Product
In my senior year at CMU, I was tasked to find a design competition and enter it. I chose to use Microsoft's NextGen PC competition as a prompt to explore niche computer markets. In my own personal experience and in observing others around me, I realized that digital design tools had a long way to go before they interacted in a natural way with the creative process.
Hedron is an exploration of the physical and digital shortcomings of today's PCs as design and art tools. I researched how people form bonds to physical products and analyzed the creative work flow from ideation to resolution in a digital space. While we all have our preferences in the beginning of a process, the fact is that the final products of a creative's labor often must be finished in a digital format. Hedron's goal is to make the transition from napkin sketches to tool-ready CAD models as seamless and possible.
See More
Drawing is how visual thinkers communicate. Ideas are born in sketch books, on notebook paper, even on napkins. Drawing on the go is an activity that has many options that fulfill the needs of a creative person; Hedron aims to help people take their napkin sketches to the next level of development. A computer designed for creating should play to the main strength of creative people: drawing. A computer designed to respond to the touch of a familiar instrument will be an almost magical experience. The ability to use familiar tools in the further refinement of an idea creates a more fulfilling experience.
The large, aluminum surface of Hedron is ideal for cooling. Not only do fans direct air in from the sides and out through the back, but the surface of the computer itself acts as a heat sink for the components inside.
A polymer light-emitting diode display is a subset of OLED display technology. PLEDs are printed onto a substrate of glass or plastic and can br produced much more cheaply than traditional LCD displays. This allows for the Hedron to have an extremely thin display. This futuristic design will incorporate a touch sensitive version of the PLED display giving the ability to use all sorts of implements on the screen.
Everyone loves a brand new computer out of the box. Once a plastic computer has been in use for several months, however, the dirt and deep scratches in the surface put a damper on the aesthetic. Eventually, the user does not like how his or her computer looks. This will encourage them to look for a new, shiny computer to replace their old one, or at least be a factor in the decision to upgrade.
A careful choice of materials encourages the opposite behavior. Anodized aluminum does wear. Over many years of use, the color will begin to rub off. The wood surface will absorb some abuse and the cherry will darken over time. However, this kind of patina is visual evidence of a bond that exists between the user and the computer. Like the well worn equipment of a woodworker or mountaineer, the surface of a well-loved Hedron tells a story of use. This will hopefully encourage the user to keep his or her computer much longer than the current average lifecycle of most computers.
Hedron is constructed mainly of aluminum, glass and a plywood insert. The major aluminum parts were designed to be extruded and trimmed, with detail pieces fastened mechanically. Compared to plastic, aluminum makes much more sense in the context of this computer. Though it may raise manufacturing costs, the market of users for Hedron will be willing to pay higher prices for superior materials. In the long run, the cost of oil will drive up petroleum-based polymers and increase the desirability of recycled aluminum, which is already a very easily recyclable material.
Consumers in the future will come to expect the elimination of heavy metals and other toxic substances in their electronics. Hedron will be no exception. It will be designed to easily disassemble in a way that reusable materials maintain their high value. The undesirable, yet necessary unrecyclable components can be dealt with separately.