Nov. 11 - Nov. 18, 2021
Partners: Desire, Effy, Greta, Malavika
Brief: Design a way to express the skin/world interface.
Research Methods: AEIOU and Speed Dating
Brainstorming:
After receiving our new group assignments, Desire, Effy, Greta, Malavika and I immediately sat down together to start researching the properties of skin. We were interested in the actual mechanism of skin and why we get goosebumps or wrinkly fingers when submerged in water. Our group wanted to approach the brief by first examining the skin at a molecular level and then expand outward for the final outcome. In many senses, it felt like revisiting our elementary school classes where we learned about the layers of the skin and its nerve endings.
Skin-World Interface: Goosebumps and Wrinkly Skin
We wanted to think more about how the skin responds to the outside world.
For example, goosebumps form in response to emotional triggers such as fear or hearing a beautiful piece of music. In animals, it can also be a way for them to increase the appearance of their size by puffing up their fur.
We learned that skin turns wrinkly when submerged in water for too long when the skin has retained a maximum amount of water. But we continued to wonder about the evolutionary function of these wrinkles [1].
In addition, we read about the recent Nobel Prize winners who discovered the receptors in skin that allow humans to feel temperature and touch [2]. Their research looks into the exact mechanism of how stimuli can be converted into nerve signals so that we can adapt to different temperatures and pressures.
AEIOU: Supermarket
As a way to help with our observational skills, we decided to do an AEIOU exercise with the supermarket.
In terms of the "users" we were observing, they were everyday people who were looking for fresh produce. [https://openpracticelibrary.com/practice/aeiou-observation-framework/]
Four Ideas
After meeting on Zoom, we landed on four ideas that we wanted to explore further.
1. Skin in extreme conditions, looking toward climate change
goosebumps, wrinkling
2. Biological effects in extreme conditions
cold and heat
healing ad blistering - time scales
the threshold by which skin can be stretched before it breaks, what happens when skin is punctured
3. The future of human skin technology
technology in and on us, part of our skin
4. intimate touch & hormones
sensory touch
oxytocin
We spoke with John, who noted that our ideas were quite similar, and he suggested that we start working with different skin-like materials such as skin, rubber, nitrile, gelatin and to explore/design through materials. He noted that technology does not need to be limited to the digital sphere, and that we could explore skin itself as technology.
Experimenting with Materials
With this suggestion in mind, our group went to the market to purchase some products that would hopefully help us explore the properties of skin more closely. We purchased pork belly, gelatin, silicone, flour (to make dough), peaches, mushrooms, and a pepper.
Membrane
In looking at the layers of the skin, we started thinking more about the skin as membrane. It allows things such as sweat and heat to escape, but also acts as a barrier, protecting our internal organs from harmful micro-organisms.
We also looked to animals to learn more about the different biological functions of skin. Amphibians such as frogs and salamanders breathe through their skin [https://sciencing.com/animals-breathe-through-skin-7815623.html] A key word from this research was the porosity of skin.
Skin as Filter
Another key word that popped up was filter.
From looking at the skin of mushrooms, we noticed the similarity between mushroom gills, or lamella, and baleen whales.
Baleen whales have a baleen, or filter-feeding system, inside their mouths. The whale can take in large quantities of water through its baleen, and as the whale pushes the water out, small animals such as krill are captured by the baleen and remain in their mouth. Baleen consists of keratin, the same substance in human fingernails, skin, and hair.
From this research, we started thinking about designing something with toothbrushes as the baleen reminded us of more sophisticated bristles.
Skin-World Interface
After playing around with materials, we realized that in order to create the actual experience, the key word we needed to examine was interface, i.e. how the skin interacts with elements in the world such as heat, moisture, oxidation, direct sunlight, and cold.
Rotting/Decay
We also discussed the rotting process of fruit or vegetables. What are the conditions that begin the process of decay? With too much moisture oxidation, and warm temperatures (skin-world interface), fruit and vegetables begin to turn.
Speed Dating
We speed dated our ideas with our cohort. They included:
1) futuristic skin patches in climate change
2) zooming in to skin as a microcosm
3) goosebumps as an evolutionary phenomenon
From the feedback we got during speed dating, the zooming in to the skin held the most design intrigue and potential.
Next steps: Designing Something to Answer the Following Questions
Why is the skin the way it is? And how does the skin function?
We pinpointed the wider scope of our idea, which was skin as a technology and as a natural intelligence as opposed to artificial intelligence. The skin has a communication system within itself and usually knows what to do to self-preserve and maintain itself.
We wanted to explore the sensors and receptors in the skin that respond and react to various stimuli. With this framework, we started thinking more about pressure points and how to trace the experience of pressure on the skin.
Outcome
So, for our project, we created a prototype of three different skins with their own unique thickness and sensitivity. Each prototype represents a different area of the skin. Using sponges, cotton balls, and bubble wrap, we created prototypes representing:
1) skin at the sole of the foot which is the thickest
2) skin on the elbow
3) skin on the fingertips
The volunteer presses the sponges and applies different amounts of pressure to the paper. We had three different paint colors to differentiate among the three areas of the skin.
Feedback
The main feedback was that the prototype strayed quite far from our original idea, which was skin as technology. Somehow we landed on pressure points even though we were mainly interested in the skin's natural communication system.
What I Learned
A key takeaway from this brief was the importance of exploring through materials as part of the design process. In our previous group projects, I noticed that we would often try to immediately form a prototype or design experience before even playing around with materials. As a result, sometimes our prototype ideas ended up being quite shallow. I realized that it was important to conduct as much preliminary research as possible in the beginning to generate some ideas and then hit the ground running by playing around with materials. By getting our hands dirty, we could observe all the nuances of whatever we were working with and formulate a deeper design concept.
However, it is also important to be aware of time constraints. Our outcome felt a little rushed as we did not leave enough time for prototyping. As things were coming down to the wire, we strayed a bit far from our main concept.
I quite enjoyed putting on my scientific cap and revisiting biology, which is something I haven't done since graduating from high school. I realized that a designer can gather ideas and inspiration from all fields, rather than being limited to their own arbitrary "specialization."
This project also reminded me of the article on abductive thinking by Jon Kolko (2010), specifically, the section where Kolko discusses the incubation period of design, which is oftentimes invisible to the "observer" or client. [3] I could really identify with the design thinking laid out by Johnson-Laird's four-step process (Johnson-Laird, 2005).
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