Jiang Feng

Jiang Feng is a designer with both backgrounds in mechanical engineering and design products.

He aimed to make functional, understandable and attractive products or services that improve daily life. He perceives daily moments and activities usually with a lens focused on engineering, considering different options for how physics and technology can support product design to radically change people’s experiences.

Education

2015-2018: BEng Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham, First Class with Honours.

2019-2020: Graduate of Diploma Art&Design, Product, Interior & Spatial Design, Royal College of Art, Merit.

2020-2022: MA Design Products, Royal College of Art

Experience

2018-2019: Product Designer, Oxford Cardiomox Suzhou Ltd

After entering a new country, at least 65% of international students have experienced lonely periods.

I found this loneliness can be dealt with by connecting to relationships from motherlands and host countries. However, the connection with the closest in the homeland will have disconnected periods because of time difference and distance. On the other hand, relationships built in host countries are not stable because of frequent migrations.

Therefore, this project aims to provide multi-sensory companionship to international students in their individual spaces and explore the possibilities for individuals to relieve their loneliness on their own.

Video: Companionship during disconnection

Pebble connections

Connections – The tool kit that allows people to choose one or more of them to use when they feel lonely and want to use them for company and air will be passed through the connectors to each pebble and work altogether.

Introduction

Pebble is a small furniture set that provides companionship for international students. The aim is to explore the possibilities of personal relief from loneliness and to allow international students to face their mental and physical health from their own inner, rather than just going out to socialise as a brief relief from the loneliness of being in a foreign country.

Three pebbles for different body parts

Hand

Body joint

Foot toes

The current pebbles can interact with three parts of the human body: the toes, the joints and the hands. By taking the shapes of intimate body contact from real-life interactions and classical paintings, they are transformed into pebble prototypes and made into breathing hollow pebbles by silicone moulding.

Medium:

Video / Silicon

Story 01 - Normal life across time zones

Story 02 - Disconnection period

Story 03 - Trancy's expectation

Context - Story board

Story 01 - Normal life

Steven and Trancy are an unmarried couple in a long-distance relationship. When pressure from work and school is not so heavy, their lives are on an even keel and they communicate mainly through video chats and messages to exchange their lives. And they will be in daily contact in a time zone where both time zones overlap (shadow area).

Story 02 - Disconnections

As the college deadline approaches, Steven stays up late due to the heavy project workload, causing him to have to sleep during an overlap period when he should be in contact with Trancy, who feels disconnected, worried and angry that she cannot contact Steven. She has no other means of contacting Steven except by mobile phone.

Story 03 - Trancy's expectation

"I wouldn't worry so much if I could know he was still sleeping. I hope that one day the connection between us will be more than just seeing each other's faces or hearing each other's voices, if one day I can feel his presence from far away, even if it's just a little bit, that would be wonderful for our love" — Trancy

Medium:

Sketch

Across time-zone Companionship Design product Disconnection Storytelling

Silk clay prototype – Scale 1:10

Silk clay prototypes – Scale 1:1

Silicon prototype v2.0 – Scale 1:1

Latex "L" pebbles with toys cover – Scale 1:1

Pebbles v4.0

Medium:

Silk Clay / Silicon / Latex

Sleep rhythm

Introduction video

Scoby sample

Components of installation

The project “Pebble“ originated from the project - “Sleep Rhythm”, which triggers the physical and mental memories of insomniacs, simulating their slow descent into a sleep accompanied by the rhythm of others' breathing.

Sleep Rhythm allows the user to feel the care for their sleep of others through the auditory and tactile feeding, and on the other hand, the person shows their own emotions towards the feeder - in the form of missing, which is more pronounced when they are in different areas.

I kept exploring the relationship and connection between presence and absence and determined the audience for my project - international students. By working with and observing them and continuing to develop the project to the new stage: the loneliness among the international students.

PDF: Booklet

Medium:

Video / Scoby / Silicon

Jiang Feng

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Social

About

Royal College of Art