Honors project for Interactive Media Design at Dundee University.

The purpose of "Subtle Subtitles" is to demonstrate a prototype of a wearable display used to help adults with Ataxic Dysphonia (or Dysarthria) communicate.

Subtle Subtitles clarifies conversation with people with dysarthric speech by presenting subtitles in our peripheral vision in an intuitively crafted wearable. Those familiar with the impediment understand the slurred speech however, as with other variances in expression, strangers struggle to 'tune in' to the conversation. Current solutions for this communication difficulty use synthesised speech to replace the person's own; Subtle Subtitles ensures that the wearer's own speech and eye contact continue to be of greatest importance, preserving the intimacy of the exchange whilst quietly providing a subtle hint of the context of the conversation.

The project will feature at the Duncan of Jordanstone Degree Show in Dundee May 22nd - 30th, and at the New Designers showcase in London July 8th - 11th. In the mean time, if you are interested by the project please email me, calum (at) freecalum.co.uk and see the project mini site.

Research Dissertation entitled: The current state of design practice and theory, experienced through products designed for adults with late onset Cerebellar Ataxia.

This involved primarily first hand research: speech and occupational therapists, carers, professional designers, doctors, patients, ataxians and scholars were all interviewed in an effort to highlight the design cycle as it is experienced by people who rely on assistive products daily. This inspired my final project Subtle Subtitles and was clearly beneficial to my own design process.

Excerpt:

"From exploring the mindset of people with Cerebellar Ataxia, and that of their therapists and Designers, it is clear to see that there is no set process for meeting their needs. What is clear is that the role of the Occupational and Speech therapists, as well as the personal carers to those with the condition, will continue to be monumentally important in reaching isolated user groups. The identification and accessibility of lead users is key to initial onset of user research, and from the experience of [company one] and [company two], there is great depth of intuition and inventiveness to be discovered in these users. The benefits of working closely with a relevant agency (in this case the [agency one] and [agency two] ) are also evident from understanding this user group. Ataxia UK can also be seen as an instigator in the process of infusing exploration of coping mechanisms and innovative product uses through it's meetings and online presence as well as publications; and ought to be seen as a primary source for designers wishing to include people with Cerebellar Ataxia in their user demographic. The failings and successes of products such as [ product names removed ] illustrate the importance of the relationship with the researcher in the process: it is evident that this could be the designer, but in the field of design that reaches people with Cerebellar Ataxia it is more frequent that these researchers are the therapists involved in the service of meeting the individual's needs.

Design theory, such as that of universal and inclusive design practice will be hugely beneficial in the long term, however as the service is just now, people have needs that can only be met by specialist, and often expensive products. The agencies and charities that are involved with these users are aware of this, and although the system is not ideal, they understand that when dealing with companies, their user groups' needs will likely be met through gradual negotiation and product development over time. Negotiation is key in both stages of this service; the speed of progression of degenerative illness is problematic in discussing how best to meet a person's needs; and the therapists are again vital here in ensuring products that can help do actually reach the user through negotiation in an appropriate time frame. Furthermore the importance of understanding how your product will be made accessible, who will be using it and who you will be selling it to further deepens the extent of the challenge of designing with Cerebellar Ataxia in mind.

People with Cerebellar Ataxia are often an after thought in the design process of mainstream products, however through careful application of design, as we have seen in products explored here, some symptoms of this condition can be included in the accessibility of common products; and those that are specialist by purpose, ought to be designed in such a way that achieves a sense of pride, and seeks to maintain capability, as opposed to replace it. The future of design process for people with Cerebellar Ataxia will continue to surround research based on the work of the therapists, however only through conversation with people with the condition can the purpose of product concepts be truly understood. This conversation must take part at each level of the product life-cycle, and where the user is not isolated; if they are active online for example, or in charity work; a designer should make every effort to exploit the areas where the user is attainable."

The dissertation, and references, are available upon request.

Cultural Probe packs designed and used for the purpose of preliminary research with a group varying between 13 - 20 people with experience of speech dysarthria; the condition for which the Subtle Subtitles Scarf is designed.

Further information and results available from the Subtle Subtitles mini-site here.

I'll try and keep this section up to date with sketches and general images from my design process... no promises it'll be too attractive, but that isn't the point! For more please see the full set here.

//Flickr Set.

To enforce the new 20mph speed limit the Police Department of 1903 introduced the Velocity Officer. Member of the mounted branch, with a unique helmet with brass and copper embellishments, the Velocity Officer had the power to issue on the spot fines. The helmet had a forward facing fan attached to a complex system of gears that drove a brass shaft in a 180-degree arc respective to the speed at which the fan was rotated by the moving airflow. A red flag attached to the shaft indicated to the officer when he was at a speed greater than 20mph, signalling to the officer the law was being broken.

This interactive hat was designed with the era in mind, and was crafted with hidden modern technologies. We programmed the arduino board to move a servo motor in correspondence to the speed at which wind went through a front-mounted fan. The whole project involved a number of skills: sewing, metalwork, soldering, craft making, adobe photoshop, final cut, arduino programming.

We exhibited the hat at our "Museum of Lost Interactions" exhibition "Hat's in the Attic".

Interactive story telling exhibit where RFid tags were used to give the networked objects unique identities that allowed them to, when placed on a (symbolic) 'totem pole', tell a potential story for the participant. The project was inspired by Native American story telling and Papua New Guinean mythology.

This brief was all about story creation, an opportunity to develop creative storytelling skills through media and technology, for an exhibition that was held in the Lower Foyer Gallery, in Duncan Of Jordanson.

Essentially you place one head, then another, then a third (one at a time) on top of the totem pole. The combination can be any heads together, or alone. The heads represent different human characteristics and would therefore influence 'your story' which then prints automatically below.

This project was a catalyst for gaining an internship at Orange Labs in London, 1st June - 1st September, see my c.v. for more details.

2008: The second year Interactive Media Design and Innovative Product Design courses at Dundee University were to merge on a single project backed by Microsoft. We had been selected to represent Britain in Microsoft's annual Design Expo and had to battle amongst ourselves to be the chosen group to be flown to the USA to compete against the other countries.

We were to produce a set of 'networked objects' to encourage education and communication between a grandperson and their grandchild; two generations deemed in society to be very technologically different. We were to use ourselves as the subjects for our developments and create something both parties would use and understand.

This project was a concept designed for "grandpeople", in this case a team members grandmother; Margery. In a multi-disciplinary team we developed a kind of writing tablet, which we prototyped for entry into the Microsoft design expo 2008. The concept was to allow Margery to send her postcards to her grandson in a traditional method (by post) and for her grandson to receive it in a way that was equally comfortable for him. This became an application for an iPhone which was prototyped using 3d animation.

It was built with a web cam sensing the input of a postcard, which sent the message through the Pure Data programming language which then took a photo and emailed it to the recipient.

I am getting more and more 'into' photography; analogue and digital; so if you have the time check out my Flickr.

I do some graphic design work, not decided how to present it yet though!

I have also completed a Graphic Design internship for a film production comany, which gave me a taste of a different, maybe more fast paced, working environment.

Six of us from Interactive Media Design exhibited at the Business Design Centre in Islington, July 2010, at New Designers. This is the exhibit we collaboratively designed, built and put our sweat, blood and tears into! We were shortlisted for Best Stand, an amazing result considering that we, and the course, had never exhibited here before. //flickr set

Fundraising event for Degree Show and New Designers : Branding for flyers, t-shirts and posters. The theme was that everyone wear a moustache - and it was a massive success!