html, css, mysql, php
Sounds hot doesn’t it. Today I am going to learn how to program. I have a basic understanding of the concepts behind most programming, but actually typing out the code is a foreign language for me. I always said that the only way I would learn another language is if I moved there and had no choice. I guess thats sort of what I’m doing today. I’ve got 2 weeks left in the quarter and I have to get this done. At least I’m learning from the best.

After doing some basic paper wireframes (which are quick interface prototypes, focusing on the content of the screen rather than the visual style) I decided to put the designs in the computer. Here are a few of them. The next day or so I’ll be refining them and then working with Jon to start the back-end (programming) aspect.

Eureka! I’ve got it!
{insert mental image of chap doing the running man here}
Heres the answer to my information conundrum. “My final deliverable will consist of a functional website and database that allows for the dynamic creation and management of safety signs for the various SCAD facilities.”
Sounds good doesn’t it. I’m gunna create a website where the Shop Managers/Monitors can create their own signs. That way if they get a new machine, rearrange, or whatever they have the resources to produce signs themselves.
Now I just have to make it happen

Today I gave a presentation to our clients. I gave a very brief summary of the research phase and showed the direction in which I am headed. Here’s the pdf for all those curious. Most of my slides are sparse because I like to use graphics to support, rather than drive my presentation.

A quick post to get everybody up to date. I had a busy weekend. A large part of it was spent creating ideation sketches for the sign project. After weeding through the variety of concepts, I think I’ve found a connecting string between some of my best ideas. My goal is to create some personas and run them through a scenario of my system. This will help me put all the pieces together and make it more coherent.

I also spent a large portion of my weekend working on my portfolio for professional practices class. I’ve made it getting past the initial feelings of creative suffocation from the assignment restrictions and I’m on to the excited and inspired part. I’ll post the rough draft later this week. I am using Adobe InDesign to do the layout. I must say this program is beautiful. Considering the complexity and variety of uses and users, I stand in awe of your implementation Adobe. The snappiness, the interface, the thoughtful details, it may just be my most favoritest program, taking the title from the elegant yet sluggish Library.

This would not have been as funny a month ago.

from toothpase for dinner

All right, I’ll admit it I was wrong. The research that the group did was amazing. Very thorough, detailed, and informative. Much better than mine. I felt lost in a sea of ambiguous qualitative data and had a hard time transposing it into something tangible to present. Everyone else did a good job of that.

Moving along, today in class we saw an incredible film made by Charles and Ray Eames who are some of the most influencial designers of the 20th century. For me, the most impressive part about the film was that it was made by designers, not filmmakers. Throughout their careers the Eames made many films on a variety of topics that they found interesting. That’s inspiring. Sometimes I feel like I’m getting boxed into industrial design which can be frustrating because I have so many other interests.

Here are links to my research summary and my research presentation.

I spent about six hours at The Gulfstream Center for Design on Saturday. I was able to sit down and talk to Samantha and Steve for a bit. They’re both “Shop Monitors” which I learned is different than a “Shop Manager.” These are the students responsible for watching the model shop and the students working when Mark, the shop manager, is not there. I was also able to interview some students with less shop experience, those enrolled in Introduction to Industrial Design and Model Shop class.

Along with the interviews I did a lot of observing. I sat and watched, trying to find patterns or breakdowns in the system. I tried to record as much information as possible, the number of students in the shop at certain times, the number of desks in use in the bench room, which classes the students are working on, etc. This is where it gets a bit frustrating. It seems that more time I spend researching the shop, the more research I need to do. This project really should be a few quarters long. The first ten weeks spent just observing, seeing when the shop is busy and why it’s busy and who’s there. I’d like to do a full contextual inquiry, following a student working for a studio class. Finding out when in their design process they use the shop and what for.

I suppose that’s the nature of Interaction Design research though. This is where we diverge from the scientific method. We don’t work in a vacuum with controlled variables. We need to be quick and agile, twisting and bending our methods of understanding to fit the time and budget constraints. I just wish I would have planned out my research better, focusing on what would produce the most valuable data. I feel as if I’ve done a lot of preparation and now I’m ready to dig in deep. Perhaps I can continue my research onto this next week. Maybe I should just see what everybody else got in there research. Together we may have something of value.

For now I am going to try to synthesize what I have into a handout and presentation for tomorrow. I’ll post links to those when I finish them.