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This is George Redmond and I’s collaborative ‘Word’. Using some plastic fencing as a grid and a few kilometers of red wool we have made this 4m long by 1m wide installation. The alleyway it is installed in is itself a hell and using that idea we have created our word to reinforce the associations attached to the space. The installation gives the feeling of being enclosed to any one walking under it and allows the viewer to look up from ‘hell’ through the holes in the word to the sky above (Heaven). We chose wool as our thread as it has a texture we thought would add depth to the work and would hang and sway easily from the work itself.
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Close-up shot of the ‘Word’ showing the texture of the wool.
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Showing the shadow cast by the ‘Word’ when a light is shone from above. In the day sunlight would cast a similar shadow on the alleyway.
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A shot of George and I installing the ‘Word’ above the alleyway.
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My Detail Drawing of an obsessed style sketch.
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My Six Drawings
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Overall View: My Letter presented on the ‘NZTS Visiomatic Cloth Towel Dispenser’ I discuss as the product that needs improving.
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Letter Transcript
Dear New Zealand Towel Service
As a first year design student at Victoria University you could say we quickly develop a sharp eye for products with ‘bad’ design. Unfortunately, I feel a product manufactured by your company exhibits the undesirable characteristics of bad design. Fear not, design students aren’t all doom and gloom and while critical we often have some good ideas on how to improve the design of a product.
So lets look at the product in question, the ‘NZTS Visiomatic Cloth Towel Dispenser’. As not only a design student but also a resident of nearby University Hall Weir House I am forced to face and on occasion use your product. This product exhibits what I see as two major design traits causing it to score unfavourably on the design spectrum, its aesthetics and its design functionality.
Aesthetically your cloth towel dispenser leaves much to be desired. While I would be the first to admit the loo isn’t my Mecca for creative inspiration it would be nice to be greeted by a towel dispenser with a visual appeal representative of even the current decade. The 1970’s style design is dull and thoroughly outdated but a few simple changes would certainly liven up its aesthetic value. In my view simplicity is the key, remove the logo from the front face of the product and keep the main body a uniform white, not the sickly cream colour adorning the current model. Changing the body material from metal to a more modern feeling plastic would be another subtle yet important change to ensure this product gains the modern aesthetic it currently lacks.
I’m sure you at the New Zealand Towel Service would agree a products ability to function is key to its design success. Why then does this product fail so spectacularly to function when required? It is in its functionality where the Visiomatic Cloth Towel Dispenser shows its true lack of design pedigree. The mechanism has an awkward tendency to jam on the odd occasion you decide to wash your hands and even when the dispenser pulls freely the towel itself proves to be an absorption disappointment. Just have a test run on your own product. See for yourselves just how poorly the towel dries even damp hands.
All of a sudden the outside of your trouser leg seems like the better option.
In terms of design functionality the Visiomatic Cloth Towel Dispenser needs a complete overhaul. Certainly a more reliable mechanism needs to be installed in the machine and the towel itself needs to be upgraded to one with much greater absorbency. Unlike the aesthetics a more complete change is needed to ensure a new product would function effectively.
In conclusion, to ensure the improvement of your current product, I would simply suggest developing a new line of hand towel dispensers to replace the older models, such as the ones in Weir House, using some of the simple design ideas I discussed above.
In the future try to provide a product that doesn’t leave the consumer reaching to the outside of their trouser leg or shirt sleave for a superior hand drying option.
Yours Sincerely
Ben Pexton
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Key Detail: Close up of a critical part in my letter.
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Poster Installed: Final design of my poster installed.
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Digital Copy of my final poster design.
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For the letter part of the project I decided to write to DC Comics in regards to the superhero they created known as “Aquaman”. I thought it would be quite cool to put the letter in one of their comics as the characters saying it so this meant the text is quite small. Its a lot easier to read if you go the high resolution picture.
Bollen, this is a delightful piece of work, a truly poorly designed excuse for a super hero.
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[Flash 10 is required to watch video]
Final stop motion video
Love it ella, such a cool video.
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Final Clip (From YouTube as loading on Tumblr is so slow)
As designers not only are we challenged to create products that are aesthetically pleasing, useful and long lasting but, as Dieter Rams said, “Good Design is concerned with the environment”. This idea is none so important than in todays world where companies place heavy emphasis on marketing products as environmentally friendly. But where is the line drawn? As designers we must help maintain this balance between design that is ‘concerned with the environment’ but at the same time is practical and long lasting. In my clip I look at this design idea through a surreal dream/nightmare sequence. In a world where everything is made environmentally friendly, nothing seems to function and companies compete to market their products as being more concerned with the environment than others.
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My storyboard for Project 2 ‘Clip’. I tried to keep up the aesthetic of my clip by arranging my storyboard in this way. It may be difficult to read what I have written so I will annotate below…
1st Picture:
Zoom from a distance to face, eyes open and character reacts to his surroundings. 2-3secs
2nd Picture:
Character leaves bed and begins interacting with objects around his room (stereo, laptop), from there advertising for different environmental benefits begin popping up (reference marketing). 5-6 secs
3rd Picture:
Character reacts to the bizarre nature his room has taken on. Hands on head. Zoom on face. Goes for glass of water. 2-3 secs
4th Picture:
Character goes for glass of water and wool comes out from the tap. He throws the wool back into the basin and it ‘splashes’ up onto the mirror where it runs down and the words ‘Does this make you feel uncomfortable’ are revealed. 9-10 secs
5th Picture:
After observing the quote he turns to the camera before running a the mirror. He breaks through the mirror and cuts to the ‘wake up from the dream’ scene. Sitting upright in his normal bed. Relief! 6-7 secs.
