As participants in NYCxDesign, my classmates and I from the SVA Products of Design program present ALSO!. Shown at the 2013 edition of WantedDesign, ALSO! is a series of five mobile (plus one) interventions that explore the ways that people can experience design at an exhibition. These interactive stations encourage the show-goers to participate in our conversations about sustainability, digital presence, storytelling, scale and celebration.
ALSO! is the culmination of a five-week studio called Design Performance. This class, taught by Sinclair Smith, is a crash-course in designing a cohesive project that addresses the many physical and spatial parts of an exhibition, rather than just focusing on the artifact shown on a pedestal. The work from ALSO! is a departure from the traditional methods of presenting design by becoming a mobile, hands-on experience.
The official website for ALSO! is www.alsoproject.com, and images that document the process can be found here.
Published in: Core 77, The New York Times, Design Boom, Tree Hugger, Design Within Reach
(Graphic Direction: Benjamin Critton; Photos: Kathryn McElroy; Copy from SVA Products of Design)
The six different carts are depicted below:
WARP
The station titled “Warp,” explores a lens of abstraction, and is a massive articulating kaleidoscope. Acknowledging that there is so much design to experience in a design show, this lens abstracts the scenery into something both beautiful and memorable. Since people take many photos of design shows with their mobile devices, “WARP” provides a spot where the participants could take an image and share it: #AlsoProject.
BOOM
The station titled “BOOM” explores a lens of narrative, and uses mock boom mic and a set of backpack-mounted headphones. Here, visitors “listen in” on design objects, asking what the untold stories of artifacts might be. In other words, if a chair or a lamp could talk, what might it be saying?
TINY
The station titled “TINY” explores the lens of UNSEEN DETAILS, and employs a hand-held digital microscope and display screen. Here, visitors are empowered to see the minute details that designers love but can sometimes be overlooked.
LIFT
The station titled “Lift” explores a lens of digital mediation, and uses a custom-designed pulley system to give your phone a ride. Since people so often experience things through their phones, we decided to give people the option to record a view of WantedDesign that only their phone could have.
HERE
The station titled “Here” explores a lens of context, employing the beloved ViewMaster as the looking device. We traveled to the exhibition space weeks ahead of time, and photographed the architectural design details that are often un-noticed—materials, textures, old harware, etc. In each of the ViewMasters, a unique set of images, along with some short snippets of historical info click by.
MASK
The station titled “Mask” explores the lenses of repurposing and celebration, and is a custom die-cutting apparatus. Lots of the materials that people collect at a design show often find their way into the waste bin, so we attempted to add extra value to these items by turning them into masks that people could celebrate with. Visitors pick a brochure that they think would work well, and die cut eye holes into it.
We also created rolls of tape that served as our exhibition text. It proved to be a lot of fun attaching it to people's catalogs, tote bags, and clothing!
