DESIGNER

MICHAEL BROSNAN

ROLE

UX/UI DESIGNER

VISUAL DESIGNER

PRODUCT DESIGNER

IDEA

BY DESIGN, I HAVE DISRUPTED THE WAY WE CONVENTIONALLY VISUALISE THE WEATHER FORECAST

DYNAMIC DATA INFORMATION DESIGN

CSM BRIEF

Create a micro world for the screen using one geometric shape throughout. The micro world will have ‘living’ elements, for which you will have to set rules, just like any type of life system (how the elements move, multiply, grow, behave). Your rules for the living elements and system will dictate how the space of the screen is utilised, so that movement, orientation, distance, etc, become part of the experience of the micro world. Once you begin to arrive at ideas for the living elements, you will have to then decide if user interaction has any control over it.

OUTCOME

I took on the initiative to conceptualize a hypothetical use of a barometer as a weather ball in the form of an App for the iPhone. Rather than it just being a project, I looked at the commercial prospects of the innovative idea as an application for reading the weather. The incredible idea behind the fluctuation of the ball is a gimmick, but gimmicks draw attention and therefore are seen as lucrative.  

GPS picks up the location of each microworld weather data feed. AI then drives the functionality of the colour ball as live information.

By conceptualization, I have designed various pages for the user to navigate the app by selecting global GPS locations. The idea and visualization of the ball's functionality are distinctively branded  Weather Ball. 

ORIGINAL BLUEPRINT

↑ An illustration as a blueprint on how I first conceptualised the Weather Ball App.

FUNCTIONALITY

Displayed below are a series of images illustrating the Weather Ball's application in simulation with an explanation of how the app functions.

↓ On activating the Weather Ball App, the landing page loads, and a  rotating Weather Ball logo appears. After a few seconds, the first GPS page appears.

Figure 2.1

GPS

↓ The GPS located your present position on the digital globe. In this example, LONDON is your present location. The Weather Ball then fluctuates by feeding on the local weather bureau's AI data.

↓ By tapping once on the 1 location button the user can enable a city search of their choice. After the user selects a city via the info button, the target automatically locates the exact position on the digitalized globe.

↓ By tapping once on the info button, the frame will flip and the City Search information page will appear. Here, you can choose a city or town of your choice and below the map, you can read in the degree of your choice, Celsius or Fahrenheit.

Figure 4.1

4 LOCATIONS

↓ The 4 Locations button enables the user to select 4 independent microworlds. By clicking the information button on the corner of each microworld, the city's location can be changed independently.

Figure 5.1

BAROMETER

↓ The BluePrint button enables the viewer to follow a user guide. In Figure 5.1, the Weather Ball takes on the guise of a barometer. The height of the ball rises and falls by responding to proportionate AI feeds that measure atmospheric pressure.

Figure 5.2

THERMOMETER

↓ By clicking the forward arrow, pages represented by Figures 5.2 to 5.5 will appear. In Figure 5.2, coloured spheres representational of the temperature range are displayed. AI feeds inform the Thermometer’s readings to influence the Weather Ball’s colour change.

Figure 5.3

HYGROMETER

↓ Here the sphere’s size indicates the amount of relative humidity that is in the atmosphere. AI feeds relay the Weather Bureau’s Hygrometer readings and the Weather Ball then fluxes in size accordingly.

Figure 5.4

WEATHER VANE

→ The Weather Ball in Figure 5.4 takes on the guise of a Weather Vane by responding to the Weather Bureau’s AI feeds. Here, the sphere indicates the direction of the oncoming wind by rotating to the appropriate degrees of the compass.

PROJECT CREDITS

Concept and Design: Michael Brosnan

Processing: Lok Nevile Lee

Tools: Processing, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro