Week 1

There were a few things that I had originally intended to do over winter vacation. In addition to researching the kinds of forms I would like to create for my physical prototype, I wanted to concentrate on finishing my dissertation and writing up as much as I could. However, the winter break passed so quickly, and I was unable to complete any of my planned activities. I can only move on from this and push through the remaining 7 weeks of my dissertation and the remaining 16 weeks of my fyp. I can't afford to put off doing this any longer than I did during the semester.

Consultation

We met with Andreas during the first week of semester two to discuss the schedule and requirements for this last semester before graduating. We had an in-depth discussion about our respective future plans and our progress. I told him that for the next few weeks, I would be concentrating on finishing my dissertation and carrying on with my experiments that I would utilise for my critical journal in the dissertation. We talked about my project, and after some debate about my concepts, I basically have two main goals to pursue. First, there is the narrative or concept. Since I'm talking about brand experiences, I should mention that I would be producing experiences for a certain brand. We came to the conclusion that the brand would be fictitious because my idea is not really about branding. I did, however, remark that I felt quite stuck with where I was at since I wasn't really sure about the narrative or because I have trouble coming up with ideas. We made the decision to concentrate on the creation so that I could continue with user testing, which would then be incorporated into my dissertation.

To tackle the making, there are some steps I have to follow in order to move forward. First and the most important was the technicalities. Interactivity, materials and behaviour makes up the form but without the base of the prototype being done, it would be difficult for me to move forward.

I knew I wanted to incorporate motion into my prototype in addition to something visually striking to grab the audience's attention. I was considering including some basic motions in my design, such linear or rotational motions. While the event is taking place, I also wanted the movement to be repeating in the background. In terms of materials, I also wanted to include a variety of opposing materials to create an intriguing contrast. All of them are still up for discussion, though, as the brand's story has not yet been determined. I started by looking up some basic mechanisms that I could use or make with objects I had lying around the house. When searching for references, I kept coming across children's toys that had a rotating handle that moved the attached object and gave it a fairly realistic appearance.

After finding reference images, I start by doing small experimentations on building the object with wires and clips.

I was searching the home for supplies for this experiment when I noticed paper clips with holes in them. The clips are pushed down by means of the handles attached to the holes. I reasoned that it could accommodate one extra wire to serve as the mechanism's foundation. I started bending the handles that would be used to spin the wire and the inside grooves with a wire. I then carefully inserted into the clips' holes.

When I saw I needed side structures, I attached bolts I had lying around. The mechanism would be supported by the bolts. This was a short experiment I conducted to test the mechanism, even though the entire structure was quite poorly done. I started to spin after putting wires into the grooves. I was able to convert rotart motion to linear motion with this brief experiment, which I felt would be a fantastic foundation to work with for motion in the future.

I made the decision to attempt creating a second, comparable mechanism using wood pecks and ice cream sticks because I wanted to try something more structured. The procedure is essentially the same as it was with the prior edition, but the structure's overall endurance has improved, and the spinning action has become smoother. I deduced that this is because the structure moves less, which prevented the wires from bending in unexpected locations.

This quick experiment showed me that a sturdy construction was necessary for the mechanism to function correctly. It turned out that the wire I had was also very flimsy, so it would be ideal to have a stronger wire that is more resistant to bending.

Dissertation

I had to make improvements to some of the RPO feedback I received for my dissertation. My study objectives and approaches remain unclear, as was previously noted. For the sake of my assignment, I should think of them both as being almost like a recipe or a manual for someone who has no idea what I was doing. It appears that I will need to keep examining it and making an effort to narrow down and simplify my objectives.

One of the issues with my work, in my opinion, is that I included too many little objectives here and there, which I believe confused the reader as to what precisely I was writing about. Since there are still far too many large words being used, which overcomplicate things, I think I should keep making my word choices more straightforward. Additionally, Andreas said that following our conversation, my literature review is currently quite "positive," with everything I chose that would help with my research. He said that rather than having most evaluations only emphasise the positive aspects, I might incorporate opposing viewpoints in my literature review to create a discussion.

After the consultation, I agreed with what he stated, but I wouldn't be able to find any more papers to read because of the short time frame. Instead, because I believe I have enough material to add, I would be reviewing my reading list that I completed and pulling out contrasting points that I had already recorded.