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Student Showcase Archive

Fiona O'Leary

MA work

MA work

  • Spector Tool

    Spector Tool

  • Mimo Tool

    Mimo Tool

Tools for Digital Collecting

Spector is a tool that helps bridge the gap between designing on digital screen and the finalised print. It is a hand-held device allowing various print materials to become interactive. Found a typeface you like? Wonder how big it is?  Spector tells you straight away and changes the type live on screen. Wonder what shade of green that leaf is? It also detects colours and gives specific CYMK, RGB or Pantone values. Spector connects to the computer via Bluetooth and has a software interface that shows what colours and type you have collected. When you place Spector on a printed page of type or colour and click the button. This is then sent to the computer and then is communicated to a program such as InDesign, Pages and Word via plugin where there is live text present. The text is then changed to the printed font instantaneously while being able to view information about the font such as size, kerning, leading and where to buy it. Colours are loaded into the swatch palette.

Mimo is a physical device that allows the user to perform multiple ‘copy and paste’s on their computer. The product consists of 4 physical switches that each represent a clipboard (a clipboard is a temporary storage area where material copied from a file is kept for pasting into another file). The user swipes up to copy and swipes down to paste. The tool is connected to a computer via Bluetooth and has a software application that replicates the physical interface showing what has been copied. Copying something not only copies, but also stores a copy of the data (be it a link, image or file) on the physical device, thus also making it a bookmark and a storage space (hard drive) for copied data in which nothing is overwritten.

Info

Info

  • MA Degree

    School

    School of Design

    Programme

    MA Design Products, 2016

  • I’m a research designer with a desire to design and invent products that improve people’s lives with meaningful use of technology. Designing physical digital tools that improve accessibility by communicating a transparent system of how they work and its purpose within that system.

    I am constantly researching, drawing and learning to help inform and develop ideas of how technology can improve our lives. 

  • Degrees

  • BA (Hons) Visual Communication, National College of Art and Design, Dublin, 2010
  • Experience

  • Research Designer, Being & Dying Research, Italy 2013 – 2014; Middleweight Graphic Designer Creative Inc, Dublin, 2010 – 2013; Visual Designer, Humane Engineering, London, 2015 – Present
  • Exhibitions

  • Sonar Festival, Barcelona, June 2015; Benchtop Factory, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2015