The project briefs that I've outlined here all rely on the redesign of existing products and services. They are aimed at helping you explore how things could have been; and in doing this to make you realise that thing's don’t have to be how they are.
Design a mobile phone without a screen. What does it mean to have no screen? Where is the feedback? In the past our land-line phones had no screens (most still don’t) somehow we managed to struggle on and make phone calls. Address books were paper, numbers were in our heads and came to our hands with an almost unnatural ease. My mate Jon Rogers could remember dozens of phone numbers but now he has lost that ability and is just plain stupid like the rest of us! Imagine…there was once world without sms.
With these things in mind redesign the mobile/cell phone. The lessons that you learn from this may have implications for new phone designs, phone services, fashion, etc. Don’t be lazy, don’t put screens on everything. Try something new or should I say old, you might learn something.
Redesign the PC interface, go on do it! We used to do this project in the old days (less than 10 years ago). Asking students to think of new metaphors for storing and retrieving information on a screen with keyboard and mouse. Now people think it’s irrelevant- I disagree. If it can teach us one thing it’s that things didn’t have to be the way they are. Windows were invented, the desktop is called that because it refers to a desk, with drawers and files and folders and documents made of paper, wood, plastic. A space where we moved real things around in real space.
What if computers hadn’t been invented for business? What if they were invented mainly for use in churches? Or farms? Or for use only on boats? Yeah the hardware might have been different but let’s not get into that in this project. Does there have to be a hierarchy? File in folder etc. what about something more organic? Just changing what’s on the screen think of a new metaphors system, if using one of the niche contexts helps then do it.
And when you’ve done this try to think of the whole world this way. It didn’t have to be like that. Look at the difference between renaissance art and Japanese art of the time, both are sophisticated and beautiful but very very different. Imagine the western renaissance never happened, and the whole world had become Japanese or Egyptian or Inca.
Don’t take anything for granted, if you do you’ll be stuck in the past/present and so will the whole world.
Rory Hamilton 2006
Now what about the physical interface to a personal computer system? We have a mouse and keyboard and a few other things but what if we had to use hand gestures. A bit like Tom Cruise in Minority Report. It was a bit cheesy to see him waving his hands about but it’s an interesting design problem to tackle as it means you have to design a language of gestures.
Think of how this language would be constructed. Would there be simple vocabulary of commands that could be built up? Would the gestures be subtle and be able to be done with one hand (or foot) or would they be grand sweeps and make you break into a sweat while making an Excel spreadsheet.
You could add voice commands to this system but try not to rely on them.
Have a look at the kind of gestures we use already to communicate with each other. Take a look at sign language and other cultural gestures. I love the way that in China they can show you the numbers one to ten on one hand, not two. Which mean that they can hold up a fish in one hand and show the price with the other. Also in Japan they count down numbers with their hands (hold up all five fingers then the ones that go down are the number they are referring to.
The other thing I love about sign language is seeing people using it to continue a conversation even though one of them is on a train and the other on the platform. It make me wish we were all taught it at school. (Maybe instead of the evil Latin I had to learn, and forget)
Trying this kind of project can really help you stretch your abilities in logic, cultural design and pure physicality.
Sometimes clipart is just right.
