Independent ResearchDigital & Physical:

A Harmonious Contradiction

Richard Clarkson300160220

Supervisor: Natasha Perkins

Stage One: Planning and Initial Research

Independent Study Project Proposal

Student: Richard Clarkson 300160220

Supervisor: Natasha Perkins

Trimester Three Start Date: 14/11/2011 End Date: 26/02/2012

This Independent study will begin to explore the relationship between the physical and the digital with the intent of exploring furniture based creations that embody the opportunities of the combi-nation and contrast of these two elements. The Researcher will be required to explore both me-chanical and analogue ideals as well as digital concepts and ideals including CAD and CAM. This study will be done in collaboration with a Masters Research thesis and be used as a practical out-put and physical exploration of the concepts and ideas generated. It is expected that one or more intensive design concept outcome(s) for further development is arrived at from this Independent Study for elaboration in the following summer in SARC312 and then SARC412 in 2013.

This project is split into three stages. The three stages systematically build upon one another, strengthening the Researcher’s ability to successfully engage progressively more complex and sophisticated design challenges. These ideas will be extended and developed through the consid-eration of context, function and ergonomics with a strong focus on the relationship of to the two main research points mentioned above. Concepts will be resolved to a high level with particular emphasis being given to the structural and aesthetic qualities of materials and the refinement of design details. The Researcher will be required to produce final renders and scale models of the design outcome(s) with the possible requirement of a 1:1 test rig pending design focus and discus-sion with supervisor. These should actively express the design language and essence of the focus of this Independent Study.

Stage One: Planning 1 week Due Mon 21st Nov 5%

Stage One: Research & Idea Generation 4 weeks Due Fri 16th Nov 45%

Stage Two: Development & Prototyping 8 weeks Due Mon 13th Dec 50%

Total…. 100%

Project process blog: http://clarksonrichardstudy.tumblr.com/

The Researcher is required to regularly update this process blog with sketches, comments, ideas, notes, inspirations etc... throughout this Independent study in order to keep in contact with super-visor. As well as this the Researcher is required to meet with the supervisor to discuss progress, this must be in person at least once every two weeks at a time that suits both the Researcher and the supervisor.

The Researcher will require use of facilities including the SOAD 2nd year workshop and SOAD Computer login access over the Trimester 3 period.

Opposite page (top to bottom & right to left):http://gizmodo.com/digital-analog-clock/http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/11-increhttp://dornob.com/digital-analog-dynamichttp://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/11-increhttp://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/11-incre

As I begin my initial research of the harmonious contradiction of the analog/mechanical/physical and the digital. Clocks and watch faces seems to be an excellent starting point. In our experience a clock can either be analog or digital. The images above show some artists and designers at-tempts to combine these two forms, some more successfully than others, often these are the designs that keep the two forms simple and subtly combine them in a graceful integration. There also seems to be an ele-ment of psychological design surprise which could be a powerful element to carry into my own design concepts.

Ulysse Nardin Chairman Hybrid Mechanical Smart Phone (opposite)This particular phone was one of the precedents for one of my earlier projects the “Rotary Mechanical Smartphone” of which I will talk about in a post to come. The reason I continue to use this smartphone as inspiration and as a precedent, even thought the actual design is now outdated, it is the thinking behind the object and the values it carries that interests me. These values talk of lasting luxury, handmade aesthetics and careful consideration and thought.

Opposite page (top to bottom):http://watchismo.blogspot.com/2009/03/ul-http://watchismo.blogspot.com/2009/03/ul

(above) This is my Rotary Mechanical Smartphone designed to be an expression of the grow-ing feeling that digital plastic is taking over and the realization than there is a beauty and value in the handmade and mechanical imperfections. These are all ideals I wish to carry through into this project, however the steampunk aesthetic that is for that particular project is not something I want to use in this new project.

Perhaps an interesting side note to make is that during the process of the rotary Mechanical project I discovered that it is virtually impossible to cleanly adapt a working physical system to a preexisting digital one, the are often just to different in the way the operate, having said this if the entire object (electronics and all) are designed from the beginning then an integration of the two forms is much more realistically doable. This is defiantly something to keep in mind throughout my process.

What I mean by... “Harmonious Contradiction”

I have mentioned the term “Harmonious contradiction” a few times now and I should elabo-rate on what exactly I mean. It comes about from the idea that these two forms, digital and physical, are complete oposites yet in today’s society they need each other to exist. There is a point at which the two forms come together, I like to call this point the Equilibrium point. At this point everything is in balance and harmony is achieved. Stray too far either side of this point and people feel uneasy, systems begin to not function correctly and balance is lost, eventually leading to a return in the direction of the prior form, often overstepping the equi-librium and going too far in the other direction. This constant fluctuation bouncing over the equilibrium point is very similar to concepts such as the continuing curve of design and even basic economic principals.

In recent years QR tags and augmented reality have become more and more popular in gaming, animation, advertising and recreation. This is one method of bring the digital to the physical in a way we haven’t really seen before. Certainly this could lend itself for a type of digital furniture, or even provide a way for consumers to change the aesthetics and details of an object. A lot of experimentation will be required if I choose to go down this path.

QR Tags & Augmented Reality

Opposite page (top to bottom & right to left):http://www.zonkio.com/augmented-reality-http://mduench.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/http://www.thefutureisawesome.com/catego

Front Design & Digital Furniture.From the Front Design Website:

“Is it possible to let a first sketch become an object, to design directly onto space? The four FRONT members have developed a method to materialise free hand sketches. They make it possible by using a unique method where two advanced techniques are combined.Pen strokes made in the air are recorded with Motion Capture and become 3D digital files; these are then materialised through Rapid Prototyping into real pieces of furniture.”

Opposite page (top to bottom & right to left):http://elitechoice.org/2008/08/05/deputehttp://www.frontdesign.se/category.php?ihttp://www.frontdesign.se/category.php?i

This page (top to bottom & right to left):http://freshbump.com/stylish-space-savinhttp://dornob.com/space-saving-staircasehttp://modernurbanliving.com/page/19/

Smart Furniture or Space saver furniture could be a possible output for this project and provide me with a context. Although this type of design has been done a lot I feel that with the ever growing population recently surpassing 7 billion worldwide, space is only going to gain importance as an issue to address. Perhaps I can bring something new to this style of design through a digital as-pect/approach. Something to consider.

(opposite) Digital Furniture by Amanda Levete

Interesting interpretation of what digital furniture is, delivering a very sculptural aesthetic.Images from: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/plastic-rubber-hightech/digital-furni-ture-by-amanda-levete-054811

(above) Cliclounger from Alexander Pelikan

nice quote from the designer, “The future could be fully digital furniture where the custom-er only buys the file needed for manufacture, steps to the closest milling facility and lets his piece be produced locally on the spot.

And in this way ‘immaterialized’ product would cut down a lot on transport- and material costs, be very environmentally-conscious and above all it would broaden the freedom of design…”Test and Images from: http://pelidesign.com/websitepeli/cliclounge-bamboo/#4

Cinderella Table by Jeroen Verhoeven“The object is clearly the result of computer aided design, but is also clearly hand-finished. It alludes to grandeur through the outlines of historically grand furniture in its profiles, yet it is also economical and humble, an unadorned plywood shell with no applied surface. These con-tradictions, or juxtapositions, are commonly found in recent Dutch design.” source: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/c/cinderella-table/

Opposite page (top to bottom):http://www.suite101.com/view_image.cfm/1http://www.detnk.com/node/1658

“‘It’s about attention to detail and the possibility to make something unique with a machine that is nor-mally used for mass production.’ Jeroen Verhoeven”

source: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/c/cinderella-table/

PaperCP: Exploring the Integration of Physical and Digital Affordances for Active Learning - Chunyuan Liao, et al

A very in depth look into merging digital and physical classroom equipment. This would go hand in hand with a educational context if my project where to take that direction. Here a section of the abstract of the report:

“Abstract. Active Learning in the classroom domain presents an interesting case for integrating physical and digital affordances. Traditional physical handouts and trans-parencies are giving way to new digital slides and PCs, but the fully digital systems still lag behind the physical artifacts in many aspects such as readability and tangibil-ity. To better understand the interplay between physical and digital affordances in this domain, we developed PaperCP, a paper-based interface for a Tablet PC-based classroom interaction system (Classroom Presenter), and deployed it in an actual university course. This paper reports on an exploratory experiment studying the use of the system in a real-world scenario. The experiment confirms the feasibility of the paper interface in supporting student-instructor communication for Active Learning. We also discuss the challenges associated with creating a physical interface such as print layout, the use of pen gestures, and logistical issues.

Keywords: Active Learning, Affordances, Paper-based Interface, Physical Interface, Tablet PC”

source: http://classroompresenter.cs.washington.edu/papers/2007/Liao_11981_Pa-perCP_final.pdf

.gif Player by Pieterjan GrandryThis is exactly the style of design I am looking to achieve for this project. Grandry has taken an entirely digital concept and made it physical, in doing so he has made both the physical and digital adaptions of the concept stronger. Perhaps I can recreate this digital to physical or physical to digital in a furniture setting.

“In 1832, Jozeph Plateau, a Belgian physicist invented the phenakistiscope. The first device which was able to show a moving image and which is considered to be the pre-runner of modern cinema. The only down part however was the fact that it could only show short movie clips in a loop. An animated gif is exactly that, and after some research on Plateau’s original design, I succeeded to build a device capable of playing animated gifs, incorporating led lights, microchips and magnetic sensors. The Gif player is a wood-en box, much like a turntable, with a dimmer to adjust the speed of the animation and a small looking hole in the front.”

Source: http://www.jeremyriad.com/blog/beyond-toys/a-portable-animated-gif-player/

Possible Contexts:

Starting to think of a context for this project, something that will lend itself well to exhibition of my masters thesis later down the line. Some possible options could be:

EducationalSmart systemsExhibitionPublic / streetLow cost / problem solvingSustainable

Or perhaps even a combination of two or more. At this early stage I would like to keep my options open and let my research guide me.

Opposite page (top to bottom & right to left):http://www.infotec-group.com/go.live.phphttp://www.thesurfacegrinder.com/2011/03http://www.efunda.com/processes/machininhttp://www.tflex.com/cad_10.htmhttp://www.gcad3d.org/

CNC(opposite) Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufature (CAM) will be important componets of the digital side of this project, more on this will fol-low.

“There are possibilities in the real world which are missing from the digital world – things like tan-gibility, emotion, community, physicality and ex-perience. (Henry Flitton, Harriet McDougall, Chris

Thomas and Ben Redford)”http://vimeo.com/10689975

(opposite) Evil Robot Designs use of upcycling of old toy’s to make new furniture pieces. The stark contrast of the first image is particularly effective. Perhaps I can integrate a style of digital upcy-cling in my own work.

source: http://www.jeremyriad.com/blog/beyond-toys/classic-toys-turned-into-lamps/

STACK Furniture STUCK with VELCRO by AWS Designteam(above) The modularity created by replication of the same object is a very digital conception, though I feel to be truly digital the object must be much simpler than the c shape shown in this project, perhaps a small cube. This could even bring fourth a representation of Binary code, the code central to all things digital.source: http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/stack-furniture-stuck-with-vel-cro.html

“Soft Cubes” Idea been done.In a previous post introduced the idea of modular Velcro cubes to form furniture but it seems that idea has already been done. Though the colour scheme of the existing ones is questionable and perhaps I can adapt it towards a different context.

source: http://www.tojatoy.cz/en/e-shop/?p=p_28&

Yona by Kieser Spath“…can be used as a lounge chair or dismantle it and lo and presto it falls flat to become a carpet. Covered in upholstery, it has several thin foam layers and fabric and a bear-ing structure made in polypropene sheet. An industrial Velcro is used to steady the chair on the floor. Having soft edges, it allows multiple sitting and lying postures to the users. When used as a chair, it offers extra upholstery at the base to place the feet on. It is versa-tile furniture in the true sense.”

source: http://www.designlaunches.com/furniture/a_chair_that_is_also_a_carpet.php

Bone Chair by Joris LaarmanVery famous design that is a wonderful example of how digital design methods and thinking is beginning to increasingly effect the way we design and create objects and fur-niture. The extract below is part of a larger article by David Dick, I have selected a section relevant to my research on his thoughts of analog vs digital:

“The issue of digital versus analogue information is only tangentially related to design, or perhaps not at all related if you want to be perfectly literal about it, but it has a certain symbolic relationship to the bigger picture into which I’m trying to fit the Bone Chair.

We equate “analogue” with vinyl and cassettes: easily-degraded, hissy-sounding formats. Or clock faces with sweeping hands that never point directly to the number, but are always pointing to one of the infinite number of sub-divided gradations between those numbers. Digital information, on the other hand, is encoded in zeros and ones, binary extremes, making it robust and insusceptible to degradation. CDs and mp3s always sound as clear as the original studio recording; digital clocks always quantize the time into nice whole numbers.

This belies the fact that analogue formats actually hold vastly more information than digital ones. To illustrate this, I turn from music and time to imagery. We all know (all of us, that is, except writers of TV procedural dramas) that when you blow up a digital image enough, all you get is a series of pixels; there’s a threshold below which there is not just diminished information, there’s no information. An analogue format such as celluloid, on the other hand, can be blown up indefinitely. There’s a loss of image resolution, and a graininess, to be sure, but in theory, at least, the detail is not inherently limited by the format.”

source: http://www.ignisfatuus.com/2009/10/15/furniture-joris-laarmans-bone-chair/

Opposite page (top to bottom):http://www.curatedobject.us/the_curated_http://designgallerist.wordpress.com/201

“our digital age makes it possible to not just use nature as a stylistic reference, but to actually use the underlay-ing principles to generate shapes like an evolutionary

process. Joris Laarman”http://www.jorislaarman.com/bone-furniture.html

Hylozoic Soil by Philip BeesleyLiving architecture is what Beesley strives for, indeed some of his recent exhi-bitions show that this vision of the future could be closer than we expect. He uses micro-prossers, and mechanical systems to create an architecture that responds indirectly with itself and human interaction. His work is definitely a precedent for my project, especially if I approach things from an architectural or lighting point of view.

Source: http://www.philipbeesleyarchitect.com/index.html

(above) Sound chairThis chair/ furniture set would use sound as it’s digital intergration medium. I love the idea that the user would be able to feel the digital element as the interact with the physical. The design of the chair itself would need alot of development and refine-ment but overall this could be a possible direction in which to take this project.

(above) Follow me light - Celing FurnitureThe spider cam used in the 2011 Rugby World Cup uses digital 3D modeling technology to achieve its location & movement. Perhaps this technology could be applied to lighting or even ceiling furniture.

“SpiderCam works using winches and cables above the playing area which allow the camera to film any position on the field.”

source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-1250038/SIX-NATIONS-2010-Fans-climb-ing-wall-BBCs-use-Spidercam.html

Planning conclutions and Future DirectionsMiles stone dates set, and the beginnings of a research project set in motion. The re-search question I have arrived at is;

What happens when the physical and the digital are combined in a furniture setting?

Although this is still a very broad question it does allow for a full exploration of the two concepts and the threshold in which they overlap. I plan to continue to gain more clarity and direction as this project progresses.

I have a few potintial directions I could pursue;

- The sound Chair which explore’s simbiosis and audio therapy.

- The follow me Lighting Unit which is a statment peice about how archtecture is chang-ing.

- An augmented reality furniture set that allows the digital and physical spaces to inter-act and generate info and data.

- Programmable Furniture which could allouw for customisable systems.

- Code baised furniture similar to Laarman’s Bone chair but done in a new context.

From the beginning I have known that the integration of the digital and physical was go-ing to be a challenge, but it is a challenge that I look forward to.