THE VAULT

Design Process

Define

Our planet faces a climate crisis with irreversible effects effects and damage to occur within our lifetime. As a class, we were challenged to imagine our lives 50 years from how where we survive climate change and political turmoil with the help of the Green New Deal passing.

We were to design a hybrid (digital & physical) interactive artifact with this viewpoint that is to be found by a society that exists 500 years in the future.

The Vault portrays Earth in the future years and the relationship between climate change and the human influences. Climate change is something that is due to natural causation out of our control but is also due to human influences that increase this ongoing event. Our artifact tells a story of how Earth became uninhabitable due to the failure of mankind to take action on climate change, regardless of the Green New Deal. This was due to the major corporations that held power in every continent and their greed.
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We follow the story of Emma Jones, who is a young girl in the year 2040. By this time, the Earth has already been devastated She collects evidence of the causation of the world's decline in a safe to document these events for a future generation. We are of a society living in the year 2500, and we discover this hidden safe that Emma has buried for us to find.

Ideate

As this artifact is to represent a past/lost society, my team and I were inspired to create a time capsule. With my previous knowledge of machinery such as 3D printing and laser engraving, we were drawn to build our artifact from scratch. I was inspired by these instructions for the design of the box. With this being a time capsule, we created a list of items and evidence that Emma would have been able to carry with her through her journey. The items within the box correlate to the journal that Emma keeps to document her travels. Since we are capturing a desolate Earth within in the box, we spent much time brainstorming items to be placed within the box.

Prototype

PHYSICAL COMPONENT
‍Our physical object is safe-vault that is materialized of plywood with a two dial lock containing a four digit pass code that is made out of cardboard to reduce weight. The plywood is laser engraved with randomized letters that fill up the area of each face of the safe-vault. Inspired by the film "National Treasures", the four digit pass code is found within the randomized letters. In order to find the pass code, the user will have to scan a QR code located near the two dial switch that will lead them through a mysterious journey. Once opened, the user will notice the box has been filled with sand. Having envelopes located on the Inside of the door, we encourage the user to find all of the objects. The objects include but are not limited to: USB drive, scrolls inside soda cans, and objects that negatively impact our environment, puzzle pieces and placards of species.The user will have to identify which objects are apart of the game and what is just litter. Once identified, they will retrace their steps back through the digital component in order to solve the second mystery and understand what the objects mean. Green New Deal in action, and hints towards survival or lack thereof. The last mystery is the puzzle piece will indicate that they have solved all the puzzles of the box and may link back to a digital component.The purpose of this is to have a back-and-forth interaction with the physical component and digital component in order to understand what has happened to earth since the implementation of Green New Deal. Planet Earth may have survived, but all of mankind failed to save their own species due to the major corporations that held major control over the environment. Humans did not change their ways on reducing their carbon footprint and in result, this lead to a domino effect in the atmosphere and all four Eco systems. The increase in temperature caused the ice caps to melt at an alarming rate, leading to the release of methane (which is far worse than CO2) to be exposed in the atmosphere, and sea levels that engulfed cities and islands. The government put a national emergency in this crisis, and gas masks and hazard suits were limited to those who had access to one. Savior was found in the species that had survived the catastrophe.  ​
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DIGITAL COMPONENT
The digital interaction will be initiated through a QR code located near the two dial switch on the safe-vault. Once scanned, this is their first step in solving for four digit pass code. The user will go through multiple pathways in order to solve the mystery. We wanted to have a higher and more complex interaction with the digital part after reading the feedback from our peers, rather than having the QR code link directly to the journal. The user will be given clues for the four combinations to solve the safe-vault where it will be found through various websites, games, dialing a phone call, and diary entries. Instead of explaining it step by step there is a flowchart shown below.​Instead of only setting up a future beach scene to communicate the disaster, requiring the user to explore the physical and digital aspects of the project brings a more authentic feel. The themes in this topic are explained within the Green New Deal website, and we propose an outcome to the plan by showing the efficacy of that proposal. In this case, the Green New Deal did not have a positive impact and therefore our world is taken over by greenhouse gases and non-renewable energy. The user physically shifts through the sand within the vault to find littered items typically found in today’s world and has a back-and-forth interactivity with the digital and physical components.

Deliver

Physical Component

The physical object is safe-vault, materialized of plywood with a 3D- printed locking mechanism containing a four digit code. The plywood is laser engraved with randomized letters on each area visible surface the safe-vault. The phrase, spelling "GND" is found within the randomized letters, which is a hint to the unlocking code "2030".

The opened box is filled with sand and various items of interactivity. We encourage the user to find all of the objects. The objects include but are not limited to: USB drive, scrolls inside of bottles, and objects that negatively impact our environment, puzzle pieces and placards of species.

Many of the items found in the box will be recognized by the user to be previously mentioned in Emma's journal entries and videos/images. Allowing for a hybrid interaction between the digital and physical component of this project.

Digital Component

Upon scanning the QR code that sits atop the safe-box, you will enter the digital component of The Vault.
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The digital component is a scavenger hunt through a series of websites that include the journal entries and photos/videos. Each page adds to the timeline of events in Emma's life and hides the codes needed to find read the encryption of the box and access the contents within.

The Vault is the first project that launched me into the pathway of design. Through this project, I was able to discover my passions in the design process and where my interests may take me. As this was my first design project, I found my strengths in what I was already familiar with - computer engineered design.

As my team members did not have much experience in more physical design, I was able to introduce and guide my team through my process.

My focus was on the user and how. What I enjoy about this artifact is that I was able to put myself in the perspective of my users in order to experience it as they would.