Comfort Smell.

When it comes to the smell of shoes you never picture a pleasant smell of a shoe, I always think of a moldy, sweaty and damp smell, a smell you never want to put your nose close to. so for this experiment I wanted to freshen it up a bit and wanted to find the most comfortable smelling shoe. as you try to avoid smelling you shoe I wanted a smell to stand out and take you off hard the one your shoe was strong smelling and two it was a comfortable smell, one that you could get used to smelling on a daily basis. In the reading it said that to actually make something noticeably comfortable you have to have discomfort first, well I think the smell of a well worn show is quite uncomfortable so by making it pleasant will enhance the comfort. I thought of three different smells that I felt where deemed as comfortable, pleasant and give me that homely reassurance; Lavender, vanilla and Almond. To do this experiment I put a few drops of vanilla and almond essence  and also lavender cream in to three different lace up shoe and tried to see if it created a sense of comfort and if there was a difference in the smells level of comfort.
I found that the smells did create a sense of comfort but if it came as a surprise I feel that the comfort would of been stronger, smell is an interesting sense as you cant see it in any way so if you don't know that the smell is going to be like until you breath in so the element of surprise would be a good way to push this experiment. when grading the different smells I felt that almond was the less comfortable, then vanilla and the most comfortable being Lavender, I felt the reason why I found lavender the most comforting is because of memory, I relate lavender with going to sleep, when I couldn't sleep when I was a kid my mother used to rub lavender on my chest and wrist to help me relax, so now when I smell it I relaxed which I fell is a sense of being comfortable

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I found it hard to photograph smell as It cant be seen, so in the first image I made my own imagery to show the smell in each shoe, Lavender went in the yellow one, Almond in the black and Vanilla in the pink, and the second image shows the products I used to create the smells.

Comfort Touch.

Touch is a big factor when tying up your laces and it comes as second nature to tie them up and you do this act subconsciously with out looking. I felt to inherence the touch with comfort I would play round with textures and fabrics used. I went to a fabric store and looked at what the had that was deemed as comfortable I found out that lamb skin rugs what the most comfortable fabric but was not affordable so I looked for an alternative, I found an acrylic fur which was not the most visually appealing fabric as it is leopard print but I felt that as this experiment was on touch rather then sight it was ok.
I then looked for changing the feel of the laces and found a wide saturn ribbon I felt that wider ribbon the better as it was easer to hold and wrap though your fingers.

As shoe making isn't my strongest point I wanted to make it as simple as posable and designed  a pattern that only used one bit of fabric and no sowing needed it wasn't going to be the most piratical shoe but I wanted to show comfort rather then practicality. It has normal laces that are stitched across the top of the shoe and then you tie them at the top on the the ankle just like a normal shoe so the act of tying up your shoes will not change.
 

I found that when putting on you shoe with no sock on rater then with socks the touch was stronger enhancing the comfort as you could feel the soft furry fabric more as it brushed against your feet, the fur was warm and kept the heat and I found that warmer temperature came off more comfortable then colder temperatures, it made you feel more at home and inviting to put your foot into the shoe as it reassured you that 'it was going to be ok'. I found the wide satin laces very easy you use and the sensation of the softness of the laces made it a peasant experience also as the ribbon was silky smooth it was easy to tie up and tighten as there was no friction as the bows were pulled together making the act easy to make resulting in making it a comfortable experience and enhancing the accept of touch as I feel you you feel think about touch in the textual aspect when you are tying your shoes rather the tension and tightened the laces play on the shoe.

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Reading on Comfort.

James J Farrell. (2009). Comfort. The Clergy Journal, 85(3), 46.

I found a short reading on comfort, In the reading it suggested that we take comfort for granted and that " people are animals designed for sensory simulation but comfort doesn't do too well" it is suggested that comfort is stronger after discomfort the example was given that a hot shower is more pleasurable after a week of tramping then a shower at the same temperature everyday.  so an experiment I could do to create comfort was to see if I came up with an experience that was deemed "uncomfortable"  and repeat it a few times (3-5 times) and then the last time I don some thing that is deemed "comfortable" and see if it generates a stronger sensation of comfort then if I did it with out "discomfort".

Project two SENSORY/EMOTIONAL EXPERIMENT

For this project we have to use the same activity we had for project one (putting on/tying up your shoes) and make three sensory and emotional experiments which will change the material object and the context of the act by changing the taste, look, smell, sound and touch of the act and make them produce the moods or either rebellion, comfort, Austerity and glamor. I will look at each of them and brain storm some ideas that i could make an experiment to reflect them. 

Comfort - 

A condition or feeling of pleasurable ease, well-being, and contentment.

when I first think of comfort I think of touch and temperature, lying in a warm bed with multiple  duvets and pillows to optimize the comfort positions, removing anything that is hard, sharp and ruff. 

When thinking about comforting sounds i think of soothing sounds, nothing with a strong base or to sharp and hash, music that is slow and where the notes are slurred, lullabies. 

with taste comfort food comes to mind, food that is never good for you but makes for feel good inside for the time you consume them, such as chocolate or cake but in my case it would be quality bread or yogurt. 

smell would be a hard one to define when explaining comfort as I feel that everyone would describe it differently but for me I would think the smell of freshly cooked homemade bread or the smell as lavender as it reminds me of my grandparents house or the smell of my mothers perfume, I think when it comes to smell its more the memory the smell gives you and those three remind me of reassurance and peaceful times in my life. 

When I think of sight I think back to how I see touch; a warm padded bed which you could sit or lie in for hours and never have to move. soft shapes and forms, rolling folds on the duvet and big inflated rounded pillows 

Ideas for shoes and comfort:

• I could play around with the idea of smell, when I think of the smell of putting on shoes it never imagine it will smell very pleasant, the smell of sweaty feet and muddy shoes I could change the smell of the shoes to comforting smells, smells that remind them of reassuring times, the emotional side of comfort, in a way telling some "it will we fine" "everything will work out" "life is to short to be upset" etc. 
• if looking at taste I know that you don't really taste when you are putting on your shoes as who wants to eat there shoes but I could make the users have some form of comforting food every time they put on their shoes and see if it changes their experience for example they always have to have a square of chocolate every time. 
• I found when looking at the five people in the last project that most of them found it hard to explain the sound aspect of the act so I could create an experiment that would help inherence it, as a lot of the time when you are putting on your shoes you are in a hurry trying to get out of the door in the mornings so your a bit stressed to make the whole act more comforting I could play soft and soothing music with a slow pace this might cram the people down resulting in making the whole activity more comforting. 
• Touch is a big factor in tying up your laces as it becomes second nature to tie them up and you sometimes don't even look at what you are doing and rely on touch to find your way around tying the laces into a bow. it might be hard to create something that is unique to touch for creating the mood of comfort but still keeping it so you can complete the task, you could make the shoe its self comfortable like a slipper with laces but I feel that will be hard to strongly expose comfort. I could also change the texture of the laces like making them out of a soft fabric or change the temperature of the laces so when you are tying the bow it will feel different then normal. 
• Like touch changing the look of the act will be hard to create comfort as they both are the two dominate senses used to tie up and put on your shoes so changing it to radically could effect the whole task and I feel they interrelate when it comes to comfort so you make something look comfortable you would want something that look warm and inviting, something that would protect you and make you feel better. I could look at different shapes and forms and see what ones look more comforting, such as would rounded edges or soft lines represent the mood by changing the shape and form of the shoe.

Glamour - 

The quality of fascinating, alluring, or attracting, especially by acombination of charm and good looks.   

When first think of Glamour I think of some one suited up ready to go out to a classy event head to tail perfection. I feel that sight is the main sense when it comes to glamour in the way you are inspired to be perfect, formal, confidence and classy and I feel that is has a strong feminine approach  as most males aren't going to say they feel glamourous when they are suited up they are going to say they feel classy or handsome and also when you are feeling glamourous you aren't going to do any of those stereotypical  masculine activities like go run in the mud or go oil up are car, I feel its a sense of pride and status to feel glamourous and most people ant feel like this it most days of their lives. I looked up glamour in google to see what other people thought glamor looked like and a lot of photos and images showed females done up in fashionable clothing and their make up done perfectly with perfect lighting to bring out  their features.
Smells that I associate with glamourous I think would be the smell of perfume to be specific a really sweet smelling perfume or that coconut chocolate smell of fake tan or the strong smell of nail polish, I feel that the smell of glamour is the smell of the products you use to get ready to look glamourous.
The sound of glamour is a hard one to describe I feel it would be quite abstract and everyone would have a different approach of what it is, I would say the sound would be that cheesy music they play in movies when the girl walks now the stairs all dressed up to go to the ball or prom or another high class event when they have been transformed into Cinderella and every turn and watches her walk down the stairs in owe.
I feel that glamourous would taste richly sweet a little but to over the top sugar coated. I can picture it as  a overly rich chocolate cake with chocolate icing and covered in strawberries where you would only want one small slice as you can see you teeth growing cavities just looking at it.
Touch is a difficult one to talk about as I feel its quite hard to touch glamour but I would feel glamours with the different types of materials used used with in the upper class, high class event industry such as the soft smooth touch of silk or satin, or the touch of the fakeness of some of the adds on to looking glamourous such as the plastic feel of fake eye lashes and hair or the feel of fake nails when you are tying to use to hands and they get in the way.

Ideas of Glamour for laces and shoes:

• one Idea to create glamour when tying up your shoes would have music on when doing them up that music used in the moves it could result in the person feeling more glamorous about the act making it feel more important and proud to be putting on the shoes.
• For touch I could change the fabrics used like use satin laces to have that soft smoothness run through your fingers, or when you are putting on shoes to feel glamorous i feel that heel make you feel more glamourous so I could try see if people feel different when putting on heels to sneakers or I could make it so people put on shoes at the angle the heels are at and see if that makes people feel more glamourous. 
• Smell I was thinking making the shoes smell like what you would think glamour smells like, such as the smell of a sweet perfume 
• I want to know if you would feel more glamourous putting on your shoes after you have had a glamourous meal or have had five start meal out making you feel powerful and important, would you feel more glamourous???
• If you were given shoes with a higher status or value would you feel more glamourous? in reality at most of the time a branded shoe is only different in its look so if you piked a shoe that looked more expensive then another would you feel more glamourous when putting it on??

Rebellion -

Is defined as; an act or a show of defiance toward an authority or established convention. dissent from an accepted moral code or convention of behavior, dress, etc.

• 
  

Austerity - 

austere quality; severity of manner, life, etc.; sternness.

CLOUD: An Interactive Sculpture Made from 6,000 Light Bulbs

Another light design I looked at was one called the Cloud designed by Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett which is an interactive sculpture which is made up of 6,000 light bulbs which have been placed to form the shape of a cloud and is designed for the user to turn the lights on and off individually by pulling hanging cords.  it was designed to 're-imagining their potential to create wonder and inspire collaboration.  As part of the process of creating the sculpture, the artists collected burnt out incandescent light bulbs from the surrounding community, forging an informal relationship with non-artists, reducing costs, and asking audiences to reconsider household items in an alternative context. During exhibition, viewers interact with CLOUD by initiating impromptu collaborations, working as a collective to turn the entire sculpture on and off." The video of this sculpture is https://vimeo.com/49748983

I like how interactive this lighting device is and how they use reused simple everyday light bulbs to creates something unique and creative, I like the sound the cords make as the rattle backwards and forth it creates a lovely fluid look that I feel resembles rain falling. like watching the joy that the users had as they pulled the different strings wondering what lights would turn on and off.

Water Light graffiti

When I was looking up ideas for my next project I came across this project that Antonin Fourneau had designed. It is a wall made up of LED thats lights up when touched by water, I found it was a very unique and interesting way to produce light it allows the user to create their own pattern in the light, he took something simple and elegant and things that we interact with day to day and creating an interactive design object. The Vimeo Link is https://vimeo.com/47095462

I like the way that it was made to be interactive and unique, everyone would see it differently and would use it differently, its such a simple and elegant object that stands out from other lighting devices. I would like to try incorporate the way that water is used at a switch and conductor in this model I think it is simple and unique as you then don't need big on/off switches or wires connecting everything up.

Findings

When I was looking at every one, I was amazed at how differently they all tied their shoes. I didn't think that there were so many ways to do it as it is an everyday activity, but people did it very differently, ranging from Caitlin who just did two knots to Oliver takes the time to make sure they are done perfectly so they don't come undone or tighten when he is running.

When talking to and observing them I noticed a reoccurring pattern to the same senses being used in this act. The two main ones used where touch and sight but each person looked at them slightly differently. I found that most of them took the time to make sure the laces were symmetrical with even length bows on both sides. They also used sight to know what they are doing for example loosening the laces and lifting up the tongue to put their foot into the shoe or picking up the laces to start tying them up. 

Even though everybody talked about sight being their main sense when putting on their shoes, when observing them I found that they used touch more. When I watched them push their feet into the shoes, I could see the tension and force required to push their feet in their shoes using touch to navigate their feet into them and making sure they line up correctly. They also used touch to navigate their way around tying up their laces, as it has become second nature to them. They used touch to find the lace when it threaded through the knot and when they are tightening up the shoe by pulling the laces. They do this all by touch as they cannot see what is going on as their hands get in the way.Only Oliver used smell for this act as he smelled his shoes before putting them on his feet. This was a habit, and all the others found it unhygienic or not a normal act to do when tying up their shoes. Only Mitch and Allie talked about sound when it came to it, and they both saw it differently. One talked about the sound the shoes made in the environment while the other talked about the sound the shoes actually made. The others didn't think any sound was associated with the act of putting on shoes.
None of them talked about taste, as none of them thought it was a main sense associated with tying up your shoes and they found it hard to talk about. 

An obviation I found quite interesting when observing them was that everyone apart from Allie put their right foot into their shoes first.

How do you tie yours?