WHAT WE ARE DOING

WHY WE ARE DOING IT

؜Writing down, drawing, and sharing as many ideas as possible on the whiteboard

؜To select the our main project concept that you and a partner will develop through prototyping

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

BEFORE WE START

Review the Brainstorming Guide. Head to the resources tab in this activity.

BRAINSTORMING STEPS

30 MINS

15 MINS

30 MINS

Collective Brainstorming

Prepare writing + drawing

Group idea jam pinup

Pin up as many possible ideas as you can. We will try to collect a big number of ideas to select from.

Develop a few of your ideas by drawing what they would look like. How does it deploy? How would you describe it to the rest of the studio?

؜Be prepared to share a few of your favorite ideas. Everyone will speak and draw on the whiteboard. Share as many unique ideas as possible.

1st

Collective Brainstorming

؜Sight

؜Touch

Smell

Sound

Taste

Color Filter Flipbook

Projection Tube

Mini Diorama

Texture Tile Sampler

Weighted Replica

Squeeze-to-Sniff Pod

Rotating Scent Dial

Scent Cards

Mini Resonance Box

Edible Story Card

Sound Buttons

Sound Buttons

Pin up as many ideas as possible on the whiteboard (pin down the ideas your researched and you can add some ideas from your own thoughts )

Taste & Smell Pairing Station

Edible Story Card

1st

Collective Brainstorming

؜Sight

؜Touch

Smell

Sound

Taste

Color Filter Flipbook

Projection Tube

Mini Diorama

Texture Tile Sampler

Weighted Replica

Squeeze-to-Sniff Pod

Rotating Scent Dial

Scent Cards

Mini Resonance Box

Edible Story Card

Sound Buttons

Sound Buttons

Select one idea that work with your artifact (related to your sense)

Taste & Smell Pairing Station

Edible Story Card

2.1

؜Ideation

Come up with 2/3 designs for your selected Idea.

Example let's say we have selected "Rotating scent Dial" from the smell category for an old spice used in old trading routes in UAE. Here are 3 designs for the same idea. This will help you think of many ways your project could look like.

؜

Wall-mounted rotating dial

emphasizes the twisting motion to release fragrance.

A portal you look into / turn to release a scent.

Box/tabletop rotating panel

Cylindrical rotating pod

Select one idea and expand it more! Write a short concept describing your idea and sketch how it would work.

1. What is this project about?
2. What does it let people do, see, hear, or feel?
3. Explain your reasoning and inspiration.
4. Include why you picked one technique or combined multiple ones.
5. How will they interact with it?
6. Include materials

2.1

Project Statement

emphasizes the twisting motion to release fragrance.

Cylindrical rotating pod

Improve your sketches by making them more informative:

– Add labels to show what each part is.

– Point out the key parts or actions (what moves, lights up, rotates, etc.).

– Include important elements like materials, tools, or the user’s position so it’s clear how people will interact with it.

2.2

Sketching

smell

Create a slide showing your project statement along with you sketches. Take 2 mins to share out your idea to the class!

3rd

؜Share out!

smell

Our project is a compact 20×20 cm cylindrical scent dispenser inspired by the UAE’s historic spice trade. Inside the cylinder are small capsules of traditional spices—such as frankincense, saffron, and cardamom—once brought to the region by merchants on ancient trade routes. When visitors touch or rotate the cylinder, it releases a subtle aroma, evoking the smells of old souqs and spice markets and linking today’s interactive experience to the UAE’s cultural heritage.

Slide Example