In January 2012 I ran a 2-week workshop on the theme “Timescapes” with product design students from the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad India. The full documentation of results and process can be found here.
Defining themes
Introduction to Arduino
Sketching ideas
Prototyping and documentation
Results
Defining themes
An initial discussions led us to define 5 different subjects namely:
– boredom: uninteresting, redundant time vs moments of busyness that make us consider each second as invaluable
– waiting: idle time that involves the expectation of something that is about to happen as well as the frustration of not having it quickly or the comfort of not having to do anything
– objects/physicality of time: mark of time on things – ranging from a cup of tea that gets cold after a couple of hours, up to buildings that physically change when left alone
– natural time: aspects related to time in nature – its cyclical manifestations and different scales
– life time: related to different generations, memories and how the perception of time varies in different phases of life