to not be too heavy, as well as not mar the screen of the smartphone.

One of the concepts for the design that I really enjoyed was the possibility of making the glass container for the water distort the light passing through the water. The variations of the glass could shatter the light from the screen in different ways, making for a more interesting display of light on the ceiling.

Once I realised how I wanted to capture the resultant output of the phone/app, I could start working on the housing. Theoretically the form of the housing wouldn't need to be much, just a safe place to put your phone as well as a method of housing the glass container for the water. Ergo, it has the potential to be stylish. I started out the design with a basic form that I could then extrapolate on. The block-like form developed into something that started to look a bit more functional and beautiful.

Eventually I stopped and had a look at the forms that I so deeply loved. I looked at Rams' radio design and realised that I really loved the way that it was mostly constructed out of a rounded rectangle. The rounded rectangle just has some really awesome cross-style coolness.

I also really liked the slant I was putting on the form, as this feels edgy, as well as serving a purpose. It emulates the ideal angle to have the iPhone sit at in the slot I want to put into the top of the whole piece. By cutting in a slot for the phone, the design will fulfil a dual functionality, serving as both a slot for the phone to stand in as well as a place to allow the phone to illuminate.