The Consuminator
This is a conceptual piece concerned about the non-stop consumption of technology. It aims to offer its audiences a sense of whimsy in realizing their wasteful ways.View the project in action here.
Week1: Exploring a problem space [Green]
The aim of this project was very open ended. It asks to explore a theme using a scenario or an apportunity, specify a target user and prototype a conceptual piece. We were to be guided by IDEO method cards and the question WHY.
The initial stages of the project were spent finding a problem space in which we could work on. Our team of 5 explored environmental and cultural trends which led us to do research on extreme consumers with collectors as an example. We the tried to relate the themes of consumerism, the need to belong and agglomeration to consumers.
Week2: Specifying an audience [Orange/Purple]
We wanted to move forward in this week the idea of the extreme consumer and narrowed it down to "early adopters", a market group second only to innovators in the speed with which they adopt a new product.
The 2 questions we asked were:
> what happens to your old stuff?
> how do we prevent consumables from simply going to waste?
Week3: Birth of the Consuminator [Green]
Thus The CONSUMINATOR was born, a tech eater. It is a robot with a see-through belly that asks to be fed (through sound) with technology. It serves as a visual museum of all the waste consumers create from their habits.
Why? To raise awareness prompting change.
Our intended context of use is in a Best Buy or Futureshop, where it can arouse curiosity and contribution from general consumers. Another is your home where the Consuminator is a personal item that allows self-reflection as well as a display piece.
