1.1 Mapping The User

1.2 Mapping The Collection

1.3 Exploring Interfaces

1.4 Designing & Prototyping
The Interface

1.5 Stations: Interaction +
Publication

Design process described and visualized here picks up from the prototyping and UX/UI classes and goes deeper, thus section 1.5 should be reviewed before

Here is the design process from first sketches to the final result.

First (first solid-looking) visualization of the puzzle

Looking into different possibilities of the box after talking to a spatial designer

After talking to the wood station people and reflection we decided to stick with such shape:

It would prevent the puzzle pieces from dropping out, as the the puzzle sides will be at an incline, while as well going a bit beyond a simple cube. It would as well be more comfortable playing the puzzle

After deciding on how the box is going to look, we started with making a medium fidelity prototype to get a more clear idea of how the puzzle is going to work and how the wiring/conductive material can be applied so the puzzle pieces trigger music

We figured out where the wiring is going to be applied to create a circuit, so that the music is triggered only once all the pieces are placed correctly, and not only just a single one

We jumped into Adobe Illustrator and designed a quick prototype that we later lasercutted

We set the lasercutter to cut out the puzzle pieces and the side of the puzzle itself, while at the same time engraving the spots where conductive material is going to be applied to create the circuit

We tried applying aluminium foil, which was quite a hassle to glue, and as well looked pretty U G L Y

We then decided to try out conductive fabric. We used the iron to glue melt the glue on the conductive fabric.

After 9000 tries and applying the conductive material to both pieces and the base of the puzzle, we tested it with multimeter and it finally worked. (Worked as in electricity went through the circuit, not the music yet)

The biggest problem now was technical. It seemed that if the puzzle pieces are not pressed down, they do not touch fully the conductive material on the base, and the circuit would not work anymore

We decided to use some padding - foam, that would be pressed down by the shape and would fully touch the conductive material on the base, although it cause more problems than it produced results. The pieces were not heavy enough to push down the foam, so it was just sticking out, and as we were designing for kids sticking out was not really an option since we dont want them to tape it off and eat it :))))

We then tried using cloth for padding, and the result would be similar

We then decided to stick with using conductive tape, as there were no options left. We then messed with arduino and coded it to work as a button - once the puzzle pieces are put together, the connected circuit acts as a pushed down button that triggers the music. When the shapes are pressed down - music plays

We then decided to stick with using conductive tape, as there were no options left. We then messed with arduino and coded it to work as a button - once the puzzle pieces are put together, the connected circuit acts as a pushed down button that triggers the music. When the shapes are pressed down - music plays

As we could only connect one puzzle to the arduino, after all the hard coding and connecting work, we had to figure out some other method that would let us connect multiple puzzles

The solution turned out to be Touch Designer. Now we could connect multiple pieces, and once put in the prototype worked. Sort of..., sometimes with pushing down the pieces a bit

Once the prototype was sort of working, we moved to making the high-fi prototype

Calculation calculation calculation
After multiple tries we finally figured out how to position the shapes that they fit on the 2x1.2 meter sheets and overlap perfectly once flipped

We prepared the sketches for CNC machine so it could cut out the holes for the magnets for the satisfying *snap*, cut out shapes and sides aka bases of the puzzles. Another 2x1.2 meter sheet will be used as a base, so the puzzles do not fall through the holes

CNC IN ACTIONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

I as well found some free would (Thanks Côme) Although the would was not kids-friendly, due to sharpness, thus we decided to buy the sheets

After everything was cut out, we focused on sanding down the pieces.,, Turns out that the shapes did not fit properly and a lot of sanding was required, so we spent quite some time sanding down, as cutting out another sheet was not an option due to CNC being booked cause of the graduation projects

We then looked into how could we paint the pieces as well as what paint could we use

We figured out that acrylics is not toxic, as it is water based

We assigned the music covers to the shapes and abstracted them

PAINTING AND PAINTING AND SANDING DOWN SHAPES AND MORE PAINTING

Meanwhile, we printed out the knobs, as it will be easier to take out the shapes this way

Drilling the knobs and the shapes, paintingggg

For the testing we only glued the knobs and during it, we realized that the knobs might not hold as strong as expected, thus we had to come up with a solution to attach them to shapes properly

Further process