Saturday, November 8, 2008

Free writing in the class | 08

Oct 28 | List and describe 2-3 things thatyou experienced in your second iteration that were as you expected/predicted and 2-3 things you found unexpected.

-What I expected from the 2rd prototype are:

1) Improve the looking & scale might attract more people.
2) Staying away form the prototype in certain distance when we are testing it in public space can avoid the attention been discovered. (Try not o effect people by showing up , and it actually works).
3) We recorded the person who played our game were trying to locate where we were, but he failed.
4) We predicted that kids might be the main user of our hexagon puzzle game, and we designed the cardboard in very saturated color: orange. This worked out very well, children who were not playing the puzzle also came to touch it.

- What i unexpected:

1)After few hours we relocated the giant chess piece, after 5 mins later, we found someone had beat up our giant chess prototype and put it near the garbage bin.
2) An elder man came to the hexagon puzzle twice, and tried to put them into shape very carefully. By both hands and feet , he was actually waiting there to see what's our next action. Maybe he is waiting for our response through reshape the hexagon
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Oct 24 | In "interaction Relabelling"how is the "aesthetics of interaction" defined or explain? List one example from text, list one example for your life or your observation?

- Definition:
Interaction relabelling is the designing method which is very different process of  "design". We compare this with the prototype we are making, and try out different concepts. This can create diversity of "How a prototype been created". This process of comparison and then design, can be seen as two dimensions: The " functional usage" of the prototype and  "aesthetics of interaction"( good interaction experiences when user engages in it ).

- Example #1 :
In relabelling interaction design piece, the " appointment manager prototype" contain: 
1) Function of triggers and handle which provide user a brand new experience when using it.
2) Different from the other appointment tools, make this product a Label.

-Example #2 :
In my Fake rock project. I first designed the rock to have the function as a chair, but i actually borrow "the same experience form the people who sit on rocks". In this point, the whole design is just like a normal public chair design. But until I relabeled and added "wheels" under the bottom, this chair became "movable". For this renovation, I assigned very different function as a chair and turned it into  a unpredictable usage that  people may interact with the rock. I am not sure about how the rock will be treated. With more and more possibility of interaction that might occur, I saw more aesthetics of interaction in this Fake rock project.

Oct 21 | Do you think you've found something surprising about your prototype this time?

This time we pick three prototypes, each of them is one form our team mate's works.
The "Fake rock chair prototype" is more unpredictable , we don't know what kind of reaction the public may have. Therefore we decide to see more possibility of changing the design or appearance this time.

Fake Rock chair is obviously what does its name refer to, but after more discussion with Kunal , I decide to change the material and touch of this chair. Instead of making a solid fake rock, i want it to be soft as a bean bag. And this simple shift from solid material to soft one totally blows away the concept of "being a Rock".
  
Oct 17 | What are the 4 prototypes? and what is the example of each of them?

Integrated  \ Role
             \ Look & Feel
\ Implementation

The "Role prototype" tries to discuss about how does the prototype play the role in user's life:
Like the hand drawing, sketches of different ways in dealing with user's documents, remembering phone numbers...ect.
No needs to provide the "Look & Feel " in user's point of view. Role prototype gives a link and tell the users how this invention "do" for their lives.

The "Look & Feel prototype" is used to draw an outline and the shape (2D, 3D dimensions) of looks. It gives the public, audience (a broad acceptance) the actual look of this prototype.
It also gives the "manager" a idea, how to carry out this product in the future. Like the model has only the outlook , no actual function or any practical usage inside the shell. Giving just a "look" and "touch" of material. Model can be very  easily understood.

The "Implementation prototype" is only the "concept" or "function" that it's not necessary providing any form of look  and tough, neither the effect to human's lives. Purely for "solving problem", especially in the purpose of designing or producing process.

The "Integrated Prototype" is the one that combines 3 types of prototypes on the top. More considering as the "Finest prototype".
  

Oct 14 | Can you draw any relation between the Whyte ch.5 and your observation?

In the Columbus park observation we did this weekends, we found the high density of people. Through the reading i found the example of  a successful public space or plaza always has a busy corner, where to provide food like a vender or a place to sit to welcome people from the street to stop by this place. So does this park.

The columbus park has it "little business corner" along the outline of the park but not inside. There are shoeman, fortune tellers, watch fixing service... Local people love to buy their service, that's why they usually stop at the outside of the park's fences. 

The article also talked about the surrounding environment can be the  big difference to effect the whole public space.

As you see in the picture on the left ,  side A is near to a "city hall" or "government building" and this cold concrete building can't be found any entrance or walk side that people hardly walk on that side of street. Even this effect the right side of the park entrance. Instead of this situation, on the side B and C of the park, there're small business just like i said before, restaurant, retail store, which draw a lot of interests from people's eyes level to walk toward or linger around this street. And it effects the entrance of Left side of the park definitely.

Oct 07 | What do you find memorable from the anthropologist audio and Whyte's reading?

I have to say the audio is a little bit like lecture i heard from Toefl test... 
but this "by ordering" and pretty condensed content is clear about being a designer or anthropologist, how to design a work or make a study that relies on the public and make them the users.

Their special interests in watching people, and they consider the study objects "not just" in "only one case", but observe also their responses "outside of the case" is more valuable then general social studies.

In the reading by William H. Whyte, I found a very interesting observation about the relation of plazas and crowds.
The study shows the usage of plazas or public space always work out in the opposite with designer's plan. For example: In the plaza, there must be a broad walk side for passing through, in the center space there are some public statues , or benches for pedestrians, amazingly, people choose to have conversation on the walking path,  and regardless of the usage of this path for just walking. Couples or friends meet on the street corner or in the middle of traffic jam. Statues become the place for people to lay down or lean on. As for the broad plaza space: not too many people like the broad place while they are waiting or chatting.

Sep 26 |what did you find interesting and surprising from the time-altered video?


- I found that if i reverse the "sound" and movement, it would create the "weird feeling" that it makes me scared a bit.
when i was shooting the footage, i always ran out of memory of my camera.

- This time we have to use time-altered and speed up technique, so every footage suppose to be longer to be able to be edited and manipulated.

-Also, I found that in playing with time-altered editor, the materials like : water, flexible texture or body movement are the easiest way to make successful effect to apply to this homework.


- I prefer speed up than slow motion, and i realize I become not that patient with slow motion so i speed up everything i edit. By the end, i made some changes and played some footage back to their normal speed, i felt dizzy watching them
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