My first blackout kitA look into Irelands speculative future and
data center expansion! A kit created for the children of Ireland living in a future of data center explansion and as a result constant black and brown outs.
Project overviewDesign Brief:
Create a speculative design project. Understand the
relationship between emerging trends, technologies,
and design while fostering critical thinking,
research, and design skills.
Duration: 4 weeks
Role:
This was a solo project so I did everything. Initial explorations & research
I started off the project by brainstorming potental signals I was going to base my project on.
From my mind map I decided to dive deeper into the future of data centers because it is a big issue specific to Ireland but could also effect the rest of the world too. As an interaction designer that will probably be going into the tech industry I felt it was imperitive for myself to learn the true cost of data and see the possible future consaquinces of it and some of the work being done around this topic today.
Inspirational projects
Entanglement by Annex explores the materiality of data and the interwoven human, environmental and cultural impacts of communication technologies. It highlights how data production and consumption territorialize the physical landscape.An Ikea Catalog From The Near Future is a project created by The near future labrotory and is a ikea catalog from the future that includes furniture that collects your data so you can sell it and ake a profit from it.Green screen is a projects by Grace Maughan an interaction design student in last years NCAD graduate show. The project aims to change user perception, improve individual environmental impact and challenge how we interact with digital services. It combines emotional and behavioural design to provoke thoughtful engagement.Future wheel I made future wheels to generate ideas around my chosen signal. The Futures Wheel is a simple, practical tool that helps you brainstorm the direct and indirect consequences of a decision, event, or trend. I used STEEP (socail, technological, economic, enviormental, political) to help me generate a wide variety of ideas.
Concept Pin Up
I came up with three diffrent concepts and in the end went with “My first blackout kit”Chosen concept This concept was inspired by the the extra strain data centers put on Irelands electricity grids. Many predict in the future black and brown outs will occur because of this extra strain that will continue to grow Inspiration and Research When I first got the idea for this project I initally was looking at ways of communication through light so I started looking into projection.From Annexs project Entanglement I started thinking about storytelling and how that was originally done around campfires and light.From this point I started focusing less on spreading messages and more at storytelling and entertainment and forms of entertainment that are offline.Because this project is rooted in Ireland I started looking at Irelands rich history of story telling through Seanchoíche.Then I started looking at chinese shadow puppetry because its a combination of light and storytelling. Scenario stotyboard The scenario my kit will be designed for is where there has been a blackout and a child is feeling sad and bored. The kit offers self generated light entertainment and education. This will help children adjust to their new living situation. The kit gives children and parents the ability to make their own stories and puppets but the story the kit that comes with it is based around data centres and blackout. Box development ScriptTo create the story for the shadow puppet show that would be included in the kit I looked at sucsessful childrends stories that delt with similar themes and messeges to get inspiration on how to talk about data centers in a child friendly way.
After writing the script I made a booklet using Adobe Indesign. SilhoettesI drew the silhouettes needed for the story on Adobe Illistrator and laser cut them out and then tested them on the screen. BagWhen the kit was nearly finished I realized that I didn't want all the pieces loose in the box and I wanted a bag to keep all the pieces in. I made one from leftover materials from when I created the screen. Sleeve For the packaging I went through alot of ideation. I wanted something that looked very clean and perfeshional. I did want it to be printed but I wanted it to be printed on card so it had a protective quality but i didnt have acess to a printer that could print on a1 card.
I decided to laser but on black card because I was inspired by the shadows and silohettes the product creates.
I called it my first blackout kit because my first indicates its for a child because of similar products targeted at children with “my first infront of it” and blackout kit because it makes it sound very important like there would be essental life saving equpment in it but i did this becasue in our world now and in the future entertainment is seen as an essental.The Final product: My first blackout kitMy first blackout kit is designed for Ireland’s future of data center expansion, where electricity might become a scarce resource. The kit aims to comfort, entertain, and educate children during electrical blackouts. Future generations, accustomed to constant digital entertainment, WiFi, and electricity, may find this adjustment challenging and even frightening. That’s where the kit comes in. Utilizing the traditional storytelling technique of shadow puppetry, it creates engaging stories and dialogues about our data-driven society. This fun activity encourages children to use recycled materials to craft their own stories, mimicking screen-based experiences. Handmade and distributed by the activist group Power to the People, the kit is 100% recyclable. It serves as a reminder to the youth that, despite government claims, large corporations are responsible for these issues and must be held accountable for the real costs of the internet.
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