Author: Bonnie Chan

I decided to focus on a lot of the natural habits that I have especially after reading “Question Everything” and noticing how oblivious I can be towards different behaviors and so I thought it would be the most intriguing to be more observant of things I do myself because I am most oblivious to my own actions. 

1. The first thing I noticed was that I often used my laptop case as a way to cushion my laptop when working on a table or also a way to help with preventing heating up my laptop. I think using my laptop case is already a potential solution to the problems or worries that i have with my laptop but another solution could be trying to find a laptop stand or such that is more dedicated to the functions of intended use that I have.

2. Another habit I’ve noticed is that the water bottle slot on the side of my backpack is used for everything BUT my waterbottle. I often end up putting my tissues or trash there as a convenient spot to hold things I will be putting in and out of my bag often. A possible design solution would be to add another side pocket to my backpack that is specifically for putting things conveniently instead. 

3.  The third thing I noticed is that I often look for my keys by looking through my bag for my keychain rather than the keys itself. I think this is quite universal but I thought it was interesting to think that a keychain, which isn’t necessarily meant to be used as a indicator or tag for keys, is what I look for more than the keys itself. I guess a way to solve this is to possibly create a separate pocket for my keys rather than using my keychain. However, I do also think that the keychain is a solution to my problem finding my keys. 

Through the reading of Jane Fulton Suri and her design process in “Question Everything”, I learned a lot about observations and research. To understand that design requires the ability to recognize patterns as well as to be as observant as possible in the natural behaviors of individuals. To look for conditions and elements that will put people out out of their comfort zone and then create a design to counter that is intriguing. Sometimes when I’m working on designs I forget to look at the subconscious and the things that are less noticeable that are the components in a user’s life that I would want my design to change. The idea that design is a hybrid of making things but also taking things apart to understand and analyze them really stayed with me because it was showing another side of design that is often looked – the research and observation aspect.

Affordances, Conventions, and Design was an interesting article that defines what affordance is. It was my first time hearing about this term actually, that defines properties that instigates certain actions between the user and a product. To design elements and properties that hint or suggest actions rather than state instructions specifically is, I think, a good type of design. But to also think about the constraints and behaviors that will hinder the implied instructions is also key in creating designs. This was a good reading for me to begin thinking about the way I want to design and how I want to connect with users that will provide the best experience. 

There’s been so much controversy about the design process and its usage by designers versus other individuals. Through these readings, I can see how individuals design and the level of cooperativeness and inspirational methods. The maps introduced were an interesting way to describe and visualize the different mixed pairings of traits that are possible to create different types of designers. As well as focusing on user centered design or human factors that are crucial to helping designers understand how to create new designs. 

Not only do we focus on the designers themselves but also the different types of designs. Wicked Problems in Design Thinking talks about the mix of different design industries. The idea that categories of design are not always that clear cut and that types of design as well as different types of designers often mix to create new combinations.  I thought this was a good insight into the controversy and perspective into understanding why the design process can be crucial or overlooked.

User: Tristan (23) IMA Research Fellow

Interview/Info:

Based on the video of Tristan’s video, we learned about his phone using habits as well as other problems that he has during his daily life. He has two phones, his US and China phones, that does not seem to hinder him. Also, since he doesn’t spend a lot of time on his phone, there were not a lot of technology based problems that needed to be solved. He spends most of his time on his phone listening to music or watching things.

Problem:

Through the sticky note brainstorm, we were able to find  one larger problem that we thought we could help solve is problems with his phone case. His phone case had a stand that he often uses to watch videos with, but since the side of his phone is pressed against the table he has no way of easily accessing the buttons on the side of his phone. 

Prototyping:

To help solve this problem, we brainstormed a couple of ideas that would be possible. We thought about creating a phone case with a swinging phone stand that would keep the phone off the table, or a different type of phone stand to attach to his phone case. Here are some sketches we made: 

Finishing Results:

At last, we decided on a phone case that can be sculpted by the user in order to provide a flexible phone stand as well as use a material similar to clay or slime that would allow easy access to the buttons on his phone.  

Reflection:

I thought that our final product was a creative one that may be hard to achieve from a realistic or business stand point. However, I also did think that the design process that we had undergone was one that was helpful. I think having our group go through it so quickly was something that allowed me and my group mates to come up with a variety of ideas that would not be possible if everything was well thought out and planned.

My Design: 

Reflection:

This picture was taken over the weekend when I went on my trip to ZhangJiaJie for Spring break. I thought that this picture was a good representation of my definition of good design. I think good design is when the product tells a story, shares a message, and catches the audience’s attention. I felt like this photo embodied those traits especially since the contrast of the content within the photo was one that told a story of the differences in the top and bottom floors of the houses in the ancient city. Among the lantern and old buildings is the story of a family that has their laundry hanging outside of their balcony. I thought that the contrast in content would catch the audience’s eye as well as make them curious as to what the full story behind the image is.