On was an interdisciplinary graduate periodical established by RISD graduate students in 2006. It featured essays and student work that related to a general issue theme. On was intended as a quarterly publication, but it is unclear if further issues beyond the first were ever published.
-
Autonomous vehicle futures : designing experiences that enable trust and adoption
Jeremy Bass
This thesis is an investigation of the user experience design necessary for a fully autonomous vehicle that would enable trust and adoption of autonomous vehicle-based services. Autonomous vehicles are destined to revolutionize mobility, yet few companies are focusing on how people will best use these new autonomous-based services. This thesis used various forms of user testing to understand user’s expectations and hesitations for riding in an autonomous vehicle. These tests included improv workshops, surveys, interviews and a simulated autonomous vehicle service ride-along. Research revealed that user’s primary concerns were travel time, comfort (spatial and privacy) and personal safety. These concerns culminated as a series of proposals for how vehicles will communicate trip status to its passengers. Establishing a trustworthy service that would lead to adoption is possible if designers treat the design of experiences as ‘interactions with robots’, not as cars.
-
Creating connection in a digital society
Mariah Bennett
The digital revolution has greatly affected the way we engage with each other.1 We choose virtual friends over real life ones as we go through our daily lives.2 According to the 2016 Nielson report, the average American spends four-five hours a day using social media, with teens spending an additional three hours a day.3 This is an average of 28-56 hours a week dedicated to Twitter posts, swiping on Tinder, Snapchatting, checking Facebook, or liking on Instagram, the equivalent to a part time job. According to countless studies, the digital age has made it hard for teens, young adults, and even adults who grew up before the digital age to communicate in the real world, forcing us to cling more to our ever-present glowing rectangles, rather than engaging with the people and spaces that surround us. 4,5 Interaction in public spaces has been replaced with virtual connections. As the world continues to evolve with technology, architecture must be adjusted to overcome our diminishing desire to communicate directly with each other. We must design architectural elements that give us the opportunity to reconnect with ourselves and each other. The ruined façade at 35 Weybossett in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, stands between two streets where people are constantly moving. This is a perfect location to create an opportunity to disrupt this technological parasitic relationship, by inviting individuals, if only for a moment, to reconnect with their senses and engage with one another.
-
Haptic wonder : the sensation of exquisite craft
Anjuli Berstein
I reinterpret traditional woven techniques to create permeable handcrafted screens, by using archival research of historical passementerie and gauze structures. Conceptually, these textiles are an exploration of how wonder can be reached through exquisite craft, a result of valuable raw materials combined with fine hand manipulation. I attempt to distinguish a kind of wonder that exists as a tactile sensation based on haptic sight of minutia, versus the sublime as an experience of optical sight of distant objects.
-
Ghost, a stone
Audrey Blood
This is a book of cement and paper. It addresses questions of surface, self, interior, and relations with the environment. It points to emotional and affective geographies in the context of printmaking.
-
Between gods and animals : deconstructing heteronormative masculines pursuit to sustain power
Shawn Bush
Between Gods and Animals is a multi-angle exploration of the Caucasian heteronormative male’s endless pursuit to sustain power and inability to live by their own set of codes. Using the Grecco Roman period as an origin point, this work examines the forces that have historically perpetuated the myth of masculinity. Relating past ideals of maleness to contemporary standards this thesis illuminates patriarchal structures that are systematizing masculinity while providing a space to normalize a gamut of masculines. The visual works included act as an introspective approach in accepting the complacency of my existence as a man who has operated within the created boundaries thus far.
-
Me too park : inform, connect, heal
Xiao Chen
This project creates an urban sublime experience at an abandoned railroad in order to foster a reflection and healing experience in terms of sexual violence. The big strategy is evoking an urban sublime in the landscape as a bridge to inform, to connect and to heal. The experiment of physical actions to materials and how that could achieve the sublime experience above is also addressed.
In Phase I, the investigation focuses on the definition of sublime and what the sublime is using for. Literature review, site analysis, interviews and experiments are done to clarify the relationship between sexual violence, site and sublime.
In Phase II, the research focuses on rigorous space analysis and material exploration of current site. Precedents studies, models are made to explore possible future programs. A big concept of programming is determined in this phase.
In Phase III, the proposed strategies and ideas are tested by the site-specific design. A series of representation of the space, material and emotional qualities of the space is produced to help exploration.
-
The Mistaken Belief That If You Obscure Your Past, It Won't Affect Your Children's Futures; Or I Love You, Grandma, But We've Learned Some Fucked-Up Things
Madeleine Cherr, Special Collections, and Fleet Library
-
The Mistaken Belief That If You Obscure Your Past, It Won't Affect Your Children's Futures; Or I Love You, Grandma, But We've Learned Some Fucked-Up Things
Madeleine Cherr, Special Collections, and Fleet Library
-
The Mistaken Belief That If You Obscure Your Past, It Won't Affect Your Children's Futures; Or I Love You, Grandma, But We've Learned Some Fucked-Up Things
Madeleine Cherr, Special Collections, and Fleet Library
-
The Mistaken Belief That If You Obscure Your Past, It Won't Affect Your Children's Futures; Or I Love You, Grandma, But We've Learned Some Fucked-Up Things
Madeleine Cherr, Special Collections, and Fleet Library
-
The Mistaken Belief That If You Obscure Your Past, It Won't Affect Your Children's Futures; Or I Love You, Grandma, But We've Learned Some Fucked-Up Things
Madeleine Cherr, Special Collections, and Fleet Library
-
The Mistaken Belief That If You Obscure Your Past, It Won't Affect Your Children's Futures; Or I Love You, Grandma, But We've Learned Some Fucked-Up Things
Madeleine Cherr, Special Collections, and Fleet Library
-
The Mistaken Belief That If You Obscure Your Past, It Won't Affect Your Children's Futures; Or I Love You, Grandma, But We've Learned Some Fucked-Up Things
Madeleine Cherr, Special Collections, and Fleet Library
-
Quickly to the Glittering Horizon
Allyson Church, Special Collections, and Fleet Library
18 unnumbered pages : color illustrations . Cover title. "Two stories written and printed by Allyson Church in Providence, Rhode Island, 2018"--page [2] of cover. Edition of 3 numbered copies. Edition numbering sewn into back cover. Oversize, fabric book printed as Church's senior project for the Department of Printmaking, Rhode Island School of Design. Incorporates silkscreen and letterpress printing, aquatint, hand sewing and embroidery. Different fabrics thoughout the work, some mounted or sewn onto other found, patterned fabrics. All pages handsewn into a beign, light canvas cover. Story themes include fairytales, surrealism, magical realism, sea life and dreams. Some found fabrics sourced from the the Apparel Department building, some were dyed by the artist. Library has copy no. 2. Artist has sewn a "pillow-case" container for this copy.
-
Quickly to the Glittering Horizon
Allyson Church, Special Collections, and Fleet Library
18 unnumbered pages : color illustrations . Cover title. "Two stories written and printed by Allyson Church in Providence, Rhode Island, 2018"--page [2] of cover. Edition of 3 numbered copies. Edition numbering sewn into back cover. Oversize, fabric book printed as Church's senior project for the Department of Printmaking, Rhode Island School of Design. Incorporates silkscreen and letterpress printing, aquatint, hand sewing and embroidery. Different fabrics thoughout the work, some mounted or sewn onto other found, patterned fabrics. All pages handsewn into a beign, light canvas cover. Story themes include fairytales, surrealism, magical realism, sea life and dreams. Some found fabrics sourced from the the Apparel Department building, some were dyed by the artist. Library has copy no. 2. Artist has sewn a "pillow-case" container for this copy.
-
Revealing context & complexity in urban historic sites
Simin Chu
Historic sites cannot stand alone. The order, hierarchy and narrative sequence of architecture can only survive when surrounding context exists. Often over time the urban fabric changes, leaving future generations unaware of the historic meaning of a disjointed site. By revealing the historic complexity of architecture as it was originally intended to function, we can develop juxtaposition of new and old orders which make old buildings both imply the original order and adapt to new urban fabric.
For instance, in Providence, Rhode Island you have Cathedral Square, located between Downtown and Upper South Providence, which was almost demolished by the government because of the new urban fabric created by the construction of the I-195 highway. This area has been redesigned many times, most recently by I.M.Pei, who attempted to create a “funnel” between two areas in order to make the square dominant in the downtown Weybosset community. This conversion has never been fully achieved The McVinney Auditorium, part of Pei’s design, entirely blocked the view towards the square from the main road. A new project in this building must imply the historic importance of the Cathedral, continuing Pei’s intention and initiating new interventions. A market designed for both automobiles and pedestrians will become a new reason for people to gather in this square, just as Pei’s proposed. People living in this area can buy fresh food from stalls and enjoy lunch and dinner in the restaurants during the daytime. Performance events will fill Cathedral Square with activity at night as well. Also, the market will remind citizens of the old foot-friendly path when pedestrians can easily go through the building to walk from one side to the other. The complete square will be activated again, restoring the original role of the Cathedral and creating a center once more for the neighborhood.
-
Foodways for earthlings : recipes and tools for eating in extreme environments
Maggie Coblentz
Studying how food is made, consumed, and appreciated in extreme environments can help shed light on how our experiences of food extend far beyond that of mere nourishment. The social and preparatory food-based rituals found in even the most challenging conditions can lead to a deeper awareness of the role of food on earth today, and can illuminate how humans might eat in the future. This thesis examines the roles of food in war zones, in prisons, and in space to inform speculative recipes and food-based experiences.
-
Melon x Mall
Special Collections, Fleet Library, and Mimi Chrzanowski
Cover for Melon x Mall, from the RISD Library Zine Collection.
-
Reproduction
Special Collections, Fleet Library, and Olivia De Salve Villedieu
Cover for Reproduction, from the RISD Library Zine Collection.
