souvenirs process book

A California College of the Arts

ID5 project

souvenirs

Focus

More and more memories now live in the clouds, people use services like twitter, instagram, facebook, and tumblr to generate, document and to share their

stories. Those memories eventually just become a meaningless page number trapped behind the screen.

I want to attach those memories to the specific objects people collect, to allow a better way for people to remember. Because memories should not be

organized linearly, it should be organized by importance.

To investigate the existing human behavior of collecting and displaying mementos, and how we collect, archive, and share those objects as sign posts of memories allowing us to relive moments of our lives, also to experience and

learn from other’s lives.

Theme

Memories, how do people create new memories, sort memories, and share those memories? Is there a good balance of technology and analog that will help

enrich this experience?

inspiration

so many things in our lives now are trapped behind glass screens, I am inspired by these products that aim to give technology a more tactile and intuitive interface.

tweeting plant kids media player NFC media player

concept food printer

QR cake

ideo music player

nokia nfc speakersmedia player

rfid controlled radio concept

hello, meet...

the collector

I have lots of little trinkets

objects serve as cue to remember

instead of photographs

Aurora

25 year old college student

I collect objects instead of photos, I use a small representational object of the trip as a reminder. If it’s Vegas; martini glass. Oktober fest; plastic pint glass.

By using that memento like a drinking glass it reminds you of the place.

you see other people collecting random things and you start to follow.

stories behind objects are shared through words mostly, but sometimes when people actually play with it or use the object, they share a common experience.

for some people it’s really precious, sometimes it’s just habit for people. some people do it for the show.

I kinda re-organize the objects in the shelf sometimes, there’s no logic in the layout. sometimes you just have fillers.

the philosopher

mementos serve as sign posts of

memories

Curious about history of passed on

objects

Miles


Shells I found on beaches, few photos, model car. I have a lot more at home in sf. But not as many in chicago.

I leave most of the important things locked up back home. They were too important to loose. I’ve also acquired things that meant a lot to me, over the summer my prof. gave me a magnifying glass to remind me to focus on things.

I have a stone that I picked up back in japan. At the moment I just thought it was a cool stone, but it ended up reminding me of the trip

you forget details of the past sometimes, and it could be useful to have images.

It would be really cool to be able to have that ability and share it with another. Traditionally, sharing a story behind an object is through words, and misinterpretation would happen.

the utilitarian

likes patina, they tell stories

most of his sentimental objects are

functional

Rich

23 year old Google employee

I keep mementos on my bookshelf, the rest are in boxes.

The pepper grinder my grandma gave me is very special to me. It’s kind of a functional object with a lot of sentimental value attached to it.

The other is my microscope which is from my step grandpa. He was really into education, so he gave me a microscope. I lost the slides but I kept the microscope. It was a good gift from him. I have no use for it but I keep it around. It sits on my shelf, it reminds me of him and his thick glasses he always wore. It reminds me of him as a person in general, vaguely the moment of him giving me the present.

I tell the story behind the object to people who care. How much detail you tell the story behind an object also shows how close you are with that person you’re telling the story to.

the designer

plenty of adventures

reminded emotionally by his rock from

hawaii

Jason


I keep all my mementos on the shelf in my room

I have this really cool piece of rock I got when I went on a hike in Hawaii. It’s colorful, got like veins of colors running through it, I just had to take it.

I picked up the rock because it was cool, there was a bit of an emotional struggle because you know how people said it’s bad luck to take things back from the island? Now the rock reminds me of the hiking trip and how I felt.

I think it would be really cool to be able to show images and additional content when I’m sharing the story behind an object with someone. Imagine holding that rock but looking at a panoramic photograph of the cliff onto the beach while holding the rock that came straight from there.

the show goer

saves receipts from funny events

like printed photos

Kelsey

23 year old barista

I keep all my mementos in a box sitting on a shelf with a bronze unicorn sitting on it.

I saved the line up booklet from Sasquatch. It was a memorable event.

It’s mostly spontaneous and triggered by a conversation when I pull out the box full of mementos to share those memories with friends.

Since I sometimes save receipts from funny events, like from Confusion Hill. I would stumble upon these less significant but funny gems when I’m going through my box.

facebook, twitter, tumblr is way too much! After a while, all those photos just get pushed back and go away.

insights

“I tell the story behind the object to people who care. How much detail you tell the story behind

an object also shows how close you are with that person you’re telling the story to.” - Rich

“It would be really cool to be able to have that ability and share memory with another.

Traditionally, sharing a story behind an object is through words, and misinterpretation would

happen.” - Miles

“facebook, twitter, tumblr is way too much! After a while, all those photos just get pushed

back and go away.” - Kelsey

field research

Hollingsworth residence

the visit

Matt Hollingsworth lives with his wife and son in a house full of souvenirs from around the world. He shared stories of travel, hunting, and garage sale browsing with me. Matt went through his carefully curated shelves of souvenirs(His wife

usually does the throwing away) with me and told me about each object, how they got there and why he kept it around.

wild boar matt shot skeleton sculptures art piece from parents

ostrich egg from grandparents housebegan to collect because of friendmatt shares same taste as wife

liquor from old neighbor vintage signs from taiwan glassware from mom

quotes

“Somebody would ask me about the boar, and when I tell them I shot it. they’d say no way! and I’d go pull out the

photo album to show them my trip to africa as a teen ager.”

quotes

“ the crane was something me and yuka (wife) picked out

together. I’m really lucky, we have a lot in common, it’s

really nice to have something on the shelf that reminds me

of how we have similar taste. “

“this ostrich egg has been basically been around me all my

life. I used to see it all the time in my grand parent’s house.”

quotes

“ my grand parents has a lot of art, and has given me and

my siblings some of them. toki (son) doesn’t understand it

yet, but i plan to give those art to him in the future. it

makes things meaningful and special”

“this is a chair me and my dad worked on together, we snuck

a few of them into a shop, sanded it, painted it like totally

illegal., it’s special to me.”

insights

Matt has been handed down many pieces of art from his parents and grand parents, and he plans

to continue this custom by giving them to his son. “ it makes it meaningful and special”

matt likes to pick out souvenirs with his wife, it reminds him how compatible they are

“I pull out the photo album of the Africa trip every time someone asks me about the boar”

Bennette residence

the visit

Aurora bennette lives with her dog Kuma, and 2 other room mates in bernal heights, san francisco. She likes to collect objects. and uses those objects as a

phyiscal reminder of her life, friends, and family. She prides herself as a collector and curator of interesting objects.

cornell box shelf in bedroom art pieces

family photosold kitchenware collected by dadDIY deck with found materials

another box of souvnirs vintage coke bottles found wire forms from neighborhood

quotes

“this little bee in a glass jar was given to me by a friend

back in seatle. it reminds me of him everytime I see it”

“these vintage kitchenware was collected by my dad, it’s

fun to learn about my dad’s past through the objects he

collected”

insights

aurora likes to collect things, and she prides her self as a curator of all of her objects.

aurora doesn’t take a lot of photo until she got her iPhone, now she has a ton of objects and

sometimes photos associated with those objects.

aurora learns and remembers about her friends and family through objects

dale residence

the visit

Noelle and Ethan Dale are a married couple living in a 3 bedroom house in the Richmond district in San Francisco. Noelle is the one who does most of the

collecting. She was raised in a very artistic family background, and likes to arrange her souvenirs in collages of photographs, to tell a interesting story.

organized box in bedroom collects lots of small things

found photo and object in thailandcreates little naratives between objectsnot fully organized

sister dolls from japan

quotes

“I treat all my objects as elements of 3d collages, I would

organize them next to post cards, images, and photographs. I

think it really helps to tell a good story”

“everytime my sister goes somewhere, she would bring

me back something cute. and then eventually i’’ll have a

collection of souvenirs that tells a story of a period of

time,“

insights

noelle has a hard time throwing the trinkets away, she has at least three full jars filled with

trinkets that she doesn’t know what to do with.

Noelle collects souvenirs from others as gifts when they travel.

noelle loves to collect little trinkets and include them into photo collages to tell a story

mind map

flow chart

live life

experience

have a (significant)

memory

leave where the moment happened

go home

go to next

location

organize

admire

share

learn & remember

(story trees)

cycle

souvenirs shine here the most

how to make collecting souvenirs easy

organize

admiredisplay

sharelearn & remember

(story trees)

what do they

do with their

souvenirs?

personas

innitial ideation

design principles

easy to recall, add, and share the rich stories behind each souvenirs that the user collected.

collect and forget. no need to overthink or worry about organization. a non linear and visual

method of organization.

allow seamless integration, and be easy to use. like taking a photo with your camera phone

step one

step two

step three

sort by worth

How do you judge the value of a sentimental object?

Can there be an automated way of adding and organizing these objects by both monetary and sentimental value? I think a thoughtful formula embedded in my system could greatly benefit how people view, organize, and perhaps help them

pair down their personal collection to the gems.

Innitial monetary value + (added story *(n) ) + (owner transfer * (n) ) = Worth

UI mock up

UI mock up

photograph object select stories to

transfer

transfer stories to

object

tap collected objects to

remember

interview with sketch models

tagging process

tap the souvenir with your phone to enrich with stories

take an rfid sticky tag from the carrying case, and apply to souvenir

take photo of souvenir that you collected, and wish to enrich with stories

step one

step two

step three

“ I just want to tap on the souvenir and have the photos

show up magically! ”

sketch model test #1

refined tagging process

tap the souvenir with your phone to enrich with stories

take photo of souvenir that you collected, and wish to enrich with stories

step one

step two

ideation

round

2

one devicewith

The entire interaction should happen on one device.

no extra gadgets

taking photos

documenting

recalling memories

tagging

a bunch of micro rfids to tag

the souvenirs with

0.05mm

13mm

2.8mm

and a tiny rfid reader/writer

Murata Electronics 2010hitachi 2007

form ideation

Detachable

rfid unit

hole cut out

for camera &

flash

first cad

prototype testing

rfid powder glue

mechanical section view

dispensing bearings

springs

plate

unlocked

locked

inspired by simplicity of mechanical designs

with bearings, souvenir employs a design

utilizing an array of bearings that allows

the user to choose when to allow the rfids

to flow.

micro rfid

0.05mm

rfid application

model building

30 pin connector for power

quick connect power transfer

cover lid for receiver

rfid receiver

rfid cartridge

.14”

.08”

.5”

2.54”

5”

ortho + exploded

topo pattern tapers down thickness, adds grip

and serves as a subtle reminder of the time motif

embeded flat power cord

for powering rfid reader/

writer

lock / unlock switch for rfid

features

final prototype

story

telling

story boarding

final

presentation

plotted and pinned up! mini souvenir stand

final set up

thank youquestions?

...

shaykevin.com

[email protected]