email » henry@interactivelabs.co.uk
Complicated Pleasure
Design Futures
MA project
2005
Design an electronic placebo for a real or imagined, physical or psychological phobia. Make a 30 sec film to communicate your placebo
This project deals with (some) people's irrational fear of sharks, in an urban context. Surprisingly enough some people are affected by a fear of sharks in the swimming pool, in their sleep, and even in the bath.
I produced a two objects; a towable swimming pool float/decoy that protects the swimmer against attack by Great White and Tiger Sharks, and a dolphin fin attachment for an armchair which serves as an 'ejector seat' for watching sharky films.
The purpose of this project is to explore a way of designing that acknowledges people's complexities, contradictions, and irrationality and to go beyond simplistic design characterisations of people as 'users' and 'consumers'.
Fear of Sharks:
thanks to my crew Jess Charlesworth and Tom Wynn-Morgan. Also big thanks to Noam Toran & Onkar Kular et all...
Domestic Shark Ejector:
Shark Decoy:
© 2006 henry holland. All rights reserved.
