CCDN 231- Blog problems

For some strange reason, blogger is not letting me upload the pictures.

I will have to wait until I can solve this problem. ...

CCDN 231- First image for hand-in

First image for hand-in- For my first image, I wanted to display my experiment, which was editing the use of sound.

I aimed to display it in a way that shows how when you walk in the doc martins, the sound is far more faint than what a normal shoe is. I found that when walking the sound of your shoes when your walking sounds more fainter then gets more and more louder. Here however it is the exact opposite. There is a very faint soft sound, that makes it seem as if though there is no sound made at all.

I wanted to experiment with the use of sound because its something that can make an experience pleasing or make an experience more uncomfortable. It also is what I feel is something that we don't really aim to change as much or try to change. Also my aim, silent sound, is something that is rather luxurious to have since we don't get to enjoy peace and quiet nowadays with the many activities going on in our lives.

Below is my first image for hand in.

CCDN 231- Write up redo

Write up redo- I have finished rewriting the 500 words. I'm still looking at rewriting pieces of it to make sure it suits. However I think it is a significant improvement. Referencing is not done yet however it will be redone soon.

Comfort is a pleasurable feeling we should be feeling when walking and wearing our shoes. In my experiments, I have experimented on how to create a comforting experience when walking in Doctor Martens shoes through the use of editing 3 of our main senses- touch, sound and sight. 

The Doc Martens shoes are a pair of shoes made from leather, which is much more different to the standard shoe material. However this causes extreme discomfort when wearing them since they’re so tough to walk in and makes an irritating squeak sound. A series of experiments were peformed, with each aiming to make the experience of walking in Doc Martens much more comfortable with a variety of different approaches to this challenge. These approaches included editing the ground the shoe walks on, adding new scents to the shoes and making enhancing the inside to become more comfortable. Though the article “Global Ergonomics: foot digitalization to enhance shoe comfort” we can see that it is important for us to be able to enjoy walking in shoes. “Poor foot-shoe interaction is a risk factor in terms of discomfort” (Paolo o, Manuela M, Enrica F, Alessandra R. Global Ergonomics: foot digitalization to enhance shoe comfort). The experiments I carried out all have the intention of ensuring that this will not occour when wearing doc martens. Each experiment aims to avoid discomfort and have a profound effect on those who wear the shoes. Although there are many ways I aimed to give these shoes a comforting experience, the main way I have aimed to give more comfort with walking in Doc Marten shoes is through the use of silent sound. 

Silent sound is a means of escaping from unwanted noise and acts as a chance to escape. Through Mack Hagood’s article “Quiet Comfort: Noise, Otherness and the mobile production of personal space” we are able to see that silence is something we long to have. “Noise cancelling headphones offer air travellers not only the reduction of noise, but also the production of personal space” (Hagood, M, 2011, Quiet Comfort: Noise, Otherness, and the Mobile Production of Personal Space, 574). Silence sound acts as a means for people to escape from unwanted attention from other people and have nothing but their own thoughts. With so much noise surrounding them, silence is an even more pleasuring sound , because “noise is socially constructed and situated in hierarchies of race, class, age and gender ” (Hagood, M, 2011, Quiet Comfort: Noise, Otherness, and the Mobile Production of Personal Space, 574). This means that with so many factors helping to enhance unwanted noise all around us, it is very difficult to escape it all and this is creating a large desire for the chance to leave sound behind.

In my experiment with sound, the sound of the Doc Martens shoes was something that stood out that needs to change to help give a more pleasant experience. It was an irritating, squeaking noise that affected the emotions felt- it gave a more disturbing sound, rather than a pleasant sound to help create a good mood.  “Pleasant emotions pull us to products that are beneficial, whereas unpleasant emotions will push us from those that are detrimental for our well-being” (Pieter D, Paul H. 2007.Framework of Product Experience, Pg 61). The emotions felt when experiencing a product are a vital piece to giving off comfort. If it is unpleasent, then we will feel as if the product is unfriendly. With no sound occouring when walking in doc martens, we would feel better about wearing these shoes and feel a lot more pleasant, as I found in my experiment with silent sounds.

The emotions and feelings towards the Doc Martens shoes at this point in time are far too directed towards them being harsh and solid like, making the experience wearing them rather uncomfortable. A way this can be changed is through the altering of sound being executed when walking in these shoes.

CCDN 231- Reviews after my draft 500 words

Reviews after my draft 500 words- I have had my 231 draft marked by some of the students in my class and the feedback was prety good. THe evidence managed to back up my experiment and am now looking at redoing bits of the structure for my essay/500 words. What I was told was needed is too clearly state what "Comfort" is, define my experimentation more and potentially talk a little more on shoes in general.

Below are my sheets from class and the draft essay.

CCDN 231- First draft to present to Friday class

First draft to present to Friday class- I have made my first draft of my 500 words to present to the class on Friday. Overall I am happy with the sources I have found and am happy with how they integrate with my experiment I chose as my final to work with.

CCDN 231- Third source found

Third source found-  I have found what is hopefully my last source. This time I was looking for a source that involved the use of "Product design". I felt that this type of source was really needed for my project because my experiment is involving a lot of product design and I feel this isn't really covered in my last 2 sources. The last two sources cover the interaction design, comfort and ergonomics sides, but not specifically product design.

I have found what I think is my last source. Its called "Framework of Product experience" by "Pieter Desment" and "Paul Hekkert". I feel that this article is a good one for me to use as a reference for my idea/ experiment and am pleased with this finding.

Reasons why I am particularly glad with the article found is because it goes onto how the products out there should be able to give someone a good experience that they will actually enjoy. This is particularly relevant to my idea on sound because if the DOc MArtens shoes were more quiet rather than squeaky like they are now, it would make people enjoy this product more since its not really draw unwanted attention.

CCDN 231- Second Source found.

Second Source found- I have found my second source- this time, this source is focusing on the interaction design side of comfort and how the silence of sound is a wonderful experience that we rarely get to appreciate. This is due to all the non diegetic/Diegetic sounds we experience.

The article continues to make an example of noise canceling headphones that are great examples of how we use them to escape the noise and live in a peaceful environment when we hear no noise. I am pleased with finding this article and am going to most defiantly use it in my 500 words paragraph.

The article found is "Quiet Comfort: Noise, Otherness, and the mobile production of personal space" by "Mack Hagood" and sourced off victoria library database.

CCDN 231- SOURCES RESEARCH CONTINUED.

Sources research continued- I have still been continuing to look for sources that will be of good use for me to back up my experiment. So far (after discussing with my tutor) I have words such as "Interaction design" since you interact with my experience in terms of sound. More terms include "Ergonomics" "comfort" and "product design".

So far I have found an article that I can use for my claim on silence being comforting when wearing the Doc Martens shoes. Its published by Paolo Olivato, Manuela Morricone, Enrica Fubini and Alessandra Re and called "Global Ergonomics", published in 2008.

It talks about how the comfort of the shoe is important as poor shoe comfort is a major risk factor both short term and long term. This is not only relevant to my experiment in terms of comfort but its relevant because we are able to see that with horrid foot wear, we aren't able to enjoy the experience of wearing shoes.

CCDN 231- Research for sources

Researching for sources- I have been searching for my sources. I have decided that the experiment I am going to work with is the silence of sound. I chose this particular one over the use of touch and smell because we have so many intricate sounds surrounding us that we don't stop to think what would happen if we had no or little sound in our lives..

I have been looking on the Victoria University Library database and am trying to nail down on some key words that will help me for my sources.

CCDN 231- New plans after experiments

New plans after experiments- After working on my experiments where each person has successfully come back to me and told me how they felt with these new changes done to the experience, it is time to make a new plan for where I go from here.

So far I have decided the next stage is to write up a solid draft for the 500 words and ensure that I have found some good sources that will help back up my claim on the experiment that I decide to go with.

I have also talked with my tutor, Phillipa Shipley, on ways that I can improve my project to ensure its the best it can be. A thing she pointed out that needs improvement is my illustration images. In my images, they were far too plain and didn't mean anything towards my experiments. With help from my good tutor Phillipa, we sat down and looked at ways to improve this factor and see what we can add and subtract to make it look good.

We decided that for the images there would be 2 images to meet the hand in but representing different things to the experiment. One will show what my experiment was and how I altered it to fit the brief and what I experimented on. THe other image will be a future prototype I envisioned and what I want it to look like to change the experience of wearing Doc Martens.

Something else that she pointed out to me was that I should follow this 3 step process- intention, document experience and key illustrations. This would help me explain my process more further and to a better standard.

Below is the scanned in step by step process I will be following after I write about my writing process for the 500 words.

CCDN 231- Third observation

Third observation- I have now completed my third observation and am pleased with the result.

My person I observed it on is my friend Ally Baldwin. Here she was instructed to walk around in a pair of doc martins that had a strong smell of food essence in it. When she walked in them she found the smell to be very arousing and great to smell compared to the usual foot odor inside a shoe.

Here she stated that compared to the last experience she had, she was used to them but also liked the fact that they smelt now. Because they helped her feel like it was something fresh and new she was stepping into rather than psychologically thinking that shes stepping into someone elses shoe.

Below are the photos from the results.

CCDN 231- Third Observation smell

Third Observation smell- For my third experiment as I said before, I will be aiming to enhance the smell of my doc martins to be a more comforting smell. I have been looking through smells as I stated in a previous blog post and am now looking into rubbing my doc martins in food essence- Banana smell to be specific.

The reasoning behind this choice of smell is too bring out something that also smells good and also makes the experience more comfy and the best smell that came out of it was the banana smell. I experimented with other smells in food essence such as strawberry and maple, but banana was defiantly the best smell out of the range I had. 

CCDN 231- Second Observation

Second Observation- I have completed my second observation on my flat mate Hannah. I got her to wear the slippers on the inside of the doc martins and had her walk around the house with the slippers on inside the doc martins.

After she wore them and walked around the house with them on, she stated that the experience was really making a difference. To the point it felt really comfy to walk in them, which is the exact opposite to what was said in my previous project.

I was extremely ecstatic with this response because of the fact that since she said its so comfy the slippers I made worked and made the experience a much more comfy one.

CCDN 231- Second Observation slippers-

Second Observation slippers- For my second observation, I wanted to work on the idea of enhancing comfort in terms of editing the touch inside a doc martins shoe. I feel that this one is one that I may most likely work with because touch is more than likely the main sense that you feel when walking in doc martins.

I have been working on my slippers and am pleased to say that there is one that is in the complete mode. I am currently working on my second one and am happy with the overall idea of it. Whilst its not got a good visual sense going, it has a very definite purpose- to enhance the inside so that its more softer and more more comfy for the person to walk in doc martins.

CCDN 231- First observation

First observation- I have completed my first observation for project 2 for CCDN 231. I observed my friend Kiran Mathews and altered the sound to be a silent, yet comfy one. I did this by muffling out the sound by layering blankets across the floor when he walked so that there was no sound when he walked.

Overall I observed that the sound was far more muffled compared to walking out on concrete like last time. It was almost as if though there was no sound because it was so much less noisy and suppressed. The fact it was so silent seemed to work really well for this experience because usually when walking in the doc martins, I found that they always squeaked. But now that this was muffled out it seemed like a good experience where it was more peaceful to be able to walk in the rubber like shoes that were harsh and solid.

Another thing that my friend Natasha pointed out was that even though the doc martins were squeaking in a slightly annoying way, it was like being rebellious and that making comfort was like the exact opposite. I thought this is something interesting to note because its changing the way a doc martins sound is usually from being something rebellious like to something much more comforting and peaceful.

CCDN 231- Summary of ideas for Comfort

Summary of ideas for Comfort- I have decided to make a post that will sum up my ideas incase theres anything unclear from previous posts. And also to make sure the tutors understand where I am coming from, since I found sometimes it takes a little more than usual to explain ideas.

The word I have chosen from the list is "Comfort". I intend to use this word in my activity (wearing doc martins) by altering it through 3 of the 5 senses- Touch,taste,sight,smell and sound by changing the context (e.g. the red is to look rather rebellious). After looking through all these senses, I knew that taste would immediately be out, since I think its pretty clear you can not eat a shoe..

I decided that the best ones for me to utilize in my activity is touch, sound and smell.

Sound- I have found that sometimes the most silent sounds are the best sounds, especially when your tired and want peace and quiet. In the previous project, I found that those who noticed sound that it was a rubbery and bouncy because of the material. I decided to alter this into a comfy silent sound. The way I am going to do this is by layering blankets on the floor and making people walk on them in my doc martins to suppress the sound and make it soft, rather than bouncy and with a thunk.

Smell- The smell is something that was generally unnoticed when wearing my doc martins. I really want this to be something that stands out more in this project because I feel I can really utilize this sense to make my experience much more comforting for the person wearing the shoes. I personally think that the smell of something can make you feel much more happier or sour, depending on the smell because no one likes to walk out feeling like they smell grotty. The way the context has been changed here is that usually a smell inside a shoe puts you off. Instead here, the smell is making you feel more comfy about wearing them and give you the awareness that you will smell good when walking in these shoes.

Touch- Touch is the main sense that you can utilize to enhance the experience when wearing doc martins. I remember clearly that most people said their experience when wearing doc martins was really stiff and un-comfy. I want this to change so that they have a pleasant comfy experience by making the inside soft and good to feel and wear. As I stated in my previous blog post, I intend to make slippers to make the experience less ridged and more soft so you feel better when wearing the doc martins. The way the context has changed here is that now instead of being rough and tough as guts shoes, they are more soft and gentle to walk in and make you feel more comfy when walking in the shoes instead of feeling a bit more in pain.

CCDN 231- Third idea

Third idea- Now that I have come up with my plan for altering the use of touch (the slippers) and Sound (the use of blankets to muffle out the sound) I am now ready to start my third idea.

My third observation idea is to edit the use of smell. This is mainly due to the fact people had mixed thoughts on the doc martins- some liked the look and others didn't. This were noted from my previous project.

At this point, I am mainly looking at editing the doc martins to make them smell nicer with food essence.

Below is a brainstorm on my ideas for possible smells.

CCDN 231- 2nd idea from idea 1

2nd idea from idea 1- After sussing out my first idea, I began to look into my second idea for "Comfort". I decided that since I had used touch in the first one, I think editing the sound in my experience wearing my doc martins is the next one I  would really like to go with because when I observed my friends wearing the doc martins, there was a sound that was expected to be made- the sound of rubber. This time I had the idea of taking out or muffling out the sound with this experience.

I have been brainstorming up ideas as we speak and the brainstorm is listed below, but it looks like i'll be aiming to edit the sound by muffling/ erasing it from what I have been looking at. I have also attached a landscape drawing of my place to show where my person will be walking.

CCDN 231- Looking into different fabrics

 Looking into different fabrics- For my fabrics for my first idea, I am looking at the idea of using a nice soft woolen material that will give a comforting feel to the shoes and experience.

I have attached a brainstorm on some possible materials that will be suitable for the design. Now that my first idea is generally sussed out, I am now going to look into my second observation idea.

CCDN 231- Concept ideas for my slippers

Research for my slippers- I have been researching into different images for my 231 to help with the design side to it. An inspiration to my design side is the look of these Japanese slippers. The slippers here are covering the whole foot and am liking the fact ti covers over the ankle piece too to add a bit more protection to my design.

I think that to make the inside much more softer I will still need to add more into it, but am looking at new possibilities into what to add inside.

CCDN 231- Draft sketches for Slippers idea

 Draft sketches for Slippers idea- I am currently still set on the idea of using slippers as my second project for CCDN 231. I have been drawing up some sketches and am looking at making it with soft, durable fabrics that will be Swen together and have the softer materials on the inside (possibly cottonballs etc). I will be continuously brainstorming up some possible options for the inside.

Below are some sketches of my slippers idea. Note that despite them being bad by drawing, the ideas behind it are solid in terms of purpose (Function over Form).

CCDM 231- First idea for Project 2

First idea for Project 2- I have been looking into possible ideas on how to improve the comfort of wearing Doc Martins shoes. I have narrowed it down to the following options- A new in-sole, a new type of sock or some kind of slipper that you wear over your socks.

I thought of using the idea of a new insole is a good concept idea because when people have found that their shoe is quiet loose, they have sourced into getting insoles to make up for the loose space in their shoes. I could easily enhance the softness to it by adding in something along the bottom to make it softer. However the thing that is really bugging me is the idea of not giving much comfort for the top... Its almost only comforting to one area (the sole of the foot) and am not entirely certain with going with this idea.

The idea of enhancing comfort in the form of socks is defiantly going to offer more comfort than an insole. It can even head up towards the ankle and give more defined comfort. But it still seems a bit unoriginal to me and I am certian that the material with extra soft materials inside isn't really a creation made by me..

The last (and my personal favorite choice) is to do a pair of slippers that have a soft comfort inside that will make you feel much better when walking in the doc martins. The slippers are going to have a comfy material inside and am looking at ways to take it further so that it may be more than just comfy on the inside.

CCDN 231- Project 2- Sensory/Emotional Experiment

Sensory/Emotional Experiment - I have revisited the brief for project 2 for CCDN 231 and am looking at exploring the idea of enhancing "Comfort". I have come up with a brainstorm of the possible ways to enhance the comfort of wearing doc martins.

At this point, the main way I am looking at enhancing my experience wearing Doc Martins is by adding a new in-sole to the shoe. This in-sole will be a new type of sock that you put on that will enhance the feel of the inside so that it is more comfy.

I am currently drawing up new concepts as we speak.

Below is the brainstorm I came up with to create a way to enhance comfort when walking in Doc Martins.

CCDN 231- Week 5 readings and questions

Week 5 readings and questions-

-  Why does Gobé believe that brands need humanizing? Do you agree with his argument?

     Gob'e believes that brands need humanizing to "jazz up our standard, exhausted and familiar offerings through inspired design" indicating that he believes that design is boring and all the same unless it is drawn deep from inside that helps bring out our innovation, improvisation and imagination.

-  According to Gobé what qualities do ‘emotionally designed’ products have?

      The qualities of an "emotionally designed" product includes meeting the demands of new consumers and being incomparable with others. Being innovative and personalized. Giving a sensory and new experience. Being a reliable and tailored product for others and being proud of your end product.

CCDN 231- Week 4 Reading and questions

Week 4 Reading and questions-

-  How does Martí Guixé use experimentation in his design practice?

Marti Guixe uses experimentation in his design practice by collecting raw materials and making a product from it. He uses items of particular interest such as food. He worked with photos far before designing and has used this skill to show off the finished result.

-  Why does he use the term ‘business models’ to describe his works?

He uses this particular term because he has created experiments/finished products that have a great use in the world that can easily be sold for money, but hasn't been placed in the world for money.