An interactive musical installation that enriches the experience of celebrating through the common gesture of toasting.
As one of a team of designers, who all contributed to the concept creation, I developed the physical prototypes.
The project was selected for the TEI 2013 design challenge, and featured in a live installation.
Exploring a design language that embodies and promotes play, humor, joy, and delight.
How might we celebrate tangibility and interactivity through ordinary behaviors?
TEI 2013's design challenge was to “design a fun game or performance that celebrates tangibility”. The committee was looking for stories of tangible, embedded and interactive technologies to be passed on to the next generation.
Looking into simple yet widely known gestures for celebrating, toasting really caught our attention. Such a common and everyday behavior felt like the obvious choice for the challenge at hand.
The design of the installation went through a few iterations, and we landed on collaborative interactions that amused the audience. Raising your glass makes it light up. At the same time, each glass plays a different note when held. When users make a toast and the glasses touch, the lights pulse. As users put the glass down on the table, both light and sound fade softly.
Backstage — with the legendary Bill Verplank — and live exhibition
Full description of the project and the prototype
