The assignment for week 5 is to make a visual representation of the Knowledge Mile (the area between Nieuwmarkt and Amstel Station). We chose to see which type of cuisines you could find on the Knowledge Mile, and where it’s from (Australian, Indonesian, French, Swiss and Dutch). By doing a datawalk we collected data and explored the area.

Assignment for week 5

Process

After the datawalk we formed groups and started to begin on our visual representation. Rick and Audrey decided to make a visual representation of the smell from restaurants. Me and Elisa decided to make a visual representation of the mood inside the different restaurants. We wanted to capture the mood of the different restaurants by recording the noise of each restaurant. We also decided to add the facade of each restaurant to the object, so finding the restaurant would go easier.

We started the project by planning everything out, Elisa made a lot of sketches and notes of what had to be done and how everything would look like. This isn't how I normally work, but it was nice because we had a clear plan on how to do things. After having a clear idea of the plan and how everything would look like, we started designing the facade of each restaurant.

The map we made isn’t really neutral, there are a few things that aren’t correctly. For instance: the restaurants we used are randomly chosen, the area between Nieuwmarkt and Amstel Station has indeed more restaurants and the sounds were recorded on different times during the day (between 5PM and 7PM). This was all because of the short time we had to make this prototype, but it’s still something that’s important to keep in mind.

The end result is a map which can be opened and folded. When you open the map, you can see the facade of each restaurant and its surrounding. We also added interactive sound for each restaurant, you can hear the noise of each restaurant by pressing on the logos. Altogether it gives the user a clear impression of the ambiance in each restaurant.

Final design print

Final result

Adding interactivity with copper foil

Collaborative Learning
This week I collaborated with Elisa, Elisa made a lot of sketches and notes of what had to be done and how everything would look like. This isn't how I normally work, but it was nice because we had a clear plan on how to do things. She also knows to be calm in stressful moments, we were lacking time, so I was stressing out a bit the last days. Luckily Elisa kept the focus and calmness.

Maker Skills & Attitude
- Had some problems with the copper foil, Moritz advised to add some distance between the copper foil because of the magnetic field
- Working with paper art/paper pop-up

First tries pop-up facades

First sketches of the concept

After designing each facade, we wanted to add the noise of each restaurant. We decided to add the logo of each restaurant under the concerned facade. By clicking on the logo, the noise of the restaurant would be heard. In week 1 everyone worked with the Bare Conductive Touch Board, so adding sound to the object wouldn't be a problem. Me and Elisa both worked with the laser cutter machine before, so the object would be a combination of skills from the previous weeks.

All restaurant facades - Knowledge Mile