Archive for February, 2010
Thesis: What is it?

This week Despina asked us three questions:

Write 2-3 sentences clear description of your project (imagine it is Thanksgiving and your 16 year cousin and 74 year uncle ask you to describe your thesis). I am building a display that will let you experience the magic of bioluminescent algae outside of its usual context. [...]

Thesis: Preliminary Drawings

This week I’ve been doing some preliminary sketches for what I’m starting to think of as algae pixels. The idea is to create a way for people to experience an interaction with bioluminescent algae that’s not too far off from seeing it in the ocean. For the first prototype I’m going to be testing ways [...]

Toy Design Workshop: Mood Board

For Toy Design Workshop I’m developing a building toy that will integrate well with outdoor play and natural materials. As a kid I was always frustrated by the disconnect between the aesthetics of Legos or blocks and the twigs and moss I liked to build with in my yard. So, my plan is to prototype [...]

Thesis: Timeline

Feb. 18: concept drawings, grow box, annotated bibliography, paper outline, request for space, project calendar/worksheet
Feb. 25: containers for pixels, agitation & sensor possibilities, presentation for mid-semester critique, work out low-light photos for documentation
March 4: fake interaction test (wizard of oz), order components, pixel working without sensing, documentation
March 11: module with sensing, documentation
March 18 (Spring Break), [...]

Bio & Materiality: Bioluminescence

Our first assignment in Design Frontiers in Biology and Materiality was to recreate favorite science experiments from when we were kids. I immediately thought back to summer evenings I spent on Orcas Island, skipping stones into water that sparkled with bioluminescence. After doing a little reading to see if I could actually grow bioluminescent algae [...]

Thesis: Mood Board

Thesis Mood Board
Stuff it includes:
America Windows by Marc Chagall
Bioglyphs exhibit at MSU Bozeman
Rocky Shore exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Wind Board by Leah Buechley
Funky Forest by Theo Watson
Bestiary by me and Bryan Lence
Firefly by Jason Krugman
Music:
where_have_all_my_files_gone? by Rachel’s