ia: monyays

IDEO | Making Mondays Joyful

The uses of design is applicable to any aspect of life. From subway systems to making Mondays more enjoyable, IDEO illustrates the versatility of graphic design. IDEO defined a problem, which was the sucky-nature of Mondays and then offered some joyful solutions to combat usual feelings of dread on a Monday morning. Through altering the sound of a blaring alarm clock, appreciating the things we have, and creating more friendly reminders/calendars, IDEO attempts to start the week off right. As I was listening to the podcast, it sounded like such a fun project to take on. Mondays seem inevitably horrible, but it can change with simple shifts in attitude and perception. And design does exactly that. Though the solutions IDEO offers are temporary and are only valuable due to the surprise factor, the gadgets work together in a grander scheme of "re-branding" Mondays. I wonder though, if there are more intuitive and subtle ways to alter the experience of Mondays.

ia: final app w/ myles

ia: ebay user test + 3 user tests

ebay user test

In general, using ebay was...well let's just say that the website looks like a google search, with blue hyperlinks and chaotic information everywhere. I actually haven't ever used ebay before, so it was interesting see how ebay functions in comparison to things that I usually use, like amazon. 

buying wood type | 2-3 inches tall | full alphabet

This is the home page. It's relatively clean, with a clear search bar at the top. Everything else on the bottom are key items or popular sales.

Just like a google search, other search terms appear when you type in your desired item. 

The results for "wood type" in the Printing and Graphic Arts category. There are ways to sort the info on the left, and more related items on the right. Here it feels very cluttered. But what I liked was that it had the option of viewing the results in different ways. Here I added "full alphabet." The titles for these items are always IN FULL CAPS and have a ton of extra information about the item.

Clicked on one of the items. Scrolling down, it has more info, but it wasn't the whole alphabet so I went back and searched again. The seller's ratings are on the right

This is another result I found. Scrolling down, it fit all the qualifications. The bidding information comes first, then its details (like amazon). This makes sense because if people like what they see, they will continue to scroll downwards. Otherwise, they would go back and search again.

The information presented here is after scrolling down. Information is bolded, and describes what the user will receive. 

marc chagall print collector

I really was not sure how to go about this one. But, I figured that the "event" was bidding at the auction. Finding all of Chagall's prints were mainly about filtering and sorting through piles of information.

Here, I first type Marc Chagall's name, and then see what options come up first. 

I see all the results, but I want to change the way I view it.

After viewing it in gallery mode, I see what sorting options I have

I realize that I'm only looking for his prints (left side)

I then click "Auctions" because I want to be a part of the live auction.

Upon clicking one of the results, I decide to be a part of the auction for that particular work

Placing bid

3 user tests for app

Sam Yates

After the landing page I lose nelson's feet. The perspective seems weird. But I medics truly know to click story. When deciding how man players I feel a little lost. Maybe just having the number would do the trick. Next screen is navigable and explanatory. Arriving on the where to begin seems self-explanatory but maybe making the dots more "clickable" would aid in UI. 

Michael Batiste

Overall I think the interface is pretty straight forward. I think the gestures are pretty familiar and easy to follow. I just have a couple questions about transitions and buttons.
For the first screen I clicked lets do it!
Second screen I pressed story. But was confused on the purpose of the button sense there is no other options.
Third I choose one character and assumed it would activate or notify me that its active. Then choose continue. I wondered if the buttons could be more broad in the options like one, + one or group or something.
Fourth I choose mini games and selected my starting point. I thought these two transitions where pretty clear and straight forward. Did you guys think about what it be like if the starting point was proximity censored. Meaning automatically selecting the starting point because the censor recognizes the location.
Fifth I assumed the racket would work by dragging and holding it in position to hit the birdie. Not sure if this is right so instructions might help. ( under the racket maybe, with a low opacity. That fades away once you understand the controls.) 

ia: icon + designed screens

ia: design directions + digital native

DIGITAL NATIVE RESEARCH

Marc Prensky's "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants"

• digital natives are those who grew up with technology, and were born into it
• "speak fluently" in digital language
• digital immigrants are those who were born before the digital age, who usually have a harder time adapting to the hi-tech process
• differences in socialization between the two
• gap between digital immigrant professors and digital native students
• digital natives are used to receiving information very fast
• have little appreciation for new skills 
• less patience for "step-by-step" instruction
• the same methods of the digital immigrants will not work with the digital natives
• digital natives are unlikely to go back in time to the digital immigrant's way of learning
• implications
• today's digital immigrant professors should...
• faster, less step-by-step, in parallel with other topics
• incorporating both methods information
• legacy - reading, writing, ideas of the past, tradition
• future - digital, tech
• how to use both?

QUESTION & RESPONSE

This question involves thinking about current state of interactive design curriculum and addressing risk taking in interactive design. As technologies constantly change how do you stay up with new technologies?

I think young people today around their 20-30s, like myself, have a unique experience apart from clear-cut digital natives and digital immigrants. This age group was born in a period of transition from analog to digital; we were able to have a taste of what it was like pre-internet and before the age of social media but still be able to fluidly adapt to technology. 

When I was younger, I remember asking what it was like for my parents to experience new technology like cellular phones. They replied that new tech was pretty exciting, but it also seemed natural within its timeframe. I wonder if today, this still holds true. Has technology jumped too far ahead for it to naturally and seamlessly adapt to all ages, old and young? 

According to Marc Prensky, it seems like there needs to be an obvious effort to incorporate how digital natives learn. He went even so far as to separate the world into two clear groups, digital natives and digital immigrants. 

I have definitely felt this difference and gap between instructors and students, in terms of how they relate to technology. When I was growing up, I had the general feeling that school and tech could not go together. Phones weren't allowed in class, laptops were discouraged, and instructors were still relying on what they've learned in the past. We did have computer classes, but whenever professors tried to incorporate digital mediums, it seemed forced and unnecessary to me. For example, playing a game on the computer that would teach us multiplication, but would fail to keep kids engaged. Applying "the digital" felt a little superficial and not completely immersive at the time. However, it may be different for kids today, though I'm not sure what their experience is like.

I think I stay up to date with new technology when instructors learn with us. Students and instructors are both learning new technology that gives us new tools, but both don't know how to use it. One successful experience I had with this was in my Typography 2 class. We were learning how to make interactive editorial articles in InDesign. The instructor did not have much experience with it, however we collectively went through it together. 

I think this is the most immersive and best way to keep up with technology, in terms of education.

ux: progress on nelson

KEY WORDS
interactive, friendly, playful, intelligent yet basic, story-like

OBJECTIVES
to create a memorable experience
to create an appreciation for art
to involve all the senses
engage both children and adults (whole families) and couples
for the event to "live beyond" the event

MOODBOARD

GENERAL IDEA
The pamphlet will be designed like a storybook, told with a signature character throughout. The experience is customizable, and has multiple, possible endings. Though we haven't figured out how exactly the storybook will play out in the pamphlet, we know that the user will be able to document their experience from beginning to end.

BRANDING

WIREFRAMES

Our app will include a number of mini games that will compile into a story at the end.

ia: internet of things - edited

BUD
your tastebuddy

ia: makey makeyy

Alyx and I decided to be in a group together!
The concept between Makey Makey is really innovative...such a simple contraption but it allows for so much creativity. Think I'm going to buy one....

ia: muse wireframes

I find that creating a list of objectives for myself for each project is extremely helpful. It anchors my work to a clear goal, and helps me enjoy the project more (not that I'm not enjoying it already). The aesthetic will be along the lines of Marian Bantjes and Martin Venezky, two designers who simultaneously have striking similarities yet blaring differences. Both have a feeling of complexity and rawness. Marian Bantjes' work is immediately identifiable; it seems to include a sense of mysticism and "wonder" (as she calls it), but Martin Venezky's aesthetic is a difficult one to describe. His work is more like painting. He creates compositions that take on the form of fine art and functional design. Through merging the aesthetic of these two designers, I can achieve my main goal of this project: to portray the letters in an informational yet emotive way.

The feeling I want to invoke in my website is the same feeling one gets when collecting/reviving small treasures. People who collect things, I think, are a little OCD in some ways. They need to maintain order and control. This desire usually manifests itself into the need to collect. Like a person collecting interesting recordings of sounds, or an old man who collects artfully crafted books, collections can be for both display for others to see and for one's own pleasure.

OBJECTIVES
-informational & organized yet emotive & personal
-bridges the gap between digital and print (because it's a collection of letters translated onto a website | can be done through utilizing handwriting, collage, cut-outs...)
-delivers an innovative/non-cliche way of showing letters
-user-friendly, extremely clear, but still engaging

OTHER INTERESTING WEBSITES:
http://kenjiendo.com/
letters on the side, indicating where you are on the page

ia: 9 renderings