Leaving a Trace is about empowering designers to become more ecologically attuned while embracing their unique skillset and perspective.
Learn how to make your own prototype using pre-made CAD files ready to be printed, electronic components, and open source code.
Explore an area of interest where humans and other species interact (a park, garden, city street, etc…). Pick a spot if you don’t have one pre-defined, sit down and sketch. Draw what you see, try to capture it well. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, but try to avoid stylising it too much, your imagination can go wild in a later step. It’s more about the process than the outcome.
Now that you have observed your area closely, it’s time to do the same but with your sensor kit. Other species may be able to sense things beyond our capabilities; this is where the sensor kit can help. It can track different environmental conditions such as UV light, temperature, CO2 level and TVOC levels. Don’t forget to snap some photos as well of the species you don’t recognize so that they can be identified!
While the probe is collecting data, reflect on what you have noticed so far. What do you remember? What do you have questions about? How would the other species you have observed experience the same space from their point of view? How could the space change and what effect will it have on the ecology? Once the data is collected, bring it back home and review the data. Now assemble everything into a final collage, connecting the sketches to the data.
