cct333+old+assignment

=Welcome to my Wiki-sticky-icky lab assignment page= Question: Compare and contrast a Sony Walkman with an Apple iPod, and describe the differences in their physical construction, interface design, technology and delivery of sound. Quick sketches are helpful for this analytical process.

answer: -it has extensive use of letters and words -head phones look as if they are an add-on to the head of the user || -most of the Ipod is digital -the use of visual symbols for the controls -headphones are like an extension/part of the body (very natural as they are placed inside the ear, making more personal) || -the fact that the buttons have to be pressed are reflective of the type of industry and less technologically advanced era -the design is small but still very edgy (in terms of shape) all around. -it is not small enough to fit in jean pocket or somewhere were it can be more personal and hidden from the outsider world -did not use chips or complicated circuit boards for the delivery if sound. -magnetic tapes (cassettes) are the device that holds the sonds (analog technology) || -based on visual and touch sensitive conrolls (digital) -Ipod has a very personal and secretive feel or aura about it. the fact that can be hidden in pockets and small enough take anywhere you want to. -important to notice that the product itself is a brand. the design is recognizable of apple. -chips and complicated circuit boards run through the entire device. -the music comes from files stored in a hard drive disk, then transferred and processed through software to deliver sound to the headphones ||
 * SONY WALKMAN || APPLE IPOD ||
 * -The Sony Walkman has a very industrial look to it
 * - it is purely based on mechanical technology



LAB 2 1. Under each of the six categories, shelter, health, water, education, energy and transport, choose one project which interests you. For each category, describe how it is designed to alleviate poverty for the project's stakeholders.

Shelter- Global village shelter: because they are cheap and need no tools to be assembled the villages or cities that need their use can basically rebuild an entire city. Also because the materials are biodegradable it will not contaminate or pollute the environment in which the families live.

Health- Life straw: this device is perfect for any of the stakeholders that need to use it. It is portable small and reusable, meaning it can be used by small children and adults. Also because the materials are cheap and easy to find, the production cost are kept to a minimum; which is perfect for places that are hit by economical problems or by places that need organizations to buy them the life straw.

Water- Q-Drum: this device helps by making it easier and more convenient for everyone (young children to the elderly) to carry large amounts of water from one location to the other. The shape helps the people roll the drum from the most remote and far away locations.

Education- Solar home lighting system: even though its not the cheapest of projects it provides those in need of better lighting and the use of other appliances around the house. If these Indian families can start using blenders, ovens, fridges, it can really facilitate more time to spend with their families and they wont have to throw away bad food or use as much manual labour. Also one important factor is that the children and adults don have to study by candlelight, which could damage their vision, they would be able to use light bulbs.

Energy- Star Sight: as some cities in the world are located in very remote areas, and are not as developed as the main cities of the worlds, a simple solution are starsight lights. Star sight lights combine solar power to provide areas with street light and with Internet. This makes it really cheap to operate, as each light is self powered and can be easily replaced if damaged (because there are no cables attaching it to a central or main power grid under ground).

Transport- Big Boda-Load Carrying Bicycle: since transportation is something that is vital to everyone all around the world, the boda bicycle is a genius idea. The bike can allow for stakeholders to start a business and make money to support their families. Also because of its large tail, it can be used to go get supplies that are not available to nearby cities or shops. Since bikes are cheap it can be an investment that will for sure benefit more than one person and can pay for itself in the short run.

2. How does stakeholder analysis enable sustainable and socially responsible design? The stakeholder analysis enables sustainable and socially responsible design by putting together a list of the needs and outcomes of each factor. The factors that need to be accountable for are: who are the stakeholders? How much will it cost to produce, deliver, build, etc? Would it be useful in the long run? These types of questions lead to a more conscientious decisions on what type of product a certain area needs and therefore it would for sure create socially responsible design. An example is the Q-drum. If it were not for its socially responsible design, the peoples of villages and towns would still have to carry huge loads of water on their shoulders.

3. List five characteristics of socially responsible product design

- Affordable to everyone - can it be taken to they destination - easy for the people to use and maintain - Quality - creating enough for everyone

Lab 3

Week 3: Human-Centred Design Case Study of Cellphones in Developing Countries

1.In three paragraphs, describe the role of Jan Chipchase in defining the role of cellphones in the developing world for Nokia, and the benefits of analyzing and defining their use in different cultures as part of their market expansion.

Jan Chipchase’s role in defining cellphones in the developing world for Nokia is to visit different parts of the worlds. While doing so he examines peoples living conditions, work, surrounding areas, weather, infrastructure and others. He is an anthropologist for future technologies; his role is to find ways in which they can create cell phones for the other 3 billion people in the world.

The benefits of analyzing and defining the correct human centered design for Nokia is to be able to properly adapt cell phones to people rather than people having to adapt to cell phones. An example of the benefits of Jan Chipchase’s analysis is that in areas of the world where they have monsoon seasons, they place all the important belongings on the wall (hanging). He thought it would be great if all cell phones came with a small little strap, just in case you do live in such an area. Not only that even if you don’t live in a place with monsoons the strap can have other uses, therefore its use is universal and simple.

Also, it is important to analyze benefits of analyzing possible customers because as Jan Chipchase shows in his video, it will only take a few years to get to the other three billion people. What the analysis does, it prepares Nokia to try and predict its future customers. Preparing themselves for the future, once again allows them to create products that will be an extension of the user, rather than creating a complicated device that cannot be easily operated by everyone (specially because there is a lot of illiterate people around the world that need to use a cell phone)

2. How does the idea of microfinance support two of the key themes of sustainability as outlined in the diagram posted on your class wiki '5 Key Themes for Sustainability'? Write one paragraph for each of your chosen themes.

People are able to achieve a sustainable Economy because micro finance allows people to increase the productivity of their business. And example, if your job is to carry loads from different construction sites; without a cell phone, you have to go out and look for the jobs, but if u have a cell phone people can call you to come pick up loads at different locations. Therefore you don’t have to waste time looking for jobs, jobs come to you.

Microfinance helps promote good governance as it allows the actual user of the cell phone to create communication infrastructure without the capitalist government taking over or without a huge communication company controlling how and what they r allowed to do with their communications. An example is how a city worker in Africa can buy a credit/calling card, then call the village where there is one person with a cell phone who takes 10% of the card and the rest is money that goes to the family of the person who buys the card. Meaning they have created their own bank, and telecom company.

LAB 4:

Write three paragraphs on how Annie Leonard defines the system of the 'materials economy' and describes its interactions. Annie Leonard defines the “materials economy” as a linear system of production that incorporates five principal stages: starts with extraction, then production, distribution, consumption, and disposal. However she states that in the system there are missing links such as the people who make the products, the environmental repercussion, and the consumer as a person. The people that make the products are important to define the system of materials economy because usually this process affects peoples of third world nations. Simply, they are paid less for longer hours of work, and usually they work with chemicals that are harmful for their health. The consumer is very important as a person and is an important part of Annie Leonard’s model because the consumer should be more aware of the products they use in terms of their health; and also because the consumers will buy everything the system of economy produces. This leads to the environmental part of the model; its interaction with the model is one of the most important because the resources according to Annie are being abused and destroyed at speeds not imaginable to people. This is important because in the long run this will affect the end user and the environment in which they live. Define extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal. Extraction- is using natural resource exploitation to manufacture the products needed for the consumer. Extraction usually occurs in third world countries because it is cheaper and easier to manipulate these governments to allow the exploitation of their natural resources. Production- is the process in which the natural resources are mixed with chemicals to produce a product. This stage is where most of the workers are in danger due to the close proximity between them and the chemicals used. Distribution- is selling and distributing products to other countries and places such as malls, or the magical super stores like Wal-Mart. Consumption- is the point in the model in which the consumers go out and buy the products they need or simply just want. Especially in a society that creates a life span of 6 months per product is important to keep producing and consuming as quickly and as much as possible. Disposal- is just as the stage stages, is when we get rid off and throw away the products we have bought. Almost all the products we buy end up in the garbage, Annie says recycling helps this stage be more environmental but is not enough because most of the chemicals used at production cannot be recycled.

How does her Flash presentation effectively organize the categories comprising 'the materials economy' in its interface design? Annie created a linear timeline for her presentation starting with the beginning stage of extraction and ending in disposal. What makes the presentation interface really effective is that, as the presentation moves along it will notify you in which stage you are. Also, each stage is labeled and has subheadings that lead you to more information under that stage, which is always good if you want to study or understand it more. Lastly, her presentation has a huge works cited in which all the information she talked about can be traced and followed just to make sure that it is true and not another environmental/end of the world as we know it hoax.

LAB 6:

Bodystorming:

Basically is physically coming up with ideas and demonstrating how they work in their environment or a made up environment. The idea behind bodystorming is to uncover the relationship between the user, the location and the things that surround them. It’s a more dynamic process that allows for instantaneous ideas for the use of certain products. There are a numerous of ways to apply bodystorming:

One way is to place yourself in the actual location in which the final product or idea will be used in. for example a new type of scanner will be implemented in supermarkets, therefore you would work at a supermarket with the actual scanner and see how it behaves on duty.

The other way is to recreate the surroundings in which the product or idea will be used. An example used was to build submarine hallways to test a new PDA and how it would interact and fit in with the small narrow hallways.

The third approach would be to have actors or co-workers act out the scenario in which the idea will be implemented, with props for a number of times. This allows for the creation and observation of possible drawbacks or new ideas that would make the task or object more efficient.

Bodystorming usually works best in groups, this allows for more people to view different angles of problem solving as well as different venues to run through certain tasks or test.

CASE STUDY:

A new business line high efficiency printer is being introduced at Fedex-Kinkos, but they don’t know how easily the customer would adapt

to it and how well it will fit to the surroundings of the store. To find out how well it would do under stress situations and reliability a group of

actors would run a few test and go a whole day using the printer with no instructions and as different characters.

Some actors could be very careful and others would be the type of customers that seem to break everything they touch. They would use

props such as coffee mugs, and place them on top of the printer to see what would happen, as many people do this. The actors would

simply act as if they would at a Kinkos location, go there knowing as little as possible about printing and trying to use a self-serve printer,

running the task over and over and checking to see any type of problems encounters or ideas on how to improve the product before its

released to the public


 * CCT333 Tutorial 7: Physical Computing, Tangible Bits, and Different Prototype Methods for Authoring Devices**

Write four paragraphs to define the term 'physical computing'. (4 paragraphs)

Physical computing is using the body or physical movements to complement technologies. What this means is that computing interactive systems are combined with physical functions to create an output whether it be on a screen or projected on a wall. Usually this type of computing is sensor based because of the nature of the communication being physical to data or the other way around. The sensors would be used to transfer the data collected from movements and actions into different outputs. An example of physical computing that we may not think about is the floor projectors in malls or movie theatres. I am talking about the ones that usually have a picture of a hockey table on it and as soon as you come in contact with the projection a puck appears and you and someone else can play an air hockey game with the feet. These projectors use sensors that reflect the light back and let the computer know where you stand and the movement that you are doing to move the puck around.

Here are two links to videos describing new authoring devices for prototyping, which include software and technical information. Write two paragraphs each describing their prototyping methods, and describing what they are enabled to do. (4 paragraphs)

Dynamic Experience Prototypes d.tools: Reflective Physical Prototyping

The d tools video shows the implementation of physical movement with an accelerometer and software based actions to create an easy to navigate GPS. This is a resemblance of today’s technologies such as the Iphones landscape mode or the integrated GPS, which adapts to where you move your cell phone.

D tools shows the relationship between physical movements and the creation of data. This type of tool is being implemented more and more as it is integrating to be part of the body and physical experiences rather than us adapting to the technology.

Exemplar: Authoring Sensor-based Interactions by Demonstration

Exemplar is very similar to d tools, it uses an accelerometer and movements of the head to demonstrate whether the person wants the light to go off on the left or the right side. The project used a helmet with two lights on each side that show the output of the movement by lighting up.

WEEK 8 LAB: Japan's 500 Series Shinkansen bullet train is an elegant and natural way to perfectly adapt nature to technology. At high speeds any moving object starts making noises, this is due to drag between airflow and the object. The train uses serrations similar to those on owl feathers, which allow for the train to create less drag and to move faster and easier form point A to point B. Also, the shape of the nose of the train is simple (a birds beak) yet it prevents noise pollution, which is possibly one of the most annoying things a high-speed mode of transportation creates. Echolocation is basically the same system being implemented by traffic lights downtown Toronto; the subject hears a high frequency noise in front of him or her that guides them in the right direction. The Sonar enabled cane use the same system that bats use to navigate in the dark. The cane emits a sound to the user telling him what objects and obstacles lie ahead. The skeleton key bone chair has a design like the human skeletal system; it uses the shape of bones as rigidity structures for a more durable and sustainable design. This idea of biomimicry can be seen in objects all around us, but the more important ones are the ones we don’t see. Cars for example have a structure behind panels that provide rigidity, the metallic panels look like a skeletal system. the panels help diffuse the impact when in an accident or to prevent the body of the car from falling apart after many years of use. Self healing pipelines biomimic the work of red and white blood cells in the body, they repair the blood stream. The flow of liquids in the body helps maintain stability and function ability of the entire body; the same as a factory or company can benefit by maintaining their pipes clean and flowing properly with self healing pipes. The company would not have to replace pipes, which means more money and material needs to be manufactured, which in turn is more harmful for the enviroment.

According to Janine Benyus nature and human structures have a lot in common therefore the same principles could apply. For example the simplicity of something such as the conversion of CO2 into usable polycarbonates, resembles the use of CO2 by plans to convert into different substances. Janine Benyus elegant side of biomimicry means that nature itself is beauty and art, and when used in human made and designed objects, it emphasizes how the two can work together to be more productive. Just like the skeleton chair provides an elegant view with an almost indestructible frame.

WEEK 9 LAB:

service design: making what you do more useful, usable and desirable for your users, and more efficient, effective and valuable for you. it is a human-centered approach that focuses on customer experience and the quality of service encountered as the key value for success. service touch points are the tangibles, spaces, objects, people or interactions that make the total experience of using a service.

This is important because it makes the experience between an object and a service more personal and easier to understand. this type of design encourages the user and concept to create a bond that goes beyond the service itself.

Don Norman explained the relationship between the water and the shape of the water bottle that contains it. users buy the water because of the shape and the emotion they share with it, not because of the water. Depending on the relationship built between the user and the design most people will re use the same water bottle or give it a different purpose. service design also helps the designer build a better product because of the human-centered design. allowing interaction of prototypes with end users. this provides the right amount of feedback to refine the product.