Garden Carpet
This assignment aimed to create an interactive experience that connects work and leisure time, while encouraging people to listen to what their body is telling them.
We chose to focus on the contrast between passively sitting on the couch and actively working in the garden. We believe it is very easy to accidentally waste an entire weekend sitting on the couch and not really doing anything with your free time. In the end, that does not leave you with a good feeling.
Context
For this assignment, we did a lot of research into rituals. From this, it became clear that many people dread getting started with gardening, even though they do get a lot of satisfaction from it. That is why we brought the garden into the living room. We designed a miniature garden for the carpet and the side table placed between the couch and the TV. Users arrange the miniature garden themselves. Because the little garden is positioned between the couch and the TV, the user is encouraged to do something active instead of just lounging on the couch.
Concept
The Zen garden was the inspiration for this miniature living-room garden: we used many stones and natural materials such as sand, gravel, and wood. An important aspect was that you had to walk barefoot on the garden carpet to build a connection with nature. We also used herbs that released a pleasant scent when rubbed, and could be used to make herbal tea or be incorporated into food.
Visual Design
The starting point was listening to what your body has to say. For this assignment, we therefore conducted extensive research into rituals and embodiment, and we studied the senses. Through brainstorming and heavy experimentation, the idea gradually took shape.