The Kaleidoscope is a viewing box for the tablet. It is a box with two holes that you look into made out of laser cut plywood. The sides of the box are also plywood, but they are delicately cut so the wood is bendable. Inside the box are two holes, housing kaleidoscopes through which a viewer can look. As the viewer looks through the kaleidoscopes, the tablet’s screen changes from blank to a very detailed line portrait of a man.

We started off the studio by writing stories. Each one of us storyboarded a story we wanted to tell, then made the story using Photoshop and Storyscape. This helped us get to know the software.

SCAVENGER HUNT:

Next we split up into teams to make another story. Nathaniel and I decided to make a scavenger hunt. We wanted to have visual clues that lead you around NuVu. For example, a picture of a frog would lead you to Bufo the frog, or a picture of a fishbowl would lead you to a fishbowl. We worked on this project for about three days.

After three days we had to start over. It wasn’t what Mikah, our coach,  was looking for. This time, we decided to do a creation story. We got through two slides of the illustrations for the story when we had a critique, which lead us to decide that the creation story wasn’t the best way to utilize the software either. We then decided to start over again.

WEATHER BOX:

Our next idea was to make a weather box. The concept was that it was a box where you could “Play God,” and control the different elements. Using sensors you would be able to control anything from the suns brightness to the wind itself. After a critique we decided that it wasn’t the best idea to pursue because it wouldn’t really use the tablet now. Thus we started over once again.

OUIJA BOARD:

Next we thought that it would be really cool to make an Ouija Board. The concept was that you could have an Ouija Board in real life that would move based on how you touched the tablet. We soon realized that this was impossible to do because the Android tablets are not compatible with Arduion’s, they are only compatible with IoIo’s and we could not program the Ouija Board with an IoIo. So we decided to start over yet again.

LIGHT BOX:

By this point we started to get really discouraged. Our next idea was a light box. The idea was that it was a box with star like holes in the top. There would be a tablet face down shining the light onto the bottom of the box that then gets reflected out of the holes in the box. The back of the tablet would be face up. There would be a pile of NFC chips next to the box and each one would be a different color. It is a very simple concept that gives off a magical look. We didn’t end up pursuing this idea past a prototype because it was too simple.

Frustrated, we tried to save the light box idea. We thought up a way to turn it into a household light. In the end, though, we still ended up ditching the idea.

VIEWING BOX:

Our next idea was to make a viewing box for the tablet. It would be a box that you look into eye level and see a reflection of the screen in front of you. Neither of us was really into this idea so we decided to try something else.

KALEIDOSCOPE BOX:

Our next idea was to make a kaleidoscope box. It branched off the viewing box idea but cooler. The concept was a box that you look into to see the tablet. We started off by making a kaleidoscope, because it just seemed right. We thought the kaleidoscope was super cool so we decided to make that part of our project.

We then made another kaleidoscope and turned the two kaleidoscopes into binoculars. It was pretty trippy. Next

we made a box shaped like a TV. The box had the tablet inside as a screen. The only way to look inside the box is through the kaleidoscopes. We wanted the box shaped like a TV to show how TV engulfs you. You have to go right up to the TV to see the tablet. We wanted to use the kaleidoscopes to show how TV confuses our brains.

There are ten different images in order that show up on the TV. I created the images using Illustrator and Photoshop. It is a sequence of lines that come together over ten frames and form the portrait of a man. A NFC tag triggers each image. We designed a circular gear mechanism that rotates the NFC tags when you push a lever, or spin a dial. We didn’t have time to complete this portion of the project so now you just put the NFC tags in order on the tablet and they show the images.

The art looks really chaotic through the kaleidoscope.

There is something very powerful about looking into an inviting box and seeing the unexpected.  I’m wonderstruck as I go from seeing a blank screen, to lines forming a portrait in front of me. It’s captivating.