Hormao Machine

As part of my internship at Fablab, I am to work on a personal project to develop my understanding and use of machine-aided design. As part of my bachelors Interactive Media Design, I have been researching tools for tracking a human menstrual cycle and the implications their many fluctuations can have on creativity and productivity.

For my period at Waag, I want to develop a prototype designed for my body. I envision it as a tool complimentary to a clock, in which the larger cycles of the menstruating human experience within modern society is illustrated. On this page I will keep track of prototyping and materializations I am playing with.

AESTHETICS

aesthetics

INTERACTIVITY

interactivity

Representation of data

What data do I want to continue collecting?

my spreadsheet of data collecting

Last year, I started writing down one or two words each day in the morning, with the intent of describing my mental state at the time. Because I wasn’t sure what type of data I wanted to collect, this was a nice way to intuitively start jotting things down. I then made a diagram out of it, so I could potentially identify any patterns. This diagram below my last 3 cycles of 2022, with a first attempt at framing my inner seasons within these:

cycle inner seasons

Having recorded intuitively for a couple of cycles, I had a stronger idea of what would be useful to track for me personally. I started off by looking at my artistic practice and listing out tasks and workflows I often face. I then reflected on what physical and mental states of being influence my ability to meet those objectives;

Good sleep quality

Did I sleep well? Do I feel rested? Does it feel sufficient to sustain me throughout the day?

Anxiety

Do I feel anxious/scared/nervous? About what? Can I place it?

Desire to consume

Do I feel hungry to read or listen or experience new stimuli/knowledge/perspectives?

Desire to create

Do I feel the inclination to think by doing, materialize ideas, experiment?

Restlessness

Is my mind racing? Am I fidgeting? Do I want to do a lot but am not sure of where to begin?

Bravery

Do I yearn to be experimental and try out new things? Do I crave sharing and standing my ground? Do I feel steady on my two feet?

Motivation

Am I motivated to work on my practice? Do I feel the drive to create, consume, step forward?

Reflectiveness

Do I have the mental space to look back on what I have done and do some honest reflecting?

Critical lens

Do I feel drawn to specifics and details? Is there a ‘judgemental’ energy that I could tunnel towards constructive improvement?

These fluctuations (that is what I call these variables) I then rate their presence of at the start of working day, from a range of 0% to 100%. Because this frame is very linear, I also have space for extra observations and reflecting on possible patterns.

Inner seasons physical calendar

I made a graphic visual representation of the data I collected, which works similar to a calendar. I want to create a a physical and tangible version of this, as a step toward my final outcome.