Month: September 2016

Week 7+8 Reading Response

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Designing for the digital age, how to create human-centerer products and services

I really appreciate how Goodwin provides a differentiation between design from arts and science in the introduction of the chapter. It has been a point that I strongly stand by – that art and design are not the same. Design is not to be confused with art, and what sets design apart from art is that it must serve human needs and goals. All designed artefacts have a purpose, such as to increase efficiency, effectiveness of human processes. With that being said, design will always happen within constraints that are not to be dismissed. In my opinion, these given constraints may also contribute to one of the factors to differentiating between art and design. These constraints are also often factors that “regulate” the design process.

Similarly to the reading in week 6 that implies that there is no “perfect” design, Goodwin suggests that each individual brings his/her own attitudes, behaviours and perceptions to any situation, and therefore no designer can determine exactly what experience someone has. Therefore it is important for the designer to keep an open and critical mind throughout the design process.

Response to “Future World” exhibition visit

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Part 1: Write a response to the exhibition “Future World”.  Keep in mind the following questions – What is experience design and what are the possibilities of responsive environments? How might this change the way we think about the world around us and the ways that we communicate with each other?

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The visit to the “Future World” exhibition was a really fun and enjoyable one. It was truly immersive and interactive, and for that it was able to capture the attention of not just us designers, but also the general crowd (and also the children that was playing with the installation)! Also, with also a member of TeamLab to show us around, it was an eye opening experience. We are always only exposed to only the final execution of an idea (i.e. seeing the final installation), but having him share with us the initial concept developments and understanding where the motivation for the installation came from was a valuable experience.

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In most of the installations, the responsive environments were also immediate and obvious. This made sense so that people understood how their movement/actions could contribute to the environment. For instance, as part of the digital playground, in the interactive theme park installation, viewers easily understood that each drawing scanned would then exist and live in the virtual theme park played on the screen.

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It was then particularly interesting for me to see how some of these virtual feedback would be more subtle. In the first Flowers Bloom installation that we visited, various of these virtual responses from the environment would not be picked up by the viewers if they did not spend enough time in the exhibition or if they were not attentive enough. Some of these detailed responses include the butterflies falling apart once they were touched, and that if an individual were to stand still at a particular spot for long enough, flowers start to bloom around them. These responses were very layered and sometimes difficult for a passing viewer to notice.

As per all designed materials, certain consumers’ behaviour would be encouraged. With responsive environments, it brings these encouraged behaviours into a physical space. For example in the Flowers Bloom installation, the viewers would understand that their movement causes the flowers to be dispersed by seeds, they would then be inclined to stay still in a area tohave the flowers blossom around them. Or for instance in the digital playground, the children know that it is different from usual art exhibits, and that it is their time to play or run around to collide the balls, simply because of the feedback they receive with their actions.

In a way, these responsive environments temporary shapes the behaviours that the viewers engage in while in the designed space.

Week 6 Reading and Exercise

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Week 6 Reading Response

From the text by Löwgren and Stolterman, it introduces the term of “digital artefacts” – designed items that are built around a core of information technology.

One of my main takeaway from this text was the reminder that more often than not, there are no perfect designs. It is important to note that despite the designers’ intentions, designed products are still often met with unintended effects. Though these effects can be reduced with better understanding of the designed artefact, (i.e. in relation to the target audience or the context where it is used), the complexity of design makes it is almost impossible to predict or account accurately for all the different users’ experience. This then leads to us to constantly question what is a good design then?

The text reflects on the many factors that contribute to answering that question. Even in our society today where we are designing with the ever-changing technology that it difficult for us to stop and reflect, it is important for the designer to make a conscious effort in making thoughtful reflections throughout the design process.

Questions

1) In the aspect of making conscious efforts to question what good design is, what are some template questions that we can ask ourselves when attempting to reflect on our work?

2) With the ever-changing technology that we are designing with today, how do we ensure that we can keep up and at the same time be reflective about our work?

Week 6 Exercise

DAY 1 – create a diary of when, why and what you use your mobile device for. Observe how others are using their mobile devices. What are the most common uses and where do you see these behaviors?

My personal use    

The moment I wake up…

Phone rings – used as an alarm

Check and reply messages – Chatting applications (Whatsapp/ Telegram)

Browse through newsfeed – Instagram

Throughout the day during personal time…

Listening to music on the go – Spotify

Being both a viewer and a contributor on Social Media (Taking photos, browsing through articles, etc) – Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook

Paying through my phone – Uber, Starbucks

Taking notes of appointments – Calendar

During work…

Checking my email – Gmail

Checking QR codes – QR Scanner

Before I sleep…

Check my email – Gmail

Last browse through my social media – Snapchat, Instagram

Replies to chat – Whatsapp/ Telegram

Set my alarm for the next day

What others use their mobile devices (that I don’t)

When commuting and while having meals, I observed that people were on their phones for gaming such as PokemonGo, and another common usage for it would be loading videos and TV series to watch on the go. Also, I noticed that some of my friends would use the weather forecast at the start of the day to decide what to wear/ whether to bring an umbrella.

DAY 2 – Do not use your phone, computer or electronic device for 24 hours. Create a diary documenting and describing the difference in your behavior patterns. How did you do the things you would normally do with your phone? What other alternative behaviors did you develop? What else did you notice about the difference in behavior?

This exercise did throw me off from my usual day to day behaviour. I did not have an analog clock in hall, I relied on my body clock to wake up naturally and without a targeted timing.

Since I could not use my laptop for the day, I prepared my work beforehand by printing my notes a few days before. However, throughout the day there was little that way done as most of the work that I was required to do was digital.

Keeping up to date with my social media network/email was out of the picture without being able to access any electronic device. And instead of impromptu plans with my friends that I usually have for lunch or dinner, I had them packed back into hall instead. Without much plans for the day, I went out for a run to pass time.

Honestly this was almost a mission impossible task and it made the day seem like a really long one since it was my day-off from both work and school that was spent alone in my hall as I was unable to make plans with my friends to spend the day out.

Week 5 Reading Response & Examples

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Part I:

Reading this chapter by Chipchase had me reevaluating my own carrying behaviour as I read along. 

It was interesting for me when he introduced the term, range of distribution, and explained how cultural context would play a part in the difference in behaviour. I’ve experienced this myself, where in Singapore, it is deemed relatively safe to leave our belongings unattended for a short amount of time, and though this was something that I was used to, I had troubles adapting back to this behaviour after I came back from a short 6 months exchange trip overseas. It occurred to me how vulnerable my belongings were and how I took this safety for granted back here in Singapore. 

Despite the convenience that digitalisation brings, Chipchase mentioned that people are risk-averse, and carry more than the bare minimum. As I looked through my wallet, it resonated with me that redundancy is indeed the most common form of compensation that I engage in. Credit cards and cash aside, I realised the redundancy that I carry in forms of membership cards as well. For instance, I still carry a physical Starbucks card or Soup Spoon card around with me in my wallet although I barely ever use it; I have the mobile app that I use for all my visits, but yet these cards still physically exists in my wallet because I worry of the scenario that my phone may run of battery when I am purchasing my drink/ meal.

Today we rely on these technology and network more than ever, but it scares me in certain ways. 

“The easiest way to never forget anything is to never have anything to remember.” 

Q1) As we have technologies that predicts our behaviour, how can we balance it’s advantages as oppose to the potential of over-reliance that could occur?

Q2) With the convenience that digitalisation brings (i.e. moving storage to cloud etc), do you think of it as more of a advantage or a possible threat?

Part II:

Based on the lecture on Place, Location and Ubiquitous technology, post an example of a product, service or design concept and post it on OSS.

Facebook 360 Photos 

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Facebook has made it easy for us to share a 360 degree photo by just uploading a panorama shot from the iPhone. The function of a 360degree photo allows viewers to experience the surrounding without having to be at the place at that moment.