16 January 2013
Step into the 'Digital Hallway' and discover new products
A coat rack that recommends outerwear based on the weather forecast, a water feature with the flow controlled by your financial health and a wooden box that helps commuters choose the best route are just some of the innovative exhibits to be shown at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) tomorrow.
'Digital Hallway' is a one-day exhibition of work from students on the Product Design and Digital Interaction Design programmes. It will showcase a range of objects which communicate live data through physical interactions and illustrate how digital technology can be harnessed for real-life applications without the need to go online in the conventional manner.
The third-year students designed and built prototype objects for use in everyday locations, such as a hallway, to provide assistance to people who either have specific impairments or who are simply seeking support to better organise their busy lives. The project formed part of the Social Digital module undertaken by students on the two programmes.
The projects will be on display at the Product Design studio, Level 7 Matthew Building from 9am-9pm on Thursday, 17th January.
Kate Saunderson, a Digital Interaction Design lecturer at DJCAD, part of the University of Dundee, said, "The brief was for the students to create a 21st Century Barometer - a household appliance that supplies useful information from the internet on a daily basis.
"The projects were based on two sources of inspiration - the visually impaired and the residents of cities such as Shanghai, Paris and New York. The students were asked to consider how design can help improve their lives and they have come up with some excellent and innovative solutions to the issues that people face.
"So, for example, a person might go to their coat rack, which will make a suggestion on which jacket to wear based on the information about the weather it has already obtained."
This project, Touchwood, was inspired by a presentation given to the students by Amar Latif, a dynamic and blind entrepreneur who has worked extensively with digital technology. Amar explained that, for him, the problem with not being able to look out of the window to see the approaching weather on the horizon is that he often leaves his house with the wrong jacket.
Other projects to feature in the exhibition include:
- Traffic State - a device designed to represent traffic movement within New York in a visual way. Its aim is to aid the user's decision in the morning as to what form of transport they should take by gauging the traffic over the past two and a half hours. The Traffic State is designed to be read like a graph.
- Cash Flow - a water feature designed so that a simple glance on the way out the door gives the user an abstract view of their financial state based on their bank balance. The speed of the water is representative of the money in the account, so that finances stay personal while acting as a decorative focal point in the home.
A total of 17 projects will be exhibited in the Digital Hallway. A drinks reception will take place at the studio from 5-9pm on Thursday, 17th January.
More information is available at http://socialdigital.dundee.ac.uk/digitalhallway/.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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