Refining the Design Language

Date

25 OCT 2025 31 OCT 2025

Week

Week 6

Unit

Final Major Project

Brief

Design an intervention that reshapes user-to-user interaction in public spaces.

In short

Reworked the series frame toward more expandable forms and modularity.
Set aside extra theatre mechanisms to avoid over-expansion.
Focus now: lock a design language and finish one light high-fi prototype.

Considering a Design Language

As I tried to maintain one shared frame for the series, I began to notice that the process was slowing down. I understood that developing a high-fidelity prototype should come first, but the requirement to apply the same frame across different contexts became a major constraint.

This led me to rethink the form itself—moving beyond the original rounded shape and exploring more expandable structures, such as rectangular frames. I also investigated practical fabrication methods, including bending wood boards by cutting them and applying water or heat.

I considered the idea of modularity as well. The approach would be to produce frames in similar dimensions, bending some while keeping others in their original form to introduce variation. Another possibility was to rotate and reposition a single frame in multiple angles to produce different expressions within the series.

Ran ideation for high-fidelity production. Image Credit: Author

Chose a modular approach, repeating similar shapes to create visual unity. Image Credit: Author

Additional Features for the Theatre Model

I also explored adding functional features to the theatre model. Some ideas included a mechanical mechanism that keeps the device level regardless of the body’s tilt, or a collar that automatically lifts in response to head movements.

If I had decided to focus solely on the theatre model, I might have attempted to prototype these mechanisms. However, at this stage, I chose to place greater emphasis on expanding the series as a whole.

Considered adding a mechanical mechanism (like a gimbal) to the theatre device. Image Credit: Author

What Needs to Be Done

Although the performable direction of the project received positive feedback, I was also advised not to expand too many ideas at once. The recommendation was to concentrate on fully ‘completing’ one main object. The goal should be to finalise the most feasible idea, while presenting the rest of the series as conceptual explorations using 3D modelling or AI. Completing one strong piece is more important than leaving everything unfinished.

Example of design language: Apple products. Image Credit: Apple

Example of design language: Ikea tool kit. Image Credit: Apple

I also gained a clearer understanding of what a design language entails. A design language refers to shared rules across materials, forms, and colours; when a series of objects shares the same materiality, texture, and palette, they naturally appear as part of the same family. Apple’s iPhone series and IKEA’s tool sets are typical examples.

There was also material-related advice. Although wood is still an option worth exploring, it may become too heavy for wearables. It may be more suitable to work with materials I used previously, such as wire or thin plastic sheets. Using an acrylic board and applying heat was also suggested, as it would make the bending process easier.

Prioritising completeness over expansion, and conducting hands-on prototype testing after fabrication, remain the essential tasks for the remaining period.

Reference

Greenfield, A. 2006, Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing, New Riders, Berkeley, CA.
Winner, L. 1980, ‘Do artifacts have politics?’, Daedalus, vol. 109, no. 1, pp. 121–136. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20024652