Week 14 Blog Assignment

Designing Your Life

That’s the topic of this blog assignment. We spent an entire semester talking about human-computer interaction design; you know, designing the obvious. And perhaps you’ve learned something along the way; not just the intellectual skills, not just the things you learn in order to pass a course, get the grade, but real things — the things that are truly important. Slow Change. Not twitter, not IM, not your cell phone — not the high school-like chatter that occupies so many of our conversations: "she said …; he said …" Really, who cares? WTF does it really matter? I’m talking instead about Slow Change. Important stuff. Life stuff.

Did this class teach you to take a risk? To learn in a new way? Did it make you think that on the next iteration of “playing the [design] game” you might actually change something about yourself? When will you stop taking from the planet and give something back instead? What are you planning to do to minimize bad habits and focus on the new and healthy?

I realize this note is a bit strange. Hey, it’s the last blog note! Let’s mess it up a little bit. Give me something interesting to read this week. It’s just between you and me. No one is watching. Have fun. The deadline is the last day of class. An easy 15 points.

Evan Samuels - Blog post #12 and 13

When I came into this course, I knew a little about HCI already. I knew about researching how people interact with computers and getting info directly from user to help guide objectives and the design of the final product/service. What I learned from this course mainly supported what I already knew about usability research and testing. I mainly learned was the specifics, like iterative, multi-layered, focused concepts and the specifics of usability testing.

However, I have not learned much more about HCI other than what I already knew. I would have liked to practice usability tests more in in-class exercises so we can get advice from AIs in class, as well as from peers. I am very interested in how technology is used and why people use, and I would have liked to do more in usability testing. I also would have liked to talk about the 7 themes of design more (and maybe even implement them in our projects too). I also would have liked to focus more on research. Research is a crucial skill for everyone's futures and I would have liked to start research more in earlier projects to support our findings instead of in the last project.

The main things I am taking away from this course are from project 6. I am team facilitator for Team Zazu and I have gained valuable experience managing my team and how we approached the solution, which I can now proudly put on my resume. I also see more potential HCI as career, but more generally in business, as a project manager, or a variety of other roles (not just as a designer).

Blog 12 & 13 - Stephen Miller

It’s difficult for me to quantify everything I’ve learned in this course, as most of the changes for myself are intangible and are manifested in an adjusted mindset and worldview. Some of the more concrete things I have learned include the importance of iteration, research, and developing user-centered design. While these may seem obvious, as far as I am concerned they might as well have been alien concepts. Research especially was something I paid plenty of lip service to prior to this class, but more often than not I would come up with an idea, find research to fill in the edges and then leave it at that. I300 showed me the importance of allowing research to shape my ideas and even allow for drastic changes as a result of things found during research. Iteration is something that should be extended to all aspects of life. Try, try, try, try again is truly a mantra to live by. It’s rare for human beings to get something right the first time around, and I300 really demonstrated this fact and the benefit of working on things more than once. Finally, user-centered design is essential. While inventing a kick-ass new gadget is lots of fun, if people don’t need it, then what’s the point? I300 really taught me the value of putting the human aspect before the technological.

Blog 12+13 Mark Rodriguez

Throughout this course I've learned so much about the design process. I thought I had known a lot from taking architecture classes in the past, but this brought a whole new dynamic to the game. I've learned about this "Game" that is in design that includes creative thought, reiteration, challenging others, and testing yourself. The game is full of all these processes that come together to create a design that fits a user. The Game is repetitive, but the reiteration really helps a design, and helps designers get a better understanding of what users want/need.

I'm taking a lot away from this class. In fact, almost every software and web page design i see I always have a critique for it on the spot. But not even just software and web design, almost everything I see that has some sort of intuitive design to it, i have some kind of comment about how to use it. I really enjoyed this class and think that Marty's style of teaching and our text really helped us LEARN the material.

Blog 12 & 13 Tanner Sheridan

Coming into I-300 I knew very little about design and human and computer interaction. I have learned all of the words and terminology that surrounds the process of playing the "whole game" of design, but more importantly I have learned that there is never a perfect design and that iteration and testing a crucial to the design process.

I have learned the importance of keeping the end user in mind, but at the same time being able to be computer imaginative(if the medium is technology) and awake users to needs and wants that didn't know they had.

Along with these concepts and processes I have learned a lot of valuable skills about teamwork and problem solving that will surely serve me well in the future.

Blog 12+13 - Janelle Velkoff

Coming into this course I had absolutely no idea what it meant to "play the whole game" because I honestly had no idea what HCI Design even was. I've obviously learned a lot over the last few months but one thing that I know will stick with me is the idea of reiteration. It is just something that I had really never considered, but now it is something that I see as necessary in every project I do. The idea that no design is perfect and there is always something that can be improved the next time around, has really helped me with a lot of different projects. Also the importance of usability testing and designing around a persona will really be something I keep in mind for projects in the future. I have really enjoyed this class and feel like it has given us all a lot of skills that we can take with us so that we will be more successful as we continue in our informatics classes.

Chris Hall Blog #12 & 13

As the risk of sounding like everyone else, when I stated this class I had no idea what HCID was, let alone that there was a “whole game” attached to it. All I knew about HCI/D was what I heard from my friend who is a first year HCI Design master student. And most of it was grumbling about lots of work.

What have I learned? Well there are all the technical aspects, terminology, and protocols that are associated with design. But more then that I learned that the process of design is not nearly as simple as I first thought. I learned that a good design never stops evolving (something that took me a while to fully understand). Most of all I learned that even a bad design can have some good elements to it and should not be whole heartedly dismissed.

What am I taking away from this class? Again there are all the technical aspects, terminology, and protocol that are associated with design. But I think the most valuable thing I will take away from this is class is a better understanding of the design process and a new found appreciation and respect for those who “play the whole game” and do so well.

Kym Pagel - 12 & 13

I came into this course a blank slate because really I knew nothing of design. I could pick out designs which I thought were horrible but otherwise had no clue.

I've learned that good design is a lot like good music. First: iteration. You have to practice a lot, until you feel sick of what you're doing. The finished result in design just, like in music, will never be perfect. Small iterative steps of improvement are basically the bread and butter in both.
Second: Team work. Just like working in an orchestra you have to be a good team. You have to have the same goal and communicate well. If one of the members disagrees or doesn't understand something then it will negatively effect the product. More opinions and input give new and better perspectives which benefit the product in several ways.
3. Focus on the users. This is more abstract and hard to explain. In both cases the goal is to create something which fits the user's needs and inspires them. The audience/users should receive benefits from the product in a satisfying and understandable way without frustration. It might seem like a stretch but it makes sense to me.

Blog Assignment 12 & 13 - Bethany Hufford

Coming into this class I had very little knowledge on what good design was and how much work it takes to really get a good design. Learning how to 'play the whole game' has really shown me how to think about design and achieve a good design. One of the most important things that I have learned is reiteration. A design is never finished and there area always improvements that can be made.

Blog Assignment 12 & 13

At the beginning of the semester, I had no idea about what it meant by 'playing the whole game', 'seven themes of good designs', nor 'PRInCiPleS'. Furthermore, I had no insights nor thoughts on any designs I see everyday in my life. I never thought deeply about why and how the design is designed in certain ways at the beginning of the semester. However, as I've been taught on basically how a design is formed, now I have knowledge of and insights of designs I see daily. When I see something, now I can think about why something is designed that way and what needs to be improved. Two things I've most learned in the class are teamwork and design. By taking I300 class, now I can talk smartly about designs to people.

Enrique Pérez Blog 12/13

When we were first introduced to the ‘whole game’ of HCI Design, I was nervous as to what the ‘game’ would entail. As the semester progressed, I realized that I have been playing the whole game in my interior design courses. I could not help to laugh with myself as the each part of the whole game unfolded in I300. Learning the whole game has reaffirmed that the processes I go through in my interior design courses are necessary to develop a better, more obvious design. It’s intriguing how the game applies not only to HCI, but interior design, among other fields. The whole game is important in design, but what I’m I’ve learned the most is the importance of sketching and iteration.

In addition to better understanding the whole game, I’m taking with me the notions of kaizen, team protocols, the PRInCiPles framwork, the seven themes of good design, and the idea of elevating versus innovating. All that I’ve learned in I300 will be of great benefit as I continue in the interior design program and consider going to graduate school for HCI, automotive engineering, or industrial design. I will also be using our course book as a reference for future projects. I’ve found that I’ve learned several of the practices mentioned in the book in my interior design courses when it comes to formatting and designing presentations. This class is obvious for designers to be.

Blog Assignment 12/13-James Berghoff

Going into I300 I had never heard or known about "playing the whole game" of HCI design, it was all very new to me. Coming out of the course I have learned the process that it takes to achieve good design. It is not just designers coming up with an idea and just throwing it together, they have to take a lot into consideration when designing and its a process that needs to be carried out of a long period of time in order to make it right. I enjoyed the class and feel I can use what we learned in future courses and work.

Jeff Lewis Blog 12 & 13

At the beginning of this class I had no idea of what it took to design something. It is much more complex than I thought. I have learned the "whole game" and I will be able to use it in other situations other than this course.

A major thing that I've learned is that you must reiterate constantly while designing something to advance towards perfection.

Another thing that I've learned is to design with a purpose by keeping the user in mind. Just becuase there is some new technology doesn't mean that it should be incorporated. If it doesn't serve a purpose for the user than its a waste of time. Don't just design to incorporate the most gadgets.

Andrew DeVoe Blog #11

1. Kaizen is synonymous with iteration. It constantly re-evaluates and calls for yet more critiques and re-designs. This directly relates to the theme #5: A good design is re-design. Once you finish a design, the next step is to take what you've made, and to find all your mistakes and re-evolve the whole thing all over again.

2. Our group is doing the lines project, and we decided to observe a line at a crowded restaurant to see how people will react when there are no sanctions to the lines.

3. We decided that we needed to get an idea of how people feel when they are in line and it's completely unorganized, as well as what they're expectations as to how long they have to wait once they stand in the line.

Weeks 12 and 13 Blog Assignments

If you do this one it's worth DOUBLE points, 15 for each week, 30 points total!

And because it's being posted late, you'll have until Monday night, April 19th, to write your answer.

The last chapter of our book encourages us to “get in the game.” Read the chapter; it will take 20 minutes (at most), and it’s good reading.

So here’s what I’m curious to know: When you began this course, most of you had no clue about the “whole game” of HCI Design.

What have you learned? What are you taking away from this course?

#11 - Nik Spurgetis

At one point, I said I was not an I300 loser, but it seems that I am, as I totally forgot to post this yesterday :-/

Kaizen is analagous to our idea of continual redesign. When I see the word kaizen, my mind isolates the "zen" and that evokes feelings of wisdom and peace; taking it slow and steady. Thus, my personal interpretation of kaizen is colored by the notion of tiny, inspired changes instead of huge overhauls.

One concept my group has for Project 6 (pre-kaizen) is that of a glorified tablet computer serving as the dinner table in a restaurant (see: Microsoft Surface). Without going into too much detail of what exactly would be displayed on the table, our first vision of this system was that the whole tabletop was going to be a touch-responsive screen. However, this would probably prove to be "overkill," as we would probably not fill the whole area with content, driving component costs up, and being too much of a distraction.

Applying the concept of kaizen, we decided that the screen area should be limited to the center of the table. This modification of screen position is ostensibly cosmetic, but it changes so much about the overall design--now parents can easily see what their children are doing on the computer, and the content is much less likely to be obscured by dishes, silverware, etc.

blog 11 - Janelle Velkoff

Kaizen to me seems like the theme of good design that we talked about where it entails continual redesign. We have talked so much about iteration and that's really what kaizen is, doing little things to improve your design over and over. Each time the design gets stronger, but you still can usually improve upon that.

One of the concepts my group worked with for the line issue was integrating activity within the line. A gaming system like the Wii seemed appropriate for getting people active and letting them have fun. Making games focused towards the theme of the ride and also include some physical activity.

After applying the technique of kaizen our design looked a little different. The idea was the same but we realized we should restructure our ideas a little bit to fit the needs of different people. Giving the option of different levels of intensity in the game for those who wanted to be or needed to be less physically active. Such as making a game where you were trying to get something that was high up, a low activity level choice would mean you reach for it and a high activity level would have you jumping up and down. This seemed like it would help us make the activities appealing to a wider group of people.

(sorry this is a few minutes late my laptop died at the library!)

Stephen Miller - Blog 11

Kaizen seems to really be about revisiting your designs and never truly declaring a project as "finished." The context in which an application exists is constantly changing, and this requires a dynamic approach to design. Anyone can crap out design after design - the good can be distinguished from the mediocre by the slightest of adjustments, and the technique of kaizen encourages and facilitates this approach.

My group is tackling the restaurant challenge and one of our current concepts is that of a restaurant themed like "Rabbit's Garden" from Winnie the Pooh. The concept originally involved a restaurant where the patrons went and picked their own fresh fruits and veggies from "Rabbit's Garden." After applying kaizen, we realized not everyone might be interested in getting up and wandering around a garden while they are at a meal. To solve this, we could make the fresh produce picking optional to patrons. While this may seem rather obvious and small, it makes the restaurant even more accessible to patrons of all walks of life.

Evan Samuels - Blog post #11

1) My interpretation of kaizen is useful improvement and only making changes that are the most beneficial yet won't be too overwhelming. Likewise, the 'theme of good design' that is closest to my interpretation of kaizen is "more craft than art". Yes, designs should be aesthetically appealing, but the main goal of any good design is its usefulness to different users in different contexts. Craft is useful, but with art, this isn't always the case.

2) For project 6, our goal was to improve the experience of waiting in line, while emphasizing health and wellness, as well as storytelling and adventure. Before we really sat down and thought about our concepts and applied kaizen to them, we had no clear view of what to do and how to do it. It was easy to include storytelling into our concepts because it was Disney and we had some prior experience with the adventure of Disney. However, our main issue was 'how can you exercise and move around in a small space like a line?" We were also throwing around ideas about mental wellness vs. physical wellness too. Everything was a mess and we weren't going in any direction.

3) When we finally sat down and thought out our concepts using kaizen, our goals finally become clear. We changed our focus from forcing activity and wellness outright to more of a storytelling focus as a way to engage our customers and entertain them. This change in focus allowed our group to focus on core goals of the project, which is to: 1)keep with the main storytelling theme of Disney; and 2) give customers something to do in line. By focusing on engaging customers and not forcing wellness, we make wellness fun because they aren't thinking of the pressures of working out, but on entertainment, thus reinforcing healthy habits. A extra plus is that it takes their minds off of the boredom of waiting in line.

We also have separate spaces where the actual physical activities are performed and where the informative reflective sections are so the experiences and benefits last beyond the moment. This is opposed to having everything happening all in the same time and not extending the benefits beyond the moment

Kym Pagel - blog 11

1. Kaizen is that word we keep hearing over and over in class, 'iteration'. It's all about repeating the design process several times and adding small fixes at each go until you can't stand to ever iterate on it again. Kinda like perfecting a song on a musical instrument. So, this relates to the 'Entails continual redesign' theme. Continual redesign doesn't have to be major, it can be small iterative improvements.
2. We, team Wonderful, chose the restaurant idea. One of the concepts made by the other dude was to put it in an active setting, because this will encourage physical activity and exercise beyond the main experience within the restaurant. Having the active setting will also let them burn off calories directly after the meal, and help create a mental link between physical activity and fun.
3. Active setting is cool but pretty vague, he suggested playground and then I suggested obstacle course. Either way this would provide the user for an outlet for their energy and a great time after their meal. Then I realized that if we could find some way to integrate the playground into the restaurant, that would be even more fun and wellness oriented.