Bilgi Karan, a recent graduate of Umea Institute of Design, Advanced Product Design Master's Program, received the 'Idesign Award' for the Degree Project of the Year in Sweden. The project is titled 'Communicating with Emotions' and is a student project in collaboration with Sony Ericsson.
This project is an exploration of a whole new approach to mobile communications. It enhances mobile communication by focusing on the emotional nature of human rather than technology. It is closer to the user physically and psychologically.
It is a personal, friendly object which is wearable around the neck. The user can use the three buttons (Busy, Accept, Reject) to handle the calls. The 'Accept' and 'Reject' buttons work in the regular fashion while the 'Busy' button allows the user to record a message such as 'I am in a meeting right now'. When pressed during an incoming call, it plays this message to the caller.
It allows the user to adjust the level of availability. There is a slider on the bottom of the device by which the user can adjust this level. It consists of four levels: Offline, Busy, Online and Free. Thanks to this feature, the people can check the availability of their contacts before contacting them.
It also introduces the concept of 'call priority'. This is a feature which allows callers to set a priority for the call, such as emergency, normal, fun, etc. In return, the peeking display of the device glows with a certain color for certain priority levels when ringing.
Photo: Courtesy of Bilgi Karan
more: bilgikaran.com (161)