We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Naai-Jung Shih about their original and creative interactive installations design work. Naai-Jung Shih is an award-winning communication designer, that makes our world a better place with their original interactive installations works.
Naai-Jung Shih ("NS") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Falling Water interactive installations . Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
NS : The water drops represent the wishes people make every day. Wishes should be chained just like the water drops in a waterfall. A careful observation of a waterfall can find out that each branch of wall behaviors slightly different from each other. The dynamic essence of a waterfall can be illustrated and preserved if people can target a branch and make it running in different locations.
NS : People can grip a cube by hand or put it on a holder to watch a beaded stream running by rotating the knob or pulling by hand. Each cube or set of cubes comes with a beaded stream that travels inside the cube or through the recessed notches on different surface. The beaded stream can be rerouted along different notches. This installation purposely selects shinning silver or metallic golden beads to create contrast with the cube finishes and materials. Cubes can be placed side by side or in an order that mimic a complicated water stages.
NS : Promote it, sale it, or keep developing it in different scales, materials, or under different themes.
NS : This project started in September 2016 in Taipei, Taiwan.
NS : This design is not commissioned and acts as a pursuit of an inspiration.
NS : This design was not produced or used by another company. To sell or lease related production rights are welcome, although I prefer to produce this work myself.
NS : A dynamic interpretation of geometries and spaces is always the focus of my design. This is a pursuit of an inspiration and re-interpretation of a form that has been in my mind for a while.
NS : No other designs and designers that helped the influence the design of my work.
NS : The potential target customers include interior designers and architects to be added as part of design or decoration, or for private collectors for personal collections.
NS : There might be design with similar concepts, but it’s the manner of interpretation in terms of configuration that makes difference.
NS : The name came from the dynamic essence of a waterfall: the water drops represent the wishes people make every day. Wishes should be chained just like the water drops in a waterfall.
NS : The design was explored using software and hardware platforms. The former was parametric programs, and the latte was 3D printing machines.
NS : The combination of cubes and beaded stream present a contrast of static object and dynamic flow. The interaction between them creates a visual effect associated with sounds. The whole setting can be pulled to see beads running or just put on a table as a scene of frozen water.
NS : Nobody collaborates with me for this design. The 3D printed parts were made by myself.
NS : The cubes were made by a 3D printer. Each part of cube has to be smooth enough to ensure a smooth flow. A research was conducted in parametrically creating the cube with holes that enable a smooth flow of beaded stream. The 3D mathematic program k3dsurf was used to create the original shape which was a 3D model with no thickness. This model was thickened and smoothened using another 3D program Geomagic Studio.
NS : A research was made to find out which mathematical program can create the desirable model. The final choice was k3dsurf v0.6.2®. (http://k3dsurf.sourceforge.net/ ) and Geomagic Studio®.
NS : To put a scene or a metaphor into a physical model was a challenge in the beginning. To make a perfect order of the cubes was another in creating depth and hierarchy of the metaphor as wishes. The path must be running smoothly before or after routing in different ways. The size of beads has to be selected carefully. Purchasing beads and putting a string through simply did not work because beads would stick together and would not run. Distance between two beads has to be maintained constantly. A variety of colors and textures were tested.
NS : It is a self-promoting or self-evolving process to become part of an international design competition.
NS : A design work was improved through stages of development in a recursive loop of examination under different scales. That’s why some design works were made more than one year.
NS : There is always issue to be addressed. Let’s keep it open for next year or next competition.
