On the evening of June 27th, 2019, Zhejiang University held the fifth Information Product Design product launch conference with the theme of origin. More than 500 students and professional visitors from other universities, internet and design companies gathered at Zijingang Theater to participate in the event.
The conference was divided into three parts: Space, Digit and Origin, covering a total of three courses: Information Product Design, Design Thinking and Innovation and Information and Interaction Design Technology. These comprehensively demonstrate the talent training, academic research and entrepreneurial ideas of Zhejiang University's design department.
Space
The Space section introduced the talent training and scientific research model of Zhejiang University featuring cross-border collision. During the session, teacher Yang Ying presided over the release of the Origami Robot project.
Origami has enough artistic power to create an entire world of its own. Students from 2016 industrial design and product design classes displayed the entire creation process of the origami device from prototype, movement to interaction design.
Digit
The Digit section centered around technology design to drive innovation and entrepreneurship. Associate Professor Zhang Kejun presided over and released the teaching results of Zhejiang University’s Next Lab Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Laboratory in the Spring/Summer 2019 semester.
These include Cachips, an app based on human empathy and dedicated to emotional conversation and mood-enhancing for young people; HumHum, an app that focuses on creating and sharing vocal music; “Kizoo”, an app based on multi-sensory interaction, real-time image processing and AR technology that lets children see the world from the perspective of animals; “Matereal”, a free creation platform that can extract materials from the real world.
Origin
What is the origin of design? In the final and most important section, seven teams consisting of students from the Department of Industrial Design of Zhejiang University and students from the Singapore University of Science and Technology presented the results of 3 months of hard work in their “Information Product Design” course: seven new concept products of artificial intelligence and design.
Spirit” is a new digital interactive interface driven by life media. In this product, fish is used as the life carrier of the interface, and the dynamic image is projected into the fish tank by holographic imaging. Every move of the fish gets transformed into a random parameter that affects the interface at all times. This new form of interaction produces unexpected output and inspires users with a sense of life and randomness.
“Black Box Express” is a box that tracks shipment. It monitors the physical environment inside the box and human inference from the outside from four dimensions: collision, temperature, humidity and light, creating a transparent logistics environment.
Yu Gong digitally transforms offline activities. It transplants the fluidity of online information to offline activities, thereby solving information transmission problems and creating a better event experience.
“Qi Xing” is a smart safety helmet that reduces the likelihood of accidents by helping riders enhance their perception and focus on road information.
Meika helps with managing cosmetics. It provides a set of software and hardware that optimizes solutions for storing, using, processing, and repurchasing cosmetics.
Zhi Mian uses a combination of various sleep aid modules to create a three-dimensional sleep space through the transfer of multiple dimensions and the consideration and creation of the space atmosphere.
“Zhi Gan” is a new type of showcase that combines visual, tactile and auditory effects. Through this tiny space, customers can not only get product information, but also perceive the product in a more stereoscopic and fresher way.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Information Product Design launch conference. The course leader, Professor Sun Lingyun, summarizes the progress and breakthroughs of the five-year curriculum.
From the theme of “behavioral change” in 2015 to “design future” in 2016, to “dimensions” and “empowerment” in the next two years, and “origin” of this year, the theme of each year’s curriculum is accompanied by social development and technological advancement.
Design and technology continue to collide on the stage of the Information Product Design series courses product launch conference. When technology gives us unlimited possibilities, where is the origin of design? This is not only the theme of this year's DIP, but also something Zhejiang University has never stopped to explore.
