User Experience – Page 2

REFLECTION: Future World @ Art Science Museums

In April 2016 I when to Future World exhibition for the first time. After more than a year, the gist of the exhibition still remains! Unlike the usual quite and formal museum exhibition, I really like how Team Lab created their art in a more interactive way to engage both children and adults. In the exhibition it indirectly bring out our child like habits to starts playing around regardless your age that reminds me of saying “there is a child in each one of us”.

I feel that the Nature was really a great improvement. I remember vividly before was only movement of the flowers that was projected on the wall and floor. Yet for current version the experience was just like you are brought to another dimension and very mesmerising. The projection of art piece on the surrounding makes you fell like have the illusion just like you are on the journey with them. Although it can be quite dizzy after that. The energetic sounds effect enhance the experience even more by co-related with the visuals.

The above video shows the older version of Black Wave, called 100 Years Sea Animation Diorama which I felt it was a more interesting piece. I remember there was a different representation of the wave and there was a mountains and nature of landscape included. This would keep the viewer busy and wants to stay longer.

Nevertheless the current piece Black Wave, provides another kind of experience that has a calming effect just like how we would stare at the movement of sea. The sea was depicted by the traditional Japanese painting style by using curvilinear lines that move to create the overall moving effect. Large beam bags are place there for viewer to chill while looking at the artwork which it sort of mimic the feeling of seaside.

The tunnel that you need to bend down and crawl over to another side.

Follow on to the next exhibition, I really enjoy myself at the Town section. They even included the gigantic slides which is something very familiar yet we did not play with a long time. They also added projections of fruits, flowers and butterfly on the floor and slides which would bloom when people walk past, just like giving life to it. Such small little action create interests in us would makes people feel closer and wants to interact with nature.

The most memorable project was the Sketch Town. Regardless your age, this would project your work live on the screen! Even though this is my second time, I wants to try this again! This artwork provides us a sense of ownership while combining all the artwork together in the whole piece. It creates topic among my friends and I while we drawing and making the 3D paper art. However, after reading the artwork description I realise that the whole projection of the town are interactive. We could actually touch the car so it would speed up or change in direction. It is such a big missed, probably we are occupied by drawing.

Lastly, my favourite piece was Story of the Time When Gods Were Everywhere! I am really amazed by how they created the sensing using the laser technology which seems like everywhere on screen can be detected. The visual are beautiful which looks like watercolour painting that goes on live painting. When we touched on the hieroglyphic characters it would turn them into nature elements and even animals. There would never be a same visual just like no identical moments in nature. A very interactive piece that involved gesture movements.

In conclusion, my second experience with future world never bored me. Team Lab’s interactive still interest me even though I have came here before. I feel that it is because every experience is very different that it remains fresh and new to me. I really admired how Team Lab get people from different expertise to work together and create innovative and artistic art piece that we have seen today.

RESPONSE: Jan Chipchase – You are what you carry

The reading are more in depth explanation of this Jan Chipchase’s Ted talk whereas now we were given a boarder view. He talk about the fundamental of carrying behaviour, which provides insight into the user activities, values, beliefs and fear. We also strategies where we should be putting our stuff to prevent us from forgetting them. I would always categories my things and place related item together, for example my lip balm and ointment was place at the same small pouch to allow me to find them easier in my school bag. I will also think about how frequent I will be using it and place them in different slot in my bag, so that I can just slip my hand without taking down my bag.

Jan Chipchase also uses examples to describe the term range of distribution. The Shanghai lady given me an insight of their risk of theft is high from the way she react on her shopping trip. In comparison, Singaporean are more relax that we simply place our phone on the coffee shop table where the phone are still visible to us. There are also cases that their phone are being stolen away however, the crime rate are lower as compare in Shanghai.

One of the part where he mention about a point of reflection. I was nodding all the way as it is something I do every time I leave a place. I will do the mental checklist like he said. This widespread behaviour could possibly due to incidents like we have forget our item before. So just to make sure we doesn’t make the same mistake we would take extra caution.

In future, there might be automated systems to predict our shopping habits. I felt it is really possible if most of the company would corporate together to shared the information among them. However, he mention about the way Amazon could do by sending the product to our house might only last for a period of time. Looking in Singapore context, I would imagine I get many different product each week/day that would be kind of irritating. The feeling given is like hard selling, although we can choose not to pick up that item. This also reminds me of how our advertisement on the browser are linked to our browsing history. If you are searching air ticket for the past few day, the advertisement in Facebook or other website would cater to what did you search for.

In conclusion, we would all have reason for the things we carry that are fundamentally tools for our survival. We also develop our own way of carrying behaviour that could be influence from our surroundings or personal reasons. Nonetheless, technology advancement would constantly changing our tool and idea of survival.

RESPONSE: Previous iLight festival project

The first project I though of was this piece that I went there personally on 2012 iLight Marina. I could not find any information about it so I would describe it from my memory.

This piece actually was place on somewhere that is not very obvious, however it attract my attention because it was only this straight of light with changing of colour. I was really confused what is it about until my brother in law came along to demonstrate.

Those images shown up when we set our camera in long exposure and turn the camera from left to right with tripod. It was really amazing and leave me with deep impression, I still not sure how they actually do this. Maybe they divide the image in to pixel in lines so while flashing different lines would result in the camera long exposure.

Although this piece was a really smart I feel that there was not enough indication on how we should look at this piece. I might really missed it without my brother in law explanation.

Next, this project was showcase in 2014 name CLOUD. The interactive sculpture was made up by 6,000 light bulbs created by Canadian Artist Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett. Light bulb are collected by the artist from surrounding community whether its new or burn. CLOUD allow the viewers to pull the chain to illumination of the cloud hope to create wonder and inspire re-imagining of their potential. As the viewer engage, indirectly creates a kind of social interaction between the viewer. Moreover, viewers out side of the installation would see a different dynamics every time. I feel this piece really catches my attention from far and near I would really want to play with this in real life.

Overall, I think a good installation art will leave people with some emotion through the experience. Because human are forgetful but the experience they attain would leave them with feeling. People will usually remember feeling as compare to what really happen. Also, indication are also important for people to understand the artwork. If the artwork is not intuitive design like the CLOUD sculpture, then it should specify somewhere that is visible to the viewer which the first example did not.

RESPONSE: Jan Chipchase – The anthropology of mobile phone

To understand people Jan Chipchase starts from the very basic “what do people carry” which will leads to people’s conscious and subconscious. It shows what people values and what people usually use. I felt it still very relevant now, the three things: Phone, money and keys. Reflecting on myself, thats the three thing that I would carry even a short trip downstairs. That bring us to the next point that he mention in his research was Survival. We do that subconsciously, just in case we need those item out of a sudden.

Another notable point was mobile phone can transcend space and time where one can send a message to another at their convenient. The another person can read it at their own convenient too. However I felt in the present days, we took this convenient for granted. Sometimes, probably during argument with another party on WhatsApp I would constantly check if that party have read or just ignored that message. Or even there is a function like last seen and blue ticks to indicates that person last activity or have they read your message. Of course it provides proof that this individual has read but indirectly creates some assumption or mistrust between both party.

In the part of art of delegation he talks about people who was illiterate would ask people for help to complete the task for them. It reminds me of my aunty who was also illiterate. She has memorise all her friends and family mobile phone number so that she can contact them which I am really surprise. In comparison, I could only remember my parents’s phone number.

I am also surprise to see that in India and China would repair the phones and even have a training school for it. In contrast in the present days we would just change our phones if it was broken. There is the sudden thoughts on buying new stuff might be an act of profligacy. There was once my dad wanted to sew his torn small pouch which it can simply just buy a the cost about a dollar or two. It really hit hard on me that actually I wasted quite a lot of money.

Lastly, I agree with him that people identity is mobile. It was more prominent now just like when we can assign our mobile phone to received the OneKey one time password from our Singpass. It was the security measure that everyone must set up. In summary this video are very educational which give insight about human behaviour and also evoke thinking and comparison of the present and past. In realisation we are all already connected, embracing each other from forum and learn to listen to each other problem and giving solution how to solve.

RESPONSE: Chapter 5 Jan Chipchase, Hidden In Plain Sight: How To Create Extraordinary Products For Tomorrow’s Customers.

Calibrating Your Cultural Compass

This week readings discuss about the importance of understanding people from their daily life using the technique called rapid cultural calibration that would aid in the design research. The technique range from observing the city to travelling by their public transport to the airports, community hubs and signs in that place. All those would give us clues to the local culture and also being able to experience it ourselves will give us insight of what is beneath the surface.

Recalling my own personal experience a few years back, I was traveling in Melbourne, Australia where the subway broke down during the rush hours early in the morning. During that time, it was the first time I encounter break down in public transport (that time our MRT are still working perfectly fine). The locals act very different from us Singaporean. They look clam and just took alternative path to their destinations. That really surprise me, its so clam that I only realise the train breaks down when I reached the station. There were no chaotic situation or shows of unhappiness. In comparison, maybe we Singaporean are too used to the efficiency we used to have and took it for granted. Or maybe the train have broke down frequently in Melbourne that the commuters have used to travel by alternative route. It is just like how we Singaporeans are less frustrated now during the break downs. Just my two cents. However, how we reacted to the situation definitely shows a lot about our culture. Like I have mention we live in a very efficient country whereas in Melbourne I feel they are more flexible in this way.

It is very interesting that Jan Chipchase mention that McDonald tailored it’s brand to so many country, from their decor to food menus. I have also seen the packaging indication for vegetarian food. As compare to Singapore, in New Zealand there are a lot more people who has allergies namely, peanuts, gluten and so on or other dietary requirements. The restaurants there are more careful and flexible about these requirements. In Singapore gluten free restaurants are very limited, however, there are more and more restaurants that provides gluten free, vegetarian or special dietary requirement options.

Questions:

Is there more companies either in Singapore or overseas sees the importance of understanding the user would help in designing their products? As this research would be costly for the company and I am thinking its a very new concept that might not be adopt in the markets especially in Singapore where companies are more conventional.
I still not quite understand about Capturing the Platzgeist. From my understanding, it was capturing the environment whether is it sounds, images or colours would help to trigger our sensory memories? If we incorporate that into the product or installation will it helps leave a more impactful impression to the user? Is it because we will remember clearly how we feel or sense then the content itself?

RESPONSE: Chapter 1 of The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norm

The Psychopathology of Everyday Things

The reading was interesting where Donald touch on the simple things and elaborate on the process of how we interact with it through discoverability and understanding. Taking one example of the ADM glass door that located beside the office on level one, it is one of the Norman doors. I was nodding internally while reading the first few paragraph about why a simple door can be so complicated. Although this is my third year in ADM, at times I still get confuse about the direction of opening that glass door. I came up a way to differentiate the direction through the magnetic system on top, that was the culprit which only allow the door to open from one direction. Whenever I am confused I look up to see which direction I am standing and act accordingly.

There is a part where Donald talks about the engineers think that they understand people however, they neglected the part where humans are complex. Similarly, I feel its comparable when designer/artist created an art piece that display in the museum or a public art. Most of the people don’t really understand it especially for abstract art unless they read the rationale behind it. In later part of the readings mentioned about the signifiers, probably incorporate signifiers into the art piece would makes people able to relate more and understand more. Nonetheless, one can still say that art is an expression from the artist, probably it solely depends on which perspective we view.

I am also amazed that part where simple details such as visible affordance can makes a big difference to the user. It a very subtle detail that I feel I did not realise until I read this reading. We all did it subconsciously just like the handle of cups, it is so natural to hold it by the handle.

Feedback reminds me of the car seats at the front will start beeping annoyingly when it senses that you are sitting on it without fastening the seatbelt. The annoying beeping sound actually works for me as I was really annoyed by the sound so I rather put on the seat belt instead. Perhaps some frustration in some case are exceptions.

Lastly, I also agree that part where each discipline would have their own constrains and importance. When all the teams work together would produce a greater product as compare to a team that did not work with others. It will greatly save the company lot trouble when each team talks about their problem and of course there is gain and losses. Yet compromise from each other will come to a conclusion that satisfy every team!

Questions

How do we determine whether this is a good product/design when all of us come from a different culture and upbringing? As in we can’t probably please everyone and there are so many people in the world.
As for system image, will a graphical illustration will communicate better than a written instruction? I was thinking that the system image was sort of an instruction menu for users to find out how to operate the product.