Experience Enrichment - Finger Mug

Mood Board:


Product Poster:


Technical Drawings:


Rationale:
The finger mug is something new. It’s a coffee mug designed to improve both the emotional and physical connection between the product and its user, all the while looking stylish and well suited for an office environment. This product is a transformation of an everyday object into something, which gives a more pleasurable experience and creates a personalised relationship with its user.

A product such as this is targeted towards Males between the ages of 30 and 50 years. The ones who leave home 5 days a week to work in a 9 - 5 office job. It’s this time away from home combined with early mornings late nights and long commutes, which can lead to a boring, lonely lifestyle. This product, although similar to a regular coffee mug, has the ability to make positive changes in its users day-to-day life without drastic aesthetic alterations.

While keeping to the standard dimensions of a coffee mug, a small change in the overall shape of the finger mug allows for a more dynamic shape. One, which seems to belong on the desk of a dynamic businessman. It’s this dynamicity, which makes the mug such a great attention grabber and talking point.

The main difference in texture between the smooth, glossy finger mug and a conventional coffee mug is the fingerprints, which allow for an improved emotion and physical connection while also enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the mug.

In order to fit in with its formal business surrounding the mug is coloured entirely white and is made using ceramics like traditional coffee mugs. The colour choice allows for it to blend in with ordinary mugs, however the shadows cast by the fingerprints catch the attention of any onlookers. The use of ceramics is common in coffee mugs as they provide insulation from the hot drink within. To aid this insulation the finger mug has double the wall thickness of a normal coffee mug to better protect the hands of the user. A question I often receive is “how will you drink from a mug if there is no handle and it’s too hot to hold?” My response to that is that “if it’s too hot to hold then would you really want to put it in your mouth?”

The product is designed to please the user physically by being solid and weighted while still minimal in order to suit an office setting while still allowing the emotional connection of holding a weighted object, which doesn’t feel as though it can be easily crushed.

Socially the product is designed to be a stylish talking point. This is aided both by the dynamic lines of the mug and the new styling, which I believe to be a big leap from traditional mugs.

To please the target market psychologically, the mug is simple and easy to use while still being exciting and enticing. The fingerprints give the users (or a bystander) the need to reach out and feel the mug. To experience the connection it offers.

In an ideological sense, the user is happy with the product as it looks modern with its sleek design while still keeping with current design trends and not being too radical. This allows this everyday object to be a centrepiece within the modern office without having the same huge visual affect experienced by a painting or sculpture.

The finger mug not only enriches the experience of drinking coffee through improving emotional and physical connections, but it allows for a coffee mug to be something different. It’s something more than just a mug on a desk beside your keyboard. It’s a talking point and a way of getting a little more attention around the office while you’re missing home.

Peer Comments:
Danielle Taouk
Stephen Mesa
Shan Shan Wang
Jonathan Biet
Nina Harcus

Presentation:

Yves Behar: Creating Objects that tell stories

“Storytelling has been a really strong influence in my work”. - Yves Behar.

After leaving design school Behar began questioning what was truly necessary. A good example of this being the presence of the num lock key on today’s keyboards despite the fact that many people have no idea what its purpose is. He noticed that the guys in Silicon Valley we’re not interested in changing what’s on the inside and more rather wanted to make changes to the outside. They only wanted to create beauty on the outside of the box. This lead Behar to move off on his own. His interest was to design the entire human experience in to a product and not just the exterior. He aimed to make technology humble in an attempt to help the user interact with the product.

The Y water bottle was definitely a stand out favourite for me. I could not see a single thing wrong with it. The fact that this healthy alternative to soft drink can be served in this creative packaging, then after use become a collectible toy is something that I love. If this product had been around during my childhood, I’m sure my drinking habits would have been far healthier. I know that if I got my hands on one or two of those bottles and saw the potential I’d just want to keep collecting and creating.

The shape shifting light fixture really helped me to see the closing gap between technology and its user. It’s incredible that simple by touching a small screen and creating a personalised shape, the light would rearrange itself to fit the users preference.

In my opinion, it’s important for designers to see this video, as they need to understand that design isn’t simply making something look better. Design is the glue which beings a variety of values together in order to form the products overall value. The Jawbone bluetooth headset for example was designed from the ground up. It had to not only work well but in order to appeal to a more stylish market, it had to look like it belonged on the side of your face. This video highlights design not only from an aesthetic aspect but also from technical aspect. It helps us understand all the work that needs to go into a product during the design process.

Image: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/232/519394574_1bce663eb2_o.jpg

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGn8F4j6pH8

Don Norman: Emotional Design

Don Norman speaks of a change that he has made and maybe one that needs to be embraced by more designers. He's no longer focusing on designs being purely functional. It's not all that matters. His new life is beauty.

After seeing Philippe Starcks gold plated juicer, I’ve realized that a design doesn't even have to work or perform its usual function to be successful. The juicer for example gives instruction specifically to make sure the user does not make juice with it. Therefore making this particular piece of design more of a centerpiece than anything else. It's more of a conversation starter at a dinner table. And you know what. I love it. I've always just expected that designs need to work but after seeing the work of Philippe Starck I disagree. Who says something has to perform to its expectations? In the world of design a little surprise can be a good thing.

As humans, the customers and users of products connect with the emotional aspects as shown with the Jake Cress chair, which has lost its ball. We all see it as a chair however we can easily being ourselves to believe this story about how the chair has lost its ball and is trying to get it back.

The reason I believe Don Normans video should be viewed by Industrial designers may be oblivious to beauty as Don mentioned he was. With this video he is speaking of his change in perspective and the importance of style and beauty within a design.

Image: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/publications/reporterarchive/images/photos/0068/dnormanp2.jpg

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlQEoJaLQRA

Good Design

Waterproof Digital Movie Camera

The Good Design task involved analysing a product from the Australian International Design Awards (http://www.designawards.com.au/) without mentioning any technical specifications. I originally thought this sounded rather simple but was proven wrong early on. Every sentence I began would mention some function belonging to the camera when I was meant to be speaking in terms of the elements and principles of design. In the end I steered clear of specifications except to add in a brief overview of what the product actually does.

Having never used photoshop before, I was a little skeptical as to how the final poster would turn out but I must say that I'm more than pleased with what I have achieved. Turns out online tutorial videos can teach you quite a lot about photoshop in one afternoon.

The product itself, although stylish and full of promises for great applications, I would not like to own. Upon reading further into the camera I unfortunately noticed that the camera does not perform nearly as well as advertised. However if I were making the purchase based entirely on aesthetic qualities the SANYo Xacti waterproof digital movie camera would be a product I'd love to have around.

Product Sketching

I Do Table Lamp by Keith Melbourne
Eat Green Design

Unlike other modern lamp designs this one by Keith Melbourne, is simply about filling a spot with light. It's this simple design which appealed to me so much as it was featured amongst far more complex products in the exhibition.


Warrior Stool by Thinking Ergonomix
Australian International Design Awards

The warrior stool immediately struck me as my favourite within the exhibiton due to its material use and apparent simplicity. The fact that it was constructed without adhesives, can support 300kgs of weight and then be completely recycled amazed me.


Santamonica Chair by Denis Santachiara
Form Function Fabulous

Personally I was not a fan of the Form Funtion Fabulous exhibit. It felt as though I had entered a room full of Lego. As I continued to walk around the room I did however come across this one chair which did appeal to me. The curves are just so fluid. The smooth curves really made the Santamonica appear comfier than any of the other chairs within the exhibit.


Embryo Chair by Marc Newsom
Inspired!

The embryo chair was chosen as to me it was clearly the best design within the inspired gallery. Among all other designs, it's fluid curvilinear shape and bright colour stood out to become almost a centerpiece to me.


No. 42 Lounge Chair by Andrew Simpson and Hugh Worthington
Workshopped

From all the exhibitions visited, the No. 42 lounge chair was a clear personal favourite. I'm a big fan of geometric form within design and this chair is a perfect example. I love that something based on these geometric shapes can have such an affect on an audience.


Burlap Chair by Julie Paterson
Sustain Me: Contemporary Design

The Burlap chair stool out to me as a favourite due to its use of found and recycled materials. I'd heard of chairs made with recycled materials such as the coffee sacks used in this instance, but to even use a chair found on the street was something new to me. The choice of colour had a great affect on drawing me in for a closer look.

David Kelley: Human centred design

As human needs change, so does design in order to accommodate for this. Over the past few decades the focus of design has shifted from having fun and experimenting with new technological products and objects. Human centered design is now becoming commonplace among design firms in that they are designing personality and behavioural characteristics into their products. Compared to the past when prototypes would be produced in order to assess the aesthetics, designers are now creating experience prototypes as a way of communicating a product through showing its intended use and how it will work.

The New York Prada store and its custom technology really aim to make the shopping experience more convenient and therefore more enjoyable. The inclusion of gadgetry such as the liquid crystal glass in the changing room and the magic mirror make the visit to the store something special. The Prada store is revolutionary in that it’s not your average store. It’s actually an experience which can be enjoyed by all.

Similarly the installation at the London Science Museum is extremely entertaining as I discovered watching this video. More than any other section in the video I had to watch this part over and over again as I found my attention being drawn from the spoken words and towards the gigantic visual adventure confronting me. I can only imagine how a person would react when standing in front of such a creation. I find it remarkable that something as simple as some moving white lines can be this entertaining.

I’m all for the movement towards human centered design but I do believe that the spyfish has crossed a line. In my opinion if a human wants to experience that type of environment, they should dive in the water and explore for themselves. I completely understand the use of similar technology in deep sea diving but as a means of replacing scuba diving, surely watching a television screen cannot compare. The spyfish seems to be yet another toy for the rich and that is fine by me, just as long as it doesn’t creep its way into our everyday lives. Who knows what that could lead to? Maybe the next step for human centered design would be to remotely control a car through a foreign city right from the comfort of our own lounge room. Where's the adventure in that?

Approtec in my opinion is the most human centered design featured within this video. It already has changed the lives of thousands of people and has the possibility to change thousands more. I find it fascinating in that Approtec is different from the other featured designs as they are completely not for profit. They're simply working together and combining their efforts to make day to day life easier for less fortunate people within our world. All this is done by supplying a few simple tools such as a water pump.

This video is important to industrial designers as it shows how this movement has affected the current design world and how it will continue to have this affect. The future of design will play a big role in the future of humans. Everyone has their needs and as designers it is our job to cater to those.

Image: http://www.ted.com/speakers/david_kelley.html

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXndL3TNCmo