[IxD Theory] interactive distance and autonomous cars

Pick an interactive product you use regularly and discuss how the interactions would change if you suddenly interacted with it from a very different distance. Besides the actual points of interactivity, how would the product as a whole change as a result of the new interactive distance?

In the (slightly racist) explanation of Edward Hall's Proxemic Theory, Em Griffin gives us an understanding of Intimate, Personal, Social, and Public distances. I believe our current driving experience is generally an intimate experience between driver and car. We interact with our car at less than 18 inches and our main way of judging the space is through touch and smell. We're not operating our cars with our voices, and certainly not operating them with our eyes.

[business of design] Architecture for Humanity

I'm really looking forward to the speaker(s) from Architecture for Humanity. Watching the TED talk given by the founder made me wonder what they do when they fail. It appears there is so much effort put into formulating and installing these designed solutions, but there's no way they have a 100% success rate. Sometimes designs look great on paper, but just don't work out in practice. What does Architecture for Humanity do when the designs they have implemented don't work as expected? Do they have the opportunity to make revisions? How do they fail forward when they're working with such tight margins?

[Business of Design] Tension/Resoultion

Blog on an instance when you had to “pitch” something to someone, either in a personal or in a professional circumstance. What were you “pitching” and did you succeed or not? How could Abela’s guidelines have helped you?

I spent a lot of time pitching myself when I was working as a freelance graphic designer. It is not my favorite thing to do, but I think I started to get used to the process and so it became easier. Sometimes I was successful and sometimes not. In retrospect, it's difficult to say if there were specific reasons why I was or was not successful because to me I was just showing my work and the interviewer either liked it or didn't.

[IxD Studio] Reflections on Collections

For our interaction design studio class we're doing a project on collections. I don't collect much, but I do have this box of letters and snapshots that belonged to my grandparents. Most of the letters are written in Japanese, and all of the snapshots are completely anonymous. Why am I keeping this stuff? I'm not really sure, but I think my initial desire to save the letters and photos has to do with the aesthetic value -- their appeal as visual artifacts.

[Business of Design] Journey Map to CCA

Blog on your own “journey map” for choosing to attend CCA. What “pain points” were you trying to address and how did CCA’s offering influence you to choose it over alternatives?

Awareness
Argh! I do not like my career trajectory and my work is leaving me unfulfilled. Something is missing. Maybe I should go to grad school

....2 years later...

Research & Consideration
Where should I go? Researching, speaking with advisers, and taking advice. 
Design thinking! Sustainability! Buzz word buzz word buzz word!
To-do lists, essays, and portfolios.

Selection
Two out of three, now I have to make a decision!
Pro-con list. More advice. More talking with advisers. Talking with professors.
It's so expensive! Is it worth going back to school for a masters when it means going into debt? Finally, making the decision where I think I will be happier. San Francisco and CCA.

[IxD Theory] Goals

Reflect on your own goals as an interaction designer. What is your personal flavor of interaction? What part of interaction design excites you the most?

My goals as an interaction designer are, at their core, the same goals I had as a graphic designer. I want to use design to make a difference in people's lives, to solve problems, and to communicate meaningful stories. I majored in graphic design in college because because it was a compromise with my parents; they were pushing for engineering or architecture, I was pushing for studio art, design was a reasonable compromise.

I loved what I was doing in school, I graduated, I found a job.

But my jobs after college didn't fulfill my goals. Far too often I found myself at the mercy of my clients, churning out brochures and banner ads that "popped." Graphic design turned stale and, to be honest, I did it with half of my brain turned off. (Here's another goal as an interaction designer: I want to be challenged.) Perhaps this was my own fault for staying with clients who didn't value my perspective and problem solving abilities as a designer. I knew something was missing but I didn't really have the language to describe what exactly it was.

[Business of Design] Trends

This weeks assignment is to blog about a trend from Intuit's list of Twenty Trends that Will Shape the Next Decade. There are multiple trends that are currently and will continue to influence me, but I will focus on the two trends that are most disturbing: the combination of Individuals Shoulder the Risk Burden and Work Shifts from Full-time to Free Agent Employment.

To be honest reading this article made me feel old and scared. It is daunting to think that the government situation regarding health care and social security is highly unstable, plus support in the private sector is expected to reduce. It reminds me of the rule that clients can only have two out of three -- quality, speed, and price. How does it work out that governments will offer fewer social support programs, traditional full-time/full-benefit jobs will be harder to find, and insurance companies will continue to be unregulated (this one is my own assumption, not from the article)? I just received a letter in the mail letting me know that my individual health insurance was increased because I turned 30; it is up around $500 per month now. Happy Birthday to me!!!

I think these two trends invite a conversation about what government should or should not provide for its citizens, but that is, perhaps, too far outside the scope of this blog... In terms of how these trends are influencing me, it makes me really want to get a job with a stable company rather than going back to working for myself. Additionally, the two trends often make me consider what life would be like living and working in another country. At what point does the individual burden become so great that it drives people, and their innovations, out of countries with little social support into countries with lots of social support?

[IxD Theory] Foundational Principles

Are some of the foundational principles more important than others? If so, which ones? Why are some more important than others? Can you point to examples that illustrate the hierarchy you propose? Consider both Neilson’s and Norman’s lists.

I do not think the answer to the first question in this prompt is fixed; which principles are most important really depends on the application and the goals of the interaction. The question of who will be experiencing the designed interaction (Who are the users?) and what is their connection with the experience (eg. Are they likely to be novice or expert users?) should guide which principles will be most important. For example, if you are designing a museum exhibit, then you can probably be less concerned with "Recognition rather than recall" and more concerned with "Affordances" and "Mapping."

That being said, I do have some pet principles that I am particularly drawn to. From Nielsen's list, I like Flexibility and efficiency of use and from Donald Norman I like the principle of Mapping.