Dispensing Dreams
With a team, I invented a contraption that “dispenses that which cannot be ordinarily sold.” In the pursuit of the unorthodox, thinking outside the box was a necessity.
After much brainstorming and plenty of throwaway ideas, my team settled on an unconventional intangible for our machine to vend: inspiration.
(an initial idea.)
The rules of the project dictated that the machine feature at least one novel mechanism: a mechanism that we weren't explicitly taught how to make in class.
We didn’t stop at one. We were optimizing for novelty, so we focused most of our attention on designing our own elaborate mechanisms.
Our goal was to make our machine a mechanical spectacle.
As we constructed, there seemed to be an obstacle lurking around every bend; not everything went exactly according to plan.
Each problem was an opportunity to innovate, and the sheer amount of improvisation inevitably determined our design be beautifully chaotic and unique.
The Product
The final vending machine offers a user two selections: idea or inspiration in the form of an experience.
When a user selects an idea, the ball triggers three randomizing mechanisms. The ball first falls into a bucket, pulling on a string and spinning a selector, choosing a medium of art: book, song, movie, or play. It then activates a ping pong ball dispenser; there are two balls in the dispenser, labeled “Patrick” or “Javier”, who were the professor and TA, respectively. The ball determines the subject of the art. The ping pong ball knocks another ball into motion, which falls through an array of pegs. It lands in one of four slots, each representing a potential plot of the idea.
When a user selects inspiration, the ball activates a whimsical and elaborate chain of events, culminating in the opening of a “box of inspiration.”
The inspiration doesn't come from the box, however. It comes from watching the machine operate; it comes from the order arising from the chaos of our mechanisms. As the old adage goes, “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.”
