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Project 4 - Documentation

Here is the final documentation PDF (jpg format) for my creative manifestation. It details the creative manifestation itself, as well as the promotional material, with a summary of how they work together with my original manifesto.

The link to my project is: http://dwp.surge.sh

Project 4 - Finishing up

I’ve almost finished my website - all the functionality is there, I just need to work on some styling and layout touch ups.

Essentially, the user navigates through each of my manifesto statements, taking time to read through each one and consider the ideas they bring. They are then presented with a number of statements related to their own design process and thoughts on User Experience design. From there, a calculation is made based on their answers, and suggest whether they tend to design more for people, or more with people.

I’ve finished the designs for my promotional material as shown below. They are business card-sized, and outline the five main points I believe are essential in designing with people to create a satisfying user experience. They also include the link to where my website is hosted, so that if they wish to return to it they may.

Project 4 - Website Progress

I want to keep my website super plain, so that the focus is more on the content rather than the actual design. Obviously the design is still a big consideration, but I’ve decided to keep with the initial font/colour/styling choices of my manifesto document to keep consistency.

Here are some screenshots of my work so far:

I think I might try and simplify the manifesto statements a little more so that there is less reading required to get the message across. I’m also going to take out the inline text APA references. I’m currently working on some fancy transitions such as fades and slides for navigating each statement.

Project 4 - Initial Ideas

While my manifesto ideas and statements involve the broader compass of user experience design, I think I would like my output to be centred around User Interface design, and web design.

I want to create a website that showcases my manifesto, so that users could view my manifesto statements, and the include some interactive elements to enrich their overall experience.

In terms of my promotional material, I might stick to something simpler - perhaps some kind of business card with a QR code linking to the website.

Project 4 - Final Manifesto Hand-In

I have refined my thoughts and research now into five separate topics, that all work together to form the idea of ‘Designing with People’.

This is my final Written Manifesto Submission, and I will now be working on a Creative Manifestation and promotional material of the ideas presented.

Project 4 - Written Manifesto Text

Designing for with People.

A Manifesto by Samantha Gard

People must drive your efforts.

Everything you do as a designer involves people. When you create products, spaces, or media, you must consider how people will interact with your work. (Lupton, Carpentier & Lambert, 2014). Addressing human needs is often seen as design’s fundamental mission. Be passionate about people – create for them and work with them to build something beautiful.

Get to know your user.

Every person is unique, and even as a group, the diversity of the human species is immeasurable. (Story, Mueller & Mace, 1998). This means that a singular design cannot satisfy everyone. Find out the specific information about who your user is, and what they want and desire from the product. The research process is integral for creating and delivering a successful user experience.

Undergo a thorough and constructive design process.

The product should be the result of a meticulous and well-executed design process. This process should not be linear. (Haklay, 2010). Iterate, not once, but many times and take recommendation from designers of other disciplines (Alben, 1996). Test your product with real people. When you come across a problem, go back and redesign the elements that don’t work.

Work with the people you are designing for.

A designer should start with people – come at the solution from their perspective. User involvement is key and will help you to consider the real-life scenarios the users and products will be in. (Haklay, 2010). Search for the needs and desires of the user that have not yet been met and seek to change this. Strive to enhance the lives of your stakeholders and to discover solutions that are surprising to you.

Take responsibility for what you have created.

People are constantly interacting with products and services, but it is often forgotten that we as designers, and people, are behind the creation of these designs. When your product works well and the user has a pleasant and fulfilling experience, take pride and credit for what you have achieved. In the same way, if your product fails to meet your users’ needs, take the blame, then strive to improve and build on what you have learnt. (Garrett, 2010).

References:

Alben, L. (1996). Quality of experience: defining the criteria for effective interaction design. Interactions, 3(3), 11-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/235008.235010

Garrett, J. (2010). The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web and Beyond (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: New Riders Publishing.

Haklay, M. (2010). Interacting with Geospatial Technologies. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470689813

Lupton, E., Carpentier, T., & Lambert, T. (2014). Beautiful Users - Designing for People. New York: Princeton Architectural Press - Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Story, M. F., Mueller, J. L., & Mace, R. L. (1998). The Universal Design File: Designing for People of All Ages and Abilities. Raleigh, NC: School of Design, the Center for Universal Design, NC State University.

Project 4 - Update

After conducting some extra research on User Experience design, I have decided the ideas and content I wished to deliver could be delivered as part of my overall manifesto, and that what I had included in my draft was too niche to focus on. So I started to split up my research findings into topics that I thought related to each other - understanding people as users, considering the needs and desires a product should satisfy, the design process (and the user’s role in it), a designer’s responsibility in user experience and user-centred design etc. etc.

From there I started to write up my own thoughts on each topic, based on my experience as a designer, and the findings and ideas from my research. This started to form the basis of my manifesto. I am now in the process of refining this ready to be handed in on Wednesday.

Project 4 - Manifesto Draft

My manifesto will address the topic of User Experience (UX) design as a critical component of the contemporary design process:

While I don’t believe that considered UX design is necessary in satisfying the potential and usability of design, I do believe it is importance for creating a successful and enjoyable overall design product. There are several arguments that support this statement, such as how what we do as designers is “for and about people, they must drive our efforts”. Recognising this through the context of UX, it is obvious that if we wish to create something FOR people, considering how they will interact and enjoy the product is so crucial in the design process. As I am a media design student nearing the end of my degree, and wishing to enter the world of web and app development, this is immediately relevant to my practice, and a firm understanding of this is essential to my professional development.

Project 3 - Final Hand In

Project 3 - Interim Hand-in

Topic: Culture and Design

Statement of Argument/Proposition: How Western bias within design is resulting in an incomplete comprehension of design culture, and a less inclusive and mindful attitude towards the role of being a designer.

Resource One:

This paper explores the idea that the concepts of culture and design are intertwined, meaning that cultural evolution has a direct impact on modifying, reflecting, and determining development in design. Author Richie Moalosi also proposes a model showing one way to specify, analyse and integrate socio-cultural factors into the design process. A key quote pulled from this paper is: “Current design approaches with their standards, rules and guidelines fall short with respect to issues relating to the cultural context.” Here, Moalosi broaches the issue of the dominant Western culture in the realm of design.

Moalosi, R., Popovic, V. & Hickling-Hudson, A. Int J Technol Des Educ (2010) 20: 175. doi:10.1007/s10798-008-9069-1

Resource Two:

This paper focuses on the influence of cultural forces on the design field. It addresses the continuing lack of non-western culture in design education, in contrast to the increase in cultural diversity of the people attending design schools. It highlights that this trend indicates the need for studies that introduce more diverse perspectives in design education. It also present a model to help students integrate culture-based issues into their own design, using non-Western precedents.

Asojo, A. O. (2001), A Model for Integrating Culture-Based Issues in Creative Thinking and Problem Solving in Design Studios. Journal of Interior Design, 27: 46–58. doi:10.1111/j.1939-1668.2001.tb00477.x

Urban Expendabilia - Critical Summary

Urban Expendabilia is derived from the idea that the architecture of a city is influenced by the collision of expendability and scarcity. The practice of designing and constructing buildings is an assimilation of contradictions (Parnell, 2012). For instance, our ‘throwaway society’ specifies, and fixates on, the need for new finishes, details and products. Yet this leaves architects and designers struggling to obtain the minimal environmental impact that we should value deeply, but so often choose to ignore. Balancing the aesthetic design of a building with its functional performance is an issue on the forefront of the architectural profession, and this critical perspective aims to capture, and contrast, an opposing side to our superfluous consumer culture.

There is a focus on the importance of durability and increasingly longer life spans in the realm of architecture and design (Page, 2014). Due to the “dependence on an economy and consumerist society that demand the exploitation of resources” (Parnell, 2012), expendable architecture and design has now become common practice. In observations made during my flânerie around my city, I noticed a vast range of broken, neglected, and rundown structural elements. This contrasts with our societal structure that continues to endorse the immediate replacement or repair of products that are no longer brand new, or in full working order. However, the state of these structures is only temporary. In time, they will be replaced, renewed and overtaken by our desire for what is most recent and innovative.

References

Parnell, S. (2012), The Collision of Scarcity and Expendability in Architectural Culture of the 1960s and 1970s. Archit Design, 82: 130–135. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ad.1443

Page, T. (2014). Product attachment and replacement: implications for sustainable design. International Journal of Sustainable Design (IJSDES), 2(3), 265–282. http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJSDES.2014.065057

#media design #ccdn331 #architecture

This environment’s Evolutionary state Consumes the finite

#media design #ccdn331 #architecture

Had some inspiration for the soundtrack, so thought I’d whip up something real quick. All sounds recorded and edited by me.

Project 2 - Part 1

Critical Perspective

What do we do when something gets damaged or broken? When the elements take their toll on our city, when do we decide to repair, to replace?

Literary Review Summary

Page (2014) suggests that in order to obtain longevity, there must be a “certain degree of emotional attachment”. In a city, there is an importance of durability and increased life span in the architecture. Currently, consumer culture dictates that once something reaches a certain age, it should be replaced with a newer, stronger, faster version of itself. In contrast to this of the ‘throwaway culture’, in observing my city I noticed a vast range of broken, neglected, and rundown structural elements. What is it that stops us from translating the same outlook that we have on products, to our environment?

References:

Image Collection

Project 2 - Ideation Phase

I’ve been finding it very hard to develop a critical perspective. However, I had an idea for the type of photos I took this afternoon. As I was walking around town, I noticed a lot of derelict carparks and spaces, tucked away from the main road. In these spaces there were often broken, neglected and derelict structures and their elements.

I had a number of thoughts about how I could capture and present these images in a unique way. The first was regarding the context of the image. I thought that by taking close-ups that didn’t show the immediate surroundings of the focus of the photo, it would leave something for the viewer to wonder about, almost an air of mystery as to how the broken/neglected/derelict structural element got that way. My other thought was about how I could frame the structural elements. In videography there is a camera technique know as the Dutch (or canted) angle. These shots are composed so that predominant vertical lines are at an angle to the side of the frame, as if the viewers head was titled. This technique is used to portray uneasiness or tension in the subject of the shot.

I thought that by using a combination of these two, I could create feelings in the viewer through how I framed my photos. I had these thoughts about halfway through my wanderings, so some of the images are framed normally. The following are the majority of what I took:

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