A-little-better machines

This technical assignment focused on simple design principles. The students explored mechanical movements in a playful way and used them to design small devices.

After all, devices—whether simple or highly complex—are encountered in many areas of everyday life. Many machines—including those conceived and designed by designers—fascinate us. Most of them make our everyday lives easier, or at least suggest that they do. We now see some groundbreaking inventions, products, and phenomena in a new light. Did they really bring advantages? That’s why, in this assignment, we focused on inventions and achievements that seem questionable, following the example of Helmut Smits‘ “The Real Thing” device, which turns cola back into pure water. The task was to design playful and humorous devices that help us abandon one or two misguided ideas and “repair” the damage caused.

In the first part of the project, selected mechanical principles were explored and reproduced in models. We then set out to find inventions in need of repair. Teams of two then devoted themselves to designing the repair devices and explored initial possibilities for implementation.

The second part focused on the realization of the “A-Little-Better Machines”. Finally, the resulting devices were photographed together, filmed, and presented to the university community.