Brief- To design an experience that centers on human senses
Group- Tsz Hoi Lee,Tanvi Kulkarni, Ana Sousa, Erick Montenegro.
The first week started off with the discussion of what an experience is and how our senses impact them. These not only included the five major senses, but also the sense of proprioception. An experience can also be influenced by associating a sense with an earlier memory.
For the purpose of this project, we were supposed to work in groups of 4. We visited the Gabriel’s Pier, Borough Market, The Monument and the London Mithraeum. We were supposed to comprehend our own sensory experiences in these locations and translate those into a sensory map. The map was a documentation of our experiences in the form of photos, videos, recordings, drawings, poetry, etc.
At Gabriel’s Pier- Whilst walking on the bankside, I happened to notice the stark difference between the textures of the sand and the rocks. On further observations, I began noticing the contrasting features of the natural environment versus the city scape. An interesting conversation with my group led us to believe that the whole area was co existing with each other, rather than conflicting.
The location was dominated by the visuals of the large buildings, the constructions and the vastness of the river. In this visual chaos, count on sound to lead the way. While there were sounds of the River Thames, the bells of the cathedral and the seagulls, there was also the noise of the passing cars and people talking. These sounds complimented each other and you could also focus on one of them without being distracted. I drew a sensory map of how I was perceiving different sounds and their intensity.
At the monument-
The Monument to the Great Fire of London is tall as the height is significant to its history. After a never ending flight of stairs, we reached the top, and it felt like the view might just be worth it. There were crevices on the climb up, which I thought were good incentives to keep climbing. The sound of people panting was evident on the way up, but turned into a rhythmic beat of footsteps on the way down. It was interesting to see a different perspective of London from the top of the Monument.
Sensory mapping
Our sensory map depicts the experience we had at Gabriel’s Pier. For the sensory experience mapping, we decided to map out the depiction of the co existence we saw at Thames through sight, tactile and sounds. We printed the photos which showed a balance between the nature and the city. We also made a texture of the rocks by using waste paper. The chart showed which senses were triggered the most for us as well.
Ideation Phase
An outcome of the groups discussion at River Thames led us to our concept, ‘How does co existence in sounds work’. We also thought about the ‘cocktail party effect, in which we can concentrate on one sound and drown the other purposely. We also discussed different ideas which played with light and shadow as we had experienced in the Monument. Also, the anticipation of the view was taken into consideration.
Prototype and validation of the concept
We decided on the idea of making a sound mixer, using the sounds we had recorded at River Thames. We blended all the sounds together on ‘Audacity’. We made a physical low fidelity prototype which would allow the participant to control the volume.
We tried making a digital prototype but due to the project being short, we could not achieve it. We decided to simplify our idea and play the sounds from our phone.
The Sensory experience
We asked for a volunteer from the class to be our user. As we wanted to remove the sense of sight to heighten the sense of sound, we asked the participant to close her eyes. The participant had to use the control panel to turn up the volume of which sound she wanted. It was a performance art, as we were physically going closer and further from her when she turned the volume up or down respectively.
(Fass, 2019)
(Fass, 2019)
These were the sounds we played -
Feedback and take aways
Overall, our peers commented positively. One classmate pointed out that we could think about how the product would work if someone had not been to the River Thames.
Another classmate commented that us moving closer and further actually made the experience even more interactive for the users who were not involved. I also felt that we got stuck trying to make a complex prototype. We forgot that the final prototype did not have to be polished and that the process and learning were more important. Also, one thought to take away would be- ‘How to translate this concept so that a lot of people can interact with it at once?’
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