#designvernacular

[diaryofadesignkid]

For visual diary #13, I would like to share how some people grow herbs in their kitchen as such. In regards to interior design, some have thought to create/design eco-friendly kitchens by adding more greenery and sunlight. It’s like having their own miniature garden indoors, and it’s accessible in the kitchen. Some choose herbs, as it’s easy to grow and can be always used in cooking. Many would say they would save money from constantly buying store-bought herbs, and it’s fresher to grow your own. I believe this is a great solution to people who may be interested in being eco-friendly and looking to save a bit of money when it comes to groceries. 

[diaryofadesignkid]

For visual diary 11, when thinking of problematic stake in the ground, I immediately thought of Moviepass. In 2017/2018, I was a moviepass user. Many of my friends and users across the United States can agree that there were many problems revolving around Moviepass, since they tend to run into app issues and they often change/redesign the service, which caused limited functionality. The reason why many of us signed up was because of how desirable it sounded to pay only $10 for unlimited amount of movies we can watch in a month. As long as we see at least one movie a month, it was worth it! However, throughout 2017 and 2018, they kept changing their policy and some factors in their app would not work out as well. For example, one of the things they later updated was requiring to take a photo of our receipt of the movie ticket. An example of an app issue is sometimes, they would take the photo of our ticket but it would not recognize it as well as it should, or if we ended up not seeing a movie and wanted to change it, it was very inconvenient and sometimes would not allow us to change it, even though it mentions we can change it. Additionally, the app did not factor in how some phone users may not have their own internet data, which can be inconvenient because the app requires you to be within 20 feet of the movie theater in order for us to buy a movie ticket with the app. (My friend often time would run into this issue, so he had no choice but to only go to one movie theater in the area and would have to go to a Starbucks nearby and use their WiFi.) In August 2018, they changed their policy (again), and only allowed users to watch up to three movies a month and increase their prices. The worst change was when they only allowed a select few movies per day to be watched. This made it inconvenient, because sometimes, users like myself are simply unable to watch movies in the middle of the week, but MoviePass only allowed a specific movie to be shown and bought with their card on a Tuesday, for instance. This caused many users (like myself) to cancel our subscription, as they failed to not only keep their stake in the ground, but every time they redesigned their service and attempted to throw their stake in the ground, it was a failure due to bad customer service and an inconvenient service overall. 

[diaryofadesignkid]

For visual diary 10, I also thought of the AMC Stubs A-List subscription. They have competitors, but their stake in the ground that they threw is basically providing the best price for watching a movie with them up to three times every weeks, and the cost is only $20 a month. They’ve done a great job in keeping this consistent and staying on top of their app, while competitors like MoviePass and Sinema are known to be inconsistent with their apps and movie choices, and can be very complicated to use. While MoviePass and Sinema are cheaper per month, they do not provide the best service nor the convenience to access these movies. With AMC throwing such a stake in the ground with a low/reasonable price, many have decided to subscribe with them due to their  trustworthy service and consistency. 

[diaryofadesignkid]

Visual Diary #9:

I believe a cultural parameter is a factor regarding people’s backgrounds and cultures that needs to be considered and should be respected when creating a design. This may also cause people to think of people’s values, as sometimes it may also be shaped by our cultures and upbringing. It also can be shaped by how people portray certain environments to be. For example, in the work culture, majority of the people immediately think of suit and tie, professional wear, and heels. Unfortunately, this can be quite a barrier for me. As a reminder, my wicked design problem is "How can we get people to still go out and exercise and work without being bothered by the rainy weather?" For me, I absolutely hate it when it’s raining and I’d still have to go to work in heels or flats or at least some nice look boots for a work event that needs us to dress up for. It’s inconvenient! However, when I commute, I do see people even carry their professional shoes while wearing sneakers comfortably to work. I think in a way, this can play well in my idea, as waterproof sneakers and alleviate the problem people may feel when it is rainy and may need to still go outside.  I wouldn’t say the cultural parameter that may be set in professional work places need to be broken, but can be honored if people want to and if they are allowed to carry sneakers to work and be able to change into professional shoe wear later at work. 

[diaryofadesignkid]

For Visual Diary #8, I also thought about the design process that went into the U.S.’s first sign language Starbucks store (https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/eight-things-to-know-about-the-new-starbucks-signing-store/). I decided to share a picture of me when I was visiting the store near Union Station/NoMa-Gallaudet.

This store is located in Washington, D.C., and is down the street from Gallaudet University, which is an institution for Deaf and hard of hearing students. My parents are deaf and hard of hearing, and they graduated from this university as well! I must admit, I don’t love Starbucks coffee, but they do a great job in creating close knit communities and having a relationship with their customers. I have friends who have worked in Starbucks and majority of them always expressed positive experiences there, and to hear how Starbucks are engaged with their audience to understand their needs show their care for their customers. What makes this sign language store different is their ability to meet the consumers where they are at.

For tangible parameters, they made use of the space/building near the deaf and hard of hearing campus and they value user experience to understand their needs. It was known that they created a sign language store in the past in Malaysia and Canada before as well, so they most likely have collected much data and experiences while also engaging with the audience here to get a better understanding how to design such a store here. For intangible parameters, it is clear that they are anticipating the future as this generation tends to share more awareness of various needs around the world. As the deaf community have continually and increasingly voiced their needs and opinions and feedback, it is interesting how Starbucks have included this parameter to work with concurrently and in the future. Additionally, another intangible parameter would be the societal impact the store would have on the deaf community.

[diaryofadesignkid]

For Visual Diary #8, I would like to share about how Singapore is one of the fastest growing populated cities around the world. While they want to grow in business, they also want to grow in sustainability,  and aim to be the greenest city in the world. Gardens by the Bay is an example of how they are moving their city forward, by making use of earth and the space they have while also bringing in tourist attractions and business, because they aim to raise their quality of life in the city. 

To further their plans for the city, Cheong Koon Hean is the first woman who is an architect and urban planner to lead Singapore’s urban development agency. Her vision is to make use of the compact space they have on their island and to make use of the city buildings to build the idea of “skyrise greenery” for the purpose of “[filtering] out air pollutants, inhibit urban desertification, better insulate buildings which reduces the cost of cooling, retain rainwater which lowers the risk of flash flooding, and increase biodiversity by providing habitats for animals” ([2.]), which would all be extremely useful in cities. This really shows how she is making use (rather than seeing them as limits) of the parameters, which include both tangible and intangible ones, such as space and use and materials provided (tangible) and anticipating for the future and impact it may have on the city (intangible). 

Sources: [1.] https://www.cnn.com/2012/06/08/world/asia/singapore-supertrees-gardens-bay/index.html

[2.] https://www.vagabondjourney.com/plants-on-buildings-skyrise-greenery-in-singapore/

[3.] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/urban-expeditions/green-buildings/green-urban-landscape-cities-Singapore/

[diaryofadesignkid]

For visual diary #7, I was browsing for some ideas on how I could further my research for my wicked design problem project on waterproof sneakers, and I came across this article called, “6 Creative Examples of Ethnographic Research in Action.” While reading this, it gave me the idea of having people that are part of my target audience be able to jot down when they wear sneakers on a day-to-day basis and why they may have worn sneakers that day. If I could do this research and have them jot it down for a month, it may give me a better idea why and when they wear sneakers and see if there was ever a time when they could have worn sneakers but couldn’t due to rain or any sort of water related reasons that prevented them from wearing sneakers.

[diaryofadesignkid]

For Visual Diary #7, I want to share about how storytelling has really boosted products in a greater and more positive light. An example of a product that uses storytelling marketing is Warby Parker. I’ve always wondered how such a brand really boomed, especially since they only sell eyeglasses and sunglasses, but as they were around for nine years, they truly became an ecommerce success all due to their skilled storytelling. They explain in detail how they craft their glasses, while also sharing how they care about their employees, customers, community and environment, and how each purchase plays a part in that.

“Our customers, employees, community and environment are our stakeholders. We consider them in every decision that we make.” ~Warby Parker (https://sujanpatel.com/marketing/7-companies-killing-brand-driven-storytelling/)

They were open to sharing such behind-the-scenes information on the design itself, and the supplies they use, such as plant-based cellulose acetate, and each purchase made also allows Warby Parker to “give a pair to someone in need through charitable partners around the globe…To date, they’ve given away 4 million pairs.” (https://sujanpatel.com/marketing/7-companies-killing-brand-driven-storytelling/) It is no wonder why such a brand boomed with this reputation and growth and storytelling methods, as it is quite engaging with the consumers.