Hotel Absurd Invention

For this assignment we were tasked with coming up with some sort of device that would fit into an "absurd hotel". This piece should be crafted with the shared visual language of the hotel in mind and will ideally be sold in the hotel gift shop as a souvenir.

When thinking about these constraints, we tried to think about problems that travelers faced, or things we appreciate when traveling. Seeking inspiration, we decided to head to Muji (the design inspiration for this assignment). We wanted to see more specifically the forms, shapes, and techniques used in their products.

While we were there, we kept talking about what kinds of things we like at hotels. Eventually we got to talking about the mini-bar in a hotel. It is always hit or miss if there will be one in a hotel. After a long flight, travelers are often tired and hungry and will grab a snack or a drink from the mini bar. This is fine on its own, of course, but it often pulls you out of the magnificent place you're in. So, we asked the question "How can we provide a stiff drink, while making someone aware of where they are?"

This thought is what brought us to the first iteration of our idea: to make a shot dispenser that needs to be tuned like a radio to the approximate longitude and latitude of the GPS location you're in. The hope here is that needing to tune to your location, then taking the shot, will give you the liquid energy you need to get moving!

Below are some drawings and progress photos on our first looks-like prototype. We noticed that at muji, there are a lot of curved rectangular prisms and simple, minimalist shapes. We did not curve the edges on this first prototype, but are confident that is what we would like to do.

The anatomy consists of 2 parts, which will be connected flush to itself. The left side will be a basin for the liquor as well as where we will eventually have the dials for the long/lat. The right side will be where a shot glass can be placed, where an FSR is going to send a signal to dispense the liquor if the dials are in tune. We wanted to add a window so that a user could see the liquid level as well. We tried a slit vs a window and eventually decided on the slit, to make room for the knobs.

Questions:

• We are thinking a lot about the absurdity of the device. We understand that the form is not particularly absurd, but are OK with that as long as we can make other parts more absurd.
  • That said, what if we leaned into the knob aesthetic and framed this like a radio. It would fit nicely into any room, but would have an unexpected use. Still, though, it would be hard to explain to a user. The only way a user would know what to do, as of right now, would be by being open to learning about all the absurd hotel devices.
• The interaction of needing to tune your location is cute and good, but is it too disparate from the use of the object? Does that dissonance detract from the use? Can we lean into "it's 5 o'clock somewhere"?
• Can we retain this small form factor? Will make our lives very easy if we can use the othermill for the final pieces.