This project examines different design strategies and helps me understand my own process. The first strategy
is explorative, the second is experimental, and the last is exact. Each strategy is its own little project,
and the results reflect the overall strategy behind each process.
The objective of the first project was to explore how tangible interfaces could hide when they are not in
use. The idea was to explore how different physical buttons, sliders, and joysticks behave under a textile
cover.
After the first round of fast prototyping, joysticks were the most promising. I built several iterations of
a joystick that retracts into a surface while covered with a flexible textile.
The second process, based on an experimental strategy, addresses the topic of compliant mechanisms. The
basic idea of the project is to replace complex lazy susan hinges with a compliant variant.
After testing several 3D printed prototypes, I built and programmed a test rig to evaluate the wear and tear
of the hinges. After running the rig on 14 hinges and analyzing 1.000.000 data points, I could select the best
specifications for the final hinge.
The exact project is a kitchen timer that is operated via a touch ring.I first created a fast Arduino setup
to develop the software and designed several iterations of custom-made PCBs and housings when I designed the
hardware.
The housing and the display are custom made using SLA printing and a turning lathe, and the PCBs are a
custom design.
