MAROON BELLS

This design was part of the course “Tangible & Embodied Interaction”.

The essence of the design case was to design a new interface for a high-quality printer. Or in other words, how does the printer talk to the operator? This led to a concept where ‘Maroon bell” has become an integrated part of the thinking and functioning of the machine and truly functions as its ‘mind and spirit’. It lets the operator know when it needs new media, an error occurs or the ink needs to be refilled, all in an intuitive  and tangible way. The printer language consists of off status, breathing status or burst status, and the operator’s interaction possibilities include pumping and comforting. The strengths of this design can be found in its situatedness, embodied metaphors, collaboration and space multiplexing.

Watch the video below for further explanation of the design.