Project 3: Treasuring Time

The Prism Diary
Target Market:
This product is targeted for users who are working a typical 9-5 job. Typically business people which are put through a lot of stress throughout their day trying to meet deadlines or simply getting their tasks done for that day. People with stressful days under the same routine usually don't have much time for themselves. Their day passes by the same and asking for some time to relax and enjoy themselves is a far cry. I wanted to create a product which not only allows the user to remember time but to acknowledge that time is a wonderful thing. I want something in which the user can interact with but they can do so whenever they want. I didn't want them to feel obliged to do something on a daily bases to make the product work. This product should simply remind them of time even if they don't interact with it because they probably have more than enough problems to worry about.

Solution:
For this solution, i planned around a concept that i thought would relate to time and to the target market. Light plays a major role in the telling of time and it also plays a role in the lives of people simply because we wouldn't be able to survive without light. To create something that would be interesting to interact with but also be just as good as an object, i've created a prism diary. A diary is a good way for most people to record their lives in so people would usually write on them daily. A prism refracts light in a way that white light turns into a rainbow spectrum and the direction of refraction can be altered by where the white light is coming from. By combining these two things, i've made something people can record their daily events and remember them by where they've written it on the page.

The prism is just a way of creating an interesting way of light manipulation. The real concept behind this is how the sun moves across the sky during the course of the year. The sun rises and sets from east to west so the sun is constantly moving. The height of the sun differs from winter and summer months meaning if we put those two theories together with the sun moving from east to west and the position of the sun higher and lower each month, the intense light shone on the prism will come from different angles every day. From the beam of the sun to the prism, this will cause a spectrum to be formed on the other end of the prism projecting on to the writing pad. So if the user writes on it in the mourning on one day, it will be in a different spot from if they write on it in the afternoon. During the evenings, this can still be an interesting piece as when the light is turned on in the room, it will cause the prism to create shiny reflections on the wall.


The base pad is made of a dark timber while the top of it is covered in a dark leather. The leather creates an aristocratic feel for the user while also being soft to write on. The pad is slightly sloped for ergonomic reasons. This allows the user to write comfortably on the pad without the wood digging into their wrists while the slope is also there for comfort reasons. The shape of the pad is made to represent the sun charts. Through my research, the sun moves at an arch creating a tear drop look. So if the user was looking at the product from the front, the highest point of the sun would be directly under the prism. This just creates a simpler way for the user to learn how to use the product without having to do all the research themselves.

The tower holding up the prism is made of aluminium which is light but also sturdy. The metal in contrast to the dark materials makes the prism stand out even more. It creates sort of a pathway to guide your eyes to the prism. The small metal pegs near the edge of the pad is also made of the same aluminium but their purpose is there so that when the user changes paper, they will know the exact spot to put it in. It also helps keep the paper in position all the time. The pegs have been spaced so that an A5 piece of paper will fit between the space. The loop at the top of the tower holding the prism up also has 2 thinner pieces of metal which assists in holding up the prism.Overall, this product is meant to give the user the enjoyment of some time to reflect on their day or whatever they want. The concept of the prism just gives them something more to cherish their time because everyone always has time to look at a rainbow. It's just something that people can relax to because its something so naturally created by nature. If their busy and rushed lives can be put on hold for those 5 minutes, then i would want to do something that would make me remember that time so when they look back at that diary page and see that their note is written in the bottom write corner of the page, they will remember that it was around 4pm in July.

Video Reflections 6: Seymour Powell - Designing Dream Machines

Although i know the process of designing something is long and grueling, this video has shown me how skilled professionals go about getting the job done. This is not just about getting the job finished for a client, its about doing it to the best of their abilities and at the same time, connecting with the client to make sure that they've done the correct job.

Many times, while working on a project, the designer would tend to create this bond with whatever they are designing but this video raises certain issues about how a product needs to be made to flourish in the market. One of those important things is to always refer back to the client or the target market. This is a habit that i think i can relate to because i know that during project, i will often venture off towards another market just because i think that i've got a good idea for it.

I was intrigued how they managed to use different design techniques from different times. Some which were futuristic but some which were from the past that have been used and had been successful. This made me realize how important the brainstorming process that they mentioned is. It leads to what the final product may or may not look like depending on the techniques chosen to create the product.

The end presentation teaches us that even though we may put in a lot of work to create something, it may not always be successful to either the client or the market. The work has not gone to waste though because it becomes a lesson learned and people will always remember the effort that was put into creating the final product. This was a morale booster to know that even the best may fail but everyone can learn something from it.

Bad Design

Sound System Control Panel


After carefully observing this product, i noticed that a lot of people had troubles with using the control panel. Many people could not find it simply because there aren't any indications as to where it might be. This is a high end sound system control base so all its functions such as volume settings, surround sounds, sound depth settings, etc. are all in this one area. It is meant to look very sleek and organized so very little is shown on the interface which prevents clutter and other things that do not need to be shown to be there. While it may look very good when the user looks at it, this piece of electronic is more than confusing when the user tries to operate it.
Many users were having troubles with how to access the control panel rather than where it is. Although the panel is hidden, there is a recessed area around the panel cover to show that there is something behind there. The main problem was that people did not know how to open that panel.


The control panel contains a lot of needed controls to get the best out of the sound system so opening it is very important. The user needed to push against the bottom of the panel cover to activate a spring that opens it gently but there aren't any indications that the user was meant to do that. Users were trying to pry it open with their finger nails or thinking they were meant to push against the whole panel for it to open.

Solution:

The company probably wanted to keep the nice flat surface of the front which is why they didn't incorporate any curves into the panel to help the user indicate how to open the panel but there are other small and simple solutions that a lot of other designers use already.
By putting a small groove on the area of the panel where the user is meant to push down on is more than enough help to the user. The groove is a universal indication that tells you to push down on something.
Other similar solutions would be to put a slightly raised arrow on the lower part of the panel indicating that they user needs to push on the lower area of the panel. A small "push" word put on the panel would also do the trick.
Another solution would be to put a release button next to the panel so that when the user pushes it, the panel would open automatically. Although this is a valid solution, the company may not want too many useless buttons on the face of the system.
Since there seems to be a theme that everything on the system is black, all of the above solutions can be in black but still be seen because they're either recessed or raised a little so the user can tell that there is something there.