Author: lglist@andrew.cmu.edu

Octopus Close

Octopus Full

Octopus Close 2

Written Reflection

Your process for conceptualizing and making your object

Our process started with imagining the reality of the future and comparing how it may differ from the present. Our conclusion was that humanity’s longing for physical touch will continue or even intensify, as we imagine the world of the future to be filled with smooth, cold computer screens and digitized interactions. This initiated our exploration of a comfort object for people of all ages of the future, specifically exploring the different textures we could create and use that contrast with that of flat screens. Thinking about different toys and comfort objects we use today and how these date back to several years back, we decided to build a stuffed octopus, where each tentacle would have a different texture. 

What worked well and why you think it worked well

The sizing of the octopus was a concern at first, as we intended to make the octopus handheld for personal use. However during the critique, the octopus was able to be shared amongst multiple people, each experiencing a different tentacle and thereby a different textural experience. Another element that worked well was the plain color of the octopus, as it let the different textural aspects be further emphasized and removed distractions. The lack of color also implies that future life is overstimulating, and to relax people may turn to plainer-colored comfort objects made of natural fabrics rather than bright, artificially colored synthetic materials. Additionally, the varied combinations of fillings and outer textures resulted in a wider range of experiences without overcomplicating our fabrication process. 

What you would improve or change and why

The finishing of the edges could be improved. Though the raw edges give a more rough feeling that also provides another dimension to a textural experience, with more time and skill, the toy could be more securely fabricated. Also, the lack of variety in fabric allowed the experience to be solely about the fillings and the outer textures, though we would like to explore other natural materials to create even more combinations.

What you learned through this project and what you might take from this project with you into future projects

This project had a more intense brainstorming process, which allowed us to combine our ideas and talk about what we wanted to do for the project extensively. I think this extended brainstorm and discussion about the project further clarified our goals and what we wanted to create. Also, we learned a great deal about modifying initial project goals throughout the creation process. Being able to accomplish our intended goal while being flexible with specific design requirements will be a useful skill in future projects. 

I had very little experience with using the sewing machine and making plushies, so the entire fabrication process for this stuffed octopus was quite challenging for me. In terms of skills, I was able to further improve my ability to use a sewing machine and make 3D structures with it. Because of this, I feel much more confident in being able to incorporate this fabrication method into my future projects. 

We will make a teddy bear of the future.

Concept

In the future, despite advanced technologies and a changing world, there are certain aspects of the human condition that are consistent with what we experience today. Currently, children usually have comfort items like teddy bears and blankies to calm them.

In the future, these comfort items are increasingly used by adults. Because everything has become smooth (phone screens, glass buildings, computers), people need textured sensory stimulation. To have a break from scrolling and interacting with smooth, flat, cold glass, people have tactile toys to give them a break. These toys are therefore made with rough, angled, warmer fabrics and textiles. Rather than a smooth teddy bear being calming today, people find spikier and rougher objects comforting as a break from the smoother, flat objects they interact with all day.

Materials

The textiles of the future are largely synthetic, colder, and uninteresting to the touch. These are easier and cheaper to produce than the natural fabrics of today. Therefore, in the future, people long for rough cloths like linen, cotton-seed, denim, burlap, and wool. Therefore, we will be using these rougher natural fabrics in our project.

Idea Summary

We will be making a teddy bear out of these rougher materials to symbolize this shift. Teddy bears have been used for centuries and are associated with warmth, love, and childhood. It’ll be stuffed with synthetic cotton balls, but the exterior fiber will be all natural and rough to the touch.

Essentially, we are making an uncomfortable teddy bear by our modern standards.

1. The climate crisis has evolved

Sea Level Rise

Wildfires

Cold Temperatures

New York is flooded and billions of dollars in real estate is now underwater in almost all major countries. Temperatures vary wildly across the globe, with many areas seeing incredibly harsh winters and scorching summers. As a result clothes must be incredibly adaptable to the wearer’s environment, with most clothes having snap-on attachments to layer up or down.

2. Money has been abolished

Money is Abolished

With the collapse of all major nation states, there is now no traditional currency to exchange for goods and services. In lieu, most goods are distributed by need and availability. To symbolically hold a semblance of payment, everybody exchanges shiny rocks and trinkets that they’ve found in the rubble.

3. New textiles can’t be produced

Patchwork dress

With most aquifers drained, water is a precious commodity. Crop blights and diseases have spread among almost all natural fibers, and most people turn to discarded material to incorporate in their clothes.

4. New community traditions have emerged

Spliced pants

Spliced dress

Without nation states to pledge citizenship to, micro-communities have formed locally. Small neighborhoods and blocks band together and family structure is no more. Now much freer in movement and mind, information is exchanged at an alarming rate. To symbolize a connection between these groups, people cut off parts of their clothing and sew them onto the clothes of a close friend. Your fashion results from your relationships in a physical sense, and you can be identified by your appearance immediately.