Sketch Model
The Shadow Dial's purpose is to revive the idea of a sun dial. Sun dial has become obsolete and not of practical use anymore. It serves a aesthic purpose more than a functional purpose. The Sun Dial uses light and shadows to tell time, and so does this concept of a digital clock. It uses the concept of shadow created from light to represent the numbers in digital form. I tried to explore different concepts of movement to best represent the sundial at an indoor stationary enviorment. Another key thing of a sun dial is the "Gnonmon", the fixed fixture that casts the shadow on the ground to tell time. Therefore, I looked at either fixing or moving the shadow fixture or the light fixture. I ended up choosing a method that fixes the shadow fixture and moving the light. One thing I changed from last week was that I took out the built in backdrop and use the wall as a natural backdrop.
Rhino Model
The rhino model shows a clearer depiction of the design. It shows potentially where the Gnonmon. The design tells both hour and minute. The digital number shadow tells the hour and the "Gnonmon" fixture is used to tell minute. The reason why the hour fixture is on a tilt is to mimic the sun's movement across the sky. The minute fixture is fixed and the hope is that one of the light fixtures rotates to mimic the original purpose of Gnonmon. The circular and roundness to the design is to mimic sun dial's circularness as well.
Physical Model
With the physical model, I wanted to explore shape and shadow for my idea. I built a basic model of a sun dial and looked at the shadow it would cast with a moving light. One thing I noticed was that within the light of my room and the light of my lamp, it was possible to cast multiple shadows on the dial, one was "blacker" than the other. From this idea, is how I created the idea of the minute and hour for my design. I want to be able to tell what hour it is through casting a stronger light and create a darker on the correct hour. The minute hand should cast another shadow, maybel lighter, in order to tell the minute. I am not exactly sure how to actually create something like this but I hope that the simple sun dial will give me a better idea as I play with it more. The other physical model was more or less to create something to understand size and look. I do like the circular structure seemed nice, and incorperated it more into my rhino model.