Five Images of My Object in Use

Final Write up about my Object

My object is interactive for the touch sense. I have sort of created my own type of Braille (what the blind use to read by touching) for the user to touch. The user is unable to see what they are touching because of the box I have built. From here, they feel the different sets of cards and have to write down/draw/match up the cards. My object really tests a person’s ability to read a pattern/shape etc just by using their touch sense. As people, touch and sight generally go together when completing a task so to me it is very interesting to see how others do when just using touch. It certainly takes quite a bit of concentration.

The user gets to experience the feeling of only using their touch sense. My object gives the user a sense of what it is like to be blind and lets them experience the feeling of reading something by touching it, which is definitely something people are not use to. It is exciting to the user because they are experiencing something new and also because they will be trying their very best to get every shape/pattern correct.

Our fingers are very sensitive to touch and it is very interesting to see how others do when testing just the one sense.

Exhibition Description

Box Completely Finished

Here is an image of the box completely finished. I am very pleased with how everything has turned out. The box is nice and even, the cards all match there set, and the whiteboard is a great answering system. I have put a lot of thought into every detail of my object and I personally feel it has paid off. 

Whiteboard

For writing the answers down I have used a whiteboard. I have ruled up a grid that allows an area for each card to have an answer written down / drawn / matched up. For the matching the pattern cards I have drawn up each pattern and glued a magnet on the back to allow the user to just match it up by placing their answer on the whiteboard. 
I feel this was a very good idea as it makes the answering process so easy and simple. And I like the idea of the user only having to wipe down a small whiteboard for the nest user. 


Photo:

Sets of Cards

Here is an individual photo of each set of cards:

Here is an image of the cards from the back. Each group has its own colour:

Completed Lid and Instructions

I have made the lid out of 2mm thick card. To make it I simply cut out a rectangle that was large enough to fit over the box and left enough around the edge for making sides to the lid. I then cut it out, cut the little corners out, then folded the sides down and taped them together. 
To let the user know what to do with each group of cards, I have glued instructions on the lid to explain what to do for each set. The lid is the best place to put the instructions as its the easiest place to read off while trying to feel the cards.
Here is a couple of photos of the lid:

The Curtain

In order to make the user completely unable to see what they are touching, I have made a curtain to cover up the hand hole. I used just a thin cotton material and taped it above the gap. I cut a slit in the middle of the sheet so the user is able to get their hand through. 


Curtain from inside the box.

Curtain from front of box.

Backing the Cards

I have decided to back the cards because I don't like the fact that you can see the stitching. To me it just looks messy and unfinished. I am going to back each set of cards with a different colour so it makes it clear to the user what cards are a set. It will also make the cards a lot stronger and help keep the stitching together, as I don't want the cards to begin to fall apart after a lot of use.

Changes from Original Proposal

Instead of using the lid as the sort of answering area for the user I have decided to either use a pad of paper or a whiteboard. I have a feeling the whiteboard would work best as it is so easy to just wipe off the answer and have the next person go.


I have also changed each set of cards from four to three. This makes the whole process of my object much quicker. It also means the user won't get sick of the object before they have finished. 


To make my object more exciting and competitive I am considering adding timing into the object, turning it into a sort of game. The person who completes everything, in the quickest time and gets the most right would win.

The Box Finished

This is the box completely finished apart from the lid. From the outside it looks really good. Nice and even parts etc.

Inside the box showing the separate compartments.

 A view of the box from above. Nice and even. Had to place to rods inside the box while gluing it to make it stronger.

Picture of the box with a set of the cards inside. Each card has a good amount of room around it and the little walls in between each card works well.








I'm still undecided about the lid. At this stage I am heading towards using material but I have a feeling that could make my object look messy.

Plan for making Box.

For the box I have decided to use wood because I think it will look a lot nicer but also it is much stronger than cardboard. I will build the box so there is three separate areas inside it. This is to ensure the user is only touching one card at a time, otherwise it would ruin the point of my interactive object.




Materials I'm using:

More Testing of Cards

I made many testers to work out what patterns / shapes etc. would work the best. I tested each group of cards on 20 people around my hostel. The results are in the tally boxes. The way I marked if they were right or wrong is if they got at least 3 of the 4 cards right for each set. The ones circled in red are my final design choices as I think they give the user a good range or easier to harder.


Photos of Testers: