Class Reflection 3.4.2013

Scenarios was the topic of class today. There are two main links that need to be made with scenarios. It needs to link to the persona and to the system map. With these links, the points of leverage are important to consider in order to make strong points and make your article better. By getting specific with the scenario, you as the designer can decide what role the artifact will play. What needs will be addressed that you will fill with the artifact? You also need to find points that will help enhance/fill the goals and motivations of the user.

We brought up some concerns that needed to be addressed about the content of the material.

• The content may or may not be directly connected with your topic, but it should be tied in somehow.
• The scenario can be in depth or a quick overview... depending on your persona and system map. 
• Tie more to the article... what they need to know rather than a specific elements of the article.

Key points Gary wrote on the board:

• What role will the artifact play in the scenario? Could you use your scenario to design a moment?
• Is it persona specific?
• What point in the system map overlaps to create leverage points?

Everything will be revisited the Monday after spring break. Everything up until this point should be reworked and 95% complete. yaywheee. 

I honestly think I was really tired when taking notes. I even drew a cat.

As for the case competition, we are doing an exercise on Wednesday. It is a group exercise so everyone should be here to participate. We also need post-it notes, pens/pencils/markers, and craft paper. We should also re-read the case competition as well as any notes your business group members have shared with you. 

Class Reflection 2.18.2013

Today was the second critique on our System Maps. We were able to look at them on the overhead projector, which allowed us to see more details while critiquing each map. After organizing our sketched out roughs into Illustrator, it really showed that details were extremely important in communicating what the System Map was about. Although most felt like mine was well organized, I still think there is room to add more details so that someone who had never seen my map before would know exactly what trying to describe.

Some things to consider for my map:

• Including some sort of forum maybe where fans can talk with other fans about their experience
• A way out of the map - Once the user gets what they need from the application, they may not use it for the rest of the experience at the ballpark
• Social media aspect should not be the end result - It can be integrated somehow within the map in the loop sequence and be used throughout the experience
• Consider a different way to organize the list of five categories 

Monday, February 25th - Midterm Review

- Book with spread printed in specific order

- System Map should be 99% done 

- Scenarios will be reviewed next Wednesday

- Contemplations before each project with reviews after 

- Other sources: sketches, process maps, pictures, blog entries (?)  

Class Reflection 2.13.2013

After our critique on Wednesday, we realized everyone was on a different page when it came to understanding the methods behind the System Map. In conclusion, we came up with a definition for the process. A System Map is an outline of the artifact (that will be created later) that tells a story of the experience the user will have while using the product. The context should be considered as well, meaning where it will be used, who will be around while using it, and what other factors may play a role while using the product.

So I revisited my System Map, and considered where my persona will be using the product (at the ballpark), who will be around (other fans/friends/family), and what they may want to do (buy a beer, find their seat, see where the last pitch was, find their car after the game, etc.). My main goal is to enhance the ballpark experience with a handheld device without the product becoming to much and overwhelm the user. It can be used as much or as little as the user wants, depending on what they want to get out of the product.

Overall, I think Wednesday's class was very useful, and cleared up much confusion for us. Before, we were trying to think as Graphic Designers and think of only the end product, rather than Interactive Designers and thinking of the experience we want to create for our personas.

Class Reflection 2.11.2013

Thinking in Systems - Chapters 1 and 6
Donella H. Meadows

First off - 
Here's the Ted Talk Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, the secret to happiness which continues from the last discussion we had about flow. 

Today's discussion was recapping Meadow's theories on System Design. It was a very broad reading, with many, MANY examples, but hardly any examples that could directly relate to our current project. Overall, we wished there was one more complex example carried throughout the reading that was an in depth example of what she is trying to explain.

The first question brought up in discussion regarded How do we keep everyone involved? It is hard to say for sure how this is answered without a particular product in mind, but in general it would depend on the user. With that being said, how is it possible to create a product that isn't too generic that it doesn't hold the attention of the user long enough, but isn't too specific that only one specific group is heavily engaged? This is the problem that arises, but us as designers have to address and solve someway that makes sense, and makes for a successful product. One method to solve this problem is to create boundaries and depth within those boundaries. You can also limit the agency (what information offered to the audience) which is crucial to the level of engagement. Too much information may overwhelm, too little can bore. Depth is more specifically the elements, interconnections, and the purpose of the product.

Then we went on to talk about Stock and try and figure out what it is. Most of the ideas and examples we came up with were more emotion based, rather than tangible objects. Some of the examples were:

• Goodwill and badwill
• Emotions
• Demographics
• User as stock (?) 
• Needs 
• Interest level / knowledge level / data and information - wisdom and how to apply it
• Skills 

From this list, we decided that data and information helps evolve the goodwill/badwill/emotions and needs and interest levels of the user. This is important in keeping the users engaged, as well as growing as a user, 

Is a system always dynamic, or is there a case where it can be static? What happens if a system becomes static? Some systems may appear to stay static if looked at a small time period, but most cases, the system can/will change over a long period of time (somehow). So is it a case of evolve or die? ...Or is it a case of evolve or become outdated? I believe there is no successful system that hasn't evolved somehow. It may be something small, but usually the small updates help the product in some way. This brings up adaptable vs. adaptive. Adaptable is the more popular choice because it is a system that the user can customize, while adaptive is a system designed to comprehend what the user is doing and helps guide them in the correct direction. Sometimes users get frustrated with this design style because it isn't tailored for them, but rather they have to learn to adapt to the system. 

Finally, we discussed leverage points from the reading. Meadows discussed twelve topics, in this case from most important to least important, of leverage points that are influential on changing a system's design. 

They are:

1. Transcending Paradigms: Accepting the existence of paradigms and having the ability to live and deal with them. 
2. Paradigms: The mind set of the system. It is the reason the system exists and what it is doing. It can also be the perspective of the system
3. Goals: Tweaking the purpose of the system. It can be subtle and users can play a key role in changing the goal. 
4. Self Organization: The power to add, change, or evolve the system structure that can be changed by the designer and/or the user. 
5. Rules, incentives, punishments and constraints: These combined with the changes below can be very effective and change the overall system. 
6. Information Flows: The input between different designers and users. Changes in the people involved and inputing information can change ideas for the project. An example of this type of interaction comes from GoogleDocs. 
7. Reinforcing Feedback Loops: We only talked about the example of the bathtub water, and temperature of the water can be adjusted this way.
8. Balancing Feedback Loops: Similar to number seven, the balancing of the levels of water can be adjusted to help maintain a steady stock with flow still happening.
9. Delays: The ability to set a certain time for a system to start working. 
10. Stock and Flow Structures: The physical arrangement of each element can help improve the structure and feedback of the system. 
11. Buffers: One example was Amazon.com and how they store your information after you buy a product for the first time. Instead of filling out the contact/purchasing information every time, Amazon will save it and fill the information out for you. The website can also show items you have previously purchased with recommendations to buy other items. 
12. Numbers and Constants: The data and information quantities. This is the least effective leverage point, but often the most common because its is easy to change.

The Eames Store - Interactive Design

In case anyone was wondering that wasn't in BFA last semester, this is the project we did for The Eames Store that Gary had mentioned today in class. We made slides of our images, as well as a video that pretty much described how the interactive wall kiosk would work. This is the final product of a two-week design concept we came up with while working with a few HCI Students. Overall it was a lot of fun and we came up with a really great design!

I hope this helps! - The Eames Store

- Heather

Class Reflection 2.6.2013

Some key elements we all need to consider for our Personas:

• More space between elements - breathing room and more legible 
• Break up information - break down info graphs further and/or create variety
• NEED: Life motivations and goals for the product - two separate elements must be on the Persona by the time we turn in our process book 
• Consider use of color 
• Include likes and dislikes 
• Include more text - avoid the baseball card amount of information (info too little) 
• Time spent throughout the week (M-Th, F-Sat, Sun) 
• Additional photos to create more of a narrative for the persona 

Consider levels of information:

• Photo/Name (quote maybe?)
• Big text/data/quote(?)
• Info. Graphics
• Biography/text
• Formal and aesthetic qualities
• Life motivations and Goals related to the topic

For Midterm, we have to start building our book and discuss with Gary. The Midterm will be on February 25th and they will be individual meetings (one-on-one). The book doesn't need to be bound together, but needs to be thought out in spread designs. The concept map needs to be thought out as far as how it will be displayed in the book (CD, foldable, fits within the book, etc...). We also need to write about each step (Matrix, concept map, persona, and system map) in our process book and talk about key data points drawn from each step. These can be pulled from your blog, notes, or influencing things/ideas/pictures from outside of class. 

Also - the area show work is due Feb. 25th...

After the persona critique, we talked about the next step in our process: The System Map (or Experience Model) - DUE NEXT WED 1/13

We will use the concept map as a database to create a user experience with the information. This will explain how they will interact with your design. Some key questions to consider are:

• How will you provide a tool for them to interact with and where should the tool be located?
• Where does it make sense to use this tool and where is it MOST EFFECTIVE?

Think about: WHERE THEY ENCOUNTER THE BRAND. This could be multiple places and all should be explored, however, one or two should be chosen and talked about more in depth. These two areas are to be mapped out further, similar to the concept map style that we previously worked on. Think about what the system is that creates an experience. 

Also consider:

Input of the user - What are they required to do? 

Output of the devise - What is the result?

 

Input can be as simple as walking by the kiosk device and the output would be a shift in scale on the screen. We did a project last semester, The Eames Store, that is a good example of what this is talking about. 

Which can be seen here: The Eames Store

The video at the bottom of the page is a great example of how our project worked. 

At this point, don't think of the aesthetic design of the final product... but the interactive design. How did those subjects interact with the wall kiosk? When they walked by, the panels expanded/contracted, making them aware that it was an interactive devise and attracting them to interact. They can touch and move panels by clicking certain features with their fingers and pressing buttons. All this information is required to be worked out on a larger scale, preferably hand written to focus more on content rather than design. Some people in class have large maps drawn out on their wall space, and this is exactly what Gary wants for next Wednesday. 

Another thing to consider is "to what end?" does your interactive design conclude to? Are there loops in your design that direct you to other topics in your subject. Is there a big reveal of information or smaller revelations learned throughout working with your product? You want the user to gain knowledge as they interact with your design. 

If your graph is seeming too linear, think about why it is linear. Is it okay that way? What is missing that may connect one subject to another? Connections in your Concept Map may be interactive connections in your System Map. 

After discussing the System Map, Gary drew out a diagram describing Flow in a simple way. I thought this was very useful. Here's the chart:

The black dots resemble a user, while the red dot resembles where they would move within the Flor Chart. We want to challenge our users to learn about our product and progress further up the flow chart. The user should learn as they move along with the product, thus learning new skills that allow them to attack harder tasks with more ease. This keeps people from falling in the bored or anxiety areas and keeps them interested in a product. This falls under how many choices are you giving them (agency). Are there too little of options (such as Facebook) which is considered little/low agency, or are there too many options (such as the old MySpace) which is considered too much/high agency?

System Map is due next Wednesday 1/13 

It needs to be larger scale and preferably hand written. It will appear to look similar to the concept map. 

Drawn on brown paper (or something similar) that is provided in BFA Room

Post-it notes work well too 

VERY LOOSE - Ideas may change when explored further

Online Reading for Monday 

Donella Meadows - Thinking in Systems - Parts 1 & 6

Think of how it relates to Graphic Design and Interactive Design

Bring 3-4 questions on small pieces of paper 

Example of Designers Working Together

Over the past few weeks, there have been many discussions of how to make a great product. In making furniture, interactive, manufacturing, and interior design all play a key role in creating a successful design. I found a great video showing a final product of furniture that is meant for small housing spaces. I thought this was a great example of all these types of design coming together to create one great product.

I know I'm sold.




If you want to look at more Resource Furniture, Click Here for the official website.