Normal

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Northumbria University
Design for Industry Final Major Project

Recognition

New Designers 2026
Native Design ‘I’m a Fan’
PriestmanGoode ‘Spotlight’
Keyshot ‘Loves’

What makes a moment worth holding?

Normal is grounded in a relationship with the outdoors and analogue photography, exploring how moments are captured, remembered, and sometimes lost. Processes such as metering light and enlarging negatives became key references, connecting to phenomenology and the idea that memory is shaped by what is noticed, felt, and consciously held.

Studios including Map Project Office, Gentle Systems, Modem, and FIELD.IO helped frame the project’s direction. Their work across interaction, technology, and experience provided valuable points of reference, helping challenge and validate the development of the system.

The Capture

The capture device forms memory only through conscious selection. With no screen to immediately review or correct the image, the user is asked to trust the act of capture itself. A switch between audio and image prompts them to consider how each medium preserves a moment differently, through surface, depth, or atmosphere.

A removable data card powers the process, requiring physical removal before anything can be accessed, echoing the delayed and deliberate workflow of analogue systems.
The Playback

The playback device translates these selected moments into a shaped visual output. Through a considered set of controls, referencing the hands-on processes of enlarging a negative or tuning a radio, the user can influence the result without overriding it. Rather than offering endless control, the system provides a more intentional range, allowing each playback to be shaped without losing the character of the original experience.

The output intentionally moves away from sharp, high-definition representation, instead exploring a softer, slower form of memory. Designed for everyday settings, it can sit quietly in the bedroom, lounge, or kitchen, supporting moments of rest, reflection, and wind-down.

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2026