Reengaging people with the world through the design of everyday objects

Abstract

This study explores the human-object relationship through the design of a flowerpot that amplifies object/ human communication. Humans frequently anthropomorphize artifacts in their environment, attributing feelings and features to artifacts, so transforming them into companions. For example people commonly name and ascribe gender to their favorite vehicles. Recent advances in digital and interface design have afforded new possibilities for shaping future human/ object interaction. I have chosen to focus my investigations on possible feedback loops that connect human emotionally to the plant. The Morphological chart was the method used in order to generate a broad range of the concepts. The method provides a structure for a less predictable and more experimental form of ideation. The concepts generated focused on defining new roles for, and ways of seeing houseplants and potential routes for interaction and communication between human and plant. The designs focused on attributing human values and features to both the form of the plant pot and communication system used.