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.

DATASCAPES

This is the idea to express the cyber space. I used our blog structure to develop this idea. Usually a blog has a very simple structure compared to other cyber spaces. So I think using blog structure is good strategy. That is composed of blog owner, visitors, some stories made by a owner, several comments and some information, such as the recommendation or further information link sites. However it is also true that it is not easy to express the information on a blog efficiently because the unit information is linked each other complexly.
To express blog information efficiently, I chose two concepts. One is that I used the spiral form to express a blog unit. That is main key concept. I think spiral form can show well history of a blog. And we can see both the structure and size of blog. I’d like to say that a blog have been growing up as the shape of spiral. And another concept is a tool bar to get more information. Once you imagine the photoshop or cad program, you can understand that meaning easily. These programs have many useful tool bars to help users work process. Navigator, layer and some filters are very good examples. We can only see the information which we want to find through this kind of strategy. Here are two examples. One is the example of using the comment tool bar. And the other one is the examples of using the link tool bar.

ELECTRONIC FURNITURE - CYBER INDICATOR

CYBER INDICATOR (A clock linking between real world and cyber space)


Cyber indicator looks like a traditional clock. But this is the device for measuring the time how long you are staying in cyber space.
Nowadays, we are spending much more time in cyber space than in the past. And some people spend as much time in cyber space as they spend in the real world.
So I think we need a device that we indicates how much time we spend in cyber space and traces where we remain.


Concept 1 is a daily time indicator. It shows the time when you are in cyber space and what you are doing there.


Concept 2 is a monthly time indicator. It shows the pattern of your life style. We can find the pattern how you have move between cyber space and real world.

Examples

Micro Compact Home

http://microcompacthome.com/

Architect : Horden Cherry Lee Architects, Lydia Haack + John Höpfner
Structural Engineer : Brengelmann Ingenieure

The micro compact home [m-ch] is a lightweight, modular and mobile minimal dwelling for one or two people. Its compact dimensions of 2.6m cube adapt it to a variety of sites and circumstances, and its functioning spaces of sleeping, working - dining, cooking, and hygiene make it suitable for everyday use.

Ubiquitious & Home Networking

http://www.ubiquitousdream.or.kr/eng/main.asp

What is ubiquitous?
Ubiquitous is derived from a Latin word which means “omnipresent” or “found everywhere at the same time”
The concept of ubiquitous refers to an environment that anyone can use computer and network system conveniently whenever or wherever he want to use them.

Home Networking
With the miniaturization of computer chips, the development of digital convergence home network is greatly speeding up. The fast development of information devices and communication technology will allow the realization of the digital home in the near future, where homes, traffic, social infrastructure, and electronic commerce are all interconnected.The future with advanced home network where digital convergence is in action is described as the pre-stage of ubiquitous computing where "people`s lives are further enriched by intelligent `things` that can interact with humen."

Micro Architecture - "Pivot Point" in Korea

FEATURES
Virtual offices coexist with real offices at the same business center.
This kind of business centers are based on a variety of high technologies.

NON-RESIDENT CUSTOMERS
Non-resident customer service is, as it says, for customers who don’t rent business center offices but want to use only its phone service. Business center provide address and phone numbers to customers so they can use such services as mailing, fax receiving and phone answering. They can use conference rooms on separate fees as far as they make a previous reservation.

RESIDENT CUSTOMERS

Cyber Café & Lounge
Modern-style cafe, in which high-speed Internet web-surfing is available, and lounge only for customers, in which they can have some cocktail enjoying a beautiful landscape seen from the building
Maintenance of Business Center
Centralized heating and air-conditioning facilities for customers’ convenience and security, a supplementary electric power, and a thorough security system for customers’ safety were built. Office management
Conference Room
Diverse sizes of conference room furnished with state-of-the-art A/V equipments of the sense of international business
Serviced Offices /Reception/ Shower Room & Nap Room/ Parking Facilities



TECHNOLOGY

Computer Telephony Integration System
This system in which telephone job was integrated into computer allows the secretary to make a quick and exact answer because caller information (company name, caller name, etc.) stored in PC appears on monitor when the telephone rings.
Network System
High-speed Intranet and Internet services are provided through the optical transmission of Metro Ethernet method in all offices and conference rooms. We provide separate security systems such as firewall and VPN as customers want.
Face Recognition System
Entrance and exit control system to which face recognition technology was applied is installed at three main entrances so customers could enter and exit just by showing their faces.
Card Key System
Card Key System installed at all offices and conference rooms plays an important role in internal and external securities. Since individual office could allow an independent certification, each section and each project team can have their own certification class. Customers can use their reserved conference room for as much time as they want by using their card key as far as they make a reservation.

The Future of Design: IDEO's way

Title: The Power of Design
Source: Business Week (May 17, 2004)
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_20/b3883001_mz001.htm

This article is about the future of one of the most famous design firms, IDEO. Perhaps this article tells us the future of industrial design works. However, ironically, here is no real product design development case. Why? Where is a product design disappeared?
I think design (especially industrial or product design) is in a transitional period to adapt its competitive power to a new environment world which is called as information society. We can easily find out that IDEO’s design works are very different compared to traditional design service. In other view of point, IDEO’s design service is similar to business consulting firms.
What can designers who received a traditional design education do in this kind of company, such as IEDO? And what should we study in school? What is real competitive power of design or designer? How much important the capability of styling is? What or how is relationship between design and innovation? Surely, I think there are several design issues in this article.

What is digital culture focused design?

Korean electronices companies have been interested in the word of "digital" since about 1999. There were many design development projects to define " the digital product". Of course I participated in several projects at that time. However I don't always know what is digital design. Above is one of the results of inhouse competition about digital design.
At that time most product designers often used bule lighting clor for their design work. Why do most people consider digital color as blue?

Even though this is some different story, I want to define design as below.

You can know only as much as you love.
You can see only as much as you know.
You can feel only as much as you see.
You can design only as much as you feel.

Internet Cafe in Korea

Internet cafe is called as "PC Bang" in Korea. "Bang" means a room.
PC Bang began in the mid 1990s. Even though it had some business fluctuation, now there are up to 22,000 PC Bangs in Korea.

To compete with home Internet service, (most Korean people use Internet at their home) PC Bangs have developed not only high quality internet service but also interior design continuously. The speed of Internet line of PC Bang is very faster than home Internet. And PC Bang has many kind of software and a variety of devices, such as online games, office programs, pc camera, printer and scanner.
Usually customers use Internet and game for a fee of about $1 an hour.

I think PC Bang is a good example that we can understand Internet culture because it is one of the various experments about Internet evolution.
In Korea, PC Bang is one of many interfaces between cyber and real world.

HAND WRITING 1996

On one day in 1996, I wrote this Chniese character. That is my last name and means charity.
I like hand writing because it has feeling by speed and strength. And it also has the space which is well divided by line.
I have used this as my symbol until now.