Exploring theft

Final Presense Wallets

2008-06-02T15:49:00.001-07:00

Heres the final Presense Wallets displayed at the 2008 Grays School of Art Degree Show.

Moulds!

2008-06-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

I never thought would learn so much from developing this product. The amount of moulds I have used seems to be endless. It seems such a waste of material when I look at it all but I suppose they help produce all of these prototypes...

Orange presense Wallet

2008-05-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

Heres another wallet I got sewn up recently. I really like the powerful orange colour on the wallet. I think it gives the wallet a nice modern twist.

.....whilsts the wallets are being sewn

2008-05-27T12:57:00.001-07:00

Spiked press

2008-05-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Heres the result of a leather press I recently did with spikes. Its worked really nicely. I was not really expecting the form to be so exact to the mould. I think this will definatly be in one of my final pieces.

Rubber/ Leather wallet

2008-05-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to bond leather and silicone together to see if I get a wallet which has slightly more sticky ridges to it...so it grips the leg a bit better. The leather ones are ok but I would like a better 'presence'.
This attempt didnt work too well...only got a week left until the deadline but im hoping I can sort something out early next week!

The first 'Presense' Wallet

2008-05-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

Heres a picture of the first presense wallet. Sown up by Ahmet Okur a tailoring expert in Aberdeen. Im really happy with the result. Perfect job son....

New Leather has arrived

2008-05-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

Iv been firing out several leather moulds now..some have reacted with the silicone.. I think from the wax that was on the leather..easy to sort..Iv also got some new leather in..see pic about..its split leather meaning its from the lower half of the cow..problem is its very tough and mite be hard to press so not sure as yet if its a winner or not.

Final idea prototypes being to come together

2008-05-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

I think that my wallet will be made out of leather just to give it that classic feel. The only problem with this is getting the leather to keep shape so I put silicone on some of my leather moulds to see if it would help support the rib pattern. It seems to have worked quite well and im happy with using something like this in my final piece.

Possible Rubber technique

2008-05-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

By casting a poly urethane mixture onto leather I manage to achieve a leather finish. Im pretty impressed with the result it made, the left one especially. The right one was swede leather which stuck to the rubber too much.

Materials

2008-05-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

The past week I have been looking at different materials that I could use for my final design. Pressing leather into the shape of one of my prototype models was the main thing i wanted to achieve. I havn't quite got the mould right yet as it jams the leather and does not press right down.

.....Look at him go!

2008-05-01T06:19:00.000-07:00

This is about as fast as the project is going just now..its not pretty. The CNC machine seems to be stuck in a coma most of the time..However im using the time to design and produce other items for my final display

Second Wallet skin

2008-04-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

The second mould for the wallet has been made, A slightly thinned down version that the last mammoth attempt. From doing these two moulds I have learnt a lot about the ways in which moulding works and techniques to improve on later moulds, this will be valuable for the final product.

Alterations to Wallet skin

2008-04-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

After the mark2 wallet skin was produced I looked over it to try and faults with my mould.

For a start it was way too thick so I have routed out 4mm off the surface join of the mould.

Also when folded the centre creased so I have had to cut out a groove to all it.

Iv also rounded off the corners so that the silicone is stronger. Lets hope mark 3 is better.

Result of mould

2008-04-18T09:36:00.001-07:00

Heres the result of the mould I produced, I am happen with some aspects of it but there are some problems that need addressing. The main one being the size, Iv made the mould too deep so its silicone is too thick and chunky..

Im going to need to figure out if I can make the skin with a mould that is already bent rather that pouring into a flat mould. This will help with keeping the wallet in shape and folded rather than springing back.

Mould finished

2008-04-17T12:20:00.001-07:00

Just finished making my mould today for a 'Presence skin' which I have been developing for the past while. I should be ready to pour in the poly urethane now and see if this mould works. I designed it myself and haven't really shown the plans to anyone so hopefully I thought it out right!

Materials testing

2008-04-16T10:04:00.001-07:00

The past week I have been looking at materials to use in the wallet, I have looked at various grades of shore hardness within silicone and poly urethane ranges and also been looking at different types of leather.

I'm really interested in getting a look at some tanned fish skin close up but am struggling to find any place with it.

I think for part of my final product it will be made out of poly urethane to get a smooth and tough edge to the product. Iv just received my order from 'mouldlife' with a shore 50 2kg tub and done a few tests and when cured seems to be the right stuff.

Skin made

2008-04-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

For the past while I have been checking out different moulding techniques and trying some out to get familiar with them. Just finished making a skin for a wallet, first attempt so its a bit dodgy but its the first time I have injection moulded and i was impressed with the result.

Current selection of moulds

2008-03-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

Currently in the process of looking at the moulds that I created and figuring out what the best textures are.

The making of moulds

2008-03-21T12:21:00.001-07:00

Just thought I would 'blog' how I am making these textures. I have made a quick 1 min video showing the main processes I am going through to the finished product.

Death of a mould

2008-03-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have gone slow and have been quite annoying. Firstly due to the fact my mould never set..perhaps due to the out of date urethane used?!... Secondly after working many hours on rhino creating ergonomic texture samples, the CNC machine crashed making it unusable for some time. So am currently looking over bag theft ideas to see if I can develop any a bit further.

Presence Wallet

2008-03-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

Heres something I have knocked up on Rhino tonight combining a few of my past ideas and developments. It may lead somewhere, it may not...

Ergo Wallet

2008-03-12T15:05:00.001-07:00

Along with doing texture work, half manually and half on the CNC machine, I have been looking at making pocket objects fit better to the pocket. So, I have crafted curves in the test pieces to see if more added surface area gives a better presence. I'm also including texture in some of these so when they are moved they can be instantly felt.

3D textures

2008-02-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

A couple of the textures I have been making the past few days.

I will be carrying out a few more experiments in this area before

perhaps moving on to another topic.

New (to me) town/ 'pub' bike

2008-02-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

Just finished building a purpose built 'pub' bike for the city of bike theives. Its an old marin frame with a seized in seat post..so the seat cant get nicked for a start, single speed with a shiny half-link chain...soon to get rusty hopefully, old battered security skewers for the wheels and finished off with some dominic wilcox rusty stickers....In the look out for an old brown brooks saddle aswell to give it that perhaps age of classic design.

Iv found it interesting to look at the desire for bikes around cities and how people customise them in a bad way to stop them looking attractive. This is the first time when making a bike I tried to increase the amount of rust and damage to the paint as possible.

Presence

2008-02-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

Iv recently been looking at the presence of objects that we carry in our pockets, Mobiles / Cell phones, keys, wallets and mp3 players. With technology pushing out smaller objects we are loosing the feeling of phones and music players in our pockets making us feel more vulnerable in crowded places. Just now I am looking into surface textures to see if I can connect personal objects with the body in a better way.

Product Design Interim Exhibition 08

2008-02-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

Heres a small movie I just made up of our recent Interim Exhibition. Any comments, criticism welcome.

4th year Interim Exhibition

2008-02-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

Heres a couple of shots of the Exhibition that we have created in Grays School of Art. I had various parts of my project shown on my wall including a diagram of my project start to present. Il pop a video up soon of the process of creating the exhibition and previews.

Work update

2008-02-12T05:10:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pics of my recent experiments which I have been doing. Iv had a look at how people react to certain objects or signs when put in place.

Thoughts so far

2008-01-24T01:04:00.000-08:00

So recently I have been disabling objects,..Making things useless if stolen or used by another person. Another issue, more to the emotional side of theft, which I have started thinking about is how can I make a person useless.

Attacking, murdering, raping, fighting, mugging, abducting...that's all that's in the news. Watching the national news the other day and there wasn't any positive story on it, no wonder half the time we are depressed in this national. I generally switch on the TV to watch and entertain, not to get informed of everyone that's fighting, getting murdered and been slammed into rehab for the forth time for snorting the white stuff.

I now think because of this I'm going to look into how I can make a human useless. How can I make it so that he/she is not worth mugging?Perhaps I cant?

Biometrics, the future?

2008-01-22T11:35:00.001-08:00

Whilst doing into ways to disable objects its becoming increasingly hard due to thieves being able to think up techniques to break into your designs. A lot of electrical goods now have biometrics built in, giving a better level of security to the object, only the owner may use. But is this safe enough?Biometrics within a few years maybe a thing of the past if crooks can find effective ways of copying finger prints etc. Surely it cant be that hard to copy?It seems safe at the moment but I get the feeling it wont be on the shelves for a long period. (Please comment if you think otherwise or know any new info regarding this.)

Theft 2.0

2008-01-21T08:41:00.000-08:00

This is the second video I produced for the project. It looks more at the non tangeble side of theft, where there is no object stolen but perhaps an emotion. Also looks at how theft is caused by putting an object in a certain place.

Interesting design

2008-01-20T09:03:00.000-08:00

This is class!, not really much to do with theft but great piece of thinking. The amount of times I see commuters with dodgy tyre pressures. They would enjoy their commute so much easier with 60psi banged in there instead of 5. Vandalism may only seem the problem with this design, although this could be solved.

'Keeping the body fit keeps the mind fit'

2008-01-18T12:14:00.000-08:00

Heres and interesting article

At the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), the approach to rehabilitation is discipline, physical fitness, dismantling of the culture of corruption and preemptive decongestion. It is a concept that views behavioral change and culture in the microcosm of a sick society, which is, the jail. It is actually inside jails or rehabilitation centers that societal decadence is magnified. Drug trafficking and smuggling, addiction, politics and corruption prevail and proliferate because the jail environment provides fertile grounds for these to spread and transmit rapidly. No matter how restrictive regulations may be, inmates and even jail guards can find loopholes in an already flawed system, making corruption a never-ending cycle.....

Full article click here

Sketchings

2008-01-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

Semester feedback was good and think I have a sort of idea where I may head. Two directions at the mo seem to be either pick an area and solve it or..continue with my sketchings.example beside and see if this leaves me anywhere. Have good motivation to design and invent now after feedback. Should have handed in sketchbook, bad mistake

The holy spoon

2008-01-14T06:57:00.001-08:00

The past month I have been looking at disabling objects and how if disabled they will not attract people to take them.

Here's an simple example, a spoon. whats its main function, to hold but most importantly to collect and store liquid whilst transporting.

How can this be disabled?By putting a big dirty hole in it of course...rendered..USELESS!..whats the point in stealing this?

Hand in for Jan 7th

2008-01-06T15:28:00.001-08:00

Heres are preview of what I handed in from the first part of the year.

My work was locked, expecting the markers to break in using the tool. A book and cards were inside explaining my findings from research.

Also have secondary and primary information included.

Update

2007-12-04T06:15:00.001-08:00

Past two weeks have really been taken up with a design report containing info on how product design has helped to deter theft in society....

On the project side i have been looking at objects that have designed to be disabled it stolen. The biomega bike is an interesting design which caught my eye. Have a look........

The structural wire on the downtube is used as a lock wire, so if cut the bike cannot be ridden.

Project update

2007-11-22T05:39:00.000-08:00

Project since presentation has gone a bit slower. I'm trying to bang out another video dealing with the more non tangible aspects of theft. Having computer issues just now but hopefully will be sorted tomorrow and get one up asap. I am finding that filming parts of my project is helping me understand it a bit better and will hopefully help others aswell

Theft1.0

2007-11-12T10:30:00.000-08:00

Heres a small intro video that I have made using footage I have been collecting throughout this project. Its a basic intro as to what the theme of my project is about.

Food alert

2007-11-10T11:48:00.000-08:00

I recently found some stolen goods parked beside a fire exit beside a local shop on george street. Meat Theft seems to be on the rise at the moment and this evidence shows it. 4-5 packets of chicken, along with scotts porridge oats, several packets of eggs and muller rice. Lets hope this wasnt a failed attempt for a spot on "ready steady cook"! £30 quids of goods lying in a pool of what smelt like human urine...i hope this aint sold on....

This picture truly shows one of the 2 main causes of shoplifting, alcohol. People nicking to help feed their habit..

Progress report

2007-11-10T10:58:00.000-08:00

Over the past week iv been ripping a video which should be on the site monday or tuesday reflecting on theft and the areas which surround it. Currently doing a powerpoint for tuesdays minI presentation to the dragons.

Main areas picked up this week.

-Meat theft!, seems to be on the rise, scumbags nicked meat from markets and selling it in dodgy pubs.

-Eastern Europe culture, Knife theft, i'm going to have to look into this more as there seems to be an issue with this culture bringing in knifes into the U.K when emigrating, using them for self defense and also force.

Update

2007-11-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Things are at a crawling pace just now. Although I was contacted buy an agency regarding an interview with them so thats a bonus. This could give me a big boost with my primary research and could point me in the right direction.

Bicycle tree

2007-11-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

Heres a small video I found whilst browsing 'youtube' for ideas. It seems to be very effective and looks pretty sweet within its surroundings. Although I find it might be a bit of an overkill to for its intended use and there could be a better way of securing bicycles.

Shop experience

2007-10-25T13:29:00.001-07:00

Well I made good use of the weekly shop with the sidecar by studying shops methods of security and layout....

Two of the major high street chains I visited used multiple 360degree cameras and electromagnetic tags. One of which had a plain clothes security guard with apple 'ipod' earphones. Perhaps this was a genuine ipod but I had the suspicion it wasnt due to the cables being slightly different. Nice disguise though.

Early on in the day I phoned another major high street chain asking a few questions about their security measures.. It didnt go that great to be honest as they didnt want to disclose much to me. There seemed to be a lot of "I cant answer that" so I may need to tweek my questions.

However when I did ask the question, do you have a problem with shoplifting with the immediate reply of "no", i did wonder if this interview would be worth it. Especially because at the same time his radio was going off..."still at the shoes,... shes moving towards the jackets now..i need coverage..."

So thats when I decided to take a visit into the chain and to my (non) amazement, two security guards shot past me on the escalator and grounded a publician in the changing room area. Maybe an area to look into??

Cut Security tag

2007-10-25T04:41:00.000-07:00

After staring at the wall for an hour.... I decided to go and saw a security device in half so I could get an idea of what happens inside the tag an how it works. It seems simple enough, Ball bearings are used to keep the pin in place and when a magnetic force is used to pull out the pin the balls give way.....I think. A bit of research is needed here i think thought. I'm going to try get my hands on a few more, hopefully one with a colour cartridge in it as well to experiment with. Here's a few tags that iv "acquired" so far through the past few weeks.

Secondary Research

2007-10-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

The past week I have been looking at mostly secondary research, printing of shedloads of ex-trees filled with info on retail crime. This seems to be an interesting area to go into and although there is alot of crime prevention all ready in place here I still think there is room for improvement.Planning to do some interviews but keep a wide scope on theft as a whole and not bin anything at the moment.

Other things/ideas/solutions/projects
that have cropped up,
Trolley theft
Environmental theft, forest fires.(currently in California)
Helping theft, how can I help people theive?
Online Networking sites (is anything secure)
Time theft
Ideas theft (copyright, patent)

Top ten most shoplifted items

2007-10-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

The past week I have mainly been looking into theft on as wide a scale as possible. The first area I mainly looked at was shoplifting, the causes and effects it has on people.

The other week I shoplifted from a big supermarket(bigger shop mainly to minimise profit loss for them!), just to check out what it was about. I only nicked a piece of chewing gum but because it was the first time I shoplifted, I did feel nervous completing the act!

I have collected data of the most items shoplifted and was surprised to see alcohol so far up the list at number 2. I guess this is mainly due to people nicking it because of the price of it and also due to a habit perhaps.

Personal Statement and Aims

2007-10-16T08:22:00.000-07:00

Research...

2007-10-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

Iv decided to research into theft for my project as it seems quite a broad subject which has many areas to explore. Design against crime is growning in this world due to the little critters that keep nicking stuff! There are also many more creative areas to look into such as "the scarecrow" and personal space invasion. Hopefully im going to get somewhere with this one.