Contemporary products which are made for sale aim at clear distinction because they need to be understood quickly, strongly and differently to be chosen by customers. So we use all sorts of external designation on products like names, brands, categories and classes. Historically, however, things were not always made for sale. The discussion of things that go beyond the paradigm of contemporary production and consumption includes with concerns about how things without external designation could be differentiated. Have you ever thought about undefined products?
“Will future products still have targets, names, or rules?”
We used design probes to find out usability limitation of everyday things. After the observation and repeated discussions, we found three major empirical limitations of contemporary products.
1. The use of product is defined relatively by the user because he or she doesn't need to use products as the producer's intent. Depending on the user, it may be better for him or her to use things irrelevantly to how they are intended.
2. We need to acquaint ourselves with things. Sometimes products include parts that are not decided by the user. Some features of products are designed for ease of mass production or management, and individual users need to adapt to them.
3. Things can't consider users individually. In general, since modern products are made for sale, producers combine features and limitations of things so that as many buyers as possible can buy them.
2. We need to acquaint ourselves with things. Sometimes products include parts that are not decided by the user. Some features of products are designed for ease of mass production or management, and individual users need to adapt to them.
3. Things can't consider users individually. In general, since modern products are made for sale, producers combine features and limitations of things so that as many buyers as possible can buy them.
Through these discoveries, we learned about some limitations of contemporary products. In this project, we would like to present design concepts that overcome the limitations of contemporary products we've taken for granted, so we can discuss possibility of the future.
We assumed a future that ideas such as 3D printing and IFTTT becomes common so that users actively intervene more in the production of things. Not all items will be exclusively used even in the world where users can make their own products. However, we expect the appearance of products that focus on personal needs that haven't been attracted attention before. We have tried to find a speculative design concept which can be contrasted clearly with contemporary products.
To clearly illustrate the message, we needed to present new ways for users to participate actively in the production process of things. Also, we thought that product should include trivial desires of the user and use of product should be related directly to production of the products. So, by using futuristic imagination, we propose two archetypes that users can actively participate in production through use and four examples which are derived from them.
The first one is an archetype of 'drinking'. Through design probes, we found that many things we use in daily life are for holding liquids, especially for drinking. Although drinking can be individual action, much experience and many function of it has been standardized by producers due to ease of mass production.
There certainly are functions all users need in common and some functions are unrealistic for users to realize themselves. These parts are presented in the archetype. The form of the archetype is basically a tumbler. The lid and the container part are divided, and there is a spiral connection between them. They are made from imaginary jelly, allowing users to change the shape as they want. Users can use it like a general tumbler without any modification, but they can tame the shape of the container and lid for their own uses.
The second one is an archetype of communication with things. What was discovered through observation of smart devices was that attempts to enable all communication through a few devices limits communication methods to only few general ways such as GUI and VUI. However, they are not always the best interaction for users. We will show the limits of modern products through various interactions that only the user of contemporary product can use comfortably and joyfully.
Communication with objects also have some common needs for all users. These include minimum area to interact and an editorial guideline for users. So we designed an interactive fabric with a cross pattern that helps the user edit as an archetype of communication. This fabric allows the user to set up object and message for communication. Users can communicate with objects in their own way by editing personal affordance on the fabric.
Our project goal is to show empirical limitations of modern products and the potential of future ones. To do this, we had to show archetypes becoming exclusively personal long-lasting objects. Accordingly, the students who participated in "Unsigned things: Speculative design project" did a thought experiment using each of the archetype we suggested.
Also, we gathered our findings and arguments in a book. The book contains not only the design process, but also introduction to speculative design, document of speculative design workshop, more specific explanation of our subject and personal comments of each participant. For those who are more interested in our topic, we recommend a reading. You can access from the link below.
In this project, we did a speculative design about contemporary products. We tried to suggest the possibility of future things we discovered by facing familiarity unfamiliarly. The products we share through this project are examples of post-contemporary things that we found after repeated experiments. We hope you get your own question about the limitations and possibilities of post-contemporary products with the future fragments we designed.
Project English title has changed to "No-named Things" from "Unsigned Things"