Author: Kennedy Cambra-Cho

The Boring Company

Elon Musk’s company, The Boring Company, present a new vision of transportation. With America’s political anxiety as the backdrop, Musk has tapped into the public desire for top-down change. Many people feel the need for contemporary solutions to growing contemporary problems. In order to meet this need they have presented a radical reinvention of the transportation system. Musk proposes that the construction of underground transportation tunnels can drastically improve the average person’s travel experience. This solution hopes to reduce commute time and alleviate road congestion. Two other promises The Boring company makes is that the tunnel system will reduce noise and air pollution as well as have an expedited construction process. Continue reading “Class 07: Future Trends”

Empathy Tools Exercise

This exercise was by far my favorite throughout this entire semester. Its emphasis on communication paired with the unfamiliarity of your partner made it very entertaining.

Our particular construction seemed impossible because the object was completely wrapped in tape. It was very hard to distinguish the lego shaped and where one lego ended and the other began. This made the task near impossible. After removing the tape we were able to communicate the location and type of lego bricks involved.

Initially, I tried letting my partner verbally guide me through the task of constructing the object. However, I soon found that as more instructions came I became disoriented and missed some of her instructions. By asking questions about her instructions I figured that this method made things much easier to keep track of. It also allowed me to construct a clearer mental image of what I was meant to build. Using analogies and metaphors to describe the lego blocks was extremely useful.

I am very pleased with our final result. Although, I was unable to make an exact replica I think we achieved the general silhouette. Overall, I would rate this a success.

Peer Design Exercise

Procedure:

1. Introduce [your] project
2. Acting as the designer of your partner’s project ask questions
3. Brainstorm ideas for your partner’s project

By approaching my partner’s project as my own I felt that brainstorming ideas came much easier. It was almost as if the pressure and stress of working with your own project went away. After mulling over the same concepts about my own project, I felt it was quite refreshing to look at someone else’s. Additionally, I started to see overlapping concepts that could be very insightful for my own project.

When sharing ideas, I found that my partner had the fresh insight needed to see where there were gaps in my logic or weak spots. This was extremely helpful when formulating a second draft of my project.

While research smart Jewelry and wearable tech pieces I came across many companies attempting to sell a particular idea of the future. They all focused on a clean, sleek look that harkens to a Tron based future aesthetic. However, most failed to have an intuitive user interface. Most products shown are so simplistic that they give no visual indication of their function. I believe that this will be one of the biggest hurdles for this project. Based on how my partner described her project, I felt the design of these existing products embody the tone, aesthetic, and general functionality she described.

https://www.bellabeat.com/

https://iamili.com/us/

Hypervsn™

  

Reading Reflection 

An Evolving Map of Design Practice and Research by Liz Sanders

Visualizing the 4 Essentials of Design Thinking by Jasper Liu 

Wicked Problems in Design Thinking by Richard Buchanan

Continue reading “Class 01: Good Design (readings)”