Human Centered Design Research
by Lisa Hisamura
Zhijun Wang's Sneaker Masks
Incredible transformation from one preexisting product to a complete different object with a separate purpose. Fits snug and great on person's face. Something one can wear without feeling much discomfort.
Wearable Design
Researched different ways one can wear a product. When something becomes wearable, it must consider style, fit, and comfort.
Optical - Technology that alters eyesight
I want one of the senses to be sight, so I researched different designs that related to one's ability to see. Some designs look very mechanic, while others are clean and simple. They all give off a futuristic look.
First Idea: Personal Space Maker
The Personal Space Maker creates a space just for you, not allowing any distractions to disturb your current state or mood. I was inspired to create this idea by a particular sound I encountered during my trip in Japan in 2019. There was a location in Shibuya that played this subtle, yet ringing and annoying sound outside. I asked my friend what it was, to which she responded that it was meant to avoid people from standing around in that place. I was impressed by how this sound could easily make people leave the place. There was no human interaction, no physical movement, not even a single sign telling these people to keep moving; it was just this sound and it surely fulfilled its job of making the people leave.
This gadget does something very similar; it naturally creates an isolated space to the user without the need of any interaction with surrounding subjects. It does this by playing a sound that makes the surrounding people feel uncomfortable. If a person tries to disturb this space, they will suddenly feel the urge to leave, even though nothing is physically making or telling them to leave. This is great for when someone wants to be alone, but they don't have the courage to tell others that. To help with the person's inner focus and concentration, the gadget also includes various features like heating up and playing music that only the user can hear. The object interacts with auditory perception (to making that internal space), and touch (since the user will be placing the gadget on their shoulders).
Second Idea: Time Pauser
More visual ideas for the Time Pauser
The Time Pauser is a gadget that can pause your sight for as long as you want. I was deeply inspired by the phenomenon "Chronostasis": when the eye moves too fast, the brain pauses your internal clock and shows you the next non-blurry image, then continues the clock for it to be in-sync with the real world. This illusion is often experienced when one looks at the seconds hand of a clock and believes the first tick was longer than the ticks that happen after it. I was fascinated by how the brain could simple stop your perception of time and alter the way you see and sense things.
This object brings this phenomenon to the extreme, in which the user can stop time and their sight at a particular moment for an unlimited period of time. Once they pause that scene, they can look around and observe how the objects around them had been moving. The picture will be in high resolution, allowing the eyes to see their environment at that fraction of a second. Once they unfreeze, the machine will bring the person back to the real world, similar to what the brain does in Chronostasis. This object interacts with sight (the user can observe their surroundings at a particular moment) and chronoception, the perception of time (the object stops the user's sense of how much time has passed).
UPDATES
Cardboard Model - on its own
Cardboard Model - in relation to human body
Adding weight to the top gave more balance and stability to the object.
Revised and Updated Sketches
