Rain Garden
Third Year Interactive Design Project
WHY: To instill childlike wonder in the context of "after a rainfall."
WHO: People of all ages who came to the Scottsdale Canal Convergence 2018.
WHAT: An interactive lighted walkway that resembles rainfall and monsoon winds.
'Rain Garden' captures a moment in time. Visitors were welcomed to brush their hands through 'reeds' as they walked through a field of suspended raindrops.
Project Introduction
Purpose
Team project that was put on public display for 10 days.
Create an INTERACTIVE 2x2x2ft CUBE.
"BREAK THE RULES."
DESIGN an EXPERIENCE.
This project grew my idea of what Industrial Design is tremendously.
Observing human interaction with my project was EYE-OPENING in the best and worst ways possible.
At The Canal
Transportation, set-up, and the project in action.
Construction 101
Getting Down to Business
I learned a lot of new skills through this project including:​
Finding and ordering materials
Wiring
​Shopwork
Materials
Utilizing the "imperfections" of MDF, allowed our panels to flex as people walked through the project. This made sure the light switches were activated.
Poles
My team decided on acrylic poles rather than fibre optics or cold-rolled steel. This option was the cheapest, and would allow for a new experience as light traveled through the poles.
Metal vs Plastic
LEDs
There is a lot more that goes into finding a lighting source than I realized. I borrowed some of a professor’s sample LEDs to test with the acrylic, and then settled on white and blue module lights from the LilyPad brand.
Part Description
Soldering
Having never soldered before I was nervous to wire my own LEDs, but very quickly I understood how to get the best results. In a couple of weeks I was able to successfully solder and desolder over 50 LilyPad module LEDs.
Learning to Wire
Wires
There were a total of 56 LEDs, 50 feet of wire, 4 switches, and one car battery used to illuminate the project.
Lighting the Project
Switches
Using a pressure switch removed the need for an Arduino board. Instead of programming, we made sure our measurements between the panel and the switch were accurate.
We added thin strips of MDF near the switch for extra support.
Connections
Battery
After some research I decided to use a 12V battery and a voltage-regulator to power the lights and make sure nothing overheated.
Running Smoothly
Measurements
In order to be sure everything lined up perfectly we measured anything and everything. For the lights, there were two layers of MDF, 56 LEDs, and the acrylic poles that needed to be 100% accurate in placement.
Perfect Execution
Drill Press
During this project I learned to use different tools in the workshop. The drill press was used in order to make the acrylic placement holes above the LEDs.
Learning New Tools
Router
Utilizing the router for the housing of the LEDs and wires allowed for me to learn yet another a new skill. I carved a pathway which allowed the LEDs and wires to be safely encased within the panels.
Creating Pathways
Project Preparations
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Ideation
Mini Projects and Sketches
Not only was I working with a partner, but the whole studio -16 groups- had to flow with each other. On top of that we worked alongside Masters of Interior Architecture students, and collected research about the Scottsdale community with students from Tonalea K-8.
Review and Critiques
What I Learned
In the semester I realized a decent amount about product design. Crafting things take time, it is always good to have extra support, there is always another option — though it might take longer to find— and everyone has a different idea of how you should build at some point you just have to make your own decision.
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Through my time at the canal I learned a lot from public interactions. Not everything was positive, actually it was frequent that people broke my project or found it "underwhelming". I just needed to fix the poles that would break out each night, and keep a positive mood. The positive outcomes were far greater than the negatives though, and everything was worth it when users finally 'got it'.
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During my project review, the only real issue that came up was that of safety. During the Canal Convergence no one was hurt, but certain elements left opportunity for potential tripping hazards. The positives were many, our project spoke for itself, the size was perfect, the experience flowed well, and the reviewers were impressed when we told them it was wheelchair accessible.
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One thing I would like to do to improve the project would be to increase the walkway/interaction slightly, and to have the poles on the panel in front of you light up rather than the panel you are on. This way the experience isn't just in the peripheral vision, but is something you literally look forward to.