Going on the bus in Boston is not an exciting experience and waiting for the bus is even worse because you have to wait for long periods of time and there’s absolutely nothing to do.
The Guest Book structure is an interactive sculpture that allows bus riders to express themseleves and helps make time appear to be going faster.
The Guest Book Structure is a place for people to come and write and express themselves. We believe that everyone has a story, but not necessarily a place to express how they are feeling so this is a perfect way for everyone at the bus stop to collaborate on something that is also very personal.
Two weeks ago our studio was given the challenge of creating an installations that would make waiting for the bus a better experience. We had to find a project that could connect the people at the bus and also keep them entertained. We believe that the Guest Book Structure is a great way of doing that. People can come together and write how they are and when you step back you see the structure covered in messages.
Our piece is not only a canvas for people to come and write on but is also a sculpture. The piece encompasses the pole, but also has certain pieces that have hinges allowing you to open and write more personal messages or read them.
We knew from the beginning that we wanted to make some sort of guest book for people to come and write on, but we went through lots of different ideas before arriving at the final structure. We first started out with the poster holder idea because it would protect the messages from the elements and from being stolen, but we thought it looked literally like a book so we changed to our second idea which was the fortune teller structure. With the fortune teller structure we liked the movement of a fortune teller and the way it folded so we thought about making that the base of the structure. We liked with the fortune teller structure because there could be some hidden messages and you would have to work to find them. This piece, however, we quickly found out was not a possible project in the time frame that we were given and the number of hinges that we would’ve needed to use. After lots of brainstorming, we finally decided on the structure that encompassed the pole. We thought not only did it look really cool and artistic, but it also allowed the opportunity for hidden messages and an easy way for people to express themselves.
Our biggest challenge was the amount of time we were given. We spent a lot of time brainstorming and coming up with new ideas. We could have been more successful if we had arrived at our final structure sooner, allowing us to make small changes and finish fully the final project. We had a hard time figuring out the best way to put the whole project together using hinges and other materials.
Iterations :
Our first iteration to the project was changing the sizing of the cardboard triangles because it made the pieces easier to fold and hold better. When all the pieces lined up it resembled a fortune teller a lot more and gave you many places to write. We also made the hinges out of a stretchy string so that the pieces could face in many different directions. Using the stretchy string made the pieces sort of separate but also connected very similar to the messages that would be written on the piece. We cut out a hole in the middle of the structure as well to make room for the pole so that it could easily be placed on it. We felt that the hinges would be too difficult to place and would take away from the messages that people would be writing so we decided to scrap that idea.
Our second iteration was coming up with a new structure completely, but keeping the same idea mostly. With this version triangles would be attached to the pole that would allow you to fold out and in. This kept the same hidden messages idea, but we didn’t like the look of it as much. We felt that it looked too simple and wouldn’t really attract people's attention so we decided to go back to the drawing board.
Our third iteration was a combination of the past two ideas and putting them together. With this structure, there was the pieces that would fold out, but in this case it made little message flowers, but also messages that you could move around using the hinges. We didn’t like this idea as much as we thought we would because it ended up looking like we just tacked some things to the pole.
Our fourth iteration was our favorite idea that we had come up with since the fortune teller. This structure had more of an artistic piece and we liked how it made it look more like a sculpture. This idea had numerous layers that would cover up each other so to read other messages you would need to fold upward other ones. However, we felt that this was a bit cluttered looking so we went back to brainstorming.
Our fifth iteration kept the idea, mostly, but made the piece a little more spread out and easier to read. We had triangles that stuck out from the pole that you could write on the outside or open up and write on the inside. We liked the idea of the triangles circling the whole of the pole and started calling this idea pole jewelry.
Our sixth iteration was keeping the pole jewelry idea, but making all the pieces connect. It was like one long 3D object that circled the pole and looked really cool. It also gave many people the chance to write at one time and made it seem more collaborative.
Our final iteration was the structure that encompassed the whole of the pole. It kept the traits of the last structure, making it 3D and being “pole jewelry”, but also went back to one of our beginning ideas having the hinges and certain places to write private messages. This way also gave people a lot more space to write and could be viewed from all angles.
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