PROJECT STATEMENT
In our E&E project about the "home" of 2074, we
aim to explore how to establish an "underground" communication network based on trust and truth—called "the circuit"—in a future where misinformation and falsehoods are widespread.
During the process, we visited the “The Museum of
the Home” to explore the definition of future homes. By incorporating Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, we concluded that London would still be our primary place of residence. Focusing on four directions—relationship, sustainability, architecture, and time—we created a 20-page publication and blueprint, integrating cultural elements such as Feng Shui, face moles, and astrology from China. This cultural fusion aimed to create striking visual impacts. After initial testing, we shifted our focus to viewing the community as a "constellation" metaphor, emphasizing the flow of communication between community members, inspired by underground publishing movements.
We refined our theme, collected materials from abandoned sites to make "receivers," and experimented with different materials and effects. Throughout this process, I participated in producing the publication, including forecasting calendars and newspapers detailing future specifics, experiencing how different types of paper produced varied results. Ultimately, we integrated all artifacts into a comprehensive communication system. This project made me realize the importance of organizing and sharing materials early on and taught me the value of testing and practicing for innovation. In future projects, I will adopt
a longer-term perspective, this iterative process transformed disparate materials into a cohesive narrative, highlighting the power of experimentation and future-oriented design thinking.
INTRODUCTION OF TEAMMEMBER
Marta
Gather information, organize notes, focus on photography and other poster production, etc.
#notion
**Group Members**
Marta, Emily, Hyowon,Puyi
Emily
Physical device production and data collection visualization.
Puyi
Publication, calendar and newspaper production. Cooperate with Emily to complete the preliminary work.
**Collective Skillset**
On this stage, we have use photography, product design, magazine design, publishing, exhibition design, documentary, illustration, drawing, advertising to present our whole process.
**Our Approach**
we through 6 ways to work:
**Communication:** effective communication (whatsapp, notion, calendar), honesty
**Questioning:** ask questions, make sure we are all on the same page at all times, understanding
**Thoroughness:** contributing by sharing opinions/thoughts/concerns, interrogate the brief, move forward, give feedback
**Organisation:** plan ahead, sticking to deadlines, making to-do lists, summarising group meetings, make a schedule after each week,
**Initiative:** do independent work, contributing our own skills/hobbies/interests/readings
**Outcome:** aim to make work we are all proud of and encompass all of our ideas
Hyowon
About the production and material collection of astrology posters.
PRE TASK:“MUSEUM OF THE HOME”
In the first class, we visited the "Museum of Home". The definition of home is different at different time points. Surprisingly, there are also decorative "gods" in traditional Chinese culture, which inspired my subsequent ideas.
HOME.WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
HOME.WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
London as home.
Same area, different houses. Cities - suburbs vs central.
Having moved house - once moved, it felt normal. A house doesn’t define it.
Home as movable.
Home not necessarily with ‘Mum and Dad’ - grandparents, friends at school.
The prospect of moving to the countryside, having grown up in the city.
Part of maturing - accepting movement and change, home is where you make it.
Home as a soundscape. Sleeping at night, the comfort of traffic and people talking at a local pub. Finding the pitch black and silence in the countryside unsettling.
Moving for study.
Growing up with separated parents, not wanting to consider one place more ‘home’ than the other - but accepting that it’s inevitable.
Comfort, happiness, safety, protection. Missing, longing.
## Objects
The home is the things you have inside it.
The home as a museum of yourself.
The textures of objects.
What would you take to a desert island? Only one suitcase.
The suitcase as a vessel for the home.
## The Senses.
The smell of home, the smell of objects. The textures, the feeling in your hands. What things look like.
The soundscape.
IDEA GENERATION
Before the first group meeting, we divided the work and read different movies, books or designs about the future home. We then summarized four directions -relationship,sustainability, time and architecture.
MINDMAP
PREPARTION FOR PUBLICATION
OUTCOME-20 PAGE PUBLICATION
Our idea is to publish these 20 pages of WW in the form of a house model, so that the characteristics of the home are retained. Then we combine the content of our research in each different area, so that the visual effect will be more obvious.
### Sketching Rooms
1. Bedroom 1
2. Bedroom 2
3. Vertical garden (A)
4. Vertical garden (B)
5. Utility rooms, grey water/laundrey
6. Living room
7. Bathroom
8. Kitchen
9. Hallway/Stairs
10. Attic/loft
CONTENT GENERATION
Key ideas
-need to be researched
MINDMAP
FUTURE FORECASTING
·Misinformation, fake news, deep fakes, Al image generation
·How to predict the future - how do we 'forecast' events?
·Traditions of fortune telling, for example: astrology, tarot cards, palm readings, lunar calendars,superstition, wish-making, dreams, visions and more.
·What it means for something to be 'fact' or "fiction'?
·Belief systems that are anti-technology or anti-internet. For example people who live 'off-gridi.e, 'luddites.
·'Trust' as the foundation of human connection.
·Material Cultures theories.
·The increasing polarisation within our political landscape.
·Will humans ever be able to emotionally connect to Al?
THIRD MEETING
-generating ideas
CONTENT RESEARCH
**Puyi**
beauty spots = superstitions, cosmology on the face parents take them off when your a child in china if the beauty spot is a negative
one all beauty spots meaningful speculated future; zooming out into the cosmos and in onto specific features of the face and the links between the two
**Marta**
Feminist lens; the home and the internet are gendered (lean into that)
Psychological factors in predictability - why humans lean into it so much
Personalised luck optimisation photography as a bridge between 3D and 2D worlds taking photos of televisions -picture inside a picture(portal into a portal into portal)
layers, portals, thresholds, barriers
**Hyowon**
AI could help with loneliness - or lead to social isolation? Because there interactions are less complex.
less complex interaction with AI - lead to people becoming more monotone/emotionless-people who interact more with AI become more like it
**Emily**
In the future we will run out mof space for landfill - we will have to ration what we buy -so what we do buy has to be more durable, multipurpose, flexible
Upcycling, recycling.
Repurposing the outmoded and obsolete.
What happens to obsolete objects - large scale abandonment.
Cultural parallels across the world - feng shui, astrolog-zoom in and out.
TEST1:
From my perspective, regarding the content of Blueprint, I want to produce content about predicting the future. Combining cultural differences, I want to combine Chinese mole aesthetics with Feng Shui and astrology.
PLAUSIBLE FUTURE SCENARIO
-CONCEPT FOR ROOMSET
Step1
We spent a weekend trying out what kind of visual effects would be best. At first, we wanted to use the window frame as a medium to see the scene decades later. But the disadvantage of this is that it would limit our output method. We still prefer to make this project more interactive.
step2
After we confirmed what the theme was, we divided it into three parts: world/person/room. Then we divided the work and listed the mindmap.
VISUAL REPERENCE
WORLD：
This is a world where we become **dependent on predictions** and forecasting, ‘factual tracking’ guides every aspect of life.
As a result, notions of ‘**luck and chance**’ become confused, it feels like they are no longer universal laws. Individuals have **no agency** when technology (owned by the mega-rich) predicts anything from daily events to world crises, to your own thoughts and feelings.
Humans are rendered **helpless and powerless**, everything feels **predetermined**. Consequently, humans begin to look for alternative sources of **emotional stimulation**. We feel **unfulfilled** by knowing everything, so we seek emotional **fulfillments** in the joy of **not knowing, the unpredictable**.
Persona
**Female/Woman.**
I’ve got the stars on my face. Beauty spots seen as stars on the face. **Marks on the body** as individual cosmologies.
Loose Ideas:
The person has a visual journal - photographs of their body from all different angles, manically annotated, trying to figure out how they relate to the universe.
Room
Visual motifs - **stars**.
Is it a conventional/defined room?
Our space should reflect - room that is flexible, or room that doesn’t yet exist.
The highest room in the house? **Attic** or cupboard. The attic is where obsolete things go - the only place where technology hasn’t infiltrated. **The attic is an archive of material, cultural and familial history.**
TASK2:HOW TO COMBINE?
Before designing the poster,our initial idea was to make window template as a medium,and then place the simulation of the scene of the future world inside the window.
→
we were thinking for ourposter rather than a 'window‘if we lean into the concept ofour speculated future being consumed with misinformation and lack of verifcation.
CONCEPT
In this blueprint, we want to highlight that everything in the future can be predicted. We combine Feng Shui and astrology to visualize all factors. We combine cultural differences. Our starting point is the Chinese calendar, which has many different predictions: for example, auspicious times and what is suitable to do on this day. We incorporate this factor into the poster.
RESEARCH
24 solarterms
The formation of the 24 solar terms can be traced back to ancient China in the 3rd century BC, and the earliest textual records can be found in
"Lüshi Chunqiu" and "Zhouli". It is an observation and summary of the laws
of nature by ancient farmers, aiming to guide agricultural production activities.
The 24 solar terms are based on the changes in the position of the sun on the ecliptic, and each year is divided into 24 solar terms according to the cycle of the sun's movement. Each solar term lasts about 15 days and is closely related to seasonal changes, climate changes and the growth cycle of crops. Through the division of the 24 solar terms, ancient farmers were able to better adapt to changes in the natural environment, forming a unique culture and agricultural production wisdom, which still plays an important role in folk life and culture.
Auspicious time
In ancient Feng Shui and numerology, the combination of a specific time and a person's fate is believed to enhance fortune. Therefore, before major events, people often consult Feng Shui masters or numerologists to select an auspicious time to achieve the best results.
VISUALIZE
HISTORY DEVELOPMENT
PRECIPITATION
RELATIONSHIP WITH FENGSHUI
TASK2:HOW TO VISUALIZE?
VISUAL TEST
Based on the combination oftwo dierent fists,I drewthe original curves and thencombined them,resulting inlines on diferent levels.
VISUAL REFERENCE
VISUALIZATION
Finally,in the graphic design process,I used diferent patterns and lines to represent the24 solar terms, the number of days in each month,and lucky hours,and visualized them intofuture calendar
PATTERN DESIGN
In China, we have a unique way of calculating the length of each month: the month with 31 days is called a "big month" and the month with 30 days is called a "small month". February is called a "medium month" because it only has 28 days. If you make a fist, the convex part is the big month and the concave part is the small month. So we calculate the number of days in each month according to the fist method.
After collecting the data, visualize it according to the previous format and print it on grid paper.
PROCESS
Stick and put them as a recipt
FINAL
photograph of a person -anonymous/blurred/neutral- stars encourage people to connect the dots and make meaning from their own constellation
The classic attic blueprint depicts different perspectives of the room and some of the objects inside, creating a mezzanine that acts like a magnifying glass to interact with the audience.
WORLD
An interactive diagram poster on how to predict the future made in the form of a ticket
MIDPOINT-OUTCOME
PERSONA
ROOM
FEEDBACK OF MIDPOINT
All about communication - the narrative. How can we convey it?Audio? Visual? Be more immediate.
Storytelling.
Quick and immediate, then delve in deeper once the audience understands.
The one thing that cannot be predicted - human interaction.
Time of day - when are we in this room? Evening, morning?
Would people want to live higher up?
Pi - the movie.
How are you going to make it interactive.
Narrow down, simplify the narrative. Clarity of communication. Show these practices in action?
Non-defined, abstract furniture?
Scrolling the Arcane - project to reference, globe you can scroll.
I think we need to rebalance and re-focus on the idea of ‘the home’ - we have been talking a lot about ‘the future’ and AI, but let’s focus on the chosen direction of the project.
REORGANIZTION OF OUR THEME
Focus on a community that attempt to reject this mainstream ‘Deterministic Lifestyle’ which has arisen as a result of the ubiquity of tracking technology/lack of verification of information
#we use notion to do the mindmap
TASK3:REORGANIZATION+REFERENCE
We’re not abandoning our previous ideas just refining them. So for example, we think rather than a focus on astrology we’re going to look at the community as a constellation metaphor - focusing on the flows of communication between the people in the community we have since clarified the narrative, context and ‘scenario’ of our room to make it more specific.
[attic]
a liminal space between: earth/sky. over/under. realism/escapism. new/old. remembered/forgotten. utility/obsolescence.
[london]
a familiar space from which our speculation can be more empathetically informed; potentially plausible.
[2074]
a time forecasted from an extrapolation of our current media landscape. half a century away. not too far, not too close. in our lifetime.
UNDER THE RADAR
KEY REFERENCE
TESTING:MATERIALS
MIX AND MATCH - MAKING METHOD
VISUAL REFERENCE
RESEARCH MATERIALS ON SCRAPYARD
We went to the Scrapyard to find some discarded materials to echo the publication movement of using expired materials to create underground networks mentioned in our theme.
TASK3:
REORGANIZATION+REFERENCE
SKETCH&MINDMAP
FIRST TEST
When designing the newspaper at the beginning, I planned to combine the calendar with old Chinese newspapers. I used the retro tones and material textures of the 19th century to simulate the form of a future calendar. Then I drew the numbers in the form of stars, and the audience could connect them into a line to get today's date.
CLOSE STUDID
FEEDBACK
1. **Manifesto & Print:**
-The manifesto functions
as an anchor for the project, guiding visitors on how to engage with the space. It should clearly outline the information to be conveyed when people enter and interact.
**how does prediction fit in?**
**don’t distort or get confused**
**multiple screens?**
**Cryptic**
Encrypted communication manifesto as a print anchors
The communication - when people come to the space, what should they say, what infp should be delivered at what point?
TASK5:RESET「CALENDAR MAKING」
MATERIAL TESTING
MAKING PROCESS
LAYOUT TESTING
#Color comparing
In the process of making the calendar, I combined the traditional Chinese calendar and the twenty-four solar terms. I tried different color combinations and finally punched holes to make it hangable. I added a lot of predictable factors, such as precipitation and so on.
2. **Visitor Interaction:**
-A captioning system forobjects will help visitors understand the significance of what they see. An indexed guide will lead individuals through the collection of objects on display.
- The project will leverage nostalgia, particularly with the concept of older radio technology.
- Questions will be raised about relevant dates and
the role of AI in this context: Does AI coexist in this “attic,” and how does
it interact with or resist traditional notions?
After receiving feedback, I tried to change the material of the newspaper: sulfuric acid paper, which is a kind of paper that can be seen through the screen. And on the basis of the original, I added "headlines" and "subheadings" like newspapers. It allows the audience to read more clearly and adds a lot of visual effects.
FINAL LOOK
MAKING PROCESS
Combination of
underground press/broadcasting stations from 90s
70s style & modular furniture - consider 100 year difference
PRACTICAL PROP DEMONSTRATING FLOW/RECEIVING OF INFORMATION VIA ANALOGUE MECHANISMS
「CONSTELLATION」
After drawing the map, we chose screen printing for a clearer effect, using silver ink on dark and black paper to represent the night sky and constellations.
At first, we tried dark blue, purple, and light brown paper with the feel of an ancient map, but found that black paper was closest to the night sky effect and could better highlight the silver wire, wire core, and pins.
After the map was made, instructions for the encrypted constellations were designed to help with decoding, but it was decided to hide the code under other lines for the audience to search.
「DATA RECEIVER」
TYPEFACE RESEARCH
Atype font; **Kvar H (Brut)**
OUTCOME-ARTIFACTS
Shape
Grammars
TYPOGRAPHY /GLYPHS /IDENTITY
Latent
Figures
PROJECT FEEDBACK+RELISATION:
Overall, the project has been quite successful. Our roles and tasks within
the project were clearly defined and reasonably structured, providing a solid foundation for collaboration that allowed each member to leverage their strengths.
We established weekly group discussion times to analyze our shortcomings and adjust based on the ideas from the previous week. This system of reflection and feedback has facilitated team growth and enhanced the coherence of the project. For example, during the midpoint phase, we promptly adjusted our theme due to unclear positioning, making it more detailed and focused. This process reflects our planning and adaptability in project management.
However, throughout this process, I realized that a lack of sufficient critical thinking might limit our innovative potential. While we participated in numerous group discussions and addressed problems that arose at various stages, we sometimes relied too heavily on existing frameworks and ideas, lacking bolder attempts at exploration. For instance, when selecting and using materials, I discovered that we leaned more towards traditional materials and did not dare to explore new or unconventional methods.
To address this issue, we took the time to visit a scrapyard. Through this practice, we gained hands-on experience with different production methods, which not only stimulated our creativity but also deepened our understanding of the potential and limitations of materials.
Looking ahead to my future GCD studies, I plan to explore more non-traditional methods of output based on this foundation. Adopting a more open-minded attitude will prevent me from being confined to current frameworks. I also recognize the importance of consulting various literature and books, as these resources can inspire our creative ideas and provide broader perspectives and background knowledge. Our inspiration comes from a diverse range of books and films, and this multi-faceted exploration will help expand our thinking and enrich our creative outputs.
Through this practice of critical thinking and reflection, I believe we can further enhance the quality and innovation of our projects, laying a solid foundation for future learning journeys.
LENS-PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
In this lesson at lens we learnt a lot about the techniques of photography, about the processing of portraits,
the use of light - what effects on portraits best reflect the atmosphere and meaning that the designer wants to convey. In the first session we went to a photography workshop and learnt about the meaning of each piece of equipment and how to use it. In the first session we went to the photography workshop and learnt about the meaning of each piece of equipment and how to use it.
SIMULATING PHOTOGRAPHIC LIGHT
LENS-CONSIDER ARRANGEMENT
#MY WORK-PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS
After the class, I took a series of portraits of the
‘underground’. To present our core idea - that the protagonist has a special knowledge of the world in the age of complete information, and that he knows everything. I used black and white for the portraits to highlight the shifts between light and shadow and to present the idea of ‘underground’. The visual impact will give the audience a more immersive experience.
#MY WORK-OPEN STUDIO POSITION
After understanding the importance of composition in photography, I began to think about the meaning of space. For example, when doing an open studio, how should I arrange the order and position of each publication? Starting from the details to see the overall or from a distance to a close distance will give you a different look.