Grace Huang

design.        explorations.       about.




“Pebble Meter” 

Interaction Design, Form-Giving, Hand Craft, Rapid Prototyping

Exploring a range of rubber-band and wood interactions, I created a final model capturing the essence of the forces involved. I made a form that balances practical and playable form languages and visual cues.
Duration:
3.5 Weeks

Course:
Products Studio Mini, Fall 2024

Role:
Individual

Tools:
Gray Foam, Gesso Paint, Plaster, Adobe Illustrator





Final form with interchangeable graphic elements.




Rubberband & Wooden Models:
The first task was to craft several models using rubber bands and wooden pieces. Given  wooden pieces and rubber bands with a variety of shapes and sizes, I created different combinations that explored different motions and tension forces. 

Some questions that I examined are:

“How does the shape of the object influence the interaction implications for the hand?”

“How can basic shapes that aren’t so ergonomic - like harsh rectangles, triangles, and perfect circles - still invite usability signals?”

“And how do both the physical and visual presence of rubber bands reinforce these signals?”




Amongst my explorations, I chose to move forward with the model with two-thumb interaction. I created a flat surface with short borders. On both the left and right side, a rubber band is wrapped around the edge. As a result, one can slide in a variety of different shaped tokens inside.

Different shapes of varying sizes are meant to excite curiosity on how the pieces may be interacted through pushing together and pulling apart.






Explorations:

The first exploration I did to refine this interaction was the overall shape of the form.

I began by analylzing the primary tension forces involved in the rubber-band + wooden model. 

The rubber bands are pulling the discs apart, to each sides of the platform. Meanwhile, the ‘user’ tries to interact with the model by pulling the discs together towards the center. The tension forces are working in opposition against each other, so I wanted to create a form that highlights this relationship.







In addition, I considered how the hand holds the structure might inform the shape of the refined form. Inspired by a game controller, I first thought of rounding off the edges of the rectangle for increased ergonomics. I also added a deeper concavity to my design, even going as far as making the discs more pebble-like to highlights the curves and roundness of the hand interaction.



Eventually I synthesized the round-edged triangle form with the rectangle to reach my finalized shape. It is an elongated ellispe that tapers towards one side. The assymmetry is intended to inspire direction by subtley resembling an arrow. In addition, the imbalance is meant to encourage the natural tendency to move the shape towards balance or equilibrium.



Disc Graphic Exploration:
Secondly, I tried out patterns on the tokens within the frame. Using simple lines and dots, I enhanced the interaction possibilities between the user and the tokens.
Starting from changing line weight and angles, I then went on Illustrator to create more complex combinations, including blocks and triangles. Scaling back, I drew inspiration from dials on stovetops, clocks, and timers, and simplified the visual elements to just lines and dots.




With the lines of different angles and thicknesses, I experimented with how I am naturally inclined to twist the circles to match up lines with the same thickness.



Final Design:
In the final iteration round, I worked towards refining both the craft and form of the device. With the form, I polished its dimensions - radii and angles - by hopping on Illustrator.

Starting with the craft, I switched to using gray foam from pink foam, which was able to hold the concavity of my design better. We were given plaster to paint our models, and it required several rounds of painting and sanding to achieve the smooth finish I was aiming for.
 




Moreover, I continued to refine the chamfer angles of the bottom (where the hands hold them), and the underside of the discs. I also honed in on the height of the devices for maximum comfort while handling the form. Finally, I smoothed the transitions between faces, whether rounded or sharp edges.






Final model vs.  original wood-and-rubberband experiment