Lets Ask the Birds Window Bird Feeder

A fun yet informative way to further immerse yourself with bird watching

Problem Statement

A window bird feeder is one of the more immersive feeder designs that you can buy are the market. Most window feeder designs are pretty simple, and made with transparent materials so consumers can see their cute winged visitors. But what if there was a way to keep track of how many birds visit your feeder in a day? Introducing Let’s Ask the Birds, an informative yet fun way to get everyone involved. Adults can learn the statistics of daily bird visitations while kids can “ask the birds” a question and they can vote. Need help to figure out if you should have chicken or pasta for dinner? Ask the birds! Still deciding if you should get that new game console? Why not leave it up to the birds, they will always have the answer for you

Research, Findings, and Inspiration

A couple of items inspired my window feeder design. A bird feeder seen in a bird store, a touch senor digital counter, and a voting cigarette disposal can.

This window feeder was one of the most popular window bird feeder designs at the bird store.

a digital counter screen that hooks up to a touch bar is crucial for this design.

As a student in visualization this year with Micheal Laut, Professor Laut showed us a project about a cigarette butt trashcan that was also a voting system. This was a huge precedent for my design.

Ideation Sketches

I explored with a couple different forms and ways to show a counting mechanism. In the end, the more sleek way to insert a counting mechanism was with a touch bar center and a digital counter at the back of the bird feeder. The arch gives the feeder a more interesting and unique design while also keeping the voting box aesthetic.