Project 2 Proposal: Josh Macleod

i found it troubling at first to think of a toy or game idea for a target audience around our age, something that would actually be marketable, but decided there are many opportunities for turning mundane devices into fun trinkets or toys if the idea is applied to a niche or subculture. My specific audience is smokers, who are not uncommon, moreover those like myself and my friends who are interesting in computing and vintage aesthetics.

The product is a cigarette case made to look like a stack of old 3 1/2 inch floppy disks, which, while functional, advances the product past it's predecessors by adopting an intrinsic, aesthetic statement of style. As for use, the disk cover pulls back smoothly with a the thumb of the hand it is held in, and a light tap dispenses one cigarette; the same iconic wrist gesture employed by heroes and vigilantes in any given shooter flick (though thankfully much easier in execution). Smooth as the interaction may be, in testing with varoius roomates i found the cover had a tendancy to slide off, and this will be remedied in the final product with additional clasps. other suggested improvements have been an opening mechanism to insert cigarettes more easily, and an spring, so as to only require only one hand for operation.

The simple design makes an affordance for only the movement of the sheath, and the hole it reveals not onl serves to orient the user as to which way the cigarette will fall, but also is sizes so that only one will fall at a time. (note: The image shown here displays the cigarette leaving at a dangerous angle, the user learns from the feedback of the spring that it must be held open to full retrieve any tobacco, but I needed that hand to operate the camera.)

Overall, while perhaps not a toy in the classic sense, it has thus far been applauded as an amusing and conversational reincarnation of a banal classic. Having brought entertainment to an audience where there was less before, i qualify this product as an effective toy.

tesimonials:

N. Rayner - "Theres nothing I would die for other than this. Really though, more convenient than mine, and funny-"

J. Triantafilou - "-could leave it on the counter and no one would give it a second though. I dont have to worry as much about my brother or parents or brother figuring out I smoke."