å Tuesday, September 8th, 2015

This project was very interesting and the mine map was a new exciting way to brain storm ideas that are original and different. There was no extreme difficulty in this project either in which made it a lot easier to understand and complete. I also liked creating the multiple thumbnail designs for each tool because its helps bring more ideas in for a final image.

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My Response

I thought this was a very fun and enjoyable project that was also helpful and educational on the creative/invention process. As I have never done a mind map before, I was surprised by how many great ideas can actually come out of them. I enjoyed getting together with my group members for the mind map. It was fun to see how different minds can think of totally different things when they hear a word and still work together and be as imaginative as possible.

My Mind Map

25 Pairs

1. Snake + Vase
2. Rose + Umbrella
3. Zebra + Bubblegum
4. Hand + Ice
5. Lizard + Lollipop
6. Loud + Quiji board
7. Dentures + Makeup
8. Penny + Lipstick
9. Piñata + Garden
10. Snowman + Wine glass
11. Mittens + Sweatpants
12. Foam Finger + Water gun
13. Rollercoaster + Music
14. Bubblewrap + Car
15. Haunted house + Party
16. Book + Ladder
17. Candy + Paint
18. Salsa + Water Bottle
19. Zamboni + Party
20. Candy + Pickle
21. Fishing pole + Tree
22. Reptile + Airhorn
23. Candy + Salsa
24. Boat + Party
25. Hand + Airhorn

My 10 Choices

1. Snake + Vase: A stylish vase for reptile lovers to hold their flowers made of perhaps snake skin pattern or maybe an actual snake!
2. Zebra + Bubblegum: My first thought was patterned gum. Our clothing, bags, scarves and accessories all have perhaps tribal, cheetah or even zebra print, why not our gum? Would someone be willing to spend extra few cents to have “pretty” gum as opposed to “regular” gum?
3. Loud + Quiji Board: My first thought was a creepy voice that narrates whats happening on the board and maybe it will “hear” and “translate” some things that our human ears can’t just for extra spookiness. Maybe a speaking Quiji board could be helpful to any blind users as well?
4. Snowman + Wine glass: We have chilled mugs for beer, why not a chilled wine glass that is also cute and winter-festive. I thought of a snowman doing a handstand would be the shape of a wine glass. Or perhaps an actual wine glass made out of snow or ice?
5. Mittens + Sweatpants: I thought of cold nights when you don’t want to take your hands out of your sweatpants pockets. So what if in each pocket was a mitten with a string attached so you can keep your hands warms and never loose your mittens/gloves!
6. Foam finger + Watere gun: How much fun would a sports game be if you could cheer on your team with your #1 foam finger and at the same time squirt some playful water at your opponents fans? It would keep your kids entertained for longer as well!
7. Rollercoaster + Music: A lot of people resort to music when they are feeling anxious or scared or sad. These feelings can definitely come up on a roller coaster so what if a little music selection was offered as you ride to your death and it streamed through the bars over your shoulders.
8. Candy + Paint: We have rock candy, candy cigarettes, insect candy, why not add another misleading candy to the list and make a little can of “paint” that is actually a sugary/syrupy liquid that kids can “paint” on their tongues with the “paintbrush” included.
9. Candy + Salsa: My first thought was salsa being a mixture of various vegetables so what if there was a jelly bean, m & m, licorice, with a batter/ dough type substance as the base.
10. Hand + Airhorn: A small, but effective hand held airhorn that is made to fit the mold of one hand making a fist.

Thumbnails

(Mittens + Sweatpants)

(Wine glass + Snowman)

(Candy + Paint)

(Foam finger + Water gun)

(Loud + Ouija board)

Mind Map

This is one of the three mind maps that my group of four came up with. Mind mapping is actually a new concept to me, and I think they’re pretty cool so far. It’s interesting to see how far you can run with a thought and what those thoughts can develop into, especially in a group of people who all think differently. Having the ability to bounce ideas off of each other was definitely helpful.

My 25 Original Pairings
1. Saw + Teeth
2. Elephant + Megaphone
3. Trampoline + Drum
4. Snake + Stapler
5. Drill + Noodle
6. Brush + Puzzle
7. Phone + Shovel
8. Spatula + Lamp
9. Keys + Ponytail
10. Shoe + Rocket
11. Suitcase + Computer
12. Scissors + Hook
13. Mittens + Cheese
14. Dish + Boat
15. Match + Bug
16. Sword + Fan
17. Nun + Clown
18. Pencil + Whip
19. Fork + Worm
20. Gun + Cup
21. Telescope + Cannon
22. Car + Hula Hoop
23. Meat + Tree
24. Bottle + Glasses
25. Chain + Tail

My 10 Choices
1. Saw + Teeth
I automatically thought of the “teeth” on a saw, and thought it’d be comical to have them look like actual human teeth. I doubt that would actually help in cutting anything down though… unless you brushed and flossed every day, of course.
2. Megaphone + Elephant
A megaphone is slightly similar to an elephant’s trunk appearance-wise, so why not switch them up and maximize the volume of their breathing, am i right?!
3. Snake + Stapler
This probably would have worked better if the snake was paired with a staple remover, because of the resemblance between that and a snake’s fangs, but this was the next best thing in my opinion. All you have to do is bop the (hopefully dead) snake on the head and voilà, you have a stapled set of papers and you looked cool (and brave) doing it.
4. Drill + Noodle
This idea popped into my head while thinking of drill bits and the similarities in appearance between them and certain pasta noodles, so I thought it would be fun to see where the combination could go.
5. Phone + Shovel
I have ABSOLUTELY no idea as to why or how this combination popped into my head so fast, but I automatically thought of the slide-out keyboard cellphones we used to have in middle school. For some odd reason, I thought it would be a fantastic idea to replace the slide-out keyboard with a shovel… y’know, just in case you need to go digging and you forget your actual shovel at home.
6. Match + Bug
For this combination, I kept coming back to the idea of the way certain bugs’ bodies are, and how thin and similar to a match some of them look (praying mantis, dragon fly, stick bug, etc.), so I thought of replacing the actual body with one.
7. Sword + Fan
I had a feeling that, in medieval times, fans would have been made out of the same blades swords were made out of as a sort of torture device (or just to circulate some air). I also thought of how nice it would’ve been for knights to have a fan built IN to their swords, especially with all of the heavy armor they had to wear. Refreshment on the go.
8. Fork + Worm
For this one, I thought it would be funny (and gross) to shape worms into the shape of a fork and/or wrap the worms around a regular fork to make them look like spaghetti.
9. Car + Hula Hoop
I had a few different ideas when it came to this pairing. The first two were to make the wheels on a car and the steering wheel inside a car into hula hoops, and the third was to make a person look like they were hula hooping a limousine (because of how long they are, which I thought was fitting).
10. Suitcase + Computer
I call this one “The TRAVEL Computer”, which makes no sense at this point in time because that’s why laptops were invented. I thought that the way a suit case un-hinges and the way a laptop opens was pretty similar, so I went with it. I wouldn’t recommend buying it, though, because I can guarantee you won’t have too much space left to use to pack clothes.

Thumbnails

Overall
I thought this assignment was very interesting. Like I had said earlier, it’s something I had never done before and It was cool to branch out (even literally too, in the mind maps). It truly showed me how much thought goes into the early stages of design work, and how helpful it is to have a plethora of different ideas to grab from.

This assignment was great. I liked how our groups had to get together and brainstorm off each others ideas. What truly helped me in the process of creating my own tools were the extra mind maps. I know that everyone has different ideas, it was helpful to branch one of mine with another person’s idea.

This is one of my group’s mind map. Exercising mind mapping helped me organize my thoughts with the others. It’s always tough for me to quickly think of creative ideas, however brainstorming on a mind with a team of designers made the process simpler. One of my favorite ideas on this mind map is how we got the idea Cat Nip from others branching off the idea Call.

Here are my 25 tool ideas based off mind mapping. The bold Tools are the “Chosen Ones“.

1. Bed Head Balloon
2. Cat Nip Cookie
3. Prom Wrench
4. Tiger Knife
5. Water Vacuum
6. Cat Call Alarm
7. OCD Pillow Vacuum
8. Toilet Backpack
9. Alphabet Guns
10. Lighter Pocket
11. Karate Skateboard
12. Karate Lighter
13. Throw Up Vacuum
14. Grill Knife
15. Smart Grill
16. Banana Foam
17. Chocolate Band aid
18. Energy Honey
19. Hospital Bed Weights
20. Pumpkin Spoon
21. Dirt Ball
22. War Nails
23. Bear Belt
24. Bulimic Banana
25. Language Machine

The Bed Head Balloon is the perfect solution for crazy hair mornings. Imagine a balloon which you rub on your head to get rid of that jungle you call hair. Prom Wrench is a useful tool to have the perfect Prom experience without any troubles. Car has a flat tire on the way to your breath taking night? Use the Prom Wrench to switch out the tire, it will even impress your date. The Tiger Knife isn’t your dad’s normal knife. It’s the sharpest tool in the shed, great for trips like camping, self defense, and learning how to throw a knife. Toilet Backpack is a sanitary on-the-go Porta Potty for long trips. Adventures behold a revolutionary way where you don’t make a mess yet still go to the bathroom whenever and wherever you wanted. The Vomit Vacuum is a college students best friend. Did your roommate come home late and puke on the floor? No worries, this Bluetooth puke sucker will get out all the nastiness from tough areas like carpets or couches.  Smart Grill is the next generation of thug life wireless mouth connectivity. With the power of Bluetooth and smartphones you can track what goes in your mouth, calculating caloric intakes. The perfect tool to help figure out weight loss by dieting. Energy Honey gives the right nutrients for a good days workout. Put Energy Honey in tea, on toast, or even eat it by spoonfuls to get great work out results. Hospital Bed Weights are for those who struggle in hospitals yet want to stay in shape at the same time. This revolutionary mattress set holds different types of weight lifting exercises to keep your body in tip top shape. The Bear Belt is a sturdy leather belt with a Tiger Knife sheath extension. Show off your belt fashion sense while intimidating others proving that you can get out of any death like situation with a comfortable belt. And finally, the Language Machine is a portable device which will translate your language so you can talk to anybody in the world. This incredible device will be the worlds next hottest item, proving that technology can help nations talk freely with one another without the frustrations of learning a whole new language.

Here are a few of my thumbnails

Language Machine

Prom Wrench

Toilet Backpack

Hospital Weight

Thoughts:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I found this project to be different from what I usually do, but at the same time enjoyable and interesting. The process itself was fun to do, especially sketching out the tool combinations. Being able to get with another person to create the mind maps, helped expand our ideas and made it easier to pick out what I wanted to create on the thumbnails.

Mind Map:

This is one out of three of the mind maps that me and my partner created. This one seemed to have the most ideas on it.

Tool Combinations:

1. Sharpie + Drill
2. Paper clip + Button
3. Broom + Eels
4. Keys + Knife
5. Pen + Nails
6. Spoon + Scissors
7. Button + Soda can
8. Ruler + Hammer
9. Fork + Panda
10. Carrot + Wires
11. Shark + Magnets
12. Compass + Headphones
13. Chalk + Cheese
14. Hamburger + Elevator
15. Box + Bulldozer
16. Paintbrush + Shoes
17. Sunglasses + Socks
18. Sun + Cigarettes
19. Needle + Arrows
20. Train + Phone
21. Butter + Hose
22. Cage + Bowl
23. Mushroom + Toilet
24. Birdhouse + Marble
25. Puzzle + Plate

Top Ten Tool Choices:

• Sharpie + Drill – This would be a fun combination to draw because right away I thought of a sharpie where the drill bit would go.
• Broom + Eels – I thought since eels are wet and slippery, it would be cool to make a broom that could slide across the floor and clean by itself.
• Keys + Knife – I thought of a sharp object that could protect you, cut your meals, and at the same time get you into your house.
• Pen + Nails – I thought this would be easy to create but at the same time a useful tool to have around.
• Spoon + Scissors – I thought of creating a multi-tool that could be useful but weird at the same time.
• Ruler + Hammer – being able to have a ruler to measure out where the nails should be placed, and then having a hammer right in your hand to hammer them in
• Shark + Magnets – I thought it would be fun because it would attract more fish to feed the shark.
• Compass + Headphones – Right away I thought of the headphones being the arrows to the compass
• Hamburger + Elevator – I thought this would be fun to do because who doesn’t want to ride in style.
• Mushroom + Toilet – I thought it would be fun to create something funny, but at the same time “stylish”.

Thumbnails:

These are only a few of the thumbnails that I created out of 30.