It All Falls Down: Engineering to Mitigate Erosion 2023

Photo Precedents

Pierce Morris and Nathaniel Levitzky

Navigating the Design Process

Andrew Todd Marcus

Making

Saeed Arida

8 Things to know

Amro Arida

THE PRESENTATION POST

This post's privacy is set to Everyone. This post showcases your final design by telling the comprehensive story of how your idea was born, developed, and manifested. The arc of the story should encompass the, How of your project in a compelling narrative. It showcases your design process including your brainstorming, each of your iterations, and your final prototype. It allows the viewer to delve deeply into your process.

  • Every Slide should have a Title and Caption.
    The body of this post is The Brief. You should include a version of the Brief for each collaborator in the project.
  • This post will be used in your review presentation at the end of the session.

You are encouraged to make your narrative as compelling as possible. All of the content below should be included, but if you would like to rearrange the material in order to tell your story differently, work with your coach.


INTRODUCTION PORTION

Your presentation is a narrative, and the introduction sets up the scene for that story. Here you introduce the project, say why it is important, and summarize what you did.

TITLE WITH TAGLINE: This slides shows a crisp, clear final image and the title of your project. with a pithy blurb describing the project. The image, name, and tagline should draw a viewer in. 

Examples:

  • The Fruit - A line following, light tracking robot
  • Segmented Vehicle - A vehicle that conforms to the landscape
  • Cacoon - Wearable sculpture exploring the concept of transformation and death

EVOCATIVE  IMAGE: This is a single image that shows a clear image that evokes the soul of your project. This image helps set up the why in a compelling way, sets the stage for your narrative, and will help frame the entire presentation. The caption of this slide (set with the Edit Captions button when editing your post) should discuss the context of your project. No Text on the slide.

THESIS STATEMENT: This is a TEXT ONLY slide for which briefly describes the Soul and Body of your project. You can use the project description from your Brief or write something new. This statement ties together your narrative.

Examples:

  • The Cocoon:  A wearable sculpture that explores the concept of transformations and death. The Cocoon explores the spiritual journey beyond the human experience; what it means to be human, how wonder effects us, and the concept of what happens after death.
  • Body Accordion: A musical prosthetic that translates the wearer’s body movements into a dynamic multimedia performance. The Body Accordion converts flex sensor input to sound through Arduino, MaxMSP, and Ableton Live. 
  • Seed to Soup Animation: A whimsical animation about the slow food movement. Seed to Soup showcases a holistic method of cooking. From garden, to kitchen, to dinner table.
  • Antlers: A wearable sculpture inspired by antlers found in the deer and antelope family. "Antlers" explores the comparison between armor and attraction. 

PROCESS PORTION

The Process Portion of your presentation tells the story of how you iteratively developed your project. Somewhere in that story you should include conceptual and technical precedents that guided you at each stage as well as brainstorming and process sketches and clear photo booth imagery for 3-4 stages of your process.

This portion is made up of three types of slides repeated 3-4 times. Each iteration in your process should include:

  • PRECEDENTS:  Precedents are any projects that inspired you creatively or gave you technical guidance. These can include conceptual precedents and technical precedents. No Text.
  • SKETCHES/SKETCH CONCEPT DIAGRAMS: These slides show your generative ideas in sketch form. These should clean, clear drawings. A sketch should show a clear idea. Do not simply scan a messy sketchbook page and expect that people will understand. If you do not have a clear concept or working sketches it is fine to make them after the fact. No Text.
  • PROTOTYPE IMAGES:  These are actual images of the prototypes  you documented in your daily posts. These images illustrate your design decisions and how your project changed at each step. No Text.

FINAL PORTION

The Final stage of your presentation is the resolution of your narrative and shows your completed work. The use diagram shows how your project works and the construction diagram shows how it is assembled. Final photos show the project both in action and at rest. The imagery captures your final built design.

USE DIAGRAM: A diagram showing some aspect of the functionality. These can include:

  • How one uses or interacts with the project
  • The overall behavior of the project over time
  • For a complex interactive project, this can be a clear diagram of the software behavior

MECHANICAL DIAGRAM:  A diagram offering insight on how the project is put together and functions technically.

  • Ideally, this will be an exploded axonometric
  • At minimum this can be a labeled disassembled photo  

ELECTRONICS or OTHER DIAGRAM: Additional diagrams showing some important aspect of your design. 

IMAGERY: The last slides should have an images of the final project. These images should be taken in the photo booth, cropped, and adjusted for contrast, brightness, etc. Images should include:

  • An image of the project in use (taken in the booth or at large). This should include a human interacting with the project.
  • Images of project alone. Include at least one overall image and one detail image.
  • You can also use an image In-Use. 
  • Consider using a GIF to show how the project works. 

 

Make a Cam & Linkage

Jiyoo Jye
CamAndLinkage_PrintTemplate.pdf

Cardboard lends itself to different mechanisms compared to wood and acrylic. This mechanism combines aspects of the parallel linkage and eccentric cam. It also uses the springiness of cardboard as the returning force to bring the flag back down.

Learning Goals: 

  1. Understand the basics of the cam and linkage mechanism. 
  2. Apply your understanding of the mechanism to create a unique prototype. 


Part I: Template model

Using the template file provided, you will follow step-by-step video instructions on how to recreate the cam and linkage cardboard model. To complete the activity, you will need cardboard, scissors or exacto, a dowel or a pencil. 


Part II: Build your own version

Once you’ve completed the model, prototype at least 2 different ways to modify the pre existing elements to -

a) change the movement of the mechanism, 

b) customize components, 

c) introduce a new add-on feature, 

d) posit a novel application.


Part III: Document

Take photos of all your work. In the caption, make sure to describe the prototypes and explain your work process. Post your answers to the following reflection questions:

  1. Did you find having a demo template useful? 
  2. If you were to repeat this exercise, what would you do differently v. same?
  3. Describe the parts you've modified from the original template. 
  4. Are there other mechanisms you'd like to learn how to make?

THE PRESENTATION POST

This post's privacy is set to Everyone. This post showcases your final design by telling the comprehensive story of how your idea was born, developed, and manifested. The arc of the story should encompass the, How of your project in a compelling narrative. It showcases your design process including your brainstorming, each of your iterations, and your final prototype. It allows the viewer to delve deeply into your process.

  • Every Slide should have a Title and Caption.
    The body of this post is The Brief. You should include a version of the Brief for each collaborator in the project.
  • This post will be used in your review presentation at the end of the session.

You are encouraged to make your narrative as compelling as possible. All of the content below should be included, but if you would like to rearrange the material in order to tell your story differently, work with your coach.


INTRODUCTION PORTION

Your presentation is a narrative, and the introduction sets up the scene for that story. Here you introduce the project, say why it is important, and summarize what you did.

TITLE WITH TAGLINE: This slides shows a crisp, clear final image and the title of your project. with a pithy blurb describing the project. The image, name, and tagline should draw a viewer in. 

Examples:

  • The Fruit - A line following, light tracking robot
  • Segmented Vehicle - A vehicle that conforms to the landscape
  • Cacoon - Wearable sculpture exploring the concept of transformation and death

EVOCATIVE  IMAGE: This is a single image that shows a clear image that evokes the soul of your project. This image helps set up the why in a compelling way, sets the stage for your narrative, and will help frame the entire presentation. The caption of this slide (set with the Edit Captions button when editing your post) should discuss the context of your project. No Text on the slide.

THESIS STATEMENT: This is a TEXT ONLY slide for which briefly describes the Soul and Body of your project. You can use the project description from your Brief or write something new. This statement ties together your narrative.

Examples:

  • The Cocoon:  A wearable sculpture that explores the concept of transformations and death. The Cocoon explores the spiritual journey beyond the human experience; what it means to be human, how wonder effects us, and the concept of what happens after death.
  • Body Accordion: A musical prosthetic that translates the wearer’s body movements into a dynamic multimedia performance. The Body Accordion converts flex sensor input to sound through Arduino, MaxMSP, and Ableton Live. 
  • Seed to Soup Animation: A whimsical animation about the slow food movement. Seed to Soup showcases a holistic method of cooking. From garden, to kitchen, to dinner table.
  • Antlers: A wearable sculpture inspired by antlers found in the deer and antelope family. "Antlers" explores the comparison between armor and attraction. 

PROCESS PORTION

The Process Portion of your presentation tells the story of how you iteratively developed your project. Somewhere in that story you should include conceptual and technical precedents that guided you at each stage as well as brainstorming and process sketches and clear photo booth imagery for 3-4 stages of your process.

This portion is made up of three types of slides repeated 3-4 times. Each iteration in your process should include:

  • PRECEDENTS:  Precedents are any projects that inspired you creatively or gave you technical guidance. These can include conceptual precedents and technical precedents. No Text.
  • SKETCHES/SKETCH CONCEPT DIAGRAMS: These slides show your generative ideas in sketch form. These should clean, clear drawings. A sketch should show a clear idea. Do not simply scan a messy sketchbook page and expect that people will understand. If you do not have a clear concept or working sketches it is fine to make them after the fact. No Text.
  • PROTOTYPE IMAGES:  These are actual images of the prototypes  you documented in your daily posts. These images illustrate your design decisions and how your project changed at each step. No Text.

FINAL PORTION

The Final stage of your presentation is the resolution of your narrative and shows your completed work. The use diagram shows how your project works and the construction diagram shows how it is assembled. Final photos show the project both in action and at rest. The imagery captures your final built design.

USE DIAGRAM: A diagram showing some aspect of the functionality. These can include:

  • How one uses or interacts with the project
  • The overall behavior of the project over time
  • For a complex interactive project, this can be a clear diagram of the software behavior

MECHANICAL DIAGRAM:  A diagram offering insight on how the project is put together and functions technically.

  • Ideally, this will be an exploded axonometric
  • At minimum this can be a labeled disassembled photo  

ELECTRONICS or OTHER DIAGRAM: Additional diagrams showing some important aspect of your design. 

IMAGERY: The last slides should have an images of the final project. These images should be taken in the photo booth, cropped, and adjusted for contrast, brightness, etc. Images should include:

  • An image of the project in use (taken in the booth or at large). This should include a human interacting with the project.
  • Images of project alone. Include at least one overall image and one detail image.
  • You can also use an image In-Use. 
  • Consider using a GIF to show how the project works. 

 

Framed Woman

Izzy Lamb

Framed Woman: An installation that provides commentary on unrealistic gender expectations and the truth of the construction of gender in society. The installation is a frame cut out of a woman's portrait in the 1800s, which provides insight as to when these gender norms originated, and why they need to end.

When people learn about history, the only visual aspect that they are exposed to is through photographs and paintings. As time goes on, society is constantly exposed and catering to the gender norms that were created hundreds of years ago. Therefore, the construct of gender in society continues to be pervasive and oppressive. This installation emphasizes that society needs to see that people do not need to identify or present themselves as one specific label. Through the utilization of a portrait photograph of a royal woman in the 1800s, the audience is forced to attempt to fit into this preconceived idea of what a woman should look like. Not only does this expose how unrealistic these gender expectations are, but it questions the role of gender as a whole in society.

A Cold Homecoming

Maddie Johnson-Harwitz

A Cold Homecoming: An installation that highlights the overwhelming number of homeless veterans in the United States. Instead of having a monument to veterans by depicting them fighting in wars, this counter monument shows the difference between a soldier fighting in the war and a veteran fighting homelessness.

This counter monument aims to address the developing epidemic of homeless veterans in America. It is estimated that between 130,000 and 200,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, consisting of between 20% and 25% of all homeless individuals. Female veterans, veterans with mental and physical disabilities, and veterans returning from current wars have higher rates of becoming homeless. These statistics show the lack of support many veterans receive after returning from combat. A Cold Homecoming depicts two figures: a soldier resting during a battle holding their rifle with a helmet on top, and the other a homeless person slumped over holding a sign that says "Homeless Vet". These two figures are the same person at different points in time.

A key aspect of this monument is the interaction between the two figures. At first, the figures will be back to back, but when activated by a user through pushing rods on each side of the monument, the figures will phase through each other to become face to face. The figures will be consisted of sliced pieces to create a three-dimensional figure. This movement allows the soldier to face their future and demonstrates to the audience  the cold reality of what veterans face when they return home.

Stacked Up

Lucas Held
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Aoife Brief: 

Stacked Up: a counter-monument seeking to critique the criminal justice system that proves itself a failure to communities of color and their futures in America.The installation visualizes the entry point into the criminal justice system and highlights how this system disproportionately targets and impacts people of color. 

Since the abolishment of slavery, white and powerful Americans have been finding ways to once again enslave and take advantage of people of color. Whether it be the 13th Amendment prison-slavery loophole, the "War on Drugs" that imprisoned black men at a 100:1 ratio to white men, or  killing unarmed hooded black children in the name of the law, the criminal justice system continues to marginalize and fail people of color. 

Stacked Up tells the story of people who have been targeted by systematic and institutionalized racism by showing a mix of statistics, biographies, and symbols. Users can reach their hands into the dark bed of the all white vehicle through the back window, take a scroll and read a biography about the young  men and women of color who have been wronged by or stuck in the  criminal justice system. The goal is to educate the general public about people who are dehumanized and silenced, and to give voice to their lived experiences. It  highlights how systematic racism is a pervasive issue that needs to be addressed and ended.

Lucas Brief:
Stacked Up: A counter-monument seeking to critique the criminal justice system that has disproportionately impact people of color in America. The installation, a recreation of a police car, invites viewers to consider the difficulty of entering the justice system for the first time. This installation informs viewers of the harmful justice system that targets people of color and will make them question how institutional racism within the system is stacked against them.  

 In the United States, the criminal justice system is deeply flawed. The moment a person is first arrested, they are officially system-involved. Being system-involved can impact an individual for the rest of their life, especially if they are a person of color. Stacked Up explores this trajectory through the lens of a police car, which symbolizes the moment of entry into the justice system and the way that institutional racism is enforced through the law. The police car allows viewers to learn about people who have been trapped in the criminal justice system for years. Viewers interact with different biographies by reaching through an open window of the car and unveiling a true story they read.