Critiques 11/06/2012

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I misunderstood Louisa today and I thought we needed to take notes of what Melanie said to everybody’s critiques. Better to share it than waste it!

Dan Selden – patch.es

bicycles

pcomp oriented

connectivity, location, accelerometer

platform? product?

web, community, and data

patch dynamics -> new perspective on research on city

makers, internet of things people, DIYers, citizen scientists, pro-am makers (professional amateur)

Jason Thoughts

How to connect physical and software?

What are the mechanisms for instruction sets?

Will amateurs be able to easily understand use?

Interesting overview approach, less focused on hardware

Melanie Critiques

I heard a goal – create some kind of hybrid digital physical reality that augments place.

Create some kind of underspecified tool that doesn’t really create but facilitates.

Is it the central question? What is the means? What is the mechanic?

Providing platform’s goals are different from precedents.

Steven Johnson in 2006. Outside In – hyper local blogs where people can discuss within five block radius.

Are we facilitating or are we giving some goal for benefits?

Sentient city survival kit – Mark Shepherd (?)

 

Yong Lee – Game on

Pick up games app.

Spontaneous sports players in their 20s.

Stranger leaves message, stranger answers message.

 

Jason Thoughts

emphasize spontaneity

How did you decide on the menu hierarchy?

Should try to carry prototypes regarding consumer’s interests regarding pick up games (time, location, number of people, etc.)

 

Melanie Critiques

Three different areas to ask about

interesting to hear about prototyping so that I can ask questions

What would your design do that meet up already doesn’t do?

-> Most events take a while to group. Spontaneity

Spontaneous and global.

Some kind of ideal sweet spot of how spontaneous of how you need to be.

In one point of feedback, I need enough time to make plans.

Can’t be too spontaneous but can’t be too far out.

USER TEST how far in advance you are planning for.

What kind of mobile interface?

Do precedent mobile site mirror website?

Try to see distinguishing factors of mobile and web.

 

The question of interface.

Menu. Prioritize other menus? Which one is more important to people? Hierarchy of menus.

Is it location? time? that is important? Do you need both or do most people prefer one over the other?

 

VERY IMPORTANT

Question of gamification.

For Melanie, it was beware or be careful of what gamification can bring.

Seemed like a quick fix.

Does chocolate make something more fun?

Is this a service or is it a game or is it both?

Game -> not sure of mechanics. What is the mechanic and how is it essential to experience?

Is it just an easy way to find pickup games?

Adding points and prizes does not make the game more interesting.

MECHANICS + EXPERIENCE are what’s most important.

Finding pick up games. Can this be competitive (game mechanics?)

 

Hsin Ying Chiu – Love Pixels

Creating a mobile game. – tool to improve communication in long distance relationship.

Globalization, more and more young people try LDR.

Sharing emotion, regardless of time or distance.

Pixels -> gift, message, thing

Associations of words with color, meaning, story, etc.

 

Jason Thoughts

How do you make it easier to share emotions?

Is color the best way to express emotions?

How easily can people decode the image created with texts?

Maybe try to do some research regarding different emotions that occur to different colors

It does give a feel of an emotional sensation looking at the pictures!

 

Melanie Critiques

What the main goal is

Is the main goal to improve communication between couples or is the main goal to provide some kind of synaesthetic feel?

Color and language?

There is a disconnect with color and shape with language.

On one hand we know that spoken language and written language is arbitrary.

It seems to me that what you are doing is creating another arbitrary sign to say something.

No more meaningful than saying bottle or calling something its name.

Arbitrary random associations.

How are colored pixels more clear than language in and of itself.

Kandinsky, Rothko, etc. have talked about abstract emotions that they experience when we perceive color

that we can’t necessary verbalize.

Provokes an emotional response but how can we use that to solve communication problems?

For me, if I was trying to solve a problem, colored pixels will not help me solve text.

It might make light to a situation, bring some fun, an alternative that might help get a sense of play.

The distraction might help.

You need to figure out what pictures provide these people that basic language does not do.

Pictures are more abstract and open to interpretation so might be harder to communicate.

What is the barrier of entry.

How practical is it in that way?

Maybe you want to separate from problem solving.

Alternate mode of communication that people can do for fun.

 

Youmna + Daniela – cu.rio Creative Charrette 

Fine art installation + product design.

To design a completely new workplace ecosystem

Produce fictional stories based on real life stories

Workers; founders, staff, security, etc; public in general

Charrette -> informal gathering generating creative ideas / experiences

Office objects!

The creeper, Bedazzled binoculars

 

Jason Thoughts

cu.rio is more focused towards fine arts?

Interesting individual products but what is it that binds these products together?

Is the product marketable as product design? What are the needs that consumers are looking for?

Should hold an exhibit with all the creations! I think it will be wittily exciting.

 

Melanie Critiques

Questions

Is the goal to make a series of interesting objects that somehow comments on the nature of our work environment?

“our” -> in New York? Americans?

Is the goal to create a series of participatory techniques that allow expression of feelings of people in the working environment.

On the one hand, trying to figure out if you are trying to capture creative things that people do to survive?

Or if you are trying to provide people the skills to survive.

Precedent kit -> creativity, ingenuity.

What is the ultimate goal?

How are you approaching the working environment?

Are you listening to different voices so that you can later zoom out in order to curate or realize a larger thing?

Or are we trying to provide a fake survival kit that enables people to survive?

What are you trying to say? -> helps you to approach project

Packard Jennings? Great guy (San Francisco) -> does digital narratives of people, survival narratives, post – apocalyptic. Amazing graphics.

-> this is commenting on our society and the way we operate through indirect means.

 

It could have elements of both as long as you make meaning somehow.

Right now you are not making much meaning.

No set formula unless a larger metaphor comes out of it.

Maybe start with one and see how you go.

Handle one goal instead of multiple goal.