May 20, 2025
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Making of the toy
Layout drawing for reference
Laser Cutting of the 1st Prototype
Problems of the 1st Prototype: 1. Arms interference with the body part
Problems of the 1st Prototype: 2. Bucket not lining up between parts
The 2nd Prototype: Most problems are solved, 2 of the “slots” cut for the rope was not used.
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The Final Design
The final design: with designed arms and legs. Painted red to fit with the athletic.
The final design during presentation, with the Poster.
Interaction Documentation
IMA Show Presentation
IMA Show Presentation
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I took a minimalist approach to the design, attempting to create an iconic, abstract image of the 'overhead cleaner' that did not reflect any gender or racial characteristics. My thinking around the theme of "Diversity and Inclusion" is that a more diverse and inclusive society requires not only efforts in terms of job opportunities, legal provisions, and welfare benefits, but equally importantly needs to be reflected in the broader socio-cultural dimensions.
The earliest inspiration for the project was the news that has been piling up for the past two months: in the United States, the layoffs that Trump and Musk are doing are supported by a significant portion of the population, and many jobs outside the perception of the general public are considered "worthless". In Shanghai, a recent short video showed an old man yelling at a neighboring worker on the subway for having dust on his clothes. What struck me more than anything else was a story I heard on a podcast about a man who fell off a boat into the ocean and was rescued after drifting down the water for two hours. When he was rescued he thanked God for his faith, but he really should have thanked the federal worker who improved the system for calculating ocean currents.
Often, when we think of "urban heroes," we're probably thinking more in terms of firefighters, police officers, paramedics, military personnel helping with disaster relief, and so on. This seems to be the reason why some very deserving jobs don't get the notoriety they deserve. So I chose a visually striking job type: aerial glass cleaner, and combined it with the news from a year ago to show the audience a worker packaged as a "Sky Dancer".
One of the things that the professor mentioned during presnet that I found very relevant was that the concept of Sky Dancer didn't seem to echo the theme of urban heroes very strongly. The final product is trying to relate to the action figure image, but the end result doesn't seem to be as good as it could be. If I had more time, I would like to see a back card and plastic packaging made, as well as an image design that is more closely related to the Superman image.