Watching and Being Watched

Date

27 SEP 2024 03 OCT 2024

Week

Week 1

Unit

UX Studio Practice

Team

Dahoon Lee, Jeanne Marie-france Miguel Piffaut, Ojaswi Kejriwal, Priyanka Goel, Sakshi, Yanshan Wu

Brief

Conceive, make and wear a design that reimagines a place through the senses.

In short

We explored sensory experiences in Leake Street Tunnel and focused on the feeling of being watched.
Inspired by Scopaesthesia, we designed a wearable with a collapsible helmet and mirrored visor to offer anonymity.
The final design was well received and highlighted the importance of material choice and public interaction.

Understanding

Humans can recognise physical spaces and identify changes through their senses. This brief challenges us to create wearable/garment inspired by sensory experiences in designated places. The place we should go to is the Leake Street Tunnel, a graffiti tunnel beneath Waterloo Station.

Observation & Research

Our group visited the Leake Street Tunnel, our allocated location. The tunnel, situated beneath railway tracks, showcased a diverse array of graffiti art, attracting numerous visitors. As expected in a tunnel environment, I could encounter auditory and tactile experiences, such as the echoing of sounds and the sensation of water droplets falling from the ceiling. The rhythmic clicking and spraying of spray paint created a dynamic atmosphere, with a repetition of tension and relaxation. We found that the tunnel was also filled with the gaze of myriad eyes depicted in the graffiti, while numerous camera lenses captured the visitors themselves.

Leake Street Tunnel filled with graffiti. Photo Credit: Author

Water droplets falling from the tunnel ceiling. Video Credit: Author

Various sounds while shaking, spraying, and placing spray cans in a basket. Video Credit: Author

Ideation & Development

One of my team members suggested an idea inspired by the experience of encountering numerous eyes and camera lenses depicted in the graffiti throughout the tunnel. This constant surveillance seemed to create a sense of pressure, exacerbated by the confined space of the tunnel. We decided to develop this idea further by exploring Scopaesthesia, the sense of being stared at.

Initial idea sketch. Image Credit: Team Eyes On You

Initial idea sketch. Image Credit: Team Eyes On You

Initial idea sketch. Image Credit: Team Eyes On You

Early structural prototype. Image Credit: Author

The basic concept involved creating a wearable garment that could conceal the user within the tunnel. I suggested incorporating a collapsible helmet component, drawing inspiration from the structure of a fan or tent. Additionally, we made it possible to wear the wearable like a backpack, allowing the helmet and a cape element to be deployed and secured by a support pillar.

Full-scale prototype. Photo Credit: Author

Structural model using cardboard boxes. Photo Credit: Author

Cape inspired by the tunnel environment. Photo Credit: Author

Use of googly eyes inspired by the tunnel. Photo Credit: Author

Googly eyes attached to the cape. Photo Credit: Author

We also visited the Creative Technology Hub for technical advice. A technician recommended the use of mirrored vinyl. This material allows for one-way vision: the wearer can see out, but those outside cannot see in when the other side is dark. We decided to incorporate this mirrored vinyl as a visor to cover the user’s face.

View from inside the helmet. Photo Credit: Author

View from outside the helmet. Photo Credit: Jeanne

Final Outcome

This wearable comprises a helmet and a cape. Users can deploy the visor to conceal themselves, and utilise the cape to achieve complete anonymity against the wall. This affords a sense of security, providing protection from the multitude of gazes.