#501progress

[itsdangold]

ixd501 index

ixd501

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Research

Milestones

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[itsdangold]

ixd501 - A slight project pivot...

Applying some of my “critical thinking”, I’ve realised that I might be a bit too out of my depth here, and what I’m trying to accomplish will be a difficult task.

After all of the code research and experimentation, building interactive canvases that communicate with one another, which then in turn generate sounds was a bit of an unrealistic expectation to set.

I’m taking a slight pivot in my project, in that I want to focus more on the music making aspect, but still provide a beautiful user interface.

Revisiting some of the products that I looked at, and reading over my key takeaways, there’s a real gap in music-making apps that are lovely to use and easy to pick up.

I also think I had my original logic messed up. Instead of making art that creates music, a more achievable product would be to generate animated artwork based on the sounds you make, using instruments and patterns like drums, sequencers etc

[itsdangold]

ixd501 - Revised pitchdeck

With the bulk of the research out of the way. I’ve been tasked again to provide a small pitch deck with a brief summary of the work I’ve done up to this point.

For the main slide I refactored some of the logo sketches I had, and have started to work on this neon-synthwave style, which I think could work really well.

[itsdangold]

ixd501 - Early Pitch Deck

Midway through my research, and we were instructed to create a quick pitch deck of our progress.

This presented me with another opportunity to look at my strapline and core offerings.

[itsdangold]

ixd501 - Tomorrow Headline v1

[itsdangold]

ixd501 - Project Planning

With my project well underway, I’ve started to organise my time for scheduling posts, and setting clear milestones for what I want to accomplish as a general timeline. This isn’t an exact structure, but I think it will help me focus on what I need to work on week by week.

Outlining the main project content in notion, I’ve structured it into key checkboxes.

[itsdangold]

ixd501 - A new project direction

Definitely sticking with this project idea, for certain this time. 

What interesst me most about this direction is that the ideas and features can evolve over time, and isn’t really set in stone from the first week.

With the initial sketches out the way and steaming on full speed, I created a very quick elevator pitch and one page site. This really helped in narrow the focus on what I want the product to achieve.

Whilst walking in the park a product name popped into my head which I love: Synthesesia -> (A combination of synthesizer and synesthesia)

https://synthesesia.landen.co/

I’m still set on creating something more experimental than just pure product design. I think spending my last year creating something ridiculous will be way more fun.

[itsdangold]

ixd501 - Revisiting product ideas

After some more deliberation, I’ve decided to look back at some of my other project ideas.

In all honesty I wasn’t too thrilled about a wikipedia-esque site as my final project. There’s also plenty of time for me to go down another avenue which is....

Music! 

I briefly glossed over this at the beginning, but I think combing design and music could be a fantastic project to work on. I’m being drawn towards creating a more experimental and artistic piece, where you can interact with different sandbox widgets, which in turn create sounds.

Now, at the moment it all sounds a bit abstract, but I think this combination of visualisations and music would really challenge me creatively, and also technically in code.

I’ve begun to sketch out some of the wild ideas, to see if anything sticks

[itsdangold]

ixd501 - Three Ideas

With the bulk of my ideas out on paper, I refined that list into the top three ideas:

- A site to review and buy custom keyboards

- A browser extension for wellbeing

- A platform to discover new music and events

To test the viability of those ideas, I wrote some more in-depth explanations, covering the pros and cons of each.

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Custom Keyboards

Overview

Custom mechanical keyboards are the hot topic as of late, with dedicated and niche communities that discuss designs, products, and information to build your own keyboard.

There’s a vast amount of information online to help people learn about the subject. However, most of the time it’s poorly designed and hard to follow.

This product will look at consolidating all the information around mechanical keyboards, and provide a streamlined platform for people wanting to learn more about the topic.

Pros

There’s a tonne of information online, so content for the product will not be a problem.

Lots of users and communities to get feedback and research from.

It should be fairly trivial to build the platform with my current abilities.

Cons

I’m not particularly enthused about the area, and could see myself being burned out if I’m working on it for 6+ months

I want to challenge my technical abilities... this doesn’t really provide an opportunity for that

How might it be built?

The best route for this project would be through a website, and native apps using a cross-platform web-app With purely static content, the pages can be generated via a static site generator such as Eleventy or Next.js.

A CMS could also be setup for creating new posts, for example using Craft CMS.

Who’s it for?

The core market for this type of product would be mostly people involved in the tech and gaming scene, with a relatively high-comptenecy of using apps and websites.

The demographic as far as age-range hovers around 18-35 year-olds, mostly millennials.

What’s the business model?

The main product itself would be free to-use. Potential revenue streams from this product would come from sponsored posts/content from companies, or even keyboard-related merchandise.

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Wellbeing browser-extension

Overview

Oftentimes when I’m working, or just generally using the computer, I find myself tunnel-visioning, forgetting to do even the most basic things such as stretching, drinking water, and even blinking!

The idea for this product would be a browser extension or desktop widget like a Pomodoro timer, that gently reminds you to take a break every so often.

Using calming animations and micro-interactions, the extension would be used to reinforce good-habits, without being distracting.

Pros

Solving this problem is an interesting challenge

This type of project will allow me to explore a range of different areas in motion design and animation

There’s plenty of technical challenges for creating a desktop application or browser extension

Cons

No real cons, although there’s been a huge focus on wellbeing products recently, which I don’t find particularly interesting.

How might it be built?

The tech stack most likely for this would use React JS and Electron to create a cross-platform application.

Who’s it for?

This type of product would likely be able to target a much larger demographic. Really anyone who is conscious of their well-being when on the computer.

What’s the business model?

The core application would be free to use, with additional features and content locked behind a fixed price.

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Discover music events

Overview

Before the pandemic hit, I, like many others, loved going to concerts and live music. Discovering new bands and venues in the city was a fantastic experience. One caveat is that finding these events was fairly difficult. With event information spread across various different sites, there was no simple solution to find this information without going on a treasure-hunt or word-of-mouth.

This project would look at consolidating all the events in your area in a simple-to-use website. Another core aspect would be an interactive guide that suggests events to go to based on your preferences.

Pros

This project would be a great way to explore different aesthetics.

Can combine audio and visuals in some way which is interesting?

Plenty of users for research and feedback

Cons

Might be too tricky to build, especially generating events based on user preferences.

How might it be built?

A web-app of sorts using React or similar. can look into creating an API with event information.

Who’s it for?

The main target market would be those in their 20s and 30s who enjoy music and nightlife.

What’s the business model?

Mostly free, but could potentially morph into a “job board” type site, where bands or venues could post and feature upcoming gigs.

[itsdangold]

ixd501 - Idea Generation

Moving on from the group ideation session, I’ve begun to map out all topics that interest me. The fact that I’ll be working on something for 6+ months, means I have to ensure that it’s something I’ll enjoy working on. Finding something that combines my interest will be a quick win.

I essentially threw all of my interests in to a mind map, and cherry-picked the parts that stood out.

From there, I distilled those areas into potential product ideas, accompanied by some quick product flows to see if it works on paper.

[itsdangold]

ixd501 - Major Project Prototyping: Ideation

And we’re back!

After a fantastic placement year at https://littlethunder.co/, I’m so excited to bring back what I’ve learned into my major project work.

I’m not too sure how the first semester will go, with everything being online, I’m confident everything can run just as well, especially with the online nature of design and tech.

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In the first week, I’ve begun to plan some potential major project ideas. Our first lecture back, I paired up with a few others to create some hypothetical products to get our minds racing.

Collaborating over Figma, we were using the ‘Netflix but for...’ way of thinking, to combine some crazy products. Ending up with a hybrid of Spotify and Cooking. The main idea being a recipe app, where you can search for cooking ‘playlists’.