Archive for May, 2010
nduc
Featured in the Brief DVD 1. This project's goal was to design a new one cup coffee maker. I treated this as a full design project (and video recorded my entire design process along the way!) Check it out at www.thebriefdvd.com project date: December 2008
(First, this product DOES NOT make the drink for you. It is not a vending machine. )
The Siren is an ordering device that uses rich, interactive gestural controls to allow the customer to custom craft his or her drink. The controls are designed to simulate the real action used by Baristas.
For example, to add espresso shots, toggle a horizontal lever which resembles the espresso portafilter. Three clear “ice” button toggles determine the amount of ice, and a cylinder resembling an inverted whipped cream aerosol can is pushed to add whip. A large hand crank wheel is used to add “foam”
Once the drink is specified, a printer located below the cup prints a QR code on the bottom. This code is used by the baristas to know what you ordered. You can also scan it later with a cell phone cam to tweet what you just drank.
The Siren also features a “siren” button which can be used to complete a partially configured drink based on your order history, tracked via your starbux card. When this aggregated drink data is combined with advanced barista algorithms it can be used as the “siren’s intuition” to generate a new drink you might like, on the spot. Putting a generative design tool into the hands of customers.
(also, this is supposed to be a little silly, but in a fun way)
1HDC Gestural Interfaces
The latest 1hdc over at core77 is an interesting one. With the rise in popularity of gestural based screen interfaces in devices such as the ipad, there is a level of interactive richness lost by touching a flat smooth screen. Buttons click, knobs twist and switches rock and pop. The task is to design a gestural interface for anything that goes beyond the screen.After 3 years, we’ve retired Beki’s website (my wife) and moved her over to WordPress. Instead of simply porting her old theme in WP, I created a refreshed look and (hopefully) streamlined structure. Her new theme is built on the Thematic Framework. I started with the excellent Gallery child theme by Chris Wallace and added support for YAPB along with integrating new blog/event post types. The new site doesn’t use any flash for better mobile access and seo. Check it out!
