LIFESTYLE INDICATOR (FINAL REPORT)

1. Briefs of the project
This is the simple display device for showing the today’s human lifestyle that exists between the real world and the cyber world. The real world means the place where we have been living since the human history began and the cyber world means on-line space where was found recently. This device can show us the pattern of our life between real experience and Internet experience. Through this device, we can review our lifestyle after using Internet. This device can answer these kinds of questions. How much is your life related to the cyber world? Or, is your life balanced between the real world and the cyber world?

2. Project goals
The object of my project is that I show you the relationship between the real world and the cyber world. Usually, we don’t feel the cyber world exactly because it is a new experience compared to the real world. But I think it is very important part to understand our whole life in view of balance. This device can show us the whole scale of our life including both the real world and the cyber world. I hope a man can find his problem about lifestyle and recover the balance between the real world and the cyber world. I think this device can be one of many tries to understand the new lifestyle of the Internet age.

3. Concept



My idea started from the two personal opinions. One is that the world is composed of two totally different worlds. And the other opinion is that two different world have the symmetrical structure about many parts of our life. Both of them do the same role in each world but they exist in the different space. In other words, the cyber world is another dimension of the real world.

4. Main design problems
4.1 How can I visualize the both side in one display?
4.2 How can I visualize the difference between the real and the cyber world?
4.3 How can I visualize the structure of the whole data composed of data unit?
4.4 How can I visualize a different category in one display?
4.5 What is a strategy to visualize detail information about data unit?

5. Design Methodologies

5.1 Basic concept
I chose rectangular to express data unit. A small unit means one specific datum related to a man’s life such as friend, address, shop, school, job, etc. The whole shape is divided into two sides. The left side symbolizes the real world and the right side symbolizes the cyber world. To discriminate two different sides, the squares of the real world are represented by embossed shape and the squares of the cyber world are represented by intaglio shape.


5.2 category visualization
Different colors represent the specific category which means one of components of our life, such as my friend, address information, a shop etc. There are eight categories the above picture. And we can make another category if we need it.

5.3 Symmetrical structure and asymmetrical case
The structure is basically symmetrical. That’s because this device is based on the opinion that the cyber world is the copy of the real world. Some are already copied and some are not copied yet. Above cases show two different conditions. Right picture is the case that a man doesn’t have his cyber world symbol. And the right picture is the case that a woman has his avatar in the cyber world. Both the plain square of the left picture and character X means the case of not having counterpart.


5.4 A selected unit for detail information

If you select a unit, you can receive the detail information about the unit. The selected unit is visualized with a distinct color and it has two different styles according to its position. The unit where is in the real world is represented a full color square and the unit where is in the cyber world is represented a line square. The text box tells us the information about the selected unit. The above red marked unit symbolized John. He is in the category of friend. And the text box of the real world gives us his picture and name and the text box of the cyber world gives us his avatar and nickname.