albert-does-e

[albert-does-e]

A4 Reflection

For this project, I learned a lot more about the highs and lows of the design process through iteration and design thinking. I had given myself a goal in the very beginning to incorporate nature into the studio space, so that gave me a general prompt to work with. When I went forward with a certain idea, however, I found that I didn’t know what to do once I discussed with Peter and came to the conclusion that the idea I had was a dead-end. I felt a bit demoralized and confused as to how to move forward since the only way to continue the project was to take a few steps back. As a result, I decided to think back to the beginning of the project where I mapped out what my goals were for each step. In particular, the only goal that I was adamant on keeping was having plants in the studio space and having each student interact with them. I learned that dead-ends in design are completely normal, and that sometimes it just takes a few steps back to figure out how to move in a new direction towards a different solution.

I think that the thought map that helped me reorganize my ideas was extremely helpful, so it’d be really useful in the beginning of each design process to view many options to decide which path I’d like to go down. Had I known how useful actually mapping out my thought process would be, I would’ve done it a lot sooner rather than just thinking of something and then moving forward with it on the hopes that it will work. Writing out the process was also a really calming activity that helped me go step-by-step

While I’m happy I came to the final solution after different iterations of ideas, getting there was pretty painful for me because I felt myself running out of time when I had to rethink things through a few days before the demos were due in class. I had begun to felt unmotivated towards the end because of other final projects due around the same time. Additionally, I didn’t spend as much time as I would’ve liked to film the video demo because I spent much more time creating the graphics for the interaction between the student and the screen. The biggest challenge for me this project was getting over that dead-end hurdle I experienced the week before the project was due, but I’m happy I experienced it so I know how to tackle it next time it (inevitably) happens.

If I were to do this project differently, I’d take a deep breath and realize that dead-ends in design happen all the time rather than sulking about the fact that I spent a significant amount of time on a busted idea. I would also push myself to expand on the idea to create something more unique, since I felt that my solution was a bit too similar to previous digital assistants. I would’ve looked more into the idea of having multi-screen compatibility, but also consider why someone would enjoy the experience of having multiple screens to move the digital plant around in. While I considered the idea, I had ended up shooting it down rather quickly since it came off to me as more of something unnecessary to the design of my solution. Looking at references was a huge benefit to the design process as well, so I would research more about digital assistants and see how people tackled that issue in a variety of ways.

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Final Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouEU5XmKGnE

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After discussing with Peter and realizing I had a hard time pushing my previous idea further, I took a step back and re-thought why I was interested in creating a more natural environment for the studio using plants. I wrote out my thought process during the thinking phase to try and understand which direction I wanted to move forward the most. Eventually, I discussed with Austin about my idea map and went forward with something that I would personally find fun for someone to use -- a digital assistant or companion that could react to physical environments. I had wanted to avoid a sort of blackmail to make the student take care of the plant, so I opted to motivate them by incorporating something fun into the studio environment. In this idea, each student would have their own plant to take care of and their incentive to take care of it would revolve around forming a bond with a digital assistant (”plant buddy”) that serves many functions and physically resembles the real plant, growing over time.  The photo on the right is a short storyboard showing the different reactions, emotions, and functions that the plant could have, either alone or with other students’ plants.

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These are mockups of how the app will function. The user will use their phone to view the plant on the desk and select it, bringing them to a variety of cloud computing services. Choosing one will bring them into their personal account (accessible through other devices) and then they can look through the folders and files to choose what they want to upload. I still have to create mockups for naming things, such as folders they can upload to parts of the plant. People’s personal plants can be viewed (but not edited) by others to encourage collaboration and curiosity in what other people are doing. P.S. The setting button on the bottom left of the first screen leads to people logging into their personal cloud services and maybe offering help on how the app works.

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Here’s a quick storyboard of my interaction and video demo. The page on the left is a (very) general idea of what I want to film. I plan to just have the interaction demo be a quick runthrough of someone using the “Process Plants” app to upload his/her process into part of the plant. The story itself will involve someone finishing up work for the day and uploading the process work into the plant, and then coming in the next day to refresh his/her memory on what was done the night before. I also have tentative plans to create a website for those outside of studio to use with the plant’s contents. At this moment, I’m not sure if a website is really necessary since it would encourage students to work in studio more if they had to be there. Additionally, uploading process to the plant isn’t meant to be a mandatory thing for the student.

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Here are a few wireframes of how the digital component of the “process plants” would work. When holding one’s phone up to view a plant through the camera, the phone highlights the plant it detects and the user can select it to either view, add, or delete process files that have been saved to the plant. I still have to make wireframes for how the user will obtain files from certain cloud storage services, such as Box, and what the actual physical model will look like (this is just a sample plant to show how the system would work).

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Process for the final environments project. My idea has moved on to focus more on the interaction with the plant rather than having a mobile air garden. By having each plant represent a project, students can experience the growth of their work by taking care of the plant in the center of their table clusters. They can use their mobile device to view what each plant represents and “upload” process to parts of the plant as it grows. For example, when the plant is a tiny sprout, the person can upload their process on the project to it and it stays there as the plant grows. By the time the plant has fully grown, the person has (ideally) added more process work and eventually created a high-fidelity version. The plants continue to grow even after project deadlines, so the user is encouraged to go back and re-explore each project to maximize their potential.

Each table cluster (consisting of three to four people) would share their own community garden, where they can add whatever projects/plants they want. Even projects with collaborators can have work uploaded to a new plant. People are free to look at other people’s plants at other tables and see what each person is up to. Overall the project is a way to improve the studio space with a more natural environment and help students focus on work while still enjoying the natural aspect of the room.

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This is my initial idea for redesigning the studio space to be an intelligent learning environment. My idea stems from the same concept I had for A2, where I used the biophilia effect as inspiration for my design. In this one, I aim to make the experience more individual or customizable for each student since a natural environment helps them learn better and reduces stress (read: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2760412/). By having mini-gardens that have vertical mobility, each table can take care of and foster their own natural environment. Additionally, by lifting the garden up into the air through a system of levers, a screen will come up from under the garden and show a live feed of a natural environment of each student’s choice. I’m still debating on how to make this design even more “intelligent,” how to make the studio a more collaborative space with the idea, and how to maximize the potential of the individual screens.

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Avalon Exchange - A3 Reflection

For A3, I learned how to experience a space and point out what’s right and wrong with it. I chose Avalon Exchange because I thought it was a store that had a unique identity compared to the other stores in the area. I think my documentation of the physical space was sufficient but not completely thorough. The main portion of my documentation notes consisted of the disconnect between the physical and the digital environments for Avalon (the store versus the website). Obviously if I were to take a video of the space again, I’d shoot a horizontal view instead of a vertical one.

Overall, I think my documentation could have used a bit more research and exploration of the physical space, but it was my proposal that I really dropped the ball on. A big problem of my design process is that I tend to try to design for anyone and everyone, rather than choosing an audience and creating ideas around them. Feedback during the crit for A3 made me realize that I have to know what type of person is the most important in that situation and what can I do to improve their shopping experience. Because of me trying to satisfy multiple audiences, I ran into trouble with conflicting ideas of how to organize the space. If it’s too clean, Avalon loses the identity of being a store where people can search for offbeat clothing deals. My kiosk design didn’t really feel like it had the identity of Avalon either, since it was a bit too minimal and empty.

I’d definitely try to go back to the space and research more about what type of person is commonly associated with Avalon Exchange. I learned that putting myself out there to get the information I need is crucial to simplifying the design process and giving myself a clear goal that I can work towards. Otherwise, I’ll just find myself trying to juggle multiple conflicting ideas and end up getting frustrated at myself for not thinking of the “perfect” solution.

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BioSpace - A2 Reflection

While I found myself enjoying the work that I was doing for A2, I’m pretty disappointed with how the demo was executed. The idea of redesigning the studio space to create a new environment made me excited to think of how fun the hypothetical space would be. I’m overall happy I got to base my idea from the “Universal Principles of Design” book that we read for How People Work, since I’ve recently been trying to apply what I learn from other classes into studio. While my final concept was a bit different from my initial ideas, I was pleased with how I thought past my comfort zone and then toned it down to make the idea more feasible. My initial idea consisted of changing all the walls, the ceiling, and the floor to simulate a natural environment, but I changed it to just one wall to keep the idea of a studio, but still have a new simulated space to interact with.

I had a difficult time thinking of the interaction the user could have with the simulated space. Maybe it was a lack of inspiration or designer’s block, but I couldn’t come up with an exciting idea that wouldn’t feel frustrating or boring to do with a digital environment only visible by screen. I felt a bit overwhelmed since there were other projects due around the same time, so I don’t think I put in as much effort into this project as I could have. While I was motivated to work on the project because I liked the idea, I found myself hitting a creative wall over and over again with the interaction idea. Ideally I would’ve changed the entire surrounding of the studio (walls, floor, ceiling, etc.), but I ran into trouble showing that even through the use of Photoshop and AfterEffects.

I realized that a big part of my problems stemmed from a lack of planning, since I usually thought of an idea and just went with it. I also didn’t create a storyboard for my video, so I ended up just using photos that I already had taken before I even decided to do one. I learned that planning out step by step, even if it’s tedious in the beginning, helps a lot when I’m actually making a final piece. I tend to plan things out in the beginning as a basic framework, but I also improvise a lot towards the end and I think that that habit is detrimental to how my work turns out. I aim to plan a quick storyboard out for every stage of the design process rather than just use the beginning storyboard and roll with spontaneous ideas I come up with when I’m short on time.

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Video Link: https://youtu.be/u91OXPuTGCc

This is a proposal for the redesign of Avalon Exchange. I aimed to help those who are new to the store and want to find a certain type of clothing by designing a kiosk located near the front of the store that acts as a store map. The kiosk consists of general filters that narrow down the customer’s search by a significant amount, since the store’s vast clothing racks can be overwhelming upon first inspection. By utilizing the filters on the kiosk and seeing the highlighted areas, they can then go to those parts of the stores and look for what they desire. The kiosk is not specific enough to tell where every type of clothing is, but it has general filters to maintain the excitement of scavenging for steals through a thrift store.

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Here’s a short walkthrough from the front of Avalon Exchange to the back. It’s clearly pretty cramped and to be honest I’m not sure what I should be looking for. 

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Here’s the website for Avalon Exchange. Interestingly, the store emphasizes the fact that it buys your clothes rather than how it sells clothes from other people. While Avalon is essentially a thrift store, the website makes it seem a lot more fancy and upper-class than thrift stores are normally associated with. It contains no catalog for the clothes that it offers, but rather goes into how the process works and what they sell/buy to and from people. I think the image that Avalon is going for (higher-end resale “boutique”) is working pretty well, but the physical space could definitely change to match that. I’d try to add some sort of catalog or digital organizational system to let people know what they offer at the local store (in this case, Pittsburgh’s Avalon Exchange).

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Here are photos of the interior of Avalon Exchange in Pittsburgh, PA. It’s clear through these photos that the space inside the store is very cramped. There are three aisles that lead to the other end of the story -- one for men’s clothing and two for women’s clothing. The first photo are what I noticed when I printed out the photos are looked at the scenes to notice where items are located and how the story is laid out. The last photo shows hats, shoes, and bags located near the entrance of the story, but there are other shoes and bags located in other places of the story, which makes it a bit harder to find whatever you’re looking for. Also, within the racks themselves, it’s still hard to find the type of clothes you’re looking for since I didn’t notice any labels around the store. Finally, the photos show how cramped the aisles are. People have to move out of the way if someone else is walking behind them in the aisle. For my redesign, I aim to create some sort of organizational system that makes it easier to find an article of clothing. I also think some sort of elevational system (think fancy schmancy Japanese car garages...) could make the store more spacious in terms of movement.

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Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLgsp-_vjJc

My redesign of the studio space revolved around the idea of lowering stress in studio, thus making it a more enjoyable and collaborative place to work in. By incorporating a wall that creates a real-time feed of a natural environment, which increases focus and relieves stress according to the biophilia effect. When someone in studio is stressed, sensors attached to people’s desks are triggered, setting off a lamp which signals an upcoming change in scenery. The wall then changes to the natural environment, which students can interact with by walking in front of the screen. When this act is performed, the real-time feed moves forward as well, allowing the student to imitate the act of walking and exploring the space visualized on the wall.

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This is my beginning storyboard for project A2, where we have to redesign the studio space by incorporating the usage of sensors to react to something in the room. My idea revolves around the biophilia effect, which states the natural environments produce restorative benefits. In other words, people work better and are less stressed in natural environments. When the sensors in the room detect a stressful vibe or presence, then the walls (and ceiling and floor) will change to imitate a virtual natural environment that will essentially bring a new setting to the studio. The ultimate goal of this idea/redesign is to reduce stress in the room and make studio an enjoyable, motivational place to work.

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Heroes of CMU - A1 Reflection

The first project taught me a lot about how to approach creating an interface for a specific user and purpose. The first wireframes where I tried to show the current PACMU app demonstrated a new way of thinking that I usually didn’t do in other projects or classes. I created those wireframes while constantly thinking about not what I was thinking while using the app, but why I was doing whatever I was doing. For example, it might be just me but whenever I come across Google Maps, I almost immediately try to go into street view just to see what it’s like in first person. Understanding how I (and other users of the app) think was a major step forward in trying to figure out how I could go about improving the app.

I learned how to use wireframes to convey my ideas, but I’m still working on how to have enough depth to them that the story can be told clearly, yet not have too many paths or stories going on at the same time. In the beginning, I really struggled with how to do wireframes and make them understandable to not only myself, but other people as well. I’m more comfortable with wireframing after making drafts of the PACMU app, but there’s still a lot about it I have to work on, such as level of fidelity and annotating in a clear and concise matter.

I felt more comfortable with storyboarding than I did with wireframing, since it felt more based on reality than hypothetically speaking. I wish I took more photos of actual interaction of the app in my storyboard, because most of my photos were just the user having the app open and not really giving the illusion that it’s been used. I also aim to have a larger variety of photos in terms of app interactions and demonstrations, as I felt that a lot of my storyboard photos followed the same formula of the user just walking with the app.

Overall, the project was a bit of a struggle for me to get the hang of, since I got frustrated with my early wireframes and wasn’t that interested in the PACMU app. It wasn’t until I switched my focus to taking an aspect of my PACMU redesign and turning it into an interactive game that I started to have fun with the project. I think that this sort of helped me figure out what I’m interested in creating, but I’m still keeping my options open as to what I’d like to work on in the future. I’ve ultimately learned that I should really be interested in what I’m working on so I don’t want to get it over with as soon as possible.

For future projects, I’ll definitely tell myself to keep my thoughts more organized. I had a lot of different ideas going on during this project, but I don’t think I thought outside the box for a lot of them. Austin said that since we’re still in school, we’re able to make mistakes and do unexpected things, so I hope that I’ll be able to take that advice and apply it to future projects. Though I had a hard time with the project as a whole, I’m happy I got to experience wireframing and basic visual interface development for the first time.