This was presentation #2 of a two-week project. The purpose of this assignment was to be in a design-thinking mindset to create a product based on the prompt, "Trace" as we interpreted that word. After holding prototyping parties and brainstorming sessions, this is what we came up with. Yes, as you guessed based on the banality of this product, our group didn't do so well during crit. However, it was a great learning experience for us regardless, and I'm proud of how the slides came out. Presentation by: Patricia Bernal, Michelle Lee, Marissa McMillan, Gracelle Mesina, Ronaldo Pagaduan (2012)

1. d p
Gracelle M • Marissa M • Michelle L • Patricia B • Ronaldo P

2. last week
prompt
TRACK - “being a ghost”
archetype
leaving a trace to be
“remembered”
concept
establishing communication
between the person making
a trace and the person
receiving it.

3. asynchronous connection
Our intent is to design a daily object
tha leaves a story or meaning behind
for another person to experience at
a different time.
We renewed the meaning of the cup
in the trace that it leaves behind as
a means of communication between
the person who used the cup
(sender) with the person who sees
the trace (receiver).

4. rrripple effecttt
When you throw a rock into a calm body of water,
the ripple it makes represents its presence even
though you cannot see the rock anymore.

5. form exploration
words + symbols
rounded bottom
collapsable/retractable cup

6. roly poly
This piece was part of the Talk To Me
exhibit by Paola Antonelli. The concept
behind it is people being able to feel
another's presence even when the
other person is not physically present
at the same time.

7. opening values
• IMPLIED FUNCTION: leaving a trace of a particular
person’s coffee-drinking experience
• EXPERIENCES THAT COULD BE EVOKED: communication
between the person leaving the trace and the person
finding it
• POETRY: asynchronous connection between two people
in different time frames

8. form values
• CULTURE-REFLECTING: it is common that one is constantly
apart from their loved ones even when they live together
• subtle PLAYFULNESS: it can be seen where the person has
been and there can be a general sense of their state of mind
during that time
• to the ESSENTIAL: no additional functions, the focus is on
the metaphor behind the ripples
• TRANSPARENCY: we did not want to create a complex form
that would take away from the functionality of the cup

9. ceramic
material
We don't want to take away
the existing functional form
of a cup. Our focus is on the
subtle design underneath so
that it’s not in the way of the
user's normal routine.

11. “There’s so much superficial rubbish made! You can expect a
good designer to pick up on the signals that characterize a particular
moment, to analyze them, and find a meaningful way of translating
them, trusting... only their intuition.”
Hella Jongerius

12. references
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2011/talktome/objects/140007/
http://cunicode.com/one-coffee-cup-a-day/
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/17/139681851/scientists-crack-the-physics-of-coffee-rings
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katrinsche/3313805110/sizes/l/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninasclicks/6340772546/sizes/l/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnbaird/9695853/sizes/l/in/photostream/