This course covered content different from what I thought we would cover, but I found what I have learned to be quite interesting and valuable. I think I went into this course thinking that we would learn more about interfaces and work on UI/UX design, and instead we learned about the differences between UI and UX and the world within and beyond screens. I found that I am quite happy with my results from this semester, being the skills learned and the projects completed. I think each project presented challenges and opportunities to learn.
For the first project, I was able to ask myself about the necessity of different products. I think out of all the products, this was both the most challenging one to think of and the one I am most proud of. I found the prompt of a useless or whimsical invention to be difficult to think of, maybe for the absurdity of the question that I did not know how to answer or the matter to which if I found one, I would be forced to ask about the ability of my idea to fit within the realms of the prompt. I find that my greatest challenges lies in the transition from thinking to doing, so once I settled on my crumb catcher, I was able to get to work. I was thankful for the skills and tools interaction lab provided me so that I was able to create a model for my product and consider how it might function. The more difficult aspect of the doing came from the use of fusion, how to use various functions in relation to their role and how other pieces might build off of it. The worst part I believe was getting the render to turn out alright. But, in the end I was happy with my Crumb Catcher.
The second project I believe was less technically challenging as the first but more difficult in thought. The prospect of ambient interfaces never really presented itself at the forefront of my mind, which is a bit weird I suppose when I consider the amount of ambient devices found back home. But, in a way, that is the point. For me the challenged lied in trying to keep a product simple and blend it in with the environment, and define and avoid what I might consider a screen. While I struggled with this, I am grateful for the question because it forces me to think about the space around me and what I consider to be necessary. I never really considered the use of a screen before as something harmful, other than what parents tell you, in the way that we are embellishing this phone rather than using the technology in our phone to embellish the space around us. I think my project tried to make use of that with an ambient book nook, but I had difficulty thinking of the logistics of the device. I think the product can be further improved, but the concept is a sound idea.
Ambient Book Nook Presentation
The third challenge felt ironic in the question of what will happen as we become old. This question seems to arise a lot lately in my life, as the thought of aging is present in my mind. My first thought of a potential topic had been dementia, as I had recently visited a dementia cafe and watched Coco. There are more difficulties I suppose for addressing dementia and other more mental fallacies, in the end my group tackled the common issue of visual impairment. This was the first time in this course we did group work and I was happy with our group’s ability to build off one another and be open to other ideas. I think the initial concept of a mind map was interesting food for thought. In the end, we ended up somewhere completely different and I think that is a good example of how plans will always change. While I am happy with the result, I believe I still favor our first project for the amount of skills and thoughts I was able to do in comparison to the split work of the final product.