So with 30 minutes, some foam board, tape, scissors, an exacto knife, newspaper and some chopsticks……Phill and I made this:

Rapid Prototype from Adam Scher on Vimeo.

This process was really meant to show us the ways in which prototyping is highly beneficial to the design process. It is quick, low cost, and allows you the freedom to create many many iterations. All in all, this assignment was very fun!

In his article “From Computing Machinery to Interaction Design”, Winograd actually predicts the emergence of interactive design as a new area of research and application. Written 13 years ago, he postulates this new field will develop out of the need to design “spaces for human communication and interaction [which] will lead to expansion in those aspects of computing that are focused on people, rather than machinery.” (Winograd) At the time, the skills to build technology with such capabilities were held by engineers and computer scientists. Minds that were capable of problem solving in areas regarding communication, psychology, and visual design seemed crucial to this design problem.

Over a decade later, the title “interactive designer” is being used, and not surprisingly is regarded crucial to the design process. The Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCI) interviewed well regarded interactive designers, to help refine their methodologies and practice of design research. What they found was the integration of interactive designers throughout an entire process, not just at the end, was enriching and beneficial. They note that designers integrate “ideas from art, design, science and engineering, in an attempt to make aesthetically functional interfaces.”(Zimmerman) What I found most interesting in their research was the understanding that designers bring empathy to the process. It is not just about what it looks like or how it works but why and how it’s used. This notion of considering the human connection to design is the future foundation on which we are currently building on.

In Mark Weiser’s essay, “The Computer for the 21st Century”, he writes about the incorporation of “invisible” and integrated technologies are in our everyday lives. He writes, “By pushing computers into the background, embodied virtuality will make individuals more aware of the people on the other ends of their computer links.”(Weiser) By creating and using, what Weiser calls, “ubiquitos computers” individuals can more seamlessly integrate technology, information, and communication into their flow. His ideas of the future involve hundreds of computers ranging from the size of a post-it to a bulletin board.

These reading made me start to think about the direction that I see technology and personal computing traveling in. I agree with all the readings, that personal communication with others is an inherent desire. It is most natural this to shape technology’s growth. There has been such a huge trend in content creation, and lots of the current technologies emphasize the ease with which we can create and disseminate content. It has become second nature, and the fact that anyone can “tweet” from anywhere, really makes the technology seem invisible. I don’t think about the fact that a cell phone was able to run an application which was able to wirelessly send data to online database which I then can access.  More simply put, “Successful interaction design requires a shift from seeing the machinery to seeing the lives of the people using it.”(Winograd)

Yes I know that defeats the purpose, and all of my entries will be made at once….but at least i’ll have some documentation of the things I accomplished.

Don’t hate.

Here are some links to flash sites that I like:
Neon Bible
monoface.com

Link to my MadLibs homework assignment

Anthony, Eric, and I were given the task to design a game that used coins and had to be played with one hand. A very interesting challenge. I think that we tackled this task extremely successfully.

We started by brainstorming and making lists, of games we knew that involved coins. We decided that the most successful coins games, were ones that we similar to sports. We all agreed that a coin based version of Shuffle Board would be great.

We drew up a game board prototype on some notebook paper, and started playing with some coins we had in our pocket. We then had an idea! What if each coin had a specific property attached to it. This would include our one-handed rule that we were given. We decided that there would be some coins with handycaps, and others with bonus points.

We then got user test our game with some of the students in another section. Because we had our directions written out, we didn’t need to explain anything to them. They played the game almost exactly as we had wanted! How fantastic! There were however a few questions about our rules that arose in the testing. “Was 100 points too high of a goal?”, “What should be the maximum and minimum amount of players?”

We were also given the task of using the laser cutter here to help with our prototype. We laid out the entire game board, coins, and rules to be cut out on masonite. It looks AMAZING! Also, the material helps the coins slide.

Tim Brown’s talk about the importance of creativity and fun in the workplace and in our lives was so wonderful. It’s true that as adults we judge our own ideas, and censor them. This inhibits us from freely generating concepts. I feel that as we get older we think more and more “inside the box”, mostly due to fear. But if we are constantly encouraged, but our peers and our environment, the possibilities are endless.

Create a time-lapse image:

1. Connect camera to computer

2. Detect camera

3.Open window which displays picture

4. Save image

5. Print image with 50% alpha channel

6. Save another image a half second later

7. Print image with 50% alpha channel

8. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for 60 seconds.

9. Save final image as a high resolution .jpg

photography examples:

Link