Interactions - March/April 2013

Cinderella’s Illuminated Gown

Cinderella’s Illuminated Gown is a time-based installation that unravels the interstitial state of transformation and ephemeral nature of Cinderella’s gown. The project focuses on the role of Cinderella’s gown as a portal between the ordinary and the extraordinary. The installation combines a sewn bodice, interwoven with LEDs, with variably illuminated fiber optics, creating a visual effect of a fluid, in-between state, where the gown is suspended between magical ephemera and functional object. Cinderella’s fabled gown is expressed as a tangible representation of magic.

Project website: http://www.laura-simpson.com/2011/06/test-1-2-uh-oh/

Laura Simpson | Parsons the New School for Design | laura.simpson@gmail.com

Move Your Age

In this second-year bachelor’s project (industrial design), my team began looking at designing a tool that can help elderly people be more physically active through play. To lower the participation threshold, we decided to use the characteristics of an old game, musical chairs. We created multiple interactive blocks that let elderly people play different games using feedback from the blocks, including sounds and different colors of light. Multiple seniors tested our prototypes and responded positively. A steel company in the Netherlands is now developing this concept for children to play with at playgrounds.