Brief: Design an experience that manipulates human senses
Teammates: Alex Newson, Maria Shuttleworth, Qendresa Selimi
Skin Under Pandemic
Lafrance(2018) suggests that skin is enabling: it allows us to sense and perceive worlds as well as to be sensed and perceived by them. But in this extraordinary period during the pandemic, human were covered by a variety of "protective skin": masks, safety goggles, protective clothes, hats and gloves. These coats, while protecting us, also creates an additional communication barrier. (Sloan et al, 2020)
Uncover Emotions
The main functions of the five wearable equipments are to block the spread of droplets that can cause covid, preventing our skin from direct contact, can also be described as a "second skin." We were wondering how people express real emotions under them.
In the picture above, I demonstrated the functionality and relationship of masks, safety goggles, protective clothes, hats and gloves.
Touch of Glove
Hand and deeper tissues contain millions of sensory receptors. Without them, people wouldn't be able to sense and respond to your environment. (Nervous system - Touch, 2005) Hand receptors don't only respond to touch and pain. They also register humidity and dryness as well as warmth and cold.
Human fingertips are probably the most sensitive part of the skin (Safi,2017), they can feel the differences between smooth and rough surfaces, wet and dry patterns. But they are deprived of thses function after wearing gloves.
Material Attitude
Based on multiple characteristics of each finger, I decided to use materials to exaggerate these differences and endow fingers with emotions.
I collected five materials, each of which had a representation on different fingertips: hard apple packaging for powerful thumb, translucent onion packaging for flexible forefinger, rough scourer for rude middle finger, smooth tinfoil week ring finger and soft cotton for flexible little finger.
Presentation
Today was the first day I went to school because I was in quarantine, and it was also the day I presented for the first time at school. My teammates demonstrated their models, Qendresa made a hand sanitizer, Maria made an emotional mask, and Alex made a mood arm, I also showed my material gloves and explained the design concept.
Feedback
1. Is my glove designed for the person wearing the glove or for the person being touched?
2. Has the experience been revealed? Does it convey emotions?
3. How do we combine the ideas of the four of us to make a bigger and more meaningful model?
Now, it seems that our prototypes were a bit too basic, as a ux designer, we need to consider who are the target user, what information we want to convey. Next week, exploring further and combining ideas would be new challenges for us.
References
AskNature Team(2017) Fingertips increase touch sensitivity. Available at: https://asknature.org/strategy/fingertips-increase-sensitivity-to-touch/#content_life_forms_grid (Accessed: 10 November 2020)
Lafrance, M.(2018) Skin studies: Past, present and future. Body & Society, 24(1-2), pp.3-32.
Nervous system - Touch. (2005) Available at: https://citethemrightonline.com/digital-internet/the-internet/web-pages-with-no-authors?refSystem=HAR ((Accessed: 10 November 2020)
Sloan, M.M., Haner, M., Graham, A., Cullen, F.T., Pickett, J. and Jonson, C.L. (2020). Pandemic Emotions: The Extent, Correlates, and Mental Health Consequences of Personal and Altruistic Fear of COVID-19.